The Beautiful Truth

I recently watched a very thought-provoking documentary called The Beautiful Truth.  The Beautiful Truth introduces viewers to an alternative (and controversial) cancer therapy called Gerson Therapy, which is based on Dr. Max Gerson’s findings that diet could, and did, cure cancer.  Dr. Gerson’s work is summarized in his book—A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases and the Cure of Advanced Cancer. 

I am intrigued by the concept of Gerson Therapy, but I cannot fully believe what is presented in the documentary without doing some research myself.  To start, I ordered Gerson’s original book from Amazon.  (Unfortunately, the book is out of stock so it may be awhile before I can delve into it.) 

Does anyone know more about Gerson Therapy?  I plan to write additional posts about this therapy once I learn more about it.

Even if you don’t believe in the therapy (or its concept), The Beautiful Truth is still a must-see documentary. 

How Many Types of Cancer Are There?

Just how many types of cancer are there? 

I asked myself that question today, and I did a google search to find the answer (please correct me if you know otherwise).

The answer is:  (at least) 200 different types of cancer.

With so many types of human cancer, you can begin to understand how it affects such vast quantities of people. 

If you want to learn more about different types of cancer, go to the National Cancer Institute.  Not only do they have a list of common cancer types, they also have a very extensive A to Z list of cancers.

Image Credit: National Cancer Institute

Cancer Patient Stories

The Mayo Clinic website is an excellent resource for current cancer research.  However, I was surprised to discover that the Mayo Clinic website also has a fantastic page devoted to cancer patient stories.

Image Credit: Mayo Clinic

Cancer Type and Colors

Looking for gift ideas this holiday season?  Choose Hope offers inspirational and humorous products designated by color for each cancer.  So far, Choose Hope has donated over $250,000 to cancer research.  Purchase their products and help support cancer research!

 

Image Credit: Choose Hope

Vanishing Act

When most people think of cancer, they don’t think of the disease vanishing without treatment. But that is exactly what new evidence is pointing to—cancers can vanish without treatment!

Don’t stop your treatment just yet though. So far, there is only data (from The Journal of the American Medical Association) that shows breast cancer and prostate cancer may disappear on their own. Furthermore, it’s tricky to decide if and when to stop treatments. On the brighter side, it is very promising that doctors and researchers alike are admitting that cancer does have the potential to go backward and stop. While there are still many skeptics, Dr. Robert M. Kaplan, chairman of the department of health services at the School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, states this about disappearing tumors: “At the end of the day, I’m not sure how certain I am about this, but I do believe it. The weight of the evidence suggests that there is reason to believe.”

Much more research is needed to fully understand the current state of cancer; however, its dynamic nature could lead to its own future demise.

To learn more:
Cancers Can Vanish Without Treatment, but How?

Rethinking Screening for Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer

Image Credit: The New York Times and Dana Neely/Corbis

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Check out Susan G. Komen for the Cure for more detailed information.

Image Credit: Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Monsters Inside Me

Although it isn't tumor-related, the show—Monsters Inside Me—does explore the realm of parasites. So, it’s in the spirit of Tumors Galore's mission.

I have only watched a few episodes, but the show is great! You can check it out at Monsters Inside Me. There’s even a section where you can meet the parasites! The parasites in pictures section is especially gruesome.

Image Credit: Animal Planet

Tumor Streetlight

I discovered some cool tumor artwork in the Railyard District of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Here is a photograph that I took of a tumor streetlight:

Tumor Streetlight (in Attack Mode) in Santa Fe, New Mexico

Maintenance Therapy

Even with huge sums of money funding cancer research, the newest prognosis is simply longer chemotherapy. Doctors want to treat cancer patients continuously with drugs in the hope that tumors can be kept under control. This maintenance therapy won’t cure cancer, but it does offer potential to keep it in check.

Maintenance therapy isn’t new, but its usage is growing. Given this fact, it would be beneficial to know the answers to the following questions:

1. Does longer-term use of drugs really prolong the lives of cancer patients?
2. Will longer-term use of drugs subject cancer patients to more side effects?
3. Will tumors become resistant to the drugs over time?
4. Do greedy drug companies simply want more people using their drugs for increased periods of time?

Many (if not all) of these questions cannot be answered—at least not yet. At the surface, there may be a good rationale for maintenance therapy; however, doctors and patients need to dig deeper before actively engaging in the treatment.


References
Pollack, A. (2009, July 20). Considering longer chemotherapy. The New York Times, p. D1.

New Hope for Dog Cancer

If your dog has cancer, there is a new drug that may help. Manufactured by Pfizer Animal Health Inc., Palladia has been approved to treat canine cutaneous mast cell tumors. This type of canine skin cancer can be fatal, so Palladia’s development represents a major step in fighting dog cancer. The drug works by eliminating blood supply to the tumor and, hence, effectively killing tumor cells.

Example of a canine mast cell tumor:

Image Credit: Go Pets America