| At the recent meeting of the American
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| | Stunned by the question, he had to admit
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| Association of Clinical Oncologists
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| | he had no idea.
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| (ASCO), some 25,000 doctors met to
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| | That's the first and most obvious
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| discuss advances in cancer therapy. Over
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| | question that should be asked before
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| 10,000 scientific abstracts were
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| | submitting to any potentially toxic or
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| presented.
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| | invasive therapy. Those were not the
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| Surely now, after countless billions have
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| | sorts of answers that came out of the
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| been spent on research since President
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| | ASCO meeting however.
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| Nixon's war on cancer was declared in
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| | You see, the medical and patient
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| 1971, there must be some dramatic cures.
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| | imperative is to 'do something,' meaning
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| Something must have emerged from this
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| | medical intervention. Never mind that the
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| meeting to reverse the growing cancer
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| | disease may be self-limiting or
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| epidemic and justify the skyrocketing
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| | reversible by simple life style, dietary
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| medical costs for cancer treatment.
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| | or natural treatment options. Why, it
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| Surely.
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| | would be unethical to do a study where a
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| But not so.
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| | comparison group was not treated!
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| The meeting highlighted how that cancer
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| | Do you see the failed logic here? Can you
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| therapy is shifting from conventional
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| | see that the bias that cancer is a
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| cut-burn-poison to a more technologically
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| | disease that 'strikes' us ignores real
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| sophisticated, molecularly targeted
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| | causes-lifestyle and dietary changes that
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| pharmaceutical approach. It's a cash cow
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| | put us out of sync with our genetically
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| heyday for drug companies and a wonderful
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| | adapted to environmental roots?
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| fix for the addicted Rx generation.
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| | If you are struck with any disease,
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| A new fleet of drugs include tyrosine
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| | before submitting, ask the question and
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| kinase inhibitors such as Gleevec and
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| | demand the evidence: "What is the proof,
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| Iressa. Tarvesa is an ingenious
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| | my good doctor, that the treatment you
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| pharmaceutical that targets the epidermal
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| | are recommending is superior to no
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| growth factor receptor (EGFR) in
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| | treatment at all or to safe and natural
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| neoplasms. Another category is
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| | lifestyle and dietary changes"?
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| antiangiogenic drugs, such as Avastin,
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| | Modern allopathic medicine is just too
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| that inhibit the growth of blood vessels
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| | risky, dangerous and expensive to just
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| in tumors.
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| | roll over and expose your soft underbelly
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| There have been some qualified
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| | to them.
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| 'successes' but not without downside
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| | One also has to make the decision that if
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| serious side effect risks. For example,
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| | fatality is inevitable, whether extending
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| Avastin causes serious and even fatal
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| | life in a hospital bed, being a pin
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| bleeding into the lungs (hemoptisis). In
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| | cushion, living your last moments in
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| one instance 31% of patients experienced
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| | misery from drugs and expending your
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| this side effect.
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| | family's entire savings is worth a couple
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| But, you might say, so what if there is a
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| | of months or weeks of life... if even
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| good chance of cure? Surprisingly, during
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| | that is true.
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| this meeting, little discussion could be
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| | The cure for cancer is to prevent it.
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| heard about meaningful results. Everyone
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| | Learn how to live life healthily and get
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| was giddy about the science (like kids
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| | at it. If it strikes, don't panic and
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| with new toys), but the take away for the
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| | fall victim to the 'something must be
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| cancer victim was sobering and
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| | done' mania. 'Fighting' cancer is also
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| depressing.
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| | not surrender to the medical
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| There was a lot of talk about mechanisms
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| | establishment.
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| of action and theory. There was also many
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| | True health care means patients must be
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| numbers and charts about the
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| | active partners, not mere passive
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| effectiveness of the new drugs used alone
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| | recipients. The paradigm must be changed
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| or in various combinations with others,
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| | such that primacy is given to
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| including conventional chemotherapy. The
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| | self-responsibility for prevention, and
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| package presented to attendees was
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| | respecting and encouraging the innate
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| impressively wrapped in science, but what
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| | capacity for self-regulation and healing.
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| about the results.
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| | By engaging, patients gain a feeling of
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| In one instance it was found that the new
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| | control and emotional strength. The
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| therapies increased survival from 10.8
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| | psychological stress of the disease
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| months to 12.9 months.
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| | combined with essentially no coping
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| Progression-free-survival (PFS) was
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| | strategies is a primary reason for
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| changed in another comparison from 7.2
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| | recurrence.
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| months to 7.6 months. In another
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| | Modern tumor-based cancer care, on the
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| comparison overall survival was changed
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| | other hand, is about a love affair with
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| from 10.2 to 12.5 months and PFS changed
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| | biomedicine and its fragmentation and
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| from 4.5 to 6.4 months. In yet another
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| | overspecialization. More attention is
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| comparison the overall survival changed
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| | paid to lymphocyte counts than to the
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| from 5.91 to 6.37 months-- about two
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| | patient. The result is dehumanization,
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| weeks. One week was added to
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| | dependency and disempowerment for
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| remission-free survival.
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| | patients, and more machines,
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| These pathetic results did not dampen the
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| | pharmaceutical reps and money for
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| enthusiasm of pharmaceutical purveyors
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| | medicine.
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| out in force at the meeting with product
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| | This is not to say there have not been
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| booth displays rivaling those at the
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| | therapeutic successes. Surgically
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| super bowl half time. One company called
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| | debulking tumors (although surgery can
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| their drug a "breakthrough... providing
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| | also incite benign to malignant),
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| new hope for patients with advanced...
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| | chemotherapy for some forms of leukemia
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| cancer." Doctors, looking at only the
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| | and skin cancer, are such examples. But
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| statistical numbers, concluded that the
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| | that is an embarrassing result in terms
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| results were "important" and "exciting"
| |
| | of the overall scale of the disease. For
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| because they were "not due to chance". Of
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| | the 10 major killing cancers, survival
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| course the mainstream media jumps right
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| | has not improved over the past 50 years.
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| on with wild claims about how the cure is
| |
| | Your best hope, as always, begins with
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| now just around the corner.
| |
| | thinking. Learn think about what there is
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| Please. One week!
| |
| | about your life that caused the disease.
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| What's the cost benefit of this
| |
| | Change your life and investigate
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| "exciting" new progress? In just two
| |
| | alternative approaches (See Wysong
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| years, spending on cancer drugs will
| |
| | Resource Directory).
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| increase from 22 billion dollars to 32
| |
| | There is hope, but as with anything else
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| billion. Just adding one of the new
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| | in life it resides in what you do to
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| drugs, Avastin, to a treatment regimen
| |
| | yourself, not what others do to or for
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| will increase costs to the patient of
| |
| | you.
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| $8,000 per month. While these miracle
| |
| | Refs.
|
| life extensions of a couple months or a
| |
| | Cancer - The Missing Point
|
| week are going on, costs are escalating
| |
| | Is Common Sense or Research Needed to
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| 500 fold. If you submit to this leading
| |
| | Cure Cancer
|
| edge cancer treatment miracle, expect to
| |
| | Research on Pancreatice Cancer....
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| pay about $250,000.
| |
| | Wysong e-Health Letter Archives
|
| Recently I was talking to a
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| | Wysong Resource Directory "Cancer"
|
| pharmaceutical salesman who was excitedly
| |
| | R. Moss, PhD., Townsend Letter for
|
| detailing the benefits of the drugs he
| |
| | Doctors, Aug, 05, p. 44
|
| represented. He had impressive numbers of
| |
| | "New Cancer Drugs Are Driving Up Cost of
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| how his drug produced results better than
| |
| | Care," LA Times, May 14, 2005
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| competitor's drugs. I asked him how his
| |
| | Ramirez, A.
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| results compared to no treatment at all.
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| |
|
