A War is against Your Immune System

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On Monday, October 5, 2009 at 1:06 AM

 Is it a stretch to speculate that the coming swine flu vaccinations will be the actual trigger for the mother of all flu pandemics? Could we have a chain reaction that would be falsely attributed as part of the swine flu pandemic, justifying more forced vaccinations? Using live attenuated viruses from infected monkey and other mammalian organs, in addition to other toxic vaccine ingredients, presents this disturbing possibility.

Many of us are recognizing the dangers of vaccination adjuvants, or additives to preserve and enhance the purported efficacy of a vaccine. They are usually thimerosal (mercury) and squalene, both of which often cause serious damage to those vaccinated. Live viruses in vaccinesalready have created scenarios where those given the vaccines became carriers of mutating viruses, which became more virulent and infected others. Collateral damage?

The Basic Fallacy of Vaccinations

It has been statistically proven that the declines in different diseases occurred significantly earlier than the vaccines developed for them. In other words, the viral strains died out while possibly many who were exposed developed a natural immunity. But the vaccination manufacturers took credit so they would be supported to produce more vaccines for big bucks. It's a very profitable business for Big Pharma.

A retired vaccine scientist turned whistle blower disclosed interesting information during an interview by investigative reporter Jon Rappaport in the year 2002: "They [vaccinations] involve the human immune system in a process that tends to compromise immunity. They can actually cause the disease they are supposed to prevent. They can cause other diseases than the ones they are supposed to prevent.

"That [immunity] is the bad premise. It doesn't work that way. A vaccine is supposed to 'create' antibodies which, indirectly, offer protection against disease. However, the immune system is much larger and more involved than antibodies and their related killer cells." You can read this entire interview yourself by linking to it from the sources section below this article.

The Immune System Briefly

The whistle blower, using the pseudonym of Dr. Mark Randall to protect his pension and keep from being harassed, went on to describe the immune system as being virtually the whole body and one's general emotional and mental attitude. What he and other vaccination critics point out is by injecting the vaccine directly into the blood stream, an important part of the physical body immune system is bypassed completely.

The first line of defense are the physical barriers which include the skin, mucosal membranes of the sinus area, throat and bronchial tubes and lungs, tears, ciliary elevator, (cilials are microscopic filaments that extend from mucosal linings and cells to brush and irrigate pathogens out) and urine. Chemical barriers include sebum sweat (oily secretion), stomach acid and lysozymes (the stuff that makes tears salty).

So, by injecting directly into the blood stream, this first line of defense is bypassed. It isn't able to function as a defender against the pathogens contained in the vaccine. In this case, we are dealing with live viruses in the vaccine. Attenuated means they have been processed to replicate more slowly. The adjuvants of mercury and/or squalene go right past that first line of defense as well. This, especially the squalene, often creates what is known as a cytokine storm.

A cytokine storm is when the injected pathogens and adjuvants, especially squalene, create an over reaction in the immune system. The abundance of antibodies then overwhelms healthy tissue with massive inflammation, beyond what would be a normal immune response. This can create a long term debilitating disease or even death. In other words, you get cooked in your own juices! Step right up; roll up your sleeve! This is good for you.

More On Attenuated Viruses

The live viruses are obtained from infected (intentionally) organs of mammals, mostly monkeys. They are cultured in various mediums in order to minimize their virulence while remaining alive. Then they may be placed among other viruses from other sources, sometimes even human fetuses.

The dangers of attenuated viruses are noted in the scientific community, but minimized. A rarely disclosed or discussed downside of attenuated viruses is virus shedding. This has been documented to occur for at least a few weeks after a vaccination. What happens is the vaccinated person sheds some of the viruses in stool, phlegm, or saliva for those few weeks, maybe longer.

Kissing a vaccinated person or being near one who is sneezing and coughing could be more hazardous than dealing with someone who has the swine flu! So those good citizens who get vaccinated could turn out to be more like suicide bombers, spreading viruses while dying slow deaths themselves!

Another risk of attenuated viruses is that at any time they can mutate and become virulent in the inoculated person's body. This makes viral shedding look even worse! This, the vaccine scientists know, but consider not really dangerous enough for concerns. Are they getting vaccinated? Get your toxic cocktail injection here!

What the medical establishment doesn't know, or pretends not to know, is that the vaccination victim has what could be a low level viral infection for the rest of his life, which the immune system is forced to defend 24/7. This compromises an immune system and opens the gate for other pathogens to invade and create a fully manifested disease, even causing cancer.

Yet another known negative aspect of attenuated viruses is that they should not be administered to anyone with an already compromised immune system or with any form of autoimmune disease. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease, for example. People who are sickly are obviously pegged to a compromised immune system. You could include obese people in that last group. Many are probably type II diabetics.

So - will arthritic, sickly, and obese people be allowed to say no to a forced vaccination? No! As a matter of fact, with all the pollutants in the air and water, all the pesticides and insecticides in food, and all the toxic additives in most peoples' diets, it is easy to assume most people have compromised immune systems!

Even those of us who do all we can to boost our immune systems with nutritious organic foods and supplements and exercise can't avoid a toxin over most of us, chemtrails. Those nifty trails from high flying aircraft you see lingering in the sky, disbursing laterally and drifting toward the ground, are full of toxins that attack the nasal, bronchial mucosal areas, and lungs. Right, our immune system's first line of defense.

Many heavily chemtrailed areas report lung and bronchial problems after a spraying. During the last decade and a half, as chemtrailing proliferated, acute and chronic lung disorders have risen greatly. One could say to epidemicproportions! Epidemiological studies actually show this, and MD's have openly registered concern, though very few connect the dots to chemtrails. After all, they don't exist you know. More on chemtrails here:
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Harry Hoxsey: Guilty of Curing Cancer with Herbs

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On at 1:05 AM

Of all the episodes of alternative cancer treatment suppression by the medical establishment, none is more dramatic and long lasting than Harry Hoxsey's. Harry's constant conflicts covered almost 50 years of the 20th Century. Hoxsey was flamboyant and put himself into the public eye and ear energetically and often.

The medical establishment, cancer industries, and cooperating government agencies responded viciously. His USA operations were closed down in 1960, but his legacy continues as the Bio-Medical Center in Tiajuana, Mexico. His clinic was the first alternative cancer clinic to flee into a less politically medical hostile environment. Others have since followed.

The Hoxsey Treatment

There are two herbal formulas used in the Hoxsey treatment. One is external, and it consists of a red paste made with bloodroot, the active anti tumor ingredient, mixed with zinc chloride and antimony sulfide. This paste is applied directly onto skin cancer tumors.

An almost identical version of the Hoxsey external paste has a history of successful applications on skin cancers as far back as 1850 in England, by a Dr. Fell, who evidently got the bloodroot ingredient from Lake Superior Native Americans by way of European doctors traveling in America. In 1949 and again in the 1960's, there were other American doctors who used the same paste successfully in the States.

The internal tonic consists of Red Clover blossom, Licorice root, Buckthorn bark, Burdock root, Stillingia root, Poke root, Barberry root, Oregon Grape root, Cascara Sagrada bark, Prickly Ash bark, Wild Indigo root and Sea Kelp. The Sea Kelp may have been added more recently to the original formula. A supplement of potassium iodide, was included along with the tonic.

Richard Walters wrote in his Options: The Alternative Cancer Therapy Book, "According to eminent botanist James Duke, Ph.D., of the United States Department of Agriculture, all of the Hoxsey herbs have known anticancer properties . . . Furthermore, Duke noted, the Hoxsey herbs have long been used by Native American healers to treat cancer, and traveling European doctors picked up the knowledge and took it home with them to treat patients."

A diet is included that excludes pork, bleached white flour products, alcohol, sugar, sodas, and excess salt. In the clinic, patients eat together and mingle freely among themselves. The atmosphere is cordial and friendly, the type of positive attitude that encourages healing, sometimes in and of itself.

Communication among staff and patients is open. Humor and positive attitudes are encouraged. When Hoxsey was in charge, he would personally greet and encourage patients to instill a positive attitude. So a good diet and the right energy for healing is part of the treatment, in addition to the herbal remedies.

There was, and still is a one time fee, which enables patients to return as often as needed and receive the tonics. In 2005 at the Mexico Bio-Medical Center, renamed by Hoxsey's request, it was around $3500 to $5000. Compare that to chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, doctor bills, and hospital stays for the average cancer patient! Of course, during the decades before inflation, the one time Hoxsey fee was much less.

Hoxsey himself never turned anyone down for lack of funds. He had become successful as an oil man in Texas. He didn't need the money. Yet claims that Hoxsey was a con man out to exploit people anxious for a cure was a chronic AMA tactic. One of Hoxsey's cured patients commented that her allopathic doctor had warned, "He's gonna just take all your money!" She replied, "But that's impossible. You already have!"

Journalist James Burke observed Hoxsey take people who had traveled to his clinic in Dallas and personally handle all their travel and living expenses while charging nothing if they were broke. Burke was originally sent by Esquire magazine in 1939 to expose Harry Hoxsey as a quack and a fraud.

After witnessing so many patients recover, the manner in which they were treated, and the generosity Hoxsey displayed for cancer victims low on cash, Burke submitted an article titled "The Quack Who Cures Cancer" to Esquire Magazine. It didn't get printed. After the WW II, James Burke volunteered his journalistic services to Hoxsey as a press agent.

All the medical institutional queries into Hoxsey's treatments were and still are negative and dismissive. And these reports are the ones that get published and circulated among the medical journals and press releases to the mass media.

What doesn't get circulated in journals or mass media, however, is that several independent doctors, free of association or institutional restraints, conducted their own investigations and concluded that the Hoxsey therapy was more effective at curing cancer than the "conventional methods," and without side effects. Additionally, there are many Hoxsey cured patient testimonials.

The Hoxsey History

Harry Hoxsey was not a medical practitioner. But he was the young son of a rural Illinois veterinarian who used an herbal tonic and salve on animals, mostly horses, then secretly on humans with cancer. He found the formulas very successful. Though young Harry never got past the 8th grade, he assisted his father and understood the family formula his dad used and how to use and apply it to others.

This was all during the time that herbal medicine and homeopathy were even more popular and widely used than allopathy. A cynical joke around that time was with eclectic medicine (today's alternative medicine) you died of the disease; with allopathic medicine, you died of the cure! The formula had been in the family since the mid nineteenth century. But there is evidence that the herbs have other sources that date back longer.

As Hoxsey's father lay dying in bed, he told his son to use the family name for the formula, and to ensure its integrity. He also told Harry not to use the family formula primarily for monetary gain, but to allow its use for as many cancer victims as possible. In 1922, Harry Hoxsey started his first clinic in Taylorville, Illinois. He was hounded and arrested often for practicing medicine without a license.

He went to Chicago around 1924 to meet with the head of the AMA and editor of the AMA Medical Journal, Dr. Morris Fishbein, to prove the efficacy of his treatment. He was given access to a Chicago policeman, Sgt. Thomas Manix, whose cancer prognosis was terminal. Using both the ointment and tonic, the policeman was completely cured. This is a documented medical fact. Manix lived another 10 years.

Fishbein and associates were impressed, and they offered to buy the formulas from Hoxsey. But Hoxsey disagreed with the terms. There was no guarantee that everyone would be able to have access to the formula, and Hoxsey would be completely out of the loop with no control. Hoxsey refused to hand over the formulas. That was the beginning of their war, as the medical establishment began their campaign to destroy Hoxsey. The AMA claimed no such offer was ever made.

But a similar offer was disclosed to have been made in 1951 to Doctor Andrew C. Ivy, who had done research on curing cancer with a drug developed by a Dr. Durovic called Krebiozen. Dr. Ivy was not of the same personality mold as Hoxsey, who was intelligent but uneducated, and a bit crude yet very outgoing.

Instead, Dr. Ivy was a highly regarded quiet medical researcher who headed the Illinois University School of Medicine and was also the university's vice president. He and Dr. Durovic refused to sell the rights to a couple of business men, one of whom was a friend of the AMA Treasurer, J.J. Moore. For that refusal, Dr. Ivy was dismissed from his chair at the university medical school.

Krebiozen itself was smeared and no one really ever followed up on Dr. Ivy's promising research.
The point is that even though Hoxsey's crude sales persona was used to easily portray him as a con artist, the real issue was over power and control to obtain workable cancer cures for monetary gain, or perhaps to hide them away in order to maintain the status quo, also for monetary gain.

In 1936, Hoxsey established the largest independent clinic in the country in Dallas, Texas. There he was confronted with yet another enemy, the Assistant District Attorney, Al Templeton. Hoxsey was arrested 100 times in two years. Each time he bailed himself out with the large amount of cash he carried just for those occasions. But charges were always dropped as no one would testify against Hoxsey. Too many patients were happy with the treatment.

Al Templeton continued harassing Hoxsey until his brother, Mike Templeton, whose cancer was considered incurable by conventional allopathy, sneaked to the clinic to receive Hoxsey's treatments. He was cured. Al properly credited his brother's cure to Hoxsey's treatment, and he had a change of heart. The Assistant DA then became Hoxsey's lawyer, and soon he was elected as a district judge. Now Hoxsey had friends in high places, locally.

But his biggest problems came on a national level, since he had the large clinic in Dallas and several other smaller ones in different states. In 1949, Morris Fishbein wrote a hit piece on Hoxsey that was featured in the Hearst papers' Sunday Magazine, available to 20 million readers. The title was "Blood Money," and it was full of the character assassination bile that Fishbein had spewed endlessly in JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association) over the previous years.

Prior to this, Hoxsey relied on appealing to the public by radio, film, and with public demonstrations. He had also written a book, You Don't Have to Die. He was a bit crass, and his manner and direct sales approach made him an easy target of ridicule from official authority types. But he was widely accepted by the general public, and he had some supporters in government and in the medical profession as well.

But this time Hoxsey attacked directly and named names. He sued the Hearst Newspaper empire and Morris Fishbein and the AMA Journal for slander and libel, and surprisingly, he won! The award was only $2.00 (two dollars). Supposedly, the judge declared there was no monetary damage, since Hoxsey had successfully used the AMA persecution to promote his treatments and products. But the ruling was that Hearst and Fishbein were guilty of libel and slander. Hoxsey had paraded over 50 cured cancer patients into the courtroom, along with testimony from other supporters.

More important than the award was Fishbein's embarrassment. The trail revealed that Fishbein had flunked anatomy in college, and he had never practiced medicine! Fishbein also admitted that the external salve Hoxsey used was actually effective. This after years of propagandizing the salve as worthless and dangerous. So despite the measly two dollar award, it was a stunning victory for Hoxsey. And it got even better.

The Supreme Court upheld the decision, ruling that the AMA had used restrictive trade techniques. The ensuing publicity aroused a public outcry against the AMA in the early 1950's. The AMA was considered by many as nothing better than a trade union that would not tolerate competition. Seems like the more things change the more they remain the same!

Even Congress upheld that viewpoint in 1953, when the Fitzgerald report determined that the Hoxsey treatment and twelve other alternative treatments, including the aforementioned Krebiozen, were actively conspired against by organized medicine. Morris Fishbein was forced to resign from his long tenure as head of the AMA. But these victories were not enough for Hoxsey.

He stubbornly lobbied for congressional hearings on the efficacy of his treatments, and insisted that the medical authorities investigate and do their own research. Even after a panel of physicians with more of a nutritional and herbal focus asserted the validity of Hoxsey's treatment, a panel of surgeons and radiologists dismissed their verdict. The reason the AMA gave for declining further investigation was they didn't want to raise false hopes and give the public any false hope or hint of the treatment's credibility. Interesting logic!

So as usual, whenever Hoxsey raised the stakes on the medical establishment, a backlash was sure to come. This time, the AMA got another alphabet soup to do their bidding, the FDA. The FDA pursued a long campaign of harassing not only Hoxsey, but also his patients. Finally, the FDA closed and padlocked all 17 of Hoxsey's clinics on the same day in 1960. Hoxsey was beaten and retreated.
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Patrick Swayze dead at 57 after chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer

Posted by Khirad | | Posted On at 1:05 AM

Beloved actor Patrick Swayze died yesterday evening after a 20-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Having put his faith in conventional chemotherapy, he largely dismissed ideas that nutrition, superfoods or "alternative medicine" might save him, instead betting his life on the chemotherapy approach which seeks to poison the body into a state of remission instead of nourishing it into a state of health.

These are not condemnations of this remarkable man; they are simply descriptive explanations of the path he chose and the results he experienced. Patrick Swayze was a talented, dedicated actor and dancer, and his work brought joy to the lives of millions. He will be deeply missed, and in his death, he joins many other celebrities who have been recently killed by pharmaceuticals or chemotherapy.

Peter Jennings died following chemotherapy for lung cancer. Heath Ledger died following an accidental overdose of prescription medications (http://www.naturalnews.com/022602.html). Michael Jackson was killed by a doctor-administered injection of lethal painkillers. Famed newscaster Tim Russert most likely died from the fatal side effects of cholesterol medications (http://www.naturalnews.com/023434_T...). Former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow died after receiving chemotherapy for colon cancer (http://www.naturalnews.com/023626_c...), and Bernie Macwas most likely killed by pharmaceutical side effects (http://www.naturalnews.com/023817_B...).

The list of celebrities killed by western medicine is seemingly endless. And now, sadly, Patrick Swayze joins that ever-growing list of famous, endearing people who paid the ultimate price for their misplaced faith in slash-and-burn medicine and "conventional" chemotherapy treatments.

Western medicine offers no hope, no solutions

Of course, the cancer industry takes no responsibility for his death. Drug companies and cancer docs never accept responsibility for the way their poisonous treatments harm (and often kill) many fine people.

Had Patrick Swayze's pancreatic cancer gone away, doctors would have hailed chemotherapy as the genius treatment that saved Swayze's life. But chemotherapy has never healed anyone of cancer. Not once in the history of medicine. And when people die after being poisoned by chemotherapy, the oncologists and conventional medical doctors just shrug and say ridiculous things like, "The cancer was too far along" or "He didn't fight it hard enough."

No one fought cancer more diligently and optimistically than Patrick Swayze. Even after being diagnosed with an admittedly scary disease -- pancreatic cancer -- he remained upbeat and enthusiastic about beating the condition. He put more faith in conventional medicine and chemotherapy than perhaps anyone, and yet that medicine failed him just the same. No one can fault Swayze himself for a lack of optimism.

"I want to last until they find a cure, which means I'd better get a fire under it," Swayze said in a highly-publicized interview with ABC's Barbara Walters. No one apparently told Swayze the cancer industry isn't looking for a cure. They're looking for more business from more patients, and a genuine "cure" for cancer is flatly incompatible with the industry's business interests.

Could he have been saved?

Could Patrick Swayze have saved his own life with natural medicine? Absolutely. Without question. Even late-stage pancreatic cancer can be reversed (yes, reversed) with full-on naturopathic treatments involving Chinese herbal medicine, deep body detoxification that includes sweat saunas and colon cleansing, radical changes in diet from "dead" foods to "live" foods, a healthy dose of vitamin D and the daily consumption of raw anti-cancer living juices made from fresh, organic produce like cabbage, broccoli and garlic. 
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Chemo Does Not Cure: Often It Inflicts Damage and Spreads Cancer

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On at 1:04 AM

(NaturalNews) For years now, many of us who advocate natural health and natural approaches to beating cancer have warned against the dangers and the ineffectiveness of chemotherapy. The following report presented at the 27th Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium illustrates how chemo actually spreads cancer cells, as well as points out how little we are being told about the dangers of chemo:

"German investigators from Friedrich-Schiller University in Jena, have shown that taxol (the "gold standard of chemo") causes a massive release of cells into circulation.

"Such a release of cancer cells would result in extensive metastasis months or even years later, long after the chemo would be suspected as the cause of the spread of the cancer. This little known horror of conventional cancer treatment needs to be spread far and wide, but it is not even listed in the side effects of taxol."

As has oft been stated, chemo does not cure cancer - it merely attempts to eliminate the tumors and cancer cells that are symptoms of the underlying causes of cancer, and does so with little success and great risks. In some instances it may appear to eliminate tumors and cancer cell masses, though most often it merely destroys some of the cancer cells. In the process, it often inflicts a very high price.

Besides spreading cancer cells, chemo inflicts serious and perhaps irreversible damage to the immune system, the body's natural first line of defense against cancer and other illness - thus paving the way for the remaining cancer cells or future cancers to overwhelm a body that is even less able to beat the cancer that got past the immune system in the first place.

Chemo also frequently results in serious and even fatal damage, and major organs are also damaged, particularly the liver - which as cancer pioneer Max Gerson observed is always impaired to begin in those who get cancer. The heart is also frequently seriously damaged.

The end result is that chemo kills more patients than it "cures". Most of those deaths are the result of liver or heart failure. Statistically, it has been estimated that the five year success rate from chemo is only about 3% (meaning only about 3% more patients who opted for chemo survived at least five years than did those who opted to not undergo chemo). But even that meager statistic is misleading in two key ways:

First of all, though survival rates are slightly higher for the first couple of years compared to those who opted out of chemo, after the third year the survival rate for those who opted out is greater than those who were treated with chemo and the gap widens significantly every year after that.

Secondly, and perhaps most important of all, the survival rates compare all of those who either undergo chemotherapy or decide against it. That includes the very large number of people who do little or nothing to address their cancer naturally and merely forego chemo. If chemo survival rates were compared with those of people who not only opted out of chemo, but also chose a non-invasive natural protocol to eliminate the toxins and other causes of cancer, to boost their immune systems and to attack the cancer naturally without inflicting damage to the rest of the body, there would surely be no comparison.

You can bet that it is a comparison the cancer industry never wants to make.
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Lessons Learned - Four Years Cancer Free

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 9:51 AM

My colleague Agi asked me recently, "so what have you learned from cancer?"

I replied, "I always thought it was about stress - cancer was a lesson on how to avoid stress."

But it's become more than that. Cancer has taught me many things. Some I always know and act on. Others I need a kick up the butt to remember!

Here's my top five lessons learned, courtesy of cancer:

1. The only person who can say 'no' is you. Even though your colleagues may see you overloading yourself with responsibilities, jobs, and obligations, AND they know you've been through cancer, only YOU can say 'no'. Don't wait for somebody else to take responsibility for your life - not even your adoring husband can do that - you've got do it for yourself. So stand up firm, believe in the primacy of your own life, and say 'no' to what does not support you in thriving.

2. What's the point in worrying? Actually, that's my husband Rob's motto. He's the happiest man in the world (you can tell as he hums in the shower every morning). It's a great lesson and I really needed it when going through cancer. You can live in worry, or you can live in positive expectation. Either way the future is unknown, so might as well feel good about what's coming instead of dreading it.

3. The small things really matter. Saying thank you, a warm hug, paying for someone else's coffee, knowing the squeejee guy's name who waits for you on the corner to wash your car windows, jonquils that bloom on your birthday, friends who love you enough to call you even when you haven't called them in six months, notes from appreciative readers that make your day, your husband who makes dinner every night. (ok, that's really a big one, but it still counts!) These little moments make up the quality of your life each day - seek them out. Give them out!

4. The big things really matter. Did you forget to celebrate? Milestones can whip past you faster than a grasshopper strapped to an airplane. It's easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of life and leadership - make sure you stop and appreciate your achievements. Rewards are a good thing too. Shopping at Ondina's is an excellent reward - I can feel my wallet burning a hole in my pocket right now with her more than 50% off sale happening...

Don't fancy a trip out? Snoozing on the couch with a favourite book, mooching around in your jammies after a sleep-in, and taking a weekend off to simply 'be' are also excellent rewards.

5. From time to time you will get caught up in old patterns. Be ok with that. Don't beat yourself up. Ships, airplanes, and YOU are often off-course as they make their way to their destination. So if you find yourself fretting about the 'old stuff' - like how big your butt is, or whether the people at your new job will like you, or bedroom cupboards that need fixing, or the fact that the '&$@#' printer won't print - it's ok. This too shall pass. Get over it, or pay someone to fix it for you - butt included.

Lastly, life is a creative experience, like pottery - some experiences are gorgeous; others are like lumps of pooh that have been dumped on the spinning wheel. Just clean up, have a laugh, and go again.

Life is too short to get wound up, drink bad wine, and eat cheap chocolate.

To your delicious life!
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Don't Worry About Cancer - Most Cancers Are Survivable

Posted by Khirad | | Posted On at 9:50 AM

Far too many people get far too worried about getting cancer, and this adds unnecessary and unhelpful stress, real stress, and stress that could actually cause health problems, perhaps not cancer, but such negative biofeedback is not good for anybody.

We have a mass media psychological crisis going on these days in America when it comes to cancer; there are far too many Big Pharma advertisements on TV, and far too many ads from cancer research nonprofits, attempting to scare people into donating. Yes, I know that bad news travels fast, and therefore, this is why they are using this method, unfortunately, it is scaring people into ill-health.

Yes, maybe medical insurance companies or even ObamaCare might also benefit from all this, but it's not right what we are doing to our citizenry on this issue. Indeed, cancer is a horrible disease, and depending on the type of cancer far too serious to even wish to talk about it, and yes, we should have a national dialogue and 15 Billion Dollars in cancer research spent in the next 5-years to wipe it out.

Still, citizens must realize that most cancers are now treatable or curable and the survival rates are astounding compared to 50 years ago. The reality is people should not worry about getting cancer as much as they do, and scaring them into this line of thinking is not helping anybody. Stop worrying about things, and start eating right, and working out more and you should be fine; and yes, get checked out as recommended, but for god's sake don't worry about it, it will eat you up inside and cause you stress.

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Out Thinking Cancer - Natural Alternatives to Fight Cancer

Posted by Khirad | | Posted On at 9:50 AM

We all know the common medical treatments for cancer, radiation, chemo, surgery. This leads to hair loss, weakness and destruction of good body tissue and cells. What about natural alternatives to fight cancer? Consider the things that nature provided for us. Read more to find out a few of these things.

When you hear the word Cancer the first thing you think is death, defeat, let's use this thought process and turn the tables on this deadly disease.

Out-Thinking Cancer

You ask, how can you out think such a deadly disease? Did you ever ask why are so many people afflicted with cancer? You will discover many reasons stress, nutrition, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, toxins in the air and water, acidic diets, smoking, drugs, etc. Even the human body as resilient as it is can't resist a breakdown under these conditions, but nature has given us natural help and the brain to understand how to use it.

Natural Alternatives

In most cases cancer crept up on you over time. I've know people who had blood in their urine for more than a year and died, is this out thinking cancer or avoiding thinking about it? Of course there are some cases where cancer kills within months without warning, but in the majority of cases there are always some signs, this is the time to react. You need to do three things:

  1. React
  2. Learn/Understand
  3. Look At Natural Alternatives

Doing nothing will kill you, understanding what you have will help you and searching for what nature has to offer might save you. Instead of letting the word cancer paralyze you into a spiral of fear and hopelessness, turn the tables, out-think cancer by knowing the enemy, know the things you might have done over time to allow it into your body and find out what it doesn't like, concentrate on this and you may not only out think cancer, but you can even beat it.

Learn more about cancer and natural treatments.

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Home Herbal Help For Cancer

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On at 9:49 AM

We all wish to avoid contracting cancer, a condition of chaotic rather than normal patterns and growth of our body cells. We know that there are many factors found to contribute to this condition and are fully recognized. Many of these are to be found in our modern lifestyle in the abundant use of synthetic chemicals we employ but which provide irritants if not direct carcinogenic causes of the disease.

In spite of the billions of dollar spent in researching the disease that is so often to prove a fatal one, there is no known drug that is guaranteed to cure, particularly if nothing is done to address the well known underlying causes. At the present time it is obvious that medical research has chosen the long route with no improvement as the cancer statistics of populations in western countries continues to rise.

We as individuals must do everything possible to avoid the negatives and to increase our own personal, positive habits that will build natural good health and vitality that provides our real defence against cancer, and all other diseases. So what can we do through our nutrition, the major single cause of cancer? Our diet remains a controllable factor, dependent upon the policy we choose to effect in our own home. We must also resist the negative commercial food advertising that tries to convince us that they are offering us the cheapest, the tastiest, and the best!

The following information may prove helpful for you in motivating your own health programme, and possibly introducing you to some foods that will be therapeutic if you are already suffering cancer and wish to find a more natural alternative to the one that is failing us in the general medical treatment system.

Acerola (Malpighia glabra) is proving invaluable in the treatment of many diseases, including cancer. The berries are extremely high in vitamin C, with each fruit providing about 80 times more than fresh orange juice and therefore considered the most superior known source of this essential vitamin.

Alfalfa, Lucerne (Medicago sativa) a fodder plant with high nutrient content with all known vitamins, 8 digestive enzymes and calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium. It can be taken as a tea made from leaves or the sprouted seeds can be enjoyed fresh in savouries. It is considered to have great nutritional as well as healing properties and to give new vigour to body cells. Cancer patients benefit by including this plant in their regular diet.

Aloe vera (Aloe vera) juice is used both internally for cancer of the gastro-intestinal tract and is a proven application when externally used for healing skin cancer. The gel is a liquid tonic in treating problems of the gastro intestinal system such as irritable bowel syndrome. It is also particularly soothing for those suffering from bowel cancer.

Apricot Kernel (Prunus armeniaca)The kernels of the apricot fruit contain oil, albumen, sugar, mucus and cyanogenetic heteroside. A cottage cure for cancer consists of eating 2-3 kernels per day. It is possible that seeds of other plants of the Prunus genus and also apple and pear seeds have the same curative properties. The problem lies in getting a minimum dose that will not prove toxic. Its use is therefore restricted in most countries without a long traditional use.

Astragalus Root (Astragalus membranaceus) helps strengthen the immune system and generates anti-cancer cells in the body. It is known as an adaptogen. It enhances cell metabolism, delaying cell ageing, boosts protein synthesis in the liver, stimulates immune system, restores adrenal cortex function and improves metabolism. It is regularly prescribed to correct the complex condition of many cancers.

Beetroot Juice (Beta vulgaris) proven in Germany to cure 'incurable' cancer patients is used by Dr. Siegmund Schmidt, to reduce effects of radiation therapy. The effective remedy employs the beet after its preparation that excludes the section immediately below the juncture of the leaves.

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea italica) Eating fresh organically grown broccoli you will find that it is so tender that it melts in the mouth and makes you look forward to the next mouthful with no need for encouragement - even children love it. It is one of the main vegetables recommended fro those who wish to avoid bowel cancer.

Cabbage, raw (Brassica oleracea capitata) the juice provides a strong tonic for those suffering any serious condition of the digestive system including stomach cancer. In the latter case, the freshly juiced cabbage must be first diluted with water so not to irritate the stomach lining. Best to take a teaspoon of Slippery Elm powder 5 minutes beforehand as described under "S".

Carrots (Daucus carota) raw carrots and carrot juice some claim this alone as a cure for cancer.It is only by juicing the carrots that we can expect results as it is not possible to eat the number of root required to provide what is needed. It is a delicious drink and should be taken once a day.

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) external and internal for cancer relieves pain of stomach and intestinal cancer - soothes and heals tissues. Home grown comfrey leaves are tender enough to cut up in salads or to juice through with carrots or other material. The thicker outer leaves are tasty when dipped in light batter and shallow fried. Comfrey extract is available from herbalists either from the root source, or the leaves.

Couchgrass (Agropyron repens) for prostatic hypertrophy Agropyron together with Hydrangea is given for prostate enlargement. The medicinal extract is available through herbalists and after proper identification in your home garden, a tea may be made at home. This is sometimes as effective as other well known specific herbs for the complaint. Prostate conditions can remain benign if we maintain our good general state of health and refrain from hasty decisions to undergo surgery.

Cranberries (Vaccinium macrocarpon) To protect cells from any abnormal or cancerous changes, be sure to eat cranberries regularly. Not only are they rich, as are all the berry fruits, in antioxidants, but have a unique property that helps to prevent mutations in DNA and therefore inhibiting growth of tumors. This property is called ellagic acid, that to quote Gary D Stoner, Ph.D, director of the cancer chemo-prevention program at Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center in Columbus, "....Ellagic acid has what we call anti-initiating activity. It inhibits the genetic damage that starts the cancer process."

Echinacea, Purple Coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia) contains inulin and is diaphoretic, alterative in action, an antitoxin medicine. The herbal extract is readily available in the popular treatment for flu and septic infections and blood poisoning but is prescribed also in the treatment of cancer. Homoeopaths treat many diseases with homoeopathic doses of echinacea. Internally it reduces pain and improves ability to resist infection or disease.

Garlic (Allium sativum) and raw onions one of the best preventative medicines. Garlic for carcinoma and a strong preventive against cancer. In Japan fresh garlic has shown a successful degree of immunity. Garlic is an old traditional remedy for the lungs, now shown to be invaluable in the treatment of lung conditions such as cancer.

Ginger (Zingiber officinalis) is believed to be a powerful preventive and also to cure cancer. If any acute condition of the digestive system precludes eating the fresh root as a regular part of the diet, a delightful tea can be made from sliced pieces of the root and with honey added.

Grape (Vitis vinifera) Fresh juice is a fine tonic to treat or to avoid cancer. A grape cure - eating only grapes for some days - is claimed by some to be effective but the juice and fasting is best. The seeds should also be chewed on occasion and the cold pressed grape seed oil used unheated in the diet.

Green Tea (Camellia sinensis) is high in antioxidants and inhibits some cancers due to the presence of polyphenols. It is becoming very popular as an alternative to ordinary tea.

Liquorice Root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is one of the most important herbs for prevention of cancer and for its treatment also . It is considered by the Chinese of value along with ginseng and other herbs. It offers a defence and strengthens one's immunity. A simple way to take it is to select and enjoy a good quality confection, if your local herbalist cannot supply the pure extract.

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is known to have high vitamin B and potassium content and an inhibiting substance in which tumour cells cannot survive and proliferate . It helps in reducing free radicals and histamine.

Pawpaw (Carica papaya)The latex of the green fruit is used for treatment of skin cancers in Ghana. Trials involving the leaves for internal use in cancer as well as for external application to tumours are promising and have been employed for several decades in North Queensland for this purpose.

Petty Spurge,Cancer Weed (Euphorbia peplus) is used commonly in Australia as an external treatment for skin cancer.

Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)This common pasture plant is a valuable blood tonic for stamina, tone and prescribed in arthritis, coronary thrombosis and now laboratory tests show its affect in inhibiting tumours. This confirms its traditional use in Chinese medicine. The tea made from the flowers is recommended as a daily drink for those with breast cancer. It is being researched by western medicine for its potential in the treatment of cancers in general.

Shepherd's Purse, Shovelweed (Capsella bursa-pastoris) is a common garden weed. A safe tonic for breast cancer, or as a preventative, is to include a few leaves in salads regularly. Be sure to identify the plant before use.

Slippery Elm Powder (Ulmus fulva, U. rubra) This is an anti inflammatory, soothing remedy used for cancer of the digestive tract. It is marketed as a fine powder a teaspoonful of which is to be mixed with warm to hot water into a thin soup-like paste and swallowed shortly before mealtimes. Its common name tends to put people off the remedy but the taste is acceptable and should be persevered with. It takes its place not only as a traditional invalid food, but has saved many people from the pain of stomach ulceration and gastro-intestinal inflammations and disorders. Many can testify to its marvellous, almost magical soothing properties.

Tomato, Love Apple (Lycopersicon esculentum) has earned its place as a valued tonic food to help prevent cancer. Tomatoes contain nitrosamine blockers . Nitrosamine is capable of inducing cancer. It is therefore becoming better known that tomatoes in abundance are advisable in our diet.

Tumeric (Curcuma longa syn C. domestica) The root is a valued food medicine and considered a powerful in the prevention of cancer. Its value as a high antioxidant is considered by some to be equal or greater than vitamin E for this purpose. Tumeric is considered invaluable in all Asian food and medicine.

Violet leaves (Viola odorata) are traditionally included in cancer cures. Leaves and sometimes flowers are made into a tisane and used for external bathing of skin cancers and other conditions and also taken as internal tonic. It is an ancient remedy for pain as well as to cure tumours. A few leaves in salads taken regularly in the diet provides a deterrent to cancer. It is an ingredient in the famous Hoxey tonic that claimed great success in the U.S

Vitamin C is of vital importance. It is essential to increase it in the diet in order to prevent cancer. It is not the synthetic vitamin pill that is referred to but the natural vitamin found in hundreds of fresh, cultivated fruits and foods and of course organically grown produce in mind as the finest quality. Some of the highest content are found in acerola berries.

Wheatgrass Juice (Triticum sp.) a little each day is claimed as a home cure for cancer and in some countries the juice is commercially available. Otherwise the seed has to be cultivated at home and harvested for juicing when the plants are about six inches (15cm) high.

It is imperative when seeking to employ self help methods, to properly ascertain the correctness of species of a plant not in your common use.. Seek the advice of a herbalist or professional botanist before using plants that are not familiar.

Enjoy eating the fresh foods that are loaded with vitamins and health promoting elements. Be encouraged on your way as you will be following a natural and simple path towards better health through common sense, self discipline and a future free of the fear of disease and invasive treatment methods.

Sally Wilson, professional herbalist and naturopath has wide experience in herbal remedies and is renowned for research in a range of specializations. Most dominant is the application of medicinal healing herbs. Another interest has been to identify garden plants that cause infant and animal poisoning. In addition to the range of well known pasture poisons that affect stock, there are common plants that are toxic to our pets, as detailed in her book Some Plants are Poisonous published by Reed Books, Australia 1997.
Traditional herbalism is based on its principle is to retain the whole plant chemistry as nature has created it. It is this essential that makes herbal remedies unique and so safe to use.
Herbs and foods are natural medicines.

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Lycopene in Fighting Cancer - Is There a Connection?

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On at 9:49 AM

It can be difficult for the average person to find information about lycopene in fighting cancer or preventing it. Some information is suppressed, because doctors do not want their patients to have unrealistic hopes or fore go conventional treatments in favor of alternative ones.

This article is meant only to help inform people about what a big role a healthy diet and good nutrition play in preventing some types of cancer. While some forms of the disease are most surely due to genetics or exposure to environmental toxins like cigarette smoke, researchers have shown again and again, that the incidence of certain types is 50-80% higher among people with poor nutrient intake.

In 2009, Brazilian researchers reported that the risk of cervical cancer was nearly 50% lower in women with a high intake of dark green and deep yellow vegetables and fruits. Results from studies completed in Seoul, Korea during the same year were similar.

Research from Israel concluded that "consumption of most carotenoids" is strongly associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, but that cigarette smoking reversed the protective effect. When researchers look at the benefit of lycopene in fighting cancer, they typically look at other carotenoids, too.

Carotenoids are a group of nutrients that include the common beta-carotene, the precursor of vitamin A, lutein, zeaxanthin and lycopene. They often look at the benefit of vitamin E and C, at the same time. Decades ago, the Linus Pauling Institute suggested that vitamin C could be used to cure cancers. Some studies have supported that suggestion. Others have not.

While it may be possible to wipe out the disease, it will likely take a combination of nutrients, rather than a single one, because there are multiple causes of the disease. In other words, instead of looking at a single nutrient like lycopene in fighting cancer, researchers should probably begin looking at a combination of nutrients that address three main issues.

One of those issues is free radical damage. Carotenoids and other antioxidants address that issue.

Another is inflammation.

Acute inflammation caused by illness or injury is a necessary function of the immune system. Chronic or systematic inflammation is a cause of cellular aging and plays a role in many types of cancers. Dietary factors cause that type of inflammation. Other dietary factors can prevent it.

Researchers believe that including more natural anti-inflammatories in the diet will reduce the risk of many age-related diseases. When they have looked at lycopene in fighting cancer of the lungs, they have also been intrigued by its anti-inflammatory activity. It is not a potent anti-inflammatory. Turmeric, resveratrol, carnosine and omega-3 fish oil have more potent anti-inflammatory activity.

Another factor contributing to cellular aging and DNA damage that has been shown to contribute to age-related diseases and even wrinkles is Glycation. The only nutrient that has been proven to help prevent Glycation is l-carnosine.

You might not hear much about Glycation or inflammation, but they are just as damaging as free radicals.

Now that you know a little more about lycopene in fighting cancer, you might want to learn more about other beneficial nutrients. They might be the cures we've been looking for.

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Never Bring Fear to a Cancer Fight!

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On at 9:48 AM

"You have cancer." Millions of people hear these dreaded words each year. A huge wave of fear often follows. There are many forms of this life-threatening disease. Cancer can be a death sentence. I certainly understand what it's like. I have been there.

However, instead of thinking about writing your will, have the will, to live. Have the will, to fight! Don't allow fear to paralyze you. Fear can actually do more harm than the cancer itself. Replace your fear, with faith!

In October of 1997, I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The tumor was near my heart and lungs. At the time, I was 27 years old. My family was stunned and heartbroken. They were also scared. Tears and prayers were virtually endless. I remained calm. Many could not understand why.

Was I going to die? Reality is, we are all going to die. One day. You don't have to be ill. One can be healthy and young, and still die. There are many people who die, every day, who don't have cancer, or a life-threatening illness. Death can be around the corner for any of us. Life is precious. No one knows when they are going to die. Life isn't in the hands of man, it's in the hands of our Maker. God. I knew that God was my life support. God made this body, therefore, I knew that He could fix it. He could heal me, or allow me, to continue to live.

I underwent six months of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation treatments. I lost all of my hair, but I never lost my faith in God. Nor did I ever lose hope. Faith does wonders. It is what brought me through one of the biggest storms of my life. Without faith in God, I would have fallen apart. I would have been living, as if I were going to die. Instead, I lived, like I was going to live. Yes, I had cancer, but it did not have me.

Become your own advocate! The doctor that you choose is very important. Choose a doctor who gives hope. Not one who stamps out hope. Choose a doctor who treats you, the human being, first and foremost. The disease needs no hope or encouragement. The person does. If you treat the person, you will automatically treat the disease. You cannot separate the two. The results are often better as well.

Don't allow anyone to tell you how to grieve. However, never harm yourself. If you lack faith, ask God. If you are scared, tell God. Talk to Him. Honesty is always best.

Surround yourself with positive people. Do not allow negative people to be around you, including doctors. Don't let negative thoughts enter your mind either.

Look up! Always look in the direction where you want to go. If you look down, you will be down. Depressed. Scared. Hopeless.

The unknown can hinder us. Hold on to what you know, activate that. God knows our outcome. All things are in His hands. Not ours. Not the doctor's. Only His. Knowing that, can make a huge difference, when we face any storm in life. And there are many.

Jacqueline Kennedy had the same form of cancer. She died within five months after being diagnosed. Money can buy you the best doctors, but it can't buy you good health. Nor can it buy you life. Life, is God-given. Life is a gift from God; we should never take life for granted.

It's 12 years later. I thank God for sparing my life.

Never bring fear to a cancer fight, bring faith! You will find that you have increased your chances for survival.

Michelle Cole is an author and motivational speaker.

She is the author of, "Lilla Belle the First Stages" and "F.A.T. CHANCE."

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Dr Rashid Buttar Treats Many Conditions Including Cancer

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On at 9:47 AM

Dr Rashid Buttar has a constant battle with the North Carolina Medical Board over his clinic and its work. He believes they are trying to keep the court cases running in the hopes of diminishing his money to a state where he cannot afford to run the clinic any longer. There are many doctors who support his work and do what's best for their patients and let them choose the best course of action for them about treatment. But it's the institution of modern medicine that is opposed to his practices.

That aside, Dr Buttar pushes on to help as many patients as he can, and with a great deal of success. He's had some great recoveries from cancer and his DVD: Cancer-The Untold Truth is one in a series of discs called "Know Your Options". His philosophies on healing certainly includes prevention is better than cure. But as most people never think about illness until it happens to them, he advocates that dealing with 7 toxicity problems in our bodies, allows the body to function as it should and heal itself.

He maintains that according to conventional medical literature, most cancer is cause by some type of toxicity causing the immune system damage and yet Chemo, Radiation, and surgery do not take care of the immune system. Also, surprisingly, Dr Buttar says many cancer patients actually die from malnutrition, but nothing is really addressed as far as keeping the correct nutrients up to the body during treatments.

He does extensive work with Autistic children, and is having a dramatic effect on their quality of life and that of their families. Other conditions he treats on a regular basis are:

* Hepatitis
* Auto Immune Conditions (myasthenia gravis, MS, etc)
* Cancer
* Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue
* Stroke
* Heart Disease
* Peripheral Vascular Disease
* Hypertension
* Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders
* Alzheimer's Disease
* Diabetes
* Degenerative Joint Disease

Quite an extensive list. The world is certainly a better place for people like Dr Buttar. He not only gives hope but he gives quality of life, that is a gift that just can't be beaten.

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The Mental Psychological Aspect of Surviving Cancer

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On at 9:47 AM

When many people find out that they are suffering from cancer, they regard it as a death sentence. Whilst depression is understandable, giving up should not be an option. Because the more positive and upbeat you are then the more likely you are to survive cancer. One of the first things that you have to do is reconcile your hopes and dreams with your subconscious.

Work out what it is that you want from your treatment and whether it is realistic to achieve whatever you want, then use your medical team to assist in those goals. There is never a single way to approach anything in life and this is as true for curing cancer as anything else. There are many paths that you can take, it may meander there or climb a mountain metaphorically. What is important to remember is the fact that it is your goal and your path, now is not the time to fulfill someone else dream.

You need to create a plan and take specific steps and actions to get you from where you are now to where you ultimately want to be. It is important to focus on the how rather than the outer goal. For instance you may decide that you want to be a five year cancer survivor, but the important thing is how you are going to achieve that objective. If necessary make room in your life for new objectives, get rid of any extra baggage, now is the time to focus on yourself. That does not mean push your family away or ignore them, but it does mean saying no to things that you do not want to do. Women find saying no especially difficult, but somehow you have to find a way and reconcile your self conscious desires and your actions.

From a psychological point of view that reconciliation is important. When we deny ourselves what we really want to do, we create tension between out conscious desires and our subconscious desires. Your mind power and your subconscious mind work together and they fashion your reality. Let's use a parallel to help you visualize how this works. Your subconscious mind is the part of your mind that you are not aware of your thoughts, but if you ignore it, it can create tensions in our lives known as Freudian slips. Which means the subconscious has a way of telling us what we really want? On a conscious level we may want to be kind and understanding, but we can be petty and mean.

Our subconscious is rather like a fertile soil any seed at all can take root. These seeds are your habitual thoughts and the things that you believe in and eventually they will grow to produce a crop. So if you plant weeds then you will get weeds in abundance and if you plant fruit tress then you will get masses of fruit. Our conscious mind that deals with all our conscious thoughts is the cultivator; it can grow anything in the subconscious.

Our conscious mind can impart a sense of failure or a mindset that we cannot fail at anything. It will not allow ourselves to be distracted in whatever our subconscious wants. Our subconscious can not hold success and failure at the same time, because our subconscious cannot be ambivalent, it wants one thing and one thing only. It is our conscious mind that is ambivalent. Make sure that your conscious and unconscious mind both want the same things, there is no room for doubt.

When many people find out that they are suffering from cancer they regard it as a death sentence. Whilst depression is understandable giving up should not be an option, because the more positive and upbeat you are then the more likely you are to survive cancer. One of the first things that you have to do is reconcile your hopes and dreams with your subconscious.

Work out what it is that you want form your treatment and whether it is realistic to achieve whatever you want, then use your medical team to assist in those goals. There is never a single way to approach anything in life and this is as true fro curing cancer as anything else. There are many paths that you can take it may meander there or climb a mountain metaphorically. What is important to remember is the fact that it is your goal and your path, now is not the time to fulfill someone else dream.

You need to create a plan and take specific steps and actions to get you from where you are now to where you ultimately want to be. It is important to focus on the how rather than the outer gaol. For instance you may decide that you want to be a five year cancer survivor, but the important thing is how you are going to achieve that objective. If necessary make room in your life for new objectives, get rid of any extra baggage now is the time to focus on you. That does not mean push your family away or ignore them, but it does mean saying no to things that you do not want to do. Women find saying no especially difficult, but somehow you have to find a way and reconcile your self conscious desires and your actions.

From a psychological point of view that reconciliation is important. When we deny ourselves what we really want to do, we create tension between out conscious desires and our subconscious desires. Your mind power and your subconscious mind work together and they fashion your reality. Let's use a parallel to help you visualize how this works. Your subconscious mind is the part of your mind that you are not aware of your thoughts, but if you ignore it, it can create tensions in our lives known as Freudian slips. Which means the subconscious has a way of telling us what we really want? On a conscious level we may want to be kind and understanding, but we can be petty and mean.

Our subconscious is rather like a fertile soil any seed at all can take root. These seeds are your habitual thoughts and the things that you believe in and eventually they will grow to produce a crop. So if you plant weeds then you will get weeds in abundance and if you plant fruit tress then you will get masses of fruit. Our conscious mind that deals with all our conscious thoughts is the cultivator; it can grow anything in the subconscious.

Our conscious mind can impart a sense of failure or a mindset that we cannot fail at anything. It will not allow ourselves to be distracted in whatever out subconscious wants. Our subconscious can not hold success and failure at the same time, because our subconscious cannot be ambivalent, it wants one thing and one thing only. It is our conscious mind that is ambivalent. Make sure that your conscious and unconscious mind both want the same things, there is no room for doubt.

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Enjoying Your Health? A Personal Journey Through Cancer's Lair

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On at 9:46 AM

What are you doing to maintain your health so that you and your family can enjoy life for years to come?

My family has been plagued with cancer for as long as I can remember, and the prospect that I may very well come down with a type of cancer is very real. I was born in 1967, and so I remember just so much up until the mid-70s, but within ten years, my three aunts and my mother were stricken with and succumbed to breast cancer.

My mother was the last of the sisters to go in 1979. I was eleven years old at the time. In 1981, my twenty year-old brother discovered lumps where our lymph nodes live, and was diagnosed with a rare form of lymph node cancer. He died less than a year later. I was fifteen years old at the time.

At the same time, my father was diagnosed with cancer, but he was able to defeat it the first time around. In 1997, he was diagnosed for the third time with a type cancer, this time being a type of liver cancer. He died just a couple months after diagnosis. I was thirty years old at the time.

I am now 42, and I am sad to say that two more of my family members were diagnosed with cancer. A cousin of mine with breast cancer and my oldest brother with a rare type of brain cancer stage 4. This is not easy news to hear, and the older we get, the more clearly we realize that health can be very fleeting.

My brother is taking the bull by the horns now, and he has radically changed his diet. His immune system has been compromised, and he is working diligently to build it back up so it can fight for him. What are some of the things he is doing?

* raw food diet. That means nothing cooked over 120°.
* very limited red meat.
* juiced carrots with apple
* garlic
* no processed sugars and limited natural sugars
* the Best vitamins and supplements

Because of the uniqueness of Chad's situation, his diet is very extreme, but what can we do to improve our health and boost our immune systems? The last item I listed is vitamins and supplements. My wife and I have used them for years now, and they make a difference. Supplements are crucial to helping our bodies maintain that strong immune system along life's way.

Do yourself a favor and enjoy your health for as long as you have it by supplementing your diet with the best vitamins and supplements, and by eating right and exercise.

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Who Am I? I Just Want to Be Me - Why Can't I?

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On at 9:46 AM

Everyone around me expects me to be just like a normal person - that is, one without cancer. But I'm NOT. I never will be that person again. These are the feelings of one with cancer of any kind.

I always have to be positive for everyone. I know that in some fashion, my lymphoma will probably appear again, probably sooner than later, but no one wants to hear me say that. It is not negative thinking, just being realistic. This patient has suffered with the disease and now suffers the rejection of her friends and family.

A new lump is reason to panic. She stopped looking and feeling but one of her doctors had to go looking and found lumps in her neck and armpit and now she is trying not to worry. Thus the PET scan and all that follows. She has a PET scan scheduled for next week, a ton of lab tests and then the appointment with the oncologist. Horrible anxiety appears every time this has to be done. Again, the outside world is missing and not understanding. This is the most important time for the family and friends to step up and be as supportive as ever. This is a frightening time for the patient and the not knowing is terrible. She really needs love and understanding at this time.

She's tired of not being able to express the fear and anxiety to people around her. They don't want to hear it, it's too frightening for them. She does NEED to say it though. She is fragile emotionally, feeling unable at times to cope with normal life (even small things like no phone calls get to her). She doesn't NEED the stress of anything right now. She needs support and understanding, take over her responsibilities, go out to lunch, anything - just be there. It's enough dealing with the cancer. Her patience with trivia and annoying people has worn thin. People don't seem to understand that she is struggling every day to remain upbeat and get on with her life knowing she has cancer inside ...and to learn to live with this disease is an ongoing struggle.

As she is through with treatment for now, and is starting to look more "normal" again, people want her to be "OK" all the time - and she"s NOT. It's has changed her and her life forever, she will never be the same person again.

This is so important for the friends and family to understand and acknowledge. She needs all of the support and love that is there for her. Now and forrever because there will be down days, bad days, scary days and she needs YOU! Please remember this story next time you have a close family member or friend with cancer or any other life threatening disease

Kathy Nordquist has Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. She has been in remission for three years and now fears that the cancer may be returning.

She is an eBay power seller, an internet marketer and cat lover. She stays active with the internet and all of the projects that seem to keep coming up.

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The Facts About Cancer

Posted by Khirad | | Posted On at 9:45 AM

Cancer has been a plague on humanity for a long time. Can you even imagine the impact this would have on our world if the suffering of so many people could be put to an end? Because we don't fully understand exactly what causes cancer it means that we can only take certain precautions to avoid it.

First off it is a good idea to understand exactly what cancer is and try to ascertain whether it is hereditary or something you can acquire. This is what happens with a population of cells that increase in size by replication, similar to the amoeba.

The difference between a cancerous tumor an a benign one is that malignant tumors continue to grow whereas benign ones limit their growth an many of us live comfortably with them during out lives without even knowing. While it is not generally a young person's disease, it can occur at any age. While smoking, chemicals and radiation for instance, can be the cancer trigger, it is the poison from these or other sources that transform body cells and create genetic abnormalities which grow and multiply.

For some people the problem lies not with any form of external poison although faults with their parents DNA or genetic makeup can result in a person being born with the diseased cells. Complex relationships between carcinogens and a person's genetic makeup may explain why only some develop it after exposure to a known carcinogen.

Long term research has given a better picture of what cancer is and the study of cancer is one of the top ten diseases being researched throughout the world. We are always learning more about diseases and how they affect our bodies and minds. After all we all want to know more about why we contract cancer and how to avoid it.

Your regular diet could be putting you at long term risk from all kinds of diseases. People are generally eating too much of the wrong things such as an excess salt intake, too much saturated fat and certain dairy produce.

Cancer does not have any prejudice when it comes to invading a person's body as it can strike anywhere. Some people can have cancer for several years before they have any symptoms. Nature has provided us a way to combat cancer and it comes from the apricot seed, therefore a patent can't be implemented since the apricot seed is not a pharmaceutical and there is no money to be made. On the business side, cancer is huge money maker and the love of that is truly the root of deception, amongst other things. Chemo is basically poison and there are natural alternatives available that are being and will continue to be kept under wraps.

For the sake of your loved ones make changes in your diet where there needs to be changes. Include vitamin B17 which is a cancer killer in spite of the "quackery" label that has been placed on it. There is a way to live cancer free.

Joni Bell has many years of extensive study in the area of natural cancer prevention and treatment. He has numerous success stories of people being diagnosed living cancer free with use of alternative methods.
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How to Build Your Immune System to Fight Cancer

Posted by Khirad | | Posted On at 9:45 AM

For years, many research and studies have been trying to establish the link between proper nutrition, and the prevention of cancer. Most experts believe that the human body is composed of numerous cancer cells however cancer won't develop unless triggered. As a matter of fact, experts have stated that cancer cells are expected to appear in the body at least 6 to 10 times within a person's lifetime.

The inevitable side-effects of chemotherapy

Over the past few years, new medical breakthroughs have emerged claiming to be the effective treatment for cancer. Unfortunately, some of the common methods of treatment inflict detrimental side effects to the body. Numerous researches have shown that chemotherapy - one of the most common form of cancer treatment - can greatly weaken the immune system. Chemotherapy drugs are too strong that it can destroy even the good bacteria living inside the body. Additionally, it can result to immune system stress due to the strong dosage of medications being introduced in the body. People who have weakened immune system are highly susceptible to acquiring a number of immune system infections.

The importance of a healthy diet

Many medical experts suggest that the best way to fight cancer is to prevent it from occurring. It is easier said than done but the truth is there are a lot of factors that affects its development. But recent studies have concluded that a healthy diet will be our body's best ammunition to prevent the progression of cancer cells. In fact, majority of the available foods in the market especially those that are canned and preserved, contain cancer-causing ingredients. Therefore, diet indeed can play an important role in impeding the development of cancer and lessening immune system stress.

Basically, the idea is to strengthen our immune system support in order to impede the acquisition of viruses, bacteria as well as other medical ailments. By far, consuming a wholesome, natural diet is the cheapest way to fight cancer. Most experts agree that plant-based foods contain essential nutrients that curbs and combat cancer-causing substances. Therefore, a drastic change to one's diet will definitely be our best defense not only to cancer-causing agents but to other disease-forming bacteria and immune system infection as well.

Focusing on building up your immune system

They say that the immune system plays a crucial role in a person's overall well-being. It practically acts as the body's defense against diseasing-causing bacteria. That being said, a strong immune system support could also help in averting the invasion of cancer-causing agents. This could be done through the consumption of healthy plant-based foods. There are numerous ways on how you can sustain the body's primary defense. One of the best and most effective is through the intake of wholesome foods. This is your best shot in reducing your risk for developing cancer.

Here are some simple ways that you can follow when building up your immune system to effectively win the fight against cancer:

  • Stay away from all kinds of unhealthy foods. Remember that cancer cells feed on foods that are rich in sugar, fats, and preservatives thus as much as possible take them away from your diet.
  • Eat plenty of vegetable from the cruciferous family. Vegetables classified under the cabbage family such as kale, cauliflower, broccoli and brussel sprouts have shown promising cancer-fighting properties. Recent scientific studies have revealed that it can help ward off prostate and colon cancers.
  • Get enough Vitamin D in your diet. According to a report from the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), a study suggested that there is a strong link between Vitamin D and the inhibition of breast cancer. The study revealed that an increased dose of Vitamin D can significantly hamper the development of breast cancer by almost 50%.
  • Practice good eating habits and always include cancer-fighting foods in your diet. Leading a healthy lifestyle is your key to prevent having a poor immune system and to inhibit the formation of abnormal cells. Experts have insinuated that majority of our diet should include plenty of vegetable, beans, whole grains and fruits.

Indeed, immune foods can influence the development of abnormal cell growth in the body. Many studies have already proved the significance of pursuing a healthy diet. By understanding how does the immune system works, you will realize that it can greatly help in shielding the body from cancer-causing agents. If you are really serious in boosting your immune system to avert the progression of cancer cells, then start by feeding your body with wholesome, natural plant-based foods.

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A Layman's Guide to Cancer - Part 1

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On at 9:44 AM

Cancer - An introduction

What is cancer?

Cancer is a term used to describe a group of diseases which result from uncontrolled and abnormal growth of cells in the body. The reason for this uncontrolled and abnormal growth is due to damages to the DNA, present in every cell in the body, also called mutations. For this reason cancer can be said to be a genetic disease.

How cancer occurs

In a normal human being cells grow, divide and die in an orderly fashion with new cells replacing old and damaged cells. The death of aged and damaged cells is controlled by a genetic program called Apoptosis (progrmammed cell death). DNA, which is present in every cell and controls all it's activity, is responsible for the control of this orderly process.

Sometimes this orderly process goes wrong,due to damage to the DNA. Cells have mechanisms to repair damaged DNA and most of the times the damages are repaired and if the repair mechanisms fail to repair the damaged DNA the cell undergoes Apoptosis. In cancer the damaged DNA is not repaired and the cells don't die but continue to survive and proliferate leading to a mass of cells called tumors. Most of the cancers form tumors,but sometimes,like in leukemia, which is cancer of the blood cells, there is no tumor and the cancer cells circulate in the blood stream and spread to various organs in the body. Not all tumors are cancers. Tumors which are not cancerous are called Benign tumors. Cancerous tumors are called malignant tumors.

As mentioned above damage to the DNA leads to tumor formation. The changes in DNA which cause the cell to become cancerous are called mutations. These mutations can be inherited(from one or both the parents) or acquired. The presence of inherited mutations doesn't mean that the person is going to be affected by cancer. But the chances of the person developing a cancer are increased. Many individuals with inherited DNA changes don't develop cancer. A single mutation is usually not sufficient to cause cancer as multiple mutations are usually required for the cells to become cancerous. Mutations can also be acquired in one's lifetime by exposure to radiation, carcinogens like cigarette smoke, asbestos, tobacco etc and faulty DNA repair
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Cancer in Women - Saving Your Fertility After Cancer Treatments

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On at 9:43 AM

Saving your fertility after cancer treatment depends on several factors for women. The kind of cancer, type and length of treatment received, drug dosage, surgeries performed, and a woman's age all play a role in how quickly you can recover your fertility, or if the effects of the cancer treatment will leave you permanently infertile. It's important to talk to your Kansas City fertility doctors both before and after cancer treatment to learn what your options are for starting a family.

For most women, your menstrual periods will either stop or become irregular during treatment. After finishing your cancer treatment, it may take 6 months to a year before your period returns. Both chemotherapy and radiation can also damage the eggs. It is thought that most damaged eggs are expelled from the body within 6 months, but because of the chance of recurring cancer, many doctors recommend waiting 2 years before attempting to get pregnant. It is possible that your body may recover and ovulation will resume on its own, allowing you to get pregnant naturally. However, women over age 30 and those receiving chemotherapy or radiation to the pelvis are at risk for sudden, early menopause even if menstruation resumes.

Permanent infertility from cancer treatments can be caused by hysterectomy, total body irradiation, or premature ovarian failure (menopause before the age of 40). If the ovaries are both surgically removed, or are damaged by chemotherapy or high doses of radiation, premature ovarian failure occurs.

Sometimes it is not possible to take measures before cancer treatment to preserve your fertility. Aggressive cancers may require that you start treatment immediately, not allowing you the time needed for egg stimulation and collection. Your fertility doctors in Kansas City may advise against egg collection if you have certain types of cancer, such as hormone dependent breast cancer. If you are unable to take steps to preserve your fertility before starting cancer treatments, there are still options available, such as:

  • Donor Eggs- Eggs may be donated anonymously, or the donor may be known to the recipients. All egg donors should be screened to be sure they are medically and psychologically healthy. Kansas City fertility doctors have donor programs available through their clinics.
  • Embryo Donation- Couples that have previously participated in assisted reproductive technology may have unused frozen embryos that they are willing to donate to other couples.
  • Surrogacy- An option for women that cannot carry a pregnancy due to loss of the uterus or to high risk. There are two types of surrogates. A gestational carrier is a woman who carries a pregnancy for the genetic parents. (The intended parents supply the egg and sperm.) A traditional surrogate contributes her egg, is artificially inseminated with the father's semen, and carries the pregnancy. Genetically, she is the mother of the infant.
  • Adoption- Some couples choose to forgo infertility treatments and decide to adopt instead.
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Gene Therapy for Cancer

Posted by Khirad | Labels: | Posted On at 9:40 AM

What is Gene therapy?

The source of many human illnesses is found in our genetic structure. What has been previously considered inaccessible for the human: the genetic material from which we are all made of – is now at the forefront of medicine.

Gene therapy refers to ways of utilizing genes to treat illnesses by changing human hereditary material. Gene therapy is the insertion of normal or genetically altered genes into cells to replace the defective genes which causing cancer spread and tumor growth.

Cancer = Malfunction of our Genes (DNA)
Cancer is a term for a group of diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems.

Cancer begins in our cells, the body’s basic unit of life. Normally, cells grow and divide as part of the normal process of cell regeneration which keep our body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells.

However, sometimes this normal process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When the DNA of a cell is damaged, cells do not die when they should, and more cells are forming when the body does not need them. These extra cells may develop into a mass of tissue called a tumor.

While some tumors are benign and can be removed from the body without further spreading, other tumors, called malignant tumors, are cancerous; they can invade healthy tissues and spread to other parts of the body (Metastasis).

Nearly all cancers are caused by abnormalities in the genetic material of the transformed cells. These abnormalities may be due to the effects of carcinogens, such as tobacco smoke, radiation, chemicals, or infectious agents. Other cancer-promoting genetic abnormalities may be randomly acquired through errors in DNA replication, or are inherited, and thus present in all cells from birth.

P53 Gene - the “Genome guardian.”
The last two decades of research in genetics and molecular biology have given us an unprecedented knowledge on the inner workings of cells and the role of the genetic information that is encoded in them. Genes, the biological units which hold that information, hold a key role in the understanding of how diseases are formed, as well as the key to new medical solutions.
Tumor Suppressor Genes are special genes which are in charge on slowing down cell division, the repair of DNA mistakes and the elimination of old or damaged cells. When tumor suppressor genes don’t function properly, an uncontrollable cell growth may occur, which may lead to cancer. Among about 30 tumor suppressor genes that have been identified, the most potent member of these group and the most studied one is a gene called p53 gene. p53 gene act to kill cancer cells, suppress cancer cell growth and prevent cells from becoming cancerous. After more than two decades of study, the p53 gene is widely regarded as the “genome guardian.”
It has been estimated that at least half of all human malignancies are related to a mutation of the p53 gene. It is the core principle of Gene therapy for cancer to repair the malfunctioning of this natural genetic guardian.

“Gendicine”
“Gendicine” is a drug composed mainly of human normal p53 tumor suppressor gene and modified adenovirus serotype 5, which acts as a vector delivering the therapeutic p53 gene into target cells.
The p53 gene is involved in multiple cellular processes, including control of cell division, DNA repair, cell differentiation, genome integrity, apoptosis, and inhibition of blood vessel growth, or anti-angiogenesis. It brings forth its anti-tumor activities by one or more of the following ways:

1. Causing cancerous cells to self-destruct:
The p53 gene triggers apoptotic (programmed cell death) pathways in tumor cells by a *transcription-dependent mechanism in the cell nucleus, in the cell mitochondria and in the Golgi apparatus (a system involved in intercellular transport).

2. Triggering the activity of the Natural Killer Cells (NK) to fight the cancerous cells:
The p53 gene can trigger immune-response factors that will alert the natural killer cells to identify the cancerous cells and act to destroy them.

3. Preventing and inhibiting normal processes of DNA repairs and anti-apoptosis functions inside cancerous cells, which interfere with the development of tumors.

4. Preventing and inhibiting the tumor’s defense and propagation mechanisms:
The p53 gene has the ability to:
(1) Decrease the tumor’s resistance to radiation and chemotherapy drugs.
(2) Blocking blood supply to tumor’s tissue.
(3) Suppressing tumor cell adhesion, infiltration and metastasis.

5. Blocking the communication signals in tumor cells: by interfering inter-cellular communication within cancerous cells the p53 gene cut off cell cycle and prevent its growth.

6. Hindering the tumor cells nutrition uptake:
The p53 gene has the ability to limit glucose uptake, and the production of ATP in tumor cells
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Re-evaluation of mammary stem cell biology based on in vivo transplantation

Posted by Khirad | | Posted On Monday, August 17, 2009 at 9:28 AM

Over nearly half a century, transplantation methods have been employed to regenerate the mammary gland in vivo. Recent highly cited reports claim to have demonstrated the regeneration of an entire functional mammary gland from a single mammary epithelial cell. Nevertheless, re-examination of the literature on the transplantation biology of mammary gland regeneration reveals that a complex, combinatorial interaction between variously differentiated mammary epithelial cells and the mammary fat pad stroma is indispensable to this process. In the present article, these issues are reviewed and discussed to provide a greater understanding of the complexity of these multiplex interactions.

Early history

The experiments that demonstrate the presence of stem cells in the mammary gland are based on the pioneering studies of DeOme and his students, Les Faulkin and Charles Daniel. The approach they used was serial transplantation of normal mammary gland into the cleared mammary fat pad of syngeneic mice [1,2]. The cleared fat pad transplantation technique allowed the transplantation and growth of normal mammary cells into their normal anatomical site and under the influence of a normal physiological environment. Using this method, they demonstrated that the normal mammary gland contains cells that will grow and fill the fat pad with a normal ductal mammary tree and will respond to hormones with a normal differentiation program [3]. The progeny of the transplanted cells could be serially transplanted into the appropriate recipients multiple times; however, unlike preneoplastic cells or neoplastic cells, the normal cells always senesced after multiple serial transplants, generally five to eight transplant generations [4]. This was interpreted as indicating that the proliferative activity was a finite property of the stem cells. This finite lifespan was a fundamental difference between normal and preneoplastic/neoplastic mammary cells.

Subsequent studies demonstrated that stem cells were located along the entire mammary tree and were represented in the different developmental states of the mammary gland. These stages included primary and tertiary ducts from 6-week and 16-week virgin gland, uniparous and multiparous regressed glands, and 15-day pregnant and 10-day lactating glands [5]. Host age and reproductive history had little influence on the frequency of stem cells as measured by the percentage of successful takes and a lifespan assay [5,6]. Mammary cells from 26-month-old virgin mice had the same transplant potential as cells taken from 3-week-old mice. Both cell populations senesced after five transplant generations. Similarly, continuous hormone stimulation did not induce additional loss of ductal growth potential. These studies suggested that the mammary stem cell is a relatively quiescent cell that is only activated under conditions of gland repopulation (that is, fetal growth stage, pubertal growth phase). Under other conditions, such as pregnancy, it is probable that ductal and alveolar progenitor cells form the bulk of the increased mammary epithelial cell population [7].

These early studies demonstrated that the lifespan was intricately linked to proliferation activity. For example, the lifespan was correlated with the interval of serial transplantation. Transplanting at 12-month intervals instead of at 3-month intervals therefore prolonged the ultimate lifespan of normal cells [8,9]. Similarly, transplanting from the periphery of the ductal outgrowth (that is, such cells would have undergone more cell divisions) resulted in earlier senescence than transplanting cells from the center (that is, the original transplant site) of the outgrowth. In summary, these early studies suggested the presence of a mammary cell that could repopulate the mammary gland and could undergo a normal and complete morphogenic program (that is, a stem cell). Such cells were spaced throughout the mammary tree, were quiescent and had a finite lifespan.

A commonly stated assumption that normal mammary stem cells are an ideal target for oncogenic transformation because they, like cancer cells, share a long lifespan (that is, replicative potential) is not supported by the transplantation results. At least for the mammary gland, the evidence to date suggests that mammary stem cells have a finite lifespan. Although untested, another possibility for the appearance of growth senescence might be due to failure of the micro-environment (niche) to provide the signals appropriate for stem cell self-renewal. This deficiency would, by necessity, involve the epithelial cell population surrounding the stem cell proper since transplantation always occurs into young mammary fat pad stroma. A corollary to this possibility would be that signals emanating from the transformed progeny surrounding the self-renewing premalignant/tumorigenic cell rather than a property intrinsic to the premalignant/tumorigenic cell are responsible for the infinite replicative lifetime of an immortalized mammary population.

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Sugar and fat – that's where it's at: metabolic changes in tumors

Posted by Khirad | | Posted On at 9:27 AM

Tumor cells exhibit an altered metabolism, characterized by increased glucose uptake and elevated glycolysis, which was first recognized by Otto Warburg 70 years ago. Warburg originally hypothesized that these metabolic changes reflected damage to mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. Although hypoxia and hypoxia inducible factor can induce transcriptional changes that stimulate glucose transport and glycolysis, it is clear that these changes can occur in cultured tumor or transformed cells cultured under normoxic conditions, and thus there must be genetic alterations independent of hypoxia that can stimulate aerobic glycolysis. In recent years it has become clear that loss of p53 and activation of Akt can induce all or part of the metabolic changes reflected in the Warburg effect. Likewise, changes in expression of lactate dehydrogenase and other glycolytic control enzymes can contribute to increased or altered glycolysis. It is also clear that changes in lipid biosynthesis occur in tumor cells to support increased membrane biosynthesis and perhaps the altered energy needs of the cells. Changes in fatty acid synthase, Spot 14, Akt, and DecR1 (2,4-dienoylcoenzyme A reductase) may underlie altered lipid metabolism in tumor cells and contribute to the ability of tumor cells to proliferate or metastasize. Although these advances provide new therapeutic targets that merit exploration, there remain critical questions to be explored at the mechanistic level; this work may yield insights into tumor cell biology and identify additional therapeutic targets.

Introduction

For more than 70 years it has been appreciated that cancer cells exhibit an altered metabolism that is characterized by elevated uptake of glucose and an increased glycolytic rate; this observation was first reported by Otto Warburg [1], comparing liver cancer cells with normal liver cells. The observation that cancer cells generated the majority of their ATP by glycolysis, even when grown in the presence of oxygen, caused Warburg to hypothesize that the metabolic shift toward glycolysis observed in cancer cells reflected damage to mitochondrial respiration, which resulted in aerobic glycolysis. In normal cells the presence of oxygen inhibits glycolysis, as first recognized by Pasteur (the Pasteur effect) [2]. Furthermore, Warburg hypothesized that this metabolic change was the origin of cancer, as reflected in the title of his report published in 1956 [3]. It is now clear that the majority of tumor cells in vivo, and transformed cells in vitro, exhibit elevated levels of glucose transport and elevated rates of glycolysis that result in an increase in the production of lactate; this phenomenon is known as the Warburg effect.

Glycolysis is a topic covered in virtually every biochemistry course because of its central role in biology and is summarized in Figure 1. During glycolysis, glucose is metabolized to form two molecules of pyruvate with a net gain of two molecules of ATP from one molecule of glucose. Under normal conditions, pyruvate is converted into acetylcoenzyme A to provide starting material for the citric acid cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, which yields about 34 more molecules of ATP from the molecule of glucose. Despite inefficient use of glucose, tumor cells often convert pyruvate to lactate, which is secreted from the cell, but this change in metabolism is prominent and would appear to result from rather strong selective pressure. Tumor hypoxia (lack of oxygen) will also cause a shift to glycolytic metabolism, because respiration cannot occur without oxygen. Tumor hypoxia and activation of hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) is undoubtedly an important pathway that contributes to tumorigenesis, angiogenesis, increased glycolysis and tumor cell survival. Additionally, HIF can be activated under normoxia by loss of the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor (which normally acts to keep levels of HIF activity low under normoxic conditions) or activation of receptor tyrosine kinase signaling [4]. HIF-1 inhibits mitochondrial biogenesis and cellular respiration in von Hippel-Lindau deficient renal cell carcinoma by repression of c-Myc activity [4]. HIF activation not only stimulates glycolysis but also actively attenuates mitochondrial respiration, making HIF a key regulator of cancer cell
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