Chemotherapie, risico's en voeding
Na de diagnose kanker is stap 2 vaak
chemotherapie. Een echt paardenmiddel waarbij ook de gezonde cellen flink er van langs
gaan krijgen is het raadzaam uw lichaam gezond te houden door gezonde voeding zodat u de
schade misschien voor een deel kan beperken. Verdiep u goed in de risico's en voordelen
van chemotherapie. Sylvia Millecam weigerde een reguliere behandeling en moest dit met de
dood bekopen. Wat het verhaal nog treuriger maakt is dat haar artsen worden gemangeld
terwijl het toch echt haar eigen keuze was.
Als een patiënt overlijdt terwijl die wel
een chemo heeft gevolgd dan is dit een doodnormale zaak zonder gevolgen voor de
behandelaars. Maar goed, we zitten in een land waar de reguliere artsen lijnrecht staan
tegen alternatieve artsen en we zullen ons dus zelf moeten verdiepen in de
behandelmethodes en risico's daarvan en dan een keuze maken. Ik weet dat veel patiënten
die regulier behandelt worden daarnaast ook alternatieve wegen volgen en dit niet aan hun
arts durven te vertellen omdat deze niet openstaat voor andere visies en mogelijkheden.
En als je nog geen kanker heeft lees dan
alles over voeding die een rol kan spelen bij de preventie van kanker, er zijn genoeg
boeken, websites, forums etc waar u informatie uit kunt halen. Laat het niet zover komen.
Roken, alcohol, teveel rood vlees, zware metalen, chemische stoffen in voeding, overschot
aan omega 6 etc kunnen allemaal de reden zijn dat ook u aan de beurt komt. Eet gevarieerd,
vermijdt industrie voer, eet zo vers mogelijk, zorg voor voldoende omega 3 zuren, vermijdt
verbrande plantaardige olie en vlees en blijf uit de buurt van rokers, meeroken kan ook
dodelijk zijn. Alleen in Engeland overlijden al 16000 mensen per jaar aan het meeroken.
Ron
Chemotherapy can do more harm than
good, study suggests
A study of more than 600 cancer patients
who died within 30 days of receiving treatment, chemotherapy probably caused or hastened
death in 27 per cent of cases, the inquiry found.
Link
Support for adjunctive vitamin C
treatment in cancer
Serious flaws in a recent study, which
concluded that high doses of vitamin C reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapeutic drugs
in the treatment of cancer, are revealed in the current issue of Alternative and
Complementary Therapies, a journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
(www.liebertpub.com). This report is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/act
In the Medical Journal Watch column of the
latest issue, Jack Challem, a personal nutrition coach and nutrition author from Tucson,
Arizona, and a regular contributor to the Journal, challenges the findings of a study
published in Cancer Research (2008;68:8031-8038), in which the authors conclude that
vitamin C given to mice or cultured cells treated with common anti-cancer drugs reduces
the antitumor effects of the chemotherapeutic agents.
Challem points out two main problems with
the study: the oxidized form of vitamin C (dehydroascorbic acid) and not actual vitamin C
(ascorbic acid) was used; and in the mouse experiments, the animals were given toxic doses
of dehydroascorbic acid, a compound that is not used as a dietary supplement in humans.
"This study and the subsequent headlines [it generated] were a grievous disservice to
physicians and patients with cancer," says Challem. He adds that "considerable
positive research…has shown striking benefits from high-dose vitamin C (ascorbic
acid) in cancer cells and animals—and in actual human beings."
High-dose intravenous vitamin C is a common
form of alternative and complementary therapy for patients receiving chemotherapeutic
drugs and is believed to help bring about tumor cell death. In addition, it may promote
postsurgical healing by enhancing collagen formation, and increase tissue resistance to
tumor spread. Challem suggests that, "The ideal therapeutic approach would be to
tailor individual treatment, including IV vitamin C, from a menu of options."
Lorraine Day's strijd tegen kanker
mbv natuurlijke middelen
Beste Ron
Ik ben een trouwe lezer van je website, en
met veel plezier lees ik de interessante zaken die je aan de orde stelt. Je vroeg om
nieuwe artikelen en links over kanker, en deze wil ik je sturen. Het gaat om een
Amerikaanse arts, Lorraine Day, die helemaal hersteld is van borstkanker door natuurlijke
middelen. Zij weet als geen ander (omdat zij zelf arts is) hoe belastend en desastreus de
"normale" medicijnen zoals chemotherapie en bestraling zijn. Zij wilde deze dus
niet gebruiken. Hoe zij genezen is vertelt zij in deze film! Ik vond de film een
eye-opener.
Veel leesplezier!
Bekijk de site
Tip: Titia van der Kloet
De schade aan de hersenen en
zenuwgestel veroorzaakt door chemo in kaart gebracht
Researchers Detail Chemotherapy's Damage to
the Brain
A commonly used chemotherapy drug causes
healthy brain cells to die off long after treatment has ended and may be one of the
underlying biological causes of the cognitive side effects – or “chemo
brain” – that many cancer patients experience. That is the conclusion of a study
published today in the Journal of Biology.
A team of researchers at the University of
Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and Harvard Medical School have linked the widely used
chemotherapy drug 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) to a progressing collapse of populations of stem
cells and their progeny in the central nervous system.
“This study is the first model of a
delayed degeneration syndrome that involves a global disruption of the myelin-forming
cells that are essential for normal neuronal function,” said Mark Noble, Ph.D.,
director of the University of Rochester Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Institute and
senior author of the study. “Because of our growing knowledge of stem cells and their
biology, we can now begin to understand and define the molecular mechanisms behind the
cognitive difficulties that linger and worsen in a significant number of cancer
patients.”
Cancer patients have long complained of
neurological side effects such as short-term memory loss and, in extreme cases, seizures,
vision loss, and even dementia. Until very recently, these cognitive side effects were
often dismissed as the byproduct of fatigue, depression, and anxiety related to cancer
diagnosis and treatment. Now a growing body of evidence has documented the scope of these
conditions, collectively referred to as chemo brain. And while it is increasingly
acknowledged by the scientific community that many chemotherapy agents may have a negative
impact on brain function in a subset of cancer patients, the precise mechanisms that
underlie this dysfunction have not been identified.
Virtually all cancer survivors experience
short-term memory loss and difficulty concentrating during and shortly after treatment. A
study two years ago by researchers with the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the
University of Rochester showed that upwards of 82 percent of breast cancer patients
reported that they suffer from some form of cognitive impairment.
While these effects tend to wear off over
time, a subset of patients, particularly those who have been administered high doses of
chemotherapy, begin to experience these cognitive side effects months or longer after
treatment has ceased and the drugs have long since departed their systems. For example, a
recent study estimates that somewhere between 15 percent and 20 percent of the nation's
2.4 million female breast cancer survivors have lingering cognitive problems years after
treatment. Another study showed that 50 percent of women had not recovered their previous
level of cognitive function one year after treatment.
Two years ago, Noble and his team showed
that three common chemotherapy drugs used to treat a wide range of cancers were more toxic
to healthy brain cells than the cancer cells they were intended to treat. While these
experiments were among the first to establish a biological basis for the acute onset of
chemo brain, they did not explain the lingering impact that many patients experience.
The scientists conducted a similar series
of experiments in which they exposed both individual cell populations and mice to doses of
5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in amounts comparable to those used in cancer patients. 5-FU is
among a class of drugs called antimetabolites that block cell division and has been used
in cancer treatment for more than 40 years. The drug, which is often administered in a
“cocktail” with other chemotherapy drugs, is currently used to treat breast,
ovarian, stomach, colon, pancreatic and other forms of cancer.
The researchers discovered that months
after exposure, specific populations of cells in the central nervous –
oligodendrocytes and dividing precursor cells from which they are generated –
underwent such extensive damage that, after six months, these cells had all but
disappeared in the mice.
Oligodendrocytes play an important role in
the central nervous system and are responsible for producing myelin, the fatty substance
that, like insulation on electrical wires, coats nerve cells and enables signals between
cells to be transmitted rapidly and efficiently. The myelin membranes are constantly being
turned over, and without a healthy population of oligodendrocytes, the membranes cannot be
renewed and eventually break down, resulting in a disruption of normal impulse
transmission between nerve cells.
These findings parallel observations in
studies of cancer survivors with cognitive difficulties. MRI scans of these patients’
brains revealed a condition similar to leukoencephalopathy. This demyelination – or
the loss of white matter – can be associated with multiple neurological problems.
“It is clear that, in some patients,
chemotherapy appears to trigger a degenerative condition in the central nervous
system,” said Noble. “Because these treatments will clearly remain the standard
of care for many years to come, it is critical that we understand their precise impact on
the central nervous system, and then use this knowledge as the basis for discovering means
of preventing such side effects.”
Noble points out that not all cancer
patients experience these cognitive difficulties and determining why some patients are
more vulnerable may be an important step in developing new ways to prevent these side
effects. Because of this study, researchers now have a model which, for the first time,
allows scientists to begin to examine this condition in a systematic manner.
Other investigators participating in the
study include Ruolan Han, Ph.D., Yin M. Yang, M.D., Anne Luebke, Ph.D., Margot
Mayer-Proschel, Ph.D., all with URMC, and Joerg Dietrich, M.D., Ph.D., formerly with URMC
and now with Harvard Medical School. The study was funded by the National Institutes of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Komen Foundation for the Cure, and the Wilmot
Cancer Center.
Chemotherapy Kills 27% of Sick
Patients; Doctors Urged to Stop Killing People with Chemo
A UK report is warning doctors about the
consequences of using chemotherapy on sick cancer patients, citing new data that reveals
chemotherapy kills 27% of those patients. I never thought I'd see the day that researchers
from the world of conventional medicine actually admit the truth about chemotherapy: It's
a toxic, poisonous therapy better suited for barbaric torture than anything resembling the
healing arts. The cancer industry is a grand fraud, and it kills millions of people with
chemotherapy, radiation and surgical procedures that do nothing to address the root causes
of cancer.
Lees
verder
Marjan
Chemotherapy Doesn't Work, So Blame
Vitamin C
When Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
announces that vitamin C may interfere with chemotherapy, the news media trumpet it far
and wide. But before cancer patients throw away their vitamin C supplements, they need to
know rest of the story.
Lees
artikel
Leendert
DO en DON'T DO during chemotherapy
Chemotherapie en bestraling zijn zware
aanslagen op het lichaam.Een aantal voedingssoorten, supplementen en je levensstijl kunnen
de therapie beter laten werken, je weerstand verbeteren en meer energie geven. Een groot
aantal voedingsmiddelen zijn wetenschappelijk onderzocht en hebben eigenschappen die
celdood van kankercellen veroorzaken of en resistentie van kankercellen tegen cytostatica,
target medicijnen en bestraling aanzienlijk verlagen.
http://www.chemotherapy-support.com/
Tip: Elmer Pennewaard
Het falen van de chemotherapie
Dr. Giuseppe Nacci
Elke vorm van chemotherapie veroorzaakt
onherstelbare schade aan de fysieke gesteldheid van wie zich blootstelt aan de werking van
deze vergiften die ‘cytotoxische geneesmiddelen’ worden genoemd. De eed van
Hippocrates omvat het verbod om de patiënt ‘gif’ toe te dienen, ook indien de
zieke hier zelf om vraagt (zie eed van Hippocrates). Deze vergiften (‘cytotoxische
geneesmiddelen’) komen in de bloedbaan door middel van een injectie en/of een
intraveneus druppelinfuus, of door middel van indirecte opname via de maag of het
darmslijmvlies. Dit type behandeling wijkt af van chirurgie of bestraling, die hun werking
richten op specifieke punten of gebieden van het menselijke lichaam (‘gerichte’
behandelingen).
In ziekenhuizen wordt gebruik gemaakt van
chemotherapie wanneer de kans bestaat dat de tumorcellen aanwezig zijn in andere delen van
het organisme en niet alleen op de plaats van de primaire tumor.
Maar slechts zelden garandeert chemotherapie een overlevingsperiode van ten minste vijf
jaar, die onjuist wordt aangeduid als ‘behandelingsperiode’. Chemotherapie remt
de abnormale celgroei tijdelijk af, of kan de pijn enige tijd verlichten of de
overlevingstijd iets verlengen. Slechts zelden kan er worden gesproken van
‘remissie’: bibliografische gegevens spreken van slagingspercentages van minder
dan 1% in het geval van alvleesklierkanker, van 3% in het geval van leverkanker en van 7%
in het geval van darmkanker…..In de hele wereld zijn er ongeveer 60-70 cytotoxische
geneesmiddelen in de
handel.
Voor Italië zijn de handelsnamen opgenomen
in tabel 2a (gedeeltelijke lijst). Enkele van deze vergiften veroorzaken minder problemen
dan andere, zoals slapeloosheid, verzwakking, diarree, haaruitval, stomatitis, leukopenie,
trombocytopenie, bloedarmoede, misselijkheid, overgeven enz. Dit zijn de directe
bijwerkingen die bekend zijn, omdat ze zichtbaar zijn. Waar zelden over wordt gesproken,
zijn de ernstigere en langdurigere bijwerkingen met gevolgen die het leven van de patiënt
en het verloop van zijn of haar ziekte sterk verslechteren, waardoor zelfs behandelingen
op basis van de immunostimulering van de Natural Killer-lymfocyten en van de apoptotische
en ontgiftende activiteit van medische plantenextracten zinloos worden.
Deze grote en onherstelbare schade,
waarover zelden wordt gesproken, bestaat uit:
1) ernstige, aanhoudende en duurzame
reductie van het aantal van bepaalde typen en subtypen witte bloedlichaampjes die
onmisbaar zijn voor de specifieke immuunreactie tegen de tumor.
2) celmutaties van het somatische type waarbij andere secundaire tumoren en/of metastasen
verdwijnen
3) celmutaties van het germinale type (testikels of eierstokken) met verschijnselen van
onvruchtbaarheid, miskramen of misvormde kinderen bij een ouder die chemotherapie en
kanker heeft overleefd.
4) versnelde groei van de tumor, in plaats van reductie daarvan, met verschijnselen van
kruisresistentie van de tumor tegen andere vergiften (membraan glycoproteïnepomp).
Chemotherapie wordt dus absoluut afgeraden
bij elke vorm van combinatiemet immunotherapie.
Lees verder op:
http://www.curenaturalicancro.nl/pdf/falen-chemotherapie.pdf
De big pharma censuur op wikipedia
Goed voorbeeld van iemand die kritisch
kijkt naar de kankerindustrie maar die wordt geblocked op wikipedia, de zogenaamde
onpartijdige encyclopedie. Je ziet in Nederland dezelfde censuur bij big pharma clubs als
de KWF die elke alternatieve visie op kanker en genezing van kanker afdoen als
kwakzalverij. Hierbij gesteund door de antikwakjes. Steun je de KWF dan steun je dus de
propaganda machine en zullen veel mensen onnodig sterven doordat ze geen keuze hebben
naast chemotherapie of bestraling. We hebben recht op de andere kant van het verhaal en
artsen/specialisten die de waarheid durven te vertellen. Een ziek lijf nog zieker maken is
geen genezen maar echte kwakzalverij....de focus moet zijn het sterker maken van de eigen
afweer en aanpak van toxines die worden gestapeld en DNA schade veroorzaken. Of gelooft u
dat alles in de laatste 50 jaar een erfelijke oorzaak heeft?
Onmogelijk in zo'n korte periode, er is veel meer aan de hand en de grootste ziekmaker is
dezelfde industrie die kankermiddelen maakt. Zo verdien je dus aan twee kanten.....
Kijk hieronder maar eens hoe ver het
establishment gaat om de massa dom te houden, we zouden toch eens andere keuzes gaan maken
!
Ron
The cancer industry, described in books by
Ralph Moss and Samuel Epstein, now seeks to exercise the same censorship and suppression
on the Internet. Wikipedia represents a media outlet that could get outside the cancer
industry’s control and embarrass the medical profession. Very strong influences will
be therefore be brought to bear to ensure that this doesn’t happen. Jfdwolff and
others who seek to suppress this information, unwittingly represents those interests. I
represent those who believe there should be an ongoing debate about one of the
world’s greatest killers: what it is and how it should be treated. I believe that
this debate should be based on scientific principles so that vested interests cannot be
assumed to have a monopoly on the truth.
My credentials: As a scientist I have
published two papers: One in 1993 questioning the efficacy of cancer surgery; and one in
1996 questioning the claim that mammograms reduce overall mortality. The conclusion from
my 1996 paper in Medical Hypotheses was confirmed in 2001 by the Nordic Cochrane Group
that specialises in evidence based medicine. For the past 25 years I have been Convenor of
a Sydney-based charity called the Cancer Information & Support Society that provides
people with cancer with objective information about the benefits and harm from cancer
therapies and emotional support to those who choose to use them. We evaluate the efficacy
of both orthodox and alternative cancer therapies.
The medical skeptics Leading medical
scientists and researchers who question the current paradigm to some degree or other, and
whom I quote in my articles, include the following:
Ulrich Abel, epidemiologist and
biostatistician at the Heidelberg Tumor Centre, Germany. Author of “Chemotherapy of
Advanced Epithelial Cancer: a critical review”.
John Bailar, former US presidential adviser
on cancer, former chair of the Department of Health Studies, University of Chicago, former
editor of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI), former professor of
epidemiology and biostatistics at McGill University in Montreal, Chair of the Department
of Health Studies at the University of Chicago. Author of “Cancer Undefeated” in
the New England Journal of Medicine.
Michael Baum, Emeritus Professor of Surgery
at University College, London, former pioneer and advocate of mammography screening in the
UK. Author of “False premises, false promises and false positives--the case against
mammographic screening for breast cancer” in the International Journal of
Epidemiology.
William Black, Department of Radiology,
Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, and Center for the Evaluative
Clinical Sciences, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School,
Hanover, NH. Author of “Overdiagnosis: An Underrecognized Cause of Confusion and Harm
in Cancer Screening” in JNCI.
Barry W. Brown, Chief, Section of Computer
Science, University of California at Berkeley; Larry and Pat McNeil Professor of
Biomathematics, specialising in the mathematical modeling of cancer processes. Author of
“Non-cancer deaths in White Adult Cancer Patients” in JNCI.
David M. Eddy, Senior Advisor for Health
Policy and Management, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Pasadena, California.
Former Professor at Stanford University, former J. Alexander McMahon Professor of health
policy and management at Duke University. Author of “The Use of Evidence and Cost
Effectiveness by the Courts: How Can It Help Improve Health Care?”
Ralph Moss, author of “The Cancer
Industry”, “Cancer Therapy” and Questioning Chemotherapy”.
Candace Pert, microbiologist, discoverer of
receptors on the brain for endorphins. Author of “Molecules of Emotion”.
Gilbert Welch, Professor of Medicine and
Community and Family Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School; Co-Director of the VA Outcomes
Group. Author of “Should I Be Tested for Cancer?” and “Dangers in Early
Detection".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Mediation_Cabal/Cases/2006-01-29_Cancer_evidence
75% van de artsen weigert zelf
chemotherapie
Uit onderzoeken en enquêtes onder
Amerikaanse oncologen komt naar voren dat drie van de vier artsen (75%) elke vorm van
chemotherapie zou weigeren vanwege de ondoeltreffendheid en de vernietigende effecten die
deze behandeling heeft op het menselijke organisme. Dit zeggen de artsen en onderzoekers
erover:
“Het grootste deel van de
kankerpatiënten in dit land overlijdt ten gevolge van chemotherapie, die tumoren in de
borst, in het colon of in de longen niet wegneemt. Dit aspect is al ruim een decennium
lang bekend en toch gebruiken artsen chemotherapie nog steeds ter bestrijding van deze
tumoren.”
Allen Levin, MD (UCSF ‘The healing of
Cancer, Marcus Books 1990)
Most cancer patients in this country die of
chemotherapy. Chemotherapy does not eliminate breast, colon or lung cancers. The fact has
been documented for over a decade.... Women with breast cancer are likely to die faster
with chemotherapy than without it.” (Dr. Alan Levin, Professor of Immunology,
University of California Medical School, 1987)
Dr. John Cairns says that chemotherapy at
most prevents “perhaps 2% or 3%” of the cancer deaths each year. If 19 you have
been diagnosed with cancer, find out if your type will be hurt or helped by chemotherapy.
(See Resources)
Ulrich Abel, Ph.D., of West Germany, did a
comprehensive study on chemotherapy. In 1990 he wrote, “There is no evidence for the
vast majority of cancers that treatment with these drugs exerts any positive influence on
survival or quality of life in patients with advanced disease.” He stated that
although chemotherapy does shrink tumors initially in many patients, unfortunately this
did not prolong survival because the cancer usually returned, often more aggressively than
at first. In Abel’s poll of hundreds of cancer doctors worldwide, he discovered that
many oncologists would not take chemotherapy themselves if they had cancer. Publicity
about Abel’s research was completely suppressed in the U.S. (So much for freedom of
speech in the media.)
The great lack of trust is evident even
amongst doctors. Polls and questionnaires show that three doctors out of four (75 per
cent) would refuse any chemotherapy because of its ineffectiveness against the disease and
its devastating effects on the entire human organism. This is what many doctors and
scientists have to say about chemotherapy:“The majority of the cancer patients in
this country die because of chemotherapy, which does not cure breast, colon or lung
cancer. This has been documented for over a decade and nevertheless doctors still utilize
chemotherapy to fight these tumors.” (Allen Levin, MD, UCSF, “The Healing of
Cancer”, Marcus Books, 1990).
“If I were to contract cancer, I would
never turn to a certain standard for the therapy of this disease. Cancer patients who stay
away from these centers have some chance to make it.” (Prof. Gorge Mathe,
“Scientific Medicine Stymied”, Medicines Nouvelles, Paris, 1989)
“Dr. Hardin Jones, lecturer at the
University of California, after having analyzed for many decades statistics on cancer
survival, has come to this conclusion: ‘… when not treated, the patients do not
get worse or they even get better’. The unsettling conclusions of Dr. Jones have
never been refuted”. (Walter Last, “The Ecologist”, Vol. 28, no. 2,
March-April 1998)
“Many oncologists recommend
chemotherapy for almost any type of cancer, with a faith that is unshaken by the almost
constant failures”.(Albert Braverman, MD, “Medical Oncology in the 90s”,
Lancet, 1991, Vol. 337, p. 901)
“Our most efficacious regimens are
loaded with risks, side effects and practical problems; and after all the patients we have
treated have paid the toll, only a miniscule percentage of them is paid off with an
ephemeral period of tumoral regression and generally a partial one” (Edward G.
Griffin “World Without Cancer”, American Media Publications, 1996)
“After all, and for the overwhelming
majority of the cases, there is no proof whatsoever that chemotherapy prolongs survival
expectations. And this is the great lie about this therapy, that there is a correlation
between the reduction of cancer and the extension of the life of the patient”.
(Philip Day, “Cancer: Why we’re still dying to know the truth”, Credence
Publications, 2000)
“Several full-time scientists at the
McGill Cancer Center sent to 118 doctors, all experts on lung cancer, a questionnaire to
determine the level of trust they had in the therapies they were applying; they were asked
to imagine that they themselves had contracted the disease and which of the six current
experimental therapies they would choose. 79 doctors answered, 64 of them said that they
would not consent to undergo any treatment containing cis-platinum – one of the
common chemotherapy drugs they used – while 58 out of 79 believed that all the
experimental therapies above were not accepted because of the ineffectiveness and the
elevated level of toxicity of chemotherapy.” (Philip Day, “Cancer: Why
we’re still dying to know the truth”, Credence Publications, 2000)
Oncologists Must be Stopped
from Using Children for Experimentation
For example, the so-called
"state-of-the-art" chemo protocol that the oncologists had administered to our
son had proven its ineffectiveness in pediatric brain tumors many years before. In fact,
in 1994, the exact same chemo drugs Alexander received in 1998 had been administered to
children the same age with the same brain tumor (medulloblastoma) as Alexander. This
experiment proved so unsuccessful that tumors spread within five months and the
oncologists terminated the protocol. It was incredible to us to discover that chemotherapy
that had already proven so ineffective that it required termination was being presented to
parents as "state of the art" years later. We were never informed about the
failure of this therapy. We also discovered that we weren't the only parents being
purposefully misinformed. Today, parents are still being misled and children with brain
cancer are still getting these same toxic drugs that have proven their ineffectiveness in
the past. But even if you are informed that orthodox therapy does not work you still may
not have a choice. When we hesitated to bring Alexander in for chemo the oncologists were
already gearing up to take him from us by court order.
http://www.ouralexander.org/
Chemotherapy linked to lasting
brain change
The baseline level of brain activity
(indicated by yellow and orange) in the frontal cortex is higher in patients who have not
undergone chemotherapy (Image: Dan Silverman, UCLA) The side effects of chemotherapy
linger in the brain for at least a decade following treatment – it may explain why
many patients complain of cognitive difficulties years later, new research suggests. The
study on breast cancer patients pinpoints changes in brain metabolism that might account
for patients’ memory problems and difficulty in doing more than one thing at a time.
Chemotherapy involves powerful chemical
compounds which prevent cancer from spreading or slows its process. But a quarter of
patients complain of “chemo brain” – a condition that describes a sense of
reduced mental capacities, or lack of focus. One recent study suggests as many as 82% of
patients are affected. The effects are relatively subtle, says Daniel Silverman at the
David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, US.
“People are not going from an IQ of 120 to 80.” But the changes are real, he
adds: “Typically you’ll see a patient who says ‘I can’t multitask like
I used to’.”
Memory tests
Silverman and colleagues recruited 21 women
who had undergone surgery to remove breast cancer, 16 of whom had received chemotherapy
for the disease five to 10 years before the study. Subjects completed tasks that
tested their short-term memory as a machine recorded blood flow to regions of their brain,
using a scanning technique known as positron emission tomography (PET scanning). Greater
blood flow to a region indicates a higher rate of metabolism – more activity –
in those brain cells. Researchers compared the brain activity of these participants to
that of 13 healthy controls. Patients who had received chemotherapy had reduced rates of
metabolism in specific regions of the frontal cortex – an area involved in memory
recall – compared to the controls.
Toxic effects
The women whose scans revealed more
abnormalities in brain metabolism, were the ones that preformed worst in the short-term
memory test, the researchers found. The toxic effects of the cancer treatment –
either directly or indirectly – damages brain cells and reduces their function,
Silverman says. He suggests that closer monitoring of patiwents’ brain response to
chemotherapy could allow doctors to adjust treatment to avoid causing “chemo
brain”.
Boek - Questioning
Chemotherapy - Ralph W. Moss
Equinox Press
ISBN 188102525X
I started as a believer in chemotherapy. As
a science writer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, I wrote articles
praising the latest advances in chemotherapy. I was impressed by the then-emerging cures
for Hodgkin's disease, acute lymphocytic leukemia and some other relatively rare cancers.
At the same time, I began to learn how skeptical many good scientists were about
chemotherapy's future.
The major objection to "chemo"
was that these drugs did not discriminate between normal and cancerous cells, but attacked
all rapidly dividing cells . One scientist described this method as "trying to melt a
patient's left ear , while leaving the right one alone." It seemed particularly
inappropriate in the treatment of solid tumors of adults, which are often slow-growing.
Because chemotherapy drugs were general
cellular poisons, they could be terribly toxic. They were also very expensive for patients
and for society as a whole. When I learned about the links between the pharmaceutical
industry and the cancer establishment (later detailed in my book, The Cance r Industry) I
understood the commercial reason that such an inadequate modality was so heavily promoted.
In 1989, a German biostatistician named
Ulrich Abel, Ph.D. published a groundbreaking monograph called "Chemotherapy of
Advanced Epithelial Cancer. It made few waves in the U.S. and soon went out of print. In
this excellent work, however, Dr. Abel rigorously demonstrated that chemotherapy had never
been scientifically proven to extend life through randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in the
vast majority of "epithelial cancers." These are the common types of carcinoma
that affect most cancer patients in the Western world.
Some years later, in response to many
requests, I decided to write a critical book about chemotherapy (a sort of companion piece
to Cancer Therapy). I took Abel's out-of-print work as my starting point, but also
consulted the work of many other students of chemotherapy. In this book, I update
statistics and speak about all cancers and not just carcinomas. I go into depth on the
politics and economics of the chemotherapy industry, on the biases, fallacies and frauds
that occur, and on ways of warding off the sometimes catastrophic side effects that
accompany this treatment.
The essential point of the book is that one
must question the measure of success in chemotherapy. Oncologists have tended to equate an
increasing percentage of "responses" with progress. However, responses are
generally measurements of tumor shrinkage, for as little as one month's duration. One
cannot automatically assume that a response--even a complete response--will lead to
increased survival. One must look for increased survival. Yet the number of cancers for
which life prolongation through chemotherapy has been proven through randomized clinical
trials is very small. (I do bend over backwards to point these out, when they occur.)
So when a doctor says her regimen yields a
40 percent response rate, "what exactly is she promising? A short-term shrinkage of
tumors--or actual life-prolongation? What effect is this treatment likely to have on the
patient's quality of life? And what is the cost?" It is only by obtaining information
such as this that patients are able to make rational treatment choices. Questioning
Chemotherapy is intended to help patients by providing them with a critical perspective on
this now dominant modality.
http://www.ralphmoss.com/
How much harm does chemotherapy do?
There are three main areas of harm:
· Weakening the body's natural defences
· increasing mortality
· decreasing the quality of life
Weakening the immune system
Chemotherapy has been found to reduce the
activity of natural killer cells by 96%8. So if there are tumours growing elsewhere in the
body and the immune system helps to control tumour growth, then chemotherapy could make
things worse by allowing more rapid growth of other tumours present. However there is
little hard evidence from orthodox immunotherapy that the immune system is a major
controlling factor. In fact a recent editorial reporting on an immunotherapy conference in
Canberra in September 1998 suggests it might be a major factor only in cancers of viral
origin9. On the other hand Immuno-Augmentative Therapy as practised at the IAT Clinic in
the Bahamas appears to produce between 15 and 18% 5-year survival with late stage cancer
patients10. Similarly the Issels Wholebody Therapy produced 16.6% 5-year survival among
late-stage cancer patients11. (Expected 5-year survival for late-stage cancer patients
using orthodox therapies is less than 2%.) As these two therapies are based on boosting
the immune system using natural methods, it appears that that orthodox immunotherapy and
alternative immune-boosting techniques must be completely different.
Increasing mortality
By analysing non-cancer deaths among cancer
patients it is clear that orthodox therapies often do more harm than good, a phenomenon
that helps explain certain claims of apparently effective treatments. (For example cancer
treatment can damage the heart and cause deaths from heart failure. This means fewer
deaths from cancer.) As there is little evidence that surgery actually causes harm other
than temporarily suppressing the immune system8, it would appear that most of the harm is
done by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Analysis of the results of records of 1.2 million
cancer cases in the US SEER (Surveillance Evaluation & End Results) database showed
that non-cancer deaths accounted for 21% of all deaths. These deaths were in excess of the
rate expected for such patients. This excess was observed in all types of cancer with an
overall figure of 37%. The excess ranged from 9% for breast cancer to 173% for lung
cancer12. During the year following diagnosis this excess was about 5 times higher, so it
ranged from about 50% for breast cancer to about 800% for lung cancer. The authors
attributed this effect to the damage caused by cancer treatment (presumably mainly
radiotherapy and chemotherapy).
Decreasing the quality of life
There is no shortage of evidence that
chemotherapy usually causes a serious reduction in the quality of life. The only question
is whether or not the worsening in the quality of life is justified in view of the very
limited claimed increased survival.
http://www.ciss.org.au/documents/chemo2.html
REFERENCES
Moss, RW. Questioning Chemotherapy. Equinox
Press, New York 1995.
Lilleyman, JS. Childhood leukemia, The facts. OUP, Oxford, 1994.
Enstrom, JE & Austin, DF. Interpreting cancer survival rates. Science 1977; 195:
847-851.
Peto, J & Easton, D. Cancer treatment trials – past failures, current progress
and future prospects. Cancer Surv 1989; 8: 513-533.
Benjamin, DJ. The efficacy of surgical treatment of cancer. Medical Hypotheses 1993; 40
(2): 129-138.
Abel, U. Chemotherapy of advanced epithelial cancer: a critical review. Biomedicine &
Pharmacotherapy 1992; 46: 439-452.
Bross, ID. NEJM 1994; 331: 809.
Beitsch, P et al. Natural immunity in breast cancer patients during neoadjuvant
chemotherapy and after surgery. Surgical Oncology 1994; 3 (4): 211-219.
Goodnow, CC. Editorial. MJA 1998; 169: 570.
Walters, R. Options, The Alternative Cancer Therapy Book, Avery Publishing, New York,
1993.
Issels, J. Immunotherapy in Progressive Metastatic Cancer - A Fifteen-Year Follow-up.
Clinical Trials Journal, August 1970: 357-365 with editorial on pp 355-356.
Brown, Barry W et al. Non-cancer deaths in White Adult Cancer Patients. JNCI 1993; 85
(12): 979-987.
Chemotherapy Report, Do we need a new approach to cancer? Burzynski Research Institute
Home Page, http://www.cancermed.com/chemo.htm.
McKillop, WJ, et al. The use of expert surrogates to evaluate clinical trials in non-small
cell lung cancer. Br J Cancer 1986; 54: 661-667.
Hansen, HH. Advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: To treat or not to treat? J Clin Oncol
1987; 5: 1711-12.
Anonym. Ein gnadenloses Zuviel an Therapie. Teil I. Zweifel an den chemischen Waffen. Der
Spiegel, 1987; 26, 128-47.
Moore, MJ, Tannock, IF. How expert physicians would wish to be treated if they developed
genito-urinary cancer. Abstract No. 455. Proc. Amer. Soc. Clin. Oncol. 1988; 7: 118.
Holli, K, Hakama, M. Treatment of the terminal stages of breast cancer. BMJ. (Jan 7)
1989); 298(6665):13-14.
Bailar JC & Gornik HL. Cancer Undefeated. NEJM 1997; 336 (22): 1569-1574.
German magazine Der Spiegel blasts
chemotherapy
While I was in Germany last October an
article on chemotherapy appeared in Der Spiegel, which is Germany's - in fact Europe's -
highest-circulating news magazine. On average, over one million copies are sold every
week, making it the German equivalent of Time or Newsweek. The article, highly critical of
chemotherapy, created quite a stir. Der Spiegel, which has a history of being
iconoclastic, has criticized the cancer establishment before. In the early 1990s it gave
ample coverage to a critical report from Heidelberg epidemiologist Ulrich Abel, PhD,
showing that chemotherapy was ineffective in the treatment of advanced carcinomas. (It was
Abel's book that first inspired me to write Questioning Chemotherapy.) The latest article
shows that for patients in the advanced stages of the major forms of cancer, chemotherapy
has no appreciable effect on survival. This will come as no surprise to long-time readers
of this newsletter. But the Spiegel article comes at a time when the pharmaceutical
industry is already reeling from revelations of price gouging and the suppression of
research data that indicated life-threatening side effects from some of its best-selling
drugs. It follows a similarly hard-hitting exposé last spring in the American news
magazine, Fortune. Perhaps such widely circulated articles will lead to a public outcry or
at least to a changed perception of the value of chemotherapy—a treatment method that
normally goes unquestioned in the mainstream media.
http://www.cancerdecisions.com/011605_page.html
Chemo veroorzaakt vertraagde zware
schade aan het centrale zenuwgestel
Cancer treatment with chemotherapeutic
agents is often associated with delayed adverse neurological consequences - an occurrence
often referred to as “chemobrain” - that may compromise the quality of life of a
proportion of cancer survivors. Now, research published in the open access Journal of
Biology demonstrates that treatment with a single chemotherapeutic agent, 5-fluorouracil
(5-FU), by itself is sufficient to cause a syndrome of delayed degeneration in the central
nervous system (CNS). 5-FU is a widely used chemotherapeutic agent that is employed, alone
or in combination with other agents, in the treatment of cancers of the colon, rectum,
breast, stomach, pancreas, ovaries and bladder. Little is known about the side-effects of
chemotherapy on the CNS, despite their obvious clinical importance. Until now researchers
have not fully understood the underlying biology, including whether these effects require:
exposure to multiple chemotherapeutic agents; chemotherapeutic agents plus the body’s
own response to cancer; blood-brain barrier damage; or inflammation. Clinicians have also
lacked animal models to study this important problem.
Professor Mark Noble and colleagues of the
University of Rochester Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Institute and the Harvard
Medical School, Boston discovered that short-term systemic administration of 5-FU to mice
caused both acute CNS damage and a syndrome of progressively worsening delayed damage.
This damage was not self-repairing, and instead became worse over time. In addition, Noble
and colleagues also demonstrated that treatment with chemotherapy also had delayed effects
on the speed with which information is transferred from the ear to the brain. Myelin
sheaths are necessary for normal neuronal function. One key finding of the study was that
clinically relevant concentrations of 5-FU were toxic not only for dividing cells of the
CNS but also for the cells that produce the insulating myelin sheaths (non-dividing
oligodendrocytes). The delayed damage the researchers measured was to the myelinated
tracts of the CNS and associated with extensive myelin pathology. The findings regarding
the speed of ear-to-brain information transfer may offer a non-invasive means of analyzing
myelin damage associated with cancer treatment.
“Multiple clinical reports have
identified neurotoxicity as a complication of treatment regimens in which chemotherapeutic
agents such as 5-fluorouracil are components,” says Noble. “As treatments with
chemotherapeutic agents will clearly remain the standard of care for cancer patients for
many years to come, the need to better understand such damage is great.” Professor
Noble continues “These studies extend the field of stem cell medicine beyond the use
of cell transplantation for tissue repair. It is our knowledge of stem cell biology that
allows us to begin to understand some of the causes of this syndrome, as well as providing
the means of preventing or repairing this damage.” This research provides the first
demonstration that delayed CNS damage can be induced by a single chemotherapeutic agent
and also generates the first animal model of such damage. These studies further
demonstrate that this syndrome differs from that caused by irradiation and thus may
represent a new class of delayed CNS degenerative damage.
http://jbiol.com/press/noble.pdf
http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/pr/news/story.cfm?id=1963
Bij borstkanker minder chemo nodig
Duizenden borstkankerpatiënten krijgen
chemo terwijl ze dat bespaard zou kunnen blijven. Dit blijkt uit Amerikaans onderzoek.
http://www.nu.nl/news/1355708/151/rss/Bij_borstkanker_minder_chemo_nodig.html
Gezondheidsrisico's van
beroepsmatige blootstelling aan chemotherapie
Bij de huidige blootstellingsniveaus heeft
ongeveer 50% van de populatie oncologieverpleegkundigen een verhoogd risico op een
verlengde tijd tot zwangerschap vergeleken met niet-blootgestelde verpleegkundigen en
ongeveer 10% heeft een verhoogd risico op een vroeggeboorte of het krijgen van een kind
met een te laag geboortegewicht.
http://www.abc.uu.nl/newsagenda/news/october/
promotiesoct/43275main.html
Bijwerkingen bestraling genetisch
bepaald
Sommige kankerpatiënten lijken op basis
van hun erfelijke kenmerken extra gevoelig voor de bijwerkingen van de therapeutische
bestraling. Dat blijkt uit een publicatie van onderzoekers uit het Leids Universitair
Medisch Centrum (LUMC), het Academisch ziekenhuis in Uppsala (Zweden) en het Academisch
Medisch Centrum (AMC) in Amsterdam. De onderzoekers kunnen een relatie leggen tussen de
activiteit van groepen genen, en de kans dat een patiënt na bestraling ernstige,
chronische bijwerkingen ondervindt.
http://www.amc.nl/index.cfm?sid=221&contentitemid=125&itemid=95
Chemotherapie verandert de werking
van de hersenen
Volgens Dr. Daniel Silverman van de David
Geffen School of Medicine (UCLA) verandert de werking en doorbloeding van de hersenen tot
wel 10 jaar na de chemo behandeling. Dit verklaart ook de problemen van veel
kankerpatiënten die na de bestraling geheugenproblemen hebben, niet kunnen focussen of
niet meer meerdere dingen tegelijk kunnen doen.
http://healthsciences.ucla.edu/news/
Foute voeding in ziekenhuizen
Eén op de vier mensen in Europa overlijdt
aan kanker. Veel soorten kanker zijn mede ontstaan door een ongezonde manier van leven
("lifestyle-choices)". Gewoonten als roken, alcohol drinken, ongezonde voeding,
onverstandig zonnen, veel stress en blootstelling aan toxische stoffen (diesel, lood,
kwik, cadmium) kunnen allen bijdragen aan een verhoogde kans op kanker. Als een bepaalde
levensstijl kanker kan bevorderen zou je verwachten dat patiënten bij de behandeling ook
adviezen krijgen in het kiezen van een gezondere manier van leven en dat er meer aandacht
aan preventie wordt gegeven. Helaas is er nog nauwelijks effect van preventieve
maatregelen te merken. Er wordt zeer ongezond gegeten, veel mensen hebben tekorten aan
vitaminen en mineralen en het aantal vrouwen dat rookt is de laatste jaren alleen maar
toegenomen. Bovendien blijft de commercie ons bestoken met reclames om aan te tonen hoe
fijn het is om vlees te eten en hoe goed je je voelt door snoep, chips of cola te
nuttigen. Zelfs kankerpatiënten krijgen in ziekenhuizen vaak extra vlees, suikerdrankjes
en toetjes om aan te sterken voor de komende chemotherapie. En dat terwijl bekend is dat
deze middelen ook de groei van tumorcellen stimuleren en dat ze het immuunsysteem
onderdrukken.
Meer info hier:
http://www.natuurarts.nl/achemo.htm
Vrouw (40) dood na dubbele
bestralingdosis
Ernstige berekeningsfouten bij de
bestraling van een kankergezwel, blijken begin vorige maand het leven te hebben gekost van
een 40-jarige vrouw uit Hoek van Holland.
http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/53704071/Vrouw_(40)_
dood_na_br___dubbele_bestralingdosis.html?p=5,1
Lieve Astrid
wat heb je een pijn gehad. Maar die pijn is nu voorbij. Wat heb je geknokt. Maar je heb
het gevecht verloren. De kanker was weg, maar de arstsen hebben je verziekt. Laat dit een
les zijn voor de Daniel de Hoed kliniek.
Voor jou ging het sterven niet ineens Je
hebt er moedig voor gestreden.
Niemand kan weten wat jij heb gevoelt.
En ook niet wat je hebt geleden.
Waarom zijn er zoveel vragen.
Waarom is er zoveel pijn
Waarom zijn er zoveel dingen
Die niet te begrijpen zijn
http://joycedekorte.web-log.nl/joycedekorte/2006/10/dag_lieve_as_ru.html
http://joycedekorte.web-log.nl/joycedekorte/2006/11/vandaag_in_de_t.html
Chemotherapie heeft nadelig effect
op botgroei en –sterkte
Steeds meer kinderen genezen van kanker,
maar het is nog onduidelijk wat op latere leeftijd de gevolgen zijn van de behandeling.
Barbara van Leeuwen onderzocht bij proefdieren wat het effect is op de groei van het
skelet van drie bij kinderen veelgebruikte chemotherapeutische middelen. Ze ontdekte dat
de botten zwakker zijn en sneller breken, en dat het gehele skelet kleiner blijft. Van
Leeuwen promoveerde op 14 mei 2003 in de medische wetenschappen.
Onderzoekers hebben de afgelopen jaren met
name onderzocht wat de nadelige effecten van bestraling zijn voor kinderen. Dit kan leiden
tot cognitieve problemen en een verstoring van de hormoonbalans. Ook van bepaalde
chemotherapeutica werd bekend dat er op de lange duur ongewenste bijwerkingen zijn, onder
andere voor het hart en de nieren.
Drie tegenwoordig bij kinderen
veelgebruikte chemotherapeutische middelen zijn doxorubicine, methotrexaat en cisplatinum.
Van Leeuwen testte deze drie bij ratten in de groei en onderzocht de gevolgen voor het
skelet. Chemotherapeutica remmen de celdeling. Dat is gewenst voor tumorcellen, maar ook
de cellen in gezonde weefsels reageren op deze middelen. Vooral voor kinderen is dit
nadelig omdat ze nog in de groei zijn. Bij een behandeling krijgen kankerpatiënten vaak
een combinatie van verschillende middelen. Om duidelijk te krijgen welk middel welke
nadelen heeft, testte Van Leeuwen de chemotherapeutica afzonderlijk. Methotrexaat en
vooral doxorubicine blijken de lengtegroei te remmen; cisplatinum heeft hierop geen
effect. Ook de met de behandeling gepaard gaande verminderde eetlust en de ondervoeding
die daar het gevolg van is, blijkt bij te dragen aan een groeiachterstand. Vervolgens
stelt de promovendus vast dat een afname van de botsterkte door alle drie de middelen
wordt veroorzaakt. De buigweerstand blijkt te verminderen, waardoor de botten sneller
breken. Tot slot onderzocht Van Leeuwen welke verandering er optreedt in het breukpatroon
van de groeischijf. /ImK
Barbara van Leeuwen (Capelle a/d IJssel,
1971) studeerde geneeskunde in Rotterdam. Ze verrichtte haar promotieonderzoek bij de
basiseenheid Chirurgische oncologie van de RUG. Het onderzoek is gefinancierd door
Stichting Kinderoncologie Groningen (SKOG). Momenteel is Van Leeuwen assistent geneeskunde
in opleiding bij de afdeling Heelkunde van het Academisch Ziekenhuis Groningen.
Bron: Universiteit Groningen
Beperken van bijwerkingen
chemotherapie dikkedarmkanker
Bij chemotherapie is het belangrijk om de,
vaak ernstige, nadelige effecten van de medicatie te voorkomen, beperken en behandelen.
Frank Jansman onderzocht hoe de behandeling van dikkedarmkanker met chemotherapie
optimaler kan zijn en stelt dat de ziekenhuisapotheker hierin een grotere rol kan spelen.
Op basis van Jansmans onderzoek kan de ziekenhuisapotheker betere individuele
doseerschema's en medicatiedoses bepalen.
De promovendus pleit er onder meer voor om
de dosis niet alleen te berekenen op basis van het lichaamsoppervlak van de patiënt, maar
meer individuele factoren in overweging te nemen. Van verschillende soorten medicijnen
bracht hij in kaart welke factoren de bijwerkingen kunnnen beïnvloeden. Dit gaat om vele
factoren zoals leeftijd, geslacht en conditie of lage aantallen witte bloedcellen en
nierfunctiestoornissen. Verder maakte de promovendus een overzicht van maatregelen ter
preventie of verlichting van bijwerkingen waarmee de ziekenhuisapotheker een bijdrage aan
de behandelrichtlijn kan leveren.
Interacties tussen chemotherapeutica en
andere geneesmiddelen kunnen bijwerkingen veroorzaken en de effectiviteit hinderen, maar
toch wordt in de praktijk nauwelijks rekening gehouden met interacties. Jansman
inventariseerde daarom geneesmiddelen-interacties met drie soorten chemotherapie
(5-fluorouracil, irinotecan en oxaliplatin), waarmee in de praktijk ten onrechte geen
rekening wordt gehouden. Tot slot bepaalde hij dat een nieuw, oraal te gebruiken middel
(capecitabine) kostenbesparend is ten opzichte van het het intraveneus toegediende
5-fluorouracil.
Frank Jansman (Zwolle, 1966) studeerde
farmacie in Groningen. Hij verrichtte zijn hoofdonderzoek in de Isala klinieken te Zwolle
(en bepaalde aspecten ook in de ziekenhuizen van Leeuwarden, Enschede, Arnhem en Nijmegen)
met wetenschappelijke begeleiding van de onderzoekschool GUIDE en de Basiseenheid
Farmacotherapie en Farmaceutische Patiëntenzorg van de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Het
onderzoek is deels gefinancierd door de Isala klinieken (zorgvernieuwingsproject) en de
Koninklijke Nederlandse Maatschappij ter bevordering der Pharmacie (KNMP). Jansman is
verbonden als ziekenhuisapotheker aan de Isala klinieken te Zwolle. Hij volgt daar nog de
opleiding voor klinisch farmacoloog.
Bron: Universiteit Groningen
Waarom is het risico op hart- en
vaatziekten verhoogd na zaadbalkanker?
Testiskanker is een goed te genezen vorm
van kanker. De behandeling van uitgezaaide testiskanker bestaat uit het verwijderen van
het aangedane testikel en chemotherapie. De bijwerkingen worden soms pas jaren later
zichtbaar. Zo heeft deze groep mannen na tien jaar een grotere kans op de ontwikkeling van
hart- en vaatziekten dan mannen in de rest van de bevolking.
Janine Nuver deed onderzoek naar de
ontwikkeling van deze complicaties en zocht naar de oorzaken. Ze stelt vast dat deze
patiënten vaker biochemische stoornissen in hun bloed hebben. Mogelijk verhogen deze
stoornissen het risico op slagaderverkalking. Daarnaast blijkt het verwijderen van één
testikel en chemotherapie schadelijk te zijn voor de testosteronproductie. Ook dat zou een
rol kunnen spelen bij de ontwikkeling van hart- en vaatziekten. De testosteronspiegel van
patiënten met verschillende risicofactoren voor hart- en vaatziekten blijkt namelijk
lager te zijn dan die van patiënten zonder deze risicofactoren. Tenslotte brengt
chemotherapie mogelijk ook direct schade toe aan de bloedvaten.
De promovendus beveelt daarom aan om
patiënten na de behandeling periodiek te screenen op risicofactoren voor hart- en
vaatziekten.
Janine Nuver (Bedum, 1976) studeerde
geneeskunde in Groningen . Ze verrichte haar onderzoek bij de afdeling Medische Oncologie
van het Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen. Het onderzoek is gefinancierd door het
Koningin Wilhelmina Fonds / de Nederlandse Kankerbestrijding. Momenteel is Nuver
assistent-geneeskundige in opleiding tot internist in het Medisch Centrum Leeuwarden.
Bron: Universiteit Groningen
Overbodige operatie en chemokuur
bij slokdarmkanker voorkomen
Patiënten met slokdarmkanker worden soms
ten onrechte geopereerd. En niet elke patiënt heeft baat bij chemotherapie. Michiel
Heeren ontdekte dat de PET-scan enige uitkomst kan bieden bij het vaststellen van de
juiste behandeling.
Een operatie is alleen zinvol als de
slokdarmtumor nog niet uitgezaaid is. De gebruikelijke CT-scan weet deze uitzaaiingen
echter niet altijd op te sporen. De meer geavanceerde onderzoekstechniek Positron Emissie
Tomografie (PET) blijkt in sommige aspecten nauwkeuriger te zijn, constateert Heeren. Toch
weet ook de PET-scan in een aantal gevallen geen onderscheid te maken tussen uitzaaiingen,
ontstekingen of infecties. Bij een positieve uitslag is aanvullend onderzoek dus aan te
bevelen.
Chemotherapie voorafgaand aan een
slokdarm-operatie slaat soms niet aan. De kuur vermindert dan de kwaliteit van leven,
voegt niets toe aan de levensverwachting en vertraagt een mogelijk zinvolle operatie. Een
beoordeling vooraf - op basis van de bepaling van bepaalde tumormarkers - blijft echter
lastig, ontdekte Heeren. Door operatief verwijderd tumorweefsel te testen op bepaalde
eiwitten, kan wel iets gezegd worden over de prognose na aanvullende chemotherapie.
Heeren onderzocht tevens de voorspellende
waarde van het eiwit COX-2, dat betrokken zou zijn bij de vorming van slokdarmtumoren. De
aanmaak van dit eiwit blijkt geremd te kunnen worden door bepaalde ontstekingswerende
stoffen, zogeheten COX-2 remmers.
Michiel Heeren (Vlissingen, 1967) studeerde
medische wetenschappen aan de Vrije Universiteit van Brussel. Hij verrichtte zijn
promotieonderzoek bij de afdeling Oncologische Chirurgie van het Universitair Medisch
Centrum Groningen. Het onderzoek is deels gefinancierd door de Jan Cornelis de Cock
stichting. Momenteel is Heeren werkzaam in het Maaslandziekenhuis te Sittard als
oncologisch chirurg.
Bron: Universiteit Groningen
Chemotherapie op maat op basis van
je genen
Wetenschappers van de Duke University's
Institute for Genome Sciences hebben een serie genen tests ontwikkeld dat de unieke
samenstelling van een kankertumor kan analyseren en zodoende kan bepalen welk
chemotherapie de sterkste aanval op de kanker kan bieden. De nu gedane tests waren in 80%
van de gevallen juist in het voorspellen van de juiste therapie.
http://www.dukemednews.duke.edu/news/article.php?id=9916
Dr. Ulrich Abel analyzed thousands
of scientific articles
In 1990, the highly respected German
epidemiologist, Dr. Ulrich Abel from the Tumor Clinic of the University of Heidelberg,
conducted the most comprehensive investigation of every major clinical study on
chemotherapy drugs ever done. Abel contacted 350 medical centers and asked them to send
him anything they had ever published on chemotherapy. He also reviewed and analyzed
thousands of scientific articles published in the most prestigious medical journals. It
took Abel several years to collect and evaluate the data. Abel's epidemiological study,
which was published on August 10, 1991 in The Lancet, should have alerted every doctor and
cancer patient about the risks of one of the most common treatments used for cancer and
other diseases. In his paper, Abel came to the conclusion that the overall success rate of
chemotherapy was "appalling." According to this report, there was no scientific
evidence available in any existing study to show that chemotherapy can "extend in any
appreciable way the lives of patients suffering from the most common organic
cancers." Abel points out that chemotherapy rarely improves the quality of life. He
describes chemotherapy as "a scientific wasteland" and states that even though
there is no scientific evidence that chemotherapy works, neither doctor nor patient is
willing to give up on it. The mainstream media has never reported on this hugely important
study, which is hardly surprising, given the enormous vested interests of the groups that
sponsor the media, that is, the pharmaceutical companies. A recent search turned up
exactly zero reviews of Abel's work in American journals, even though it was published in
1990. I believe this is not because his work was unimportant -- but because it is
irrefutable.
http://houston.craigslist.org/pol/768479395.html
Linus Pauling - Everyone should
know that the “war on cancer” is largely a fraud
Despite the public’s support and
growing interest in nontoxic, noninvasive alternative approaches, the medical
establishment has waged a fierce campaign against such therapies, labeling them
quackery.... Official medicine pours billions of dollars into narrow research supporting
chemotherapy, radiation and surgery as the major weapons in ‘the war on cancer.’
That war has been a total failure in slowing the death rate... “‘Everyone should
know that the “war on cancer” is largely a fraud,’ wrote Dr. Linus Pauling,
two-time Nobel Prize Winner.
ACS (American Cancer Society)
"The field of U.S. cancer care is
organized around a medical monopoly that ensures a continuous flow of money to the
pharmaceutical companies, medical technology firms, research institutes, and government
agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Cancer Institute
(NCI) and quasi-public organizations such as the American Cancer Society (ACS)." Dr
John Diamond, M.D., & Dr Lee Cowden, M.D.
http://www.encognitive.com/organizations/acs-american-cancer-society-2008-apr-12.html
Are we treating cancer, but killing
the patient?
Dr. George J Georgiou, Ph.D.,ND.,D.Sc (AM)
Don't we live in a crazy toxic world! It's
unbelievable some of the things that intelligent human beings get up to, destroying their
own kind in the name of "medicine!" Read the following paragraph to understand
what I mean:
The consultant oncologist picks up the
phone angrily and calls his oncologist colleague who has been treating the patient sitting
in front of him, “stop all chemotherapy immediately,” he says, “you have
completely destroyed her liver which is pretty much irrecoverable!” This is exactly
how this patient, who I was seeing for support using natural medicine, told me the story.
She has received over 20 courses of chemotherapy and radiation treatment, plus countless
surgeries, for a breast cancer that metastized to the bones. Only God knows what her
destiny will be!
Download pdf
Massive gene screening points way to more
effective chemotherapy
Using
a technology that can quickly screen all 20,000-plus human genes for biological activity,
scientists have isolated 87 genes that seem to affect how sensitive human cancer cells are
to certain chemotherapy drugs.
http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/utsw/cda/dept353744/files/355758.html
Herbs may help beat chemo pain
The
agony of side-effects caused by breast cancer drugs could be overcome with Chinese herbal
remedies, experts believe. They say medicinal herbs may protect immune systems from the
effects of chemotherapy. About 60 per cent of women having chemotherapy for the disease
experience side-effects ranging from nausea, vomiting and fatigue to inflammation of the
gut lining, a lower blood cell count and a weaker immune system.
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=45679&in_page_id=34
Researchers find the mechanism by which
cells resist chemotherapy
team
of researchers from the UAB's Mutagenesis Group, led by Dr Jordi Surrallés, has
identified one of the mechanisms used by cancer cells to resist chemotherapy.
In his paper, to be published in The EMBO Jorunal, Dr Surrallés describes how proteins of
the Fanconi/BRCA pathway recognise the presence of genetic mutations in order to repair
them. The researchers also found that alteration of this mechanism makes tumour cells much
more sensitive to certain drugs. This discovery will make it possible to develop
strategies to make tumours more vulnerable to chemotherapy.
One of the main mechanisms responsible for repairing mutations in humans is the
cancer-suppressing Fanconi anaemia/BRCA pathway. This mechanism makes it possible for the
cells to identify genetic mutations in order to correct them.
If this mechanism does not function correctly, it leads to Fanconi anaemia, a rare genetic
disorder characterised by progressive bone-marrow failure, various congenital
malformations and a very high risk of cancer.
http://www.uab.es/servlet/Satellite?cid=1096476786473&pagename=UAB%2FPage%2
FTemplatePlanaNoticiasDetall&c=Page¬iciaid=1096483204993
Radiation for breast cancer ups heart
disease risk
As
a treatment for breast cancer, radiation, even modern regimens, appears to increase the
risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a report in the Journal of the National
Cancer Institute for March 7.Earlier reports have indicated that radiotherapy regimens
used in the 1970s elevate heart disease risk, but it has been less clear if more recent
regimens also increase the risk.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2007-03-07
T030921Z_01_TON711346_RTRUKOC_0_US-RADIATION-BREAST-CANCER.xml&page
Number=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=NewsArt-C1-ArticlePage2
Major discovery raises prospect of
better patient care by improving platelet life span
The
research team led by Drs Benjamin Kile and David Huang has discovered that platelet life
span is controlled by two key molecules. The discovery raises the prospect of developing a
new drug to prolong the life span of platelets stored in blood banks, effectively
increasing the availability of this life-saving blood product.
An undesirable side effect of cancer chemotherapy is extensive bruising and potentially
life-threatening bleeding. This is caused by the unintended depletion of platelets, tiny
circulating blood cells that are essential for blood clotting and wound healing.
Consequently, the well being of some patients depends upon platelet transfusions,
particularly during the vulnerable periods that follow anti-cancer treatment. The
significant demand for high quality platelets, coupled with their short shelf life of only
five days, presents major logistical challenges in clinical practice.
The scientific team has found that two specialised molecules act in opposition to each
other to control platelet life span by regulating the process known as
"apoptosis." This term refers to the normal and healthy self destruction of old,
damaged and surplus cells. One protein (known as Bcl-xL) acts to preserve the life of the
platelet, while the other protein (Bak) prepares the cell to self-destruct after its usual
life span within the body - about a week.
WEHI's Dr David Huang said, "Apoptosis is an essential process, common in other
cells, but the central role it plays in controlling the life span of the highly
specialised platelet has not been previously appreciated. With this new knowledge, we are
in a much stronger position to devise better therapies for the management of
platelet-related diseases."
Dr Kile added, "For fifty years doctors have speculated about what controls platelet
life span. We now know the identity of the precise molecular switch responsible. The team
is now actively pursuing a drug development program aimed at manipulating this switch in
order to prolong the life span of blood bank platelets, increasing their availability to
patients receiving cancer treatment and others in danger of serious bleeding".
At the opposite end of the scale, shortening platelet life span may be useful in the
treatment of other diseases. For instance, too many platelets can trigger dangerous blood
clots leading to strokes or heart attacks. Reducing platelet life span may therefore prove
valuable in the prevention and management of these life-threatening conditions.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-03/ra-mdr032007.php
A faster way to recover from
chemotherapy and marrow transplant
Researchers
at Children's Hospital Boston report finding a practical way to increase stem cells in
blood, suggesting a possible treatment to help patients recover from chemotherapy or bone
marrow transplant for cancer, regaining immune function more quickly. The discovery,
reported in the June 21 Nature and made possible through high-volume drug screening in
fish, marks the first time stem-cell production has been induced by a small-molecule drug.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-06/chb-afw061407.php
Chemo/radiation therapy may fuel cancer
spread
Treating
cancer with surgery, chemotherapy or radiation may sometimes cause tumors to spread,
researchers say. Tests in mice show that using the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin or
radiation both raised levels of TGF-beta, which in turn helped breast cancer tumors spread
to the lung. But using an antibody to block TGF-beta stopped the process, Dr. Carlos
Arteaga and colleagues at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee have reported. "We'll be
looking to see in what proportion of patients the serum and tumor TGF-beta goes up, and
whether the increase correlates with the inability of the therapy to eliminate the cancer
in the breast," Arteaga said. Higher levels of TGF-beta after treatment may be a way
to predict which patients are likely to have their cancer come back after treatment,
Arteaga added. TGF-beta, however, is not the only element that is having this effect. Many
other compounds, including some immune system signaling chemicals, are also associated
with tumor spread and growth. Researchers are also testing drugs that interfere with
TGF-beta to see if they improve chances of survival. [Frank]
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=5148§ionid=3510210
Chemotherapy Fog Is No Longer Ignored as
Illusion
On
an Internet chat room popular with breast cancer survivors, one thread — called
“Where’s My Remote?” — turns the mental fog known as chemo brain into
a stand-up comedy act. When she can’t remember where she parked her car, Lu Ann
Hudson uses a key fob that sets off a beep in it. One woman reported finding five unopened
gallons of milk in her refrigerator and having no memory of buying the first four. A
second had to ask her husband which toothbrush belonged to her. At a family celebration,
one woman filled the water glasses with turkey gravy. Another could not remember how to
carry over numbers when balancing the checkbook. [Ben Licher]
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/29/health/29chemo.html?ex=1335499200
&en=052308156473c531&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Temporary Brain Shrinkage May
Explain 'Chemobrain'
The thought-fogging phenomenon known as "chemobrain" appears to be related to a
reversible shrinking of brain structures induced by chemotherapy, researchers here have
found.
http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/
Chemotherapy/tb/4590
Study says chemotherapy kills healthy
brain cells
New research by the University of Rochester Medical Center has found that chemotherapy
drugs may be harmful to healthy brain cells. The results, which also indicate that
chemotherapy may cause long-term brain damage, represent the closest that scientists have
come to pinpointing the underlying cause of "chemo brain," a common side effect
of cancer treatment.
http://www.pharmaceutical-business-review.com/article_news.
asp?guid=FC697238-2328-4631-9B81-CE175880C390
Common Cancer Treatments Toxic to
Healthy Brain Cells
Common drugs used to treat cancer may be more harmful to healthy brain cells than the
cancer cells that they are intended to destroy. That is the conclusion of a study
conducted by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center and published today
in the Journal of Biology. The results, which also indicate that chemotherapy may cause
long-term brain damage, represent the closest that scientists have come to pinpointing the
underlying physiological cause of “chemo brain,” a common side effect of cancer
treatment that scientists are only now beginning to comprehend.
http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/pr/news/story.cfm?id=1312
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