Cancer News

Apazin

Fight Nausea, Vomiting, IBS

• Regulates GI system
• Eases diarrhea and constipation
• Curbs body fluid loss due to diarrhea
• Alleviates mouth sores and dry mouth
• Stimulates appetite-increases the secretion of digestive enzymes

_____________________________________________________________

Having a decreased appetite during chemotherapy is common, and there are many different causes of this problem. Some chemotherapy drugs cause taste alterations or a change in a patient’s sense of smell. They can also cause dry mouth, mouth sores, nausea, and vomiting. In other instances, a patient’s appetite is affected by an early sense of satiety or a persistent sense of always being full. Depression may also alter a patient’s desire to eat.

Here are some quick and easy ways you and your caregivers can make the most of meal times:

• Try eating small meals frequently. Snacking every 2 to 3 hours throughout the day can be easier to digest; the smaller portions will also be less overwhelming.
• Start out the day strong with a well balanced breakfast. Oftentimes, your appetite will wane by the end of the day. Eating a healthy breakfast such as peanut butter or eggs on toast, or toast with fruit, can help get the needed calories in your system.
• Eat foods at room temperature to increase their palatability.
• If tastes or smell is off, add extra seasonings to meats.
• Using plastic utensils to decrease the metallic taste in the mouth.
• Using a salt water rinse or brushing teeth with a mint-based paste may also help food taste better.
• If feeling full is a problem, try eating small frequent meals that are low in fat but high in carbohydrates and protein.
• Drinking fluids between meals may also help prevent feeling overly full at meal times. Use friends and family to help in the meal preparation and shopping. Go through recipe books to look for new concoctions that may be appealing to you.
• Make meal time an enjoyable event. Eat with friends and family members or listen to your favorite music or television show.

Speak to your physician if your appetite is affected by nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, or pain. There are many medications as well as appetite stimulants that may help maximize your appetite. Eating well during cancer therapy will help you maintain weight and quicken the recovery time when your treatment has finished.

Nutrition is an integral part of the cancer treatment process. Without proper nutrition you may alter your immune system and potentially delay the recovery process.

For more information on tips for improving your appetite during cancer treatment see the following article from TheDietChannel: Increase Your Calories and Protein during Cancer Treatment.

The Dietchannel.com

Popularity: 4% [?]

Fight Nausea, Vomiting, IBS

• Regulates GI system
• Eases diarrhea and constipation
• Curbs body fluid loss due to diarrhea
• Alleviates mouth sores and dry mouth
• Stimulates appetite-increases the secretion of digestive enzymes

By Thomas Garran

Nausea is one of the more uncomfortable sensations a person can experience. The causes of nausea range from motion sickness to side-effects from Western drugs. Eating excessive amounts of cold, fatty, sweet, spicy, or processed food can also lead to conditions where nausea is a symptom. Chinese medicine views nausea as an abnormal upward movement of “qi” from the stomach, and anyone who has experienced nausea can attest to the “abnormal” feeling like something that should be down, wants to come up.

In light of this, Chinese medicine treats nausea with a number of different methods. First, to deal with the acute sick feeling Chinese medicine uses herbs that help to “redirect” the qi of the stomach downward. There are a number of herbs that are very good for this purpose Fennel, Tangerine peel, and Ginger are three of the most important. Ginger is very well researched for this and all three are very safe as well as being effective.
Next, Chinese medicine looks at the possible causes of nausea and treats them. One of the most common causes is poor digestion or the inability to digest excessively in the diet. This can be due to either weakness or poor eating habits. When a person has poor eating habits food can accumulate, especially meat and fats. Chinese Hawthorne is the most important herb to treat this condition and is widely used in China by people on a daily basis or during holidays when they tend to over-eat.

To strengthen the digestion there are a number of excellent herbs. The combination of Bai-zhu Atractylodes, Codonopsis, Chinese Licorice, and Poria is called the “Four Gentlemen” is the most famous combination in Chinese medicine to strengthen the digestion. When Ginger and Tangerine peel are added this become the “Six Gentlemen” and is particularly useful when there is digestive weakness leading to nausea, vomiting, and other digestive difficulties.

When the digestion is weak its ability to process food and fluids is poor and they can accumulate, especially fluids. The combination of Job’s Tears, Poria, and Astragalus are very good for both strengthening and helping the body to rid itself of this accumulated fluid. Finally, sometimes there is inflammation in the stomach and the combination of Dendrobium and Job’s Tears is excellent to cool the inflammation and nourish the stomach.

Most people will suffer occasionally from this very uncomfortable ailment. The use of Chinese herbs can be extremely helpful in treating this and relieving the suffering of an otherwise disturbing time. For those that have a chronic nausea problem, Chinese herbs could be the answer they are looking for.

immuneenhance.com/products/apazin

Thomas Avery Garran is a Chinese medicine practitioner with 17 years of experience, a number of articles, and a book, “Western Herbs According Traditional Chinese Medicine: A Practitioners Guide.” His blog is http://sourcepointherbs.blogspot.com.

Popularity: 4% [?]

By Reshma Jirage

Popularity: 12% [?]

ScienceDaily — Patients with fibromyalgia treated with a synthetic form of marijuana, nabilone, showed significant reductions in pain and anxiety in a first-of-its-kind study, published in The Journal of Pain.

Fibromyalgia syndrome has no cure, is difficult to diagnose, and effective pain management strategies are a must to help patients cope with the disease. An estimated 12 million Americans have fibromyalgia, which is characterized by widespread muscle and joint pain and myriad other symptoms. The condition is far more prevalent in women and the incidence increases with age, reaching 7 percent among women 65 years and older.

Forty subjects were selected for the nabilone trial, conducted by researchers at the University of Manitoba Rehabilitation Hospital. They were divided into nabilone and placebo groups and were treated for four weeks. The authors noted this was the first randomized, controlled-access trial to evaluate nabilone for pain reduction and quality-of-life improvement in fibromyalgia patients. Nabilone is one of two oral marijuana-based compounds, known as cannabinoids, available in Canada and is approved for treatment of nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy.

Results of the Manitoba study showed the nabilone group had significant reductions in pain and anxiety, measured by comparisons with baseline scores on the visual analogue scale for pain, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and the FIQ anxiety score. From the data, the study concluded nabilone has significant benefits for pain relief and functional improvement in fibromyalgia patients. Although the improvement was significant, none of the nabilone-treated subjects had complete relief of their fibromyalgia symptoms.

The drug was well tolerated by treated patients, which the authors characterized as reassuring since fibromyalgia patients are sensitive to most medications and have difficulty tolerating side effects. The downside, however, is cost. In Canada, nabilone would cost about $4,000 for a year’s supply.

The authors believe their findings warrant consideration of nabilone as an adjunct to current medical management of fibromyalgia.

Adapted from materials provided by American Pain Society, via Newswise. (Feb. 18, 2008)

Popularity: 2% [?]

Acupuncture is as effective and longer-lasting in managing the common debilitating side effects of hot flashes, night sweats, and excessive sweating (vasomotor symptoms) associated with breast cancer treatment and has no treatment side effects compared to conventional drug therapy, according to a first-of-its-kind study presented September 24, 2008, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology’s 50th Annual Meeting in Boston. Findings also show there were additional benefits to acupuncture treatment for breast cancer patients, such as an increased sense of well being, more energy, and in some cases, a higher sex drive, that were not experienced in those patients who underwent drug treatment for their hot flashes.

“Our study shows that physicians and patients have an additional therapy for something that affects the majority of breast cancer survivors and actually has benefits, as opposed to more side effects. The effect is more durable than a drug commonly used to treat these vasomotor symptoms and, ultimately, is more cost-effective for insurance companies,” Eleanor Walker, M.D., lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at the Henry Ford Hospital Department of Radiation Oncology in Detroit, said.

The reduction in hot flashes lasted longer for those breast cancer patients after completing their acupuncture treatment, compared to patients after stopping their drug therapy plan.

Eighty percent of women treated for breast cancer suffer from hot flashes after being treated with chemotherapy and/or anti-estrogen hormones, such as Tamoxifen and Arimidex. Although hormone replacement therapy is typically used to relieve these symptoms, breast cancer patients cannot use this therapy because it may increase the risk of the cancer coming back. As a treatment alternative, patients are generally treated with steroids and/or antidepressant drugs. These drugs, however, have additional side effects, such as weight gain, nausea, constipation and fatigue. The antidepressant, venlafaxine (Effexor), a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, is one of the most common drugs used to treat these hot flashes. However, many women decide against this treatment choice because of potential side effects, including decreased libido, insomnia, dizziness and nausea, or because they simply do not want to take any more medications.

The randomized clinical trial compared acupuncture treatment to venlafixine for 12 weeks to find out if acupuncture reduced vasomotor symptoms in breast cancer patients receiving hormonal therapy and produced fewer side effects than venlafaxine. The study involved 47 breast cancer patients who received either Tamoxifen or Arimidex and had at least 14 hot flashes per week. Results show that acupuncture reduces hot flashes as effectively as venlafaxine, with no side effects, and also provides additional health benefits to patients.

Source: American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology

Popularity: 1% [?]

Leucozepin bestseller
Strengthen Immune System: contains Astragalus

Secondary Benefits

• Regulates blood cell counts
• Boosts energy
• Activates NK cells
• Stimulates macrophages
• Relieves fatigue

The cells that are usually affected include bone marrow blood cells, cells of hair follicles, cells lining the digestive tract and cells lining the reproductive tract. Looking at this list of the cells that are usually destroyed, one can start to recognize some the ailments that cause so much suffering to people going through chemotherapy treatment. Now you understand exactly why people end up losing their hair for instance. This is as a result of the cells of hair follicles being damaged by chemotherapy.

Bone marrow cells being affected during cancer treatment is one of the most common causes of many of the side effects of chemotherapy. Bone marrow is a thick liquid in the inner part of some bones which usually produces white blood cells. This damage leads to low white blood cell counts or what doctors call neutrophil. The kind of signs and symptoms that follow include fever, sore throat, coughs, shortness of breath, nasal congestion, burning during urination, shaking chills as well as redness, swelling, pain, and warmth at the site of an injury amongst other symptoms.

Usually because of the high risk of infections, doctors may need to delay further chemotherapy doses. These are some of the factors that cause so much suffering amongst cancer patients.

Fortunately new research and clinical trials offers some hope in greatly alleviating problems related to cancer and cancer treatment. For example natural herbal medicines have been used for hundreds of years and now regularly complement mainstream care in managing symptoms, boosting the immune system and greatly enhancing the quality of life. Actually many cancer patients going through chemotherapy have reported impressive results from natural herbal medicine in addressing the side effects of chemotherapy.

Get more information on the Side Effects Of Chemotherapy

Popularity: 6% [?]

Therapy Pain   by Billy Fischer

Where traditional forms of medicine do not work alternative therapies are resorted to. When there is a combination or integrated medical system that is followed, how to blend both the alternative and the conventional needs expertise. Alternative therapies make available services which are not offered in conventional medicine. These treatments could involve homeopathy, new age healing, faith healing and naturopathy. Some diseases might warrant alternative methods of healing rather than the conventional and more and more people seem to be becoming aware of this.

Not only can alternative health therapies help you to improve the quality of your life and feel better, they can also help you to improve your overall general health in order to provide you with a sense of control. It relaxes you by reducing your anxiety, stress, depression, sleeplessness and tension. They reduce some of the side effects, which are normally noticed in the usual cancer treatments and also help in reducing some of the symptoms like poor appetite, tiredness, pain, sickness, diarrhea, constipation and breathlessness.

Alternative health therapies can be very effective at masking pain, which can sometimes hide a more serious underlying condition and are often used in conjunction with conventional medicine. Some cancer support groups for example, offer these therapies for free or make a small charge and some hospitals and hospices provide as part of cancer care, alongside conventional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Many cancer patients to support themselves in their fight against cancer now use these therapies. These therapies are very valuable in that they identify and support spiritual and emotional characteristics and physical features, but they should not be used as the only alternative line of treatment.

More than billion is spent by the Americans annually on vitamins and herbs which are alternative health products. The recent studies that were conducted by Phillips, Tindle, Eisenberg and Davis, reflected that there was roughly seventy two million adults within the United States that use alternative and complementary therapies. The studies conducted by Herman, Craig and Caspi in 2005 also show an out of pocket spend of about billion annually on these therapies.

It is very essential to find out which treatments offered by alternative health therapies are more effective and at the same time making you feel much better and comfortable. The quality of life for many people has improved especially those who have Motor Neuron Disease. It is always advisable to check with your doctor before starting with any of the alternative health therapies and you should also remember to check whether any such treatment adapted would have adverse effect on any of the treatment programs which are already being undertaken.

In case you are thinking of using any alternative health therapy along with your contemporary medication then you must talk to you doctor and find about the pros and cons that are related. You could even find out from your physician if he is qualified to practice any of these therapies. Today doctors are more and more convinced that alternative therapy does have a place in the overall healing of a patient; this gives them the ability to maybe recommend alternative therapy practitioners. For some people, these types of therapies are helpful in coping with effects of conventional treatments, reducing anxiety and giving them back some control over their lives.

Popularity: 2% [?]

University of Michigan researchers announced at the American Association of Cancer Research that tests show ginger kills cancer cells.

The study also found that the spice had the added benefit of stopping the cells from becoming resistant to treatment.

But UK cancer experts said that, while ginger may in the future form a basis of a new drug, more research was needed to corroborate the findings.

Ginger is already known to ease nausea and control inflammation, but the findings by the US team offer cancer patients new hope. Researchers used ginger powder, similar to that sold in shops, which they dissolved in a solution and applied to ovarian cancer cells.

They found it caused the cells to die in all the tests done.

But it was the way in which the cells died which offered even more hope. The tests demonstrated two types of death – apoptosis, which is essentially cell suicide, and autophagy, a kind of self-digestion.

Report author Rebecca Liu said: “Most ovarian cancer patients develop recurrent disease that eventually becomes resistant to standard chemotherapy, which is associated with apoptosis.

“If ginger can cause autophagic cell death in addition to apoptosis, it may circumvent resistance to conventional chemotherapy.”

The researchers warned the results were very preliminary and they plan to test whether they can obtain similar results in animal studies.

But they added the appeal of ginger was that it would have virtually no side-effects and would be easy to administer as a capsule.

Henry Scowcroft, science information officer for Cancer Research UK, said previous research had shown that ginger extract can stop cancer cell growing so it was possible that ginger could form the basis of a new drug.

But more work was needed before firm conclusions could be drawn, he added.

“This study doesn’t mean that people should dash down to the supermarket and stockpile ginger.

“We still don’t know whether ginger, in any form, can prevent or treat cancers in animals or people.”

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/4876056.stm

Published: 2006/04/16 23:13:15 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

Popularity: 1% [?]

Popularity: 1% [?]

Science Daily (Apr. 27, 2007) — There is no evidence that antioxidant supplements interfere with the therapeutic effects of chemotherapy agents, according to a recent systematic review of the use of antioxidants during chemotherapy, available in the May, 2007 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Cancer Treatment Reviews. In fact, they may help increase survival rates, tumor response, and the patient’s ability to tolerate treatment.

This conclusion has important implications for patients whose oncologists discourage the use of antioxidant supplements during treatment. Until now, their concern has been that these supplements may counteract the tumor-shrinking abilities of the chemotherapy.

“This review demonstrates that there is no scientific support for the blanket objection to using antioxidants during chemotherapy. In addition, it also appears that these supplements may help mitigate the side effects of chemotherapy,” said Keith I. Block, MD, lead author of the study and Medical Director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment. “This is significant because it increases the likelihood that patients will be able to complete their treatment.”

Co-author Dr. Robert Newman, Professor of Cancer Medicine at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center said, “This study, along with the evolving understanding of antioxidant-chemotherapy interactions, suggests that the previously held beliefs about interference do not pertain to clinical treatment.”

The analysis, titled “Impact of Antioxidant Supplementation on Chemotherapeutic Efficacy: A Systematic Review of the Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials,” evaluated 845 articles from five scientific databases that examined the effects of taking natural antioxidant supplements concurrent with chemotherapy.

Out of the 845 studies that were analyzed, 19 met all evaluation criteria. These included the use of randomized trials with a control group, and the reporting of treatment response (tumor shrinkage) and survival data. The 1,554 patients represented had a variety of cancer types, and most had advanced or relapsed disease. Some of the antioxidants used in the trials included glutathione, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, ellagic acid, selenium and beta carotene.

Among the findings:

• All of the studies that included survival data showed similar or better survival rates for the antioxidant group than the control group.
• None of the trials supported the theory that antioxidant supplements diminish the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments.
• All but one of the studies that reported treatment response showed similar or better response in the antioxidant group than in the control group.
• 15 of 17 trials that assessed chemotherapy toxicities, including diarrhea, weight loss, nerve damage and low blood counts, concluded that the antioxidant group suffered similar or lower rates of these side effects than the control group.

The authors noted that reducing side effects may help patients avoid having to cut back on their chemotherapy dosing, interrupt scheduled treatments, or abandon treatment altogether. This in turn, is likely to favorably impact treatment outcomes. A recent study of a group of colon cancer patients indicated that those who completed their full prescribed schedules of chemotherapy had survival rates nearly double those of patients who abandoned their chemotherapy treatment prematurely.

This new study encourages further exploration of the potential importance of antioxidant supplements as a means of improving cancer survival.

Popularity: 1% [?]