Category Archives: Cancer

Addresses the main subject matter of this web-site – CANCER.

Lung Cancer Survivor’s Story: Don’t Ignore the Symptoms

I’m too busy to have cancer! With a full-time job, house, social life, dating, cycling and traveling, how do you put it all on pause for an illness? Back in 2007, I was burning the candle at both ends. I felt so tired and achy all of the time, so I stopped exercising because I didn’t have the energy. It seemed to all spiral down after that.

In August 2007, I kept having pains in my chest, but when I went to the doctor, he said maybe I hurt myself at the gym, bruised some cartilage or it might be a strain. He gave me pain pills and told me it might take some time. Nothing abnormal showed up on the x-ray. The doctors were focusing on my bones, though, not my lungs. Continue reading

Vitamin D deficiency directly linked to your risk for cancer

What are you doing to lower your risk of cancer? Perhaps you’re going out of your way to get organic food to avoid the cancer risks associated with pesticides, or maybe you’re using natural cleaning products around your house. You might be making a conscious effort to consume more superfoods and get more exercise, but are you keeping tabs on your vitamin D levels? This often-overlooked factor is linked to your cancer risk in a surprisingly strong way. Continue reading

I wish I had known sooner

Alex Trebek wants you to learn the signs of pancreatic cancer

The overall five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is 9%

He’ll take “awareness” for $1,000.

Jeopardy” host Alex Trebek drew on his personal experience with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer in a new public-service announcement, urging the public to learn more about the disease and raise awareness ahead of World Pancreatic Cancer Day on Nov. 21.

“In order to help patients fight and survive this disease, more attention and awareness are needed,” Trebek, 79, said in a one-minute video spot in support of the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition. “I wish I had known sooner that the persistent stomach pain I experienced prior to my diagnosis was a symptom of pancreatic cancer.” Continue reading

Cancer Immunotherapy Resistance Due to Metabolic Imbalance

Immunotherapy has been a boon to those suffering from severe cancers. The science has been so transformative that just last year, three pioneering researchers won the Nobel Prize for their discoveries in the underlying immunological mechanisms that make immunotherapy drugs possible. Though for as much success as these interventions have had, there is still a segment of the population that is resistant to the drugs and their beneficial effects, and unfortunately, scientists have had difficulties nailing down the reasons why. Continue reading

Warburg: The Prime Cause and Prevention of Cancer

Credit:Cristiana Couceiro.

There are prime and secondary causes of diseases. For example, the prime cause of the plaque is the plaque bacillus, but secondary causes of the plaque are filth, rats, and the fleas that transfer the plaque bacillus from rats to man. By a prime cause of a disease I mean one that is found in every case of the disease.

Cancer, above all other diseases, has countless secondary causes. But, even for cancer, there is only one prime cause. Summarized in a few words, the prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar. Continue reading

You cure yourself of cancer 24 times a week… without knowing it

How 8,000 different things can kill you – but only one will succeed

Bill Bryson, author

The human body is often likened to a high-performance machine.

But it is so much more than that. It works 24 hours a day for decades without (for the most part) needing regular servicing or the installation of spare parts.

It runs on water and a few organic compounds, is soft and rather lovely, reproduces itself with enthusiasm, makes jokes, feels affection and appreciates a red sunset.

How many machines do you know that can do any of that? There is no question about it. You are truly a wonder. Continue reading

Cancer: Coming to You, a Family Member, or a Friend

This summer on my journey through 40 states on my bike, I saw a lot of America. I talked to countless Americans along the way. I saw things that disturbed me, even upset me and forever rendered me sober as to the challenges Americans face in the 21st century.

I saw chemical-spewing airplanes spraying poisons across thousands of acres of crops. I saw tractors spraying poisons upon endless fields of the foods we eat. I saw signs on corn fields showing the Genetically Modified Organism filled with artificial DNA at the hands of blind, stupid and greedy crop scientists—from Monsanto and Bayer. Continue reading

Breast Cancer: Does Turmeric Compare to Traditional Chemo?

Because I just lost my dear friend and sister-in-law to cancer treated with surgery, chemo and immunotherapy this spring, this topic remains hot on my mind.

I decided to write a concise, little post showing published, peer-reviewed scientific evidences of turmeric’s amazing level of complexity, modulating countless molecular pathways and helping in traditional cancer therapy and beyond. I hope this will save you some work! Continue reading

Does removing sugar from your diet starve cancer cells?

Cutting back on sugar may help decrease your likelihood of getting certain cancers, a recent study noted. The finding, which was part of an investigation made by researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School and the National University of Singapore, together with the Duke University School of Medicine and the Medical University of Vienna, is part of a unique approach explaining how reducing sugar can cause cancer cells to die.

The paper, which was published in the online journal Science Signaling, presented a novel cell death pathway through introducing how depriving cancer cells of sugar can trigger a reaction that causes them to die. This research builds on earlier scientific literature that indicates that cancer cells that quickly multiply need higher levels of sugar than healthy cells. Continue reading

Flaxseeds are more effective at preventing and treating breast cancer than mainstream medicine

Flaxseeds contains lignans which are the main type of phytoestrogens in the Western diet.

Mainstream oncology is at a precipice. On average, there are 4,800 new cancer diagnoses occurring each day. The lifetime probability of being diagnosed with cancer is now 37.7% for women and 39.3% for men. While the death rate from cancer is slightly falling, these figures can be skewed by the millions of false cancer diagnoses that weren’t deadly to begin with and the volume of benign cancers that are detected early, that may regress on their own. Cancer fears abound, but there are countless ways in which modern oncology can improve to quell hysteria and improve patient outcomes. Continue reading

Mushroom Nutrition Benefits: Cancer Fighters and Cell Renewers

When it comes to sticking to a healthy diet, disease-fighting mushrooms check off all the boxes: They’re low in carbohydrates and calories, but a great source of B vitamins, trace minerals, fiber and even protein. Mushrooms are also an anti-inflammatory food, and mushroom nutrition contains high levels of beta-glucan compounds that keep immune cells alert, plus a powerful antioxidant called ergothioneine that helps lower body-wide inflammation.

The medicinal use of mushrooms has a very long tradition in Asian countries that dates back thousands of years. Although their use in the Western Hemisphere only started increasing in the past several decades, numerous recent studies show that they are vital, biologically active compounds with significant benefits to health. Continue reading

War on words: Cancer is a Disease, Not a Battle

‘Battling metaphors hold an implicit suggestion that patients who succumb quickly have in some way failed to fight hard enough.’ ~ Jacinta Elliott

Photograph: Voisin/Phanie/REX Shutterstock

Letters: Emeritus professor Alan Bleakley and cancer patient Jacinta Elliott on the use of military metaphors, and Adrienne Betteley of Macmillan Cancer Support on end-of-life care Continue reading