FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
How
is your service different from other cancer research services?
We
customize our information and resources to your particular needs.
We listen very carefully to your preferences of treatments and tailor
the information on cancer treatment options accordingly.
The
biggest concern of cancer patients is that they are overwhelmed with
information and feel they need someone who is knowledgeable, compassionate
and available to consult with when the need arises. As one of our
clients said, CANHELP's service "has shifted me from an incompetent
and frightened patient to an empowered, informed and determined-to-live-through-this
individual...I have a team of my own creation and it continues to
grow and evolve to my needs." There is no other service available
as far as we know that provides this kind of an opportunity.
What
treatments would you research that my team consisting of a surgeon,
oncologist and radiologist would not already have offered?
At
CANHELP we respect and search for treatments that work, whether they
are traditional, cutting-edge, complementary or alternative treatments.
For example, an oncologist will traditionally treat lung cancer patients
with a chemotherapy combination such as Carboplatin and Taxol. Chemotherapy,
the literature amply demonstrates, does not enhance survival more
than a few months, usually less than a year. Then, when the prescribed
regimen fails, the doctor customarily offers yet another chemo regimen.
While this may destroy a few more cancer cells briefly, it also weakens
the patient’s basic immune system defense and, in the long run,
often hastens the patient’s demise. I often suggest that my
client might benefit from a specific herbal soup combination, which,
according to a study published in a peer-reviewed medical journal,
gets better results than any chemotherapy program.
Do you only suggest
alternative therapies?
No,
we do not limit ourselves by any doctrine other than what will work
best for the patient. Chemotherapy often works very well to stop rapid
progression of disease. In the hematologic diseases, such as leukemia,
it works better than it does with solid tumors. Therapeutic failure
can be greatly minimized by prior testing of a chemotherapeutic agent
against a small excised tissue sample or blood sample (in case of
leukemia) from the patient. There is now also extensive DNA testing
on micrometastases in blood available in Europe, which often identifies
different chemotherapy protocols traditionally used for the primary
cancer with very encouraging results.
Do
you recommend clinical trials?
We
are uniquely concerned with our client’s quality of life and
survival. Unless the clinical trials involve fairly non-toxic agents
such as a vaccine, a biological response modifier or immune stimulating
therapy, and/or are in a higher phase of testing and have shown
significant success up to that point, we usually do not suggest the
client gets involved with clinical trials.
A word of caution about lclinical trials from scientists
at Boston's Dana Farber Cancer Institute came in a report in the January 2004
Lancet (a prestigious medical journal): "Despite widespread belief
that enrollment in clinical trials leads to improved outcomes in patients
with cancer, there are insufficient data to conclude that such a trial
effect exists." The authors explain that participating in a clinical
trial is mainly an altruistic act, something a cancer patient does
"for improving treatment of future patients," not for enhancing
his or her own chances of survival.
What do you think
of immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy
can be extremely helpful to a patient as a prophylactic means of warding
off a recurrence, once they have minimal disease. Many patients are
understandably happy to get on with their life once they have finished
their traditional therapy. However, the next six months may be a window
of opportunity to encourage the immune system to wipe out any remaining
cancer cells. Immunotherapy such as vaccines, powerful herbal remedies
and supplements, administered by a knowledgeable medical practitioner,
can be of great value.
Is
it wise for a cancer patient to go to the most "respected"
cancer hospitals?
Not
always--however, it is very important to see diagnosticians at major
cancer treatment centers. What we believe is important for the cancer
patient, is not only to work with a highly knowledgeable, brilliant
doctor, but also one who is compassionate and willing to listen to
the cancer patient. Moreover, we recommend clients search out the
oncologist who is willing to try the unusual, in other words someone
who can function as a "gourmet chef of oncology".
Will
CANHELP's services provide me with a cure for my cancer?
We
do not claim to have a cure for cancer, however we do have clients
who have recovered from very difficult cancer situations. The cancer
patient's attitude and will-to-live is as much a part of the healing
process as the remedies and therapies they select. When you feel empowered
in the treatments you choose, the potential of healing is huge!
We
all have to do our best to be well-educated and prepared in dealing
with cancer and at the same time we need to realize there are no quarantees
whether we are doing aggressive chemotherapies or alternative therapies.
This is not an easy concept for cancer patients to embrace, however,
in my opinion, having been there myself, it is critical to our well-being.
We
have cancer clients who have been cured from their cancer by following
up on the treatment options we offer. We have an 84 yr old pancreatic
cancer client who was sent home to die, who is still very much alive
without any signs of cancer for over four years, and a young woman
who had a hepatocellular cancer who has been cancer free for over
a decade. A 92-year old man with early prostate cancer with a PSA
of 11 refused a biopsy and instead choose a novel treatment called
HIFU outside of this country and has now a PSA of 0.5. This elderly
gentleman traveled from the East Coast to Mexico after careful considerations
on the pros and cons of therapies available. It took a lot of courage
to travel that far for care. We are very proud of him!
