Amanda
and I read a lot about all the conventional methods of treating
advanced breast cancer (and stage 1 breast cancer). It would be
lovely to discover something that's on offer that really worked, but
sadly there doesn't seem to be anything. It seems most folks
either recover or they don't, regardless of whether they've been had
chemotherapy or not. The folks that survive it would probably
have survived anyway lookin
g at the clinical trials and the actual statistics. Herceptin seems to another hyped up cancer treatment, and this is what's on offer to Amanda at the moment. So we thought we'd read the clinical trials, you know, rather than just taking someone else's word for it. Remember Doc's and Onc's are provided with drugs that have been 'proven' to work, studied at length through strict clinical trials.... Therefore the Doc's and Onc's don't really need to read vast amounts regarding these clinical trials, and let's be honest, they probably don't have the time. Their only human after all. I'm sure when they finish work the last thing they want to do is read through reams of clinical data. They want to veg in front of their plasma screen tv's and watch some 'forget everything trash'. The Doc's & Onc's simply provide these drugs to their patients, trusting that the company and the drugs administration regulators have done all the hard work. The Docs & Oncs trust them.... And why not eh? Who wouldn't trust a company that's invested millions of £s or $s in developing and marketing a new (or tweaked version of an old drug) a drug for the mass market? This treatment needs to be approved so it can be sold to hospitals for huge sums of money in vast quantities, so the hospitals can then treat (not heal) all their sick and dying patients? The more cynical of you may see where I'm coming from..... But some of you may think 'He's just mental.'
In all honesty we should all spend more time looking in to the medicine we are prescribed or the treatments we are to be given. Sometimes just assuming and trusting the doctor, specialist or oncologist to crack on with their smorgasboard of bio-chemicals is just a little ignorant really. We should all show interest in our bodies and how they work. We simply assume he or she knows what all these chemicals do, how they work and more importantly how they interact with all the other chemicals that are slipping in to your system on a daily basis with other medications, processed foods or air borne chemicals. Do these medical professionals not know this then? Ask them and see. I have..... It certainly won't fill you with confidence, and it may just make you want to do your homework. After all it's your body, and you only get one. See some of the interesting clinical trials and facts of the wonder drug Herceptin below.....
g at the clinical trials and the actual statistics. Herceptin seems to another hyped up cancer treatment, and this is what's on offer to Amanda at the moment. So we thought we'd read the clinical trials, you know, rather than just taking someone else's word for it. Remember Doc's and Onc's are provided with drugs that have been 'proven' to work, studied at length through strict clinical trials.... Therefore the Doc's and Onc's don't really need to read vast amounts regarding these clinical trials, and let's be honest, they probably don't have the time. Their only human after all. I'm sure when they finish work the last thing they want to do is read through reams of clinical data. They want to veg in front of their plasma screen tv's and watch some 'forget everything trash'. The Doc's & Onc's simply provide these drugs to their patients, trusting that the company and the drugs administration regulators have done all the hard work. The Docs & Oncs trust them.... And why not eh? Who wouldn't trust a company that's invested millions of £s or $s in developing and marketing a new (or tweaked version of an old drug) a drug for the mass market? This treatment needs to be approved so it can be sold to hospitals for huge sums of money in vast quantities, so the hospitals can then treat (not heal) all their sick and dying patients? The more cynical of you may see where I'm coming from..... But some of you may think 'He's just mental.'
In all honesty we should all spend more time looking in to the medicine we are prescribed or the treatments we are to be given. Sometimes just assuming and trusting the doctor, specialist or oncologist to crack on with their smorgasboard of bio-chemicals is just a little ignorant really. We should all show interest in our bodies and how they work. We simply assume he or she knows what all these chemicals do, how they work and more importantly how they interact with all the other chemicals that are slipping in to your system on a daily basis with other medications, processed foods or air borne chemicals. Do these medical professionals not know this then? Ask them and see. I have..... It certainly won't fill you with confidence, and it may just make you want to do your homework. After all it's your body, and you only get one. See some of the interesting clinical trials and facts of the wonder drug Herceptin below.....
Herceptin
has been seen to cause serious heart problems, including ventricular
dysfunction and congestive
heart failure,
have been reported as side effects in a small number of breast
cancer patients
receiving Herceptin (generic name, trastuzumab) alone or in
combination with chemotherapy.
An
estimated 10% of patients taking Herceptin have experienced
significant decreases in heart function.Furthermore, 1.7% to 4.1%
of patients taking Herceptin have experienced heart failure.
In
the past, cardiac side effects were observed in patients receiving
Herceptin either after chemotherapy with an anthracycline
(such as doxorubicin) or in combination with an anthracycline drug.
Typical courses of a combination of Herceptin and an anthracycline
drug are administered during a period of 1 to 2 years. The
anthracycline class of chemotherapeutic drugs is known to have
potential cardiac side effects.
Heart
failure is more common among breast
cancer patients
who receive Herceptin in combination with the
Ac chemotherapy regimen; i.e.chemotherapy, consisting
of an anthracycline, such as Adriamycin (doxorubicin) or Ellence, and
cyclophosphamide). However, Herceptin is not approved for use with
the AC combination outside of a clinical trial setting.
A
recent small study of Herceptin therapy given before exposure to any
other potentially cardiotoxic treatments shows that 9 weeks of a
combination of Herceptin therapy and was effective
treatment for breast
cancer and
did not result in cardiac failure in any of the 116 patients treated.
Moreover, the patients treated with Herceptin and chemotherapy
exhibited fewer reductions in heart function than did patients
treated with chemotherapy alone. However, the shorter
course of Herceptin therapy has not been approved by regulatory
agencies.
Read more:Herceptin Tied to Heart Issues in Breast Cancer -Breast Cancer news-http://www.health.am/cr/more/heart-issues-in-breast-cancer/#ixzz2SrbEpUT7
They
summed up their findings by explaining that not treating 1,000
low-risk women could result in 5 developing cardiac toxicities and
900 remaining alive at 3 years, but if treatment were given, the
corresponding figures would be 26 and 933.
To
summarise, Herceptin can increase the chance of heart damage by 500%,
this is the main downside.
The
upside? 90% of the women in the trial were alive after 3 years,
but whilst taking Herceptin this increased to 93% of them being alive
after 3 years. A 3% increase in survival rate. I'm sure the
women taking this drug want better than this.... I'm sure they want
longer than 3 years.... Longer than 5 years too, which is the
standard that chemo aims for. 5 years alive and you're a
success, even if your cancer came back and you died at the beginning
of the 6th year. Disgusting really.
Read more:Herceptin Tied to Heart Issues in Breast Cancer -Breast Cancer news-http://www.health.am/cr/more/heart-issues-in-breast-cancer/P2/#ixzz2Srb4BQQD
Read more:Herceptin Tied to Heart Issues in Breast Cancer -Breast Cancer news-http://www.health.am/cr/more/heart-issues-in-breast-cancer/P2/#ixzz2Srb4BQQD
According
to the American researchers, 28 per cent of patients who used the
drug for at least a year suffered some sort of cardiac problem or
cardiac damage, but they believe that risk is an “acceptable” one
as the majority of heart damage could be reversed with
treatment.
Read more:Herceptin Tied to Heart Issues in Breast Cancer -Breast Cancer news-http://www.health.am/cr/more/heart-issues-in-breast-cancer/P2/#ixzz2SrazYbNJ
Read more:Herceptin Tied to Heart Issues in Breast Cancer -Breast Cancer news-http://www.health.am/cr/more/heart-issues-in-breast-cancer/P2/#ixzz2SrazYbNJ
A
new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology has found that the
cancer drug Herceptin causes heart damage in 28 percent of its users.
A
team of researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer
Center studied 173 patients with advanced breast cancer who had been
taking Herceptin -- sometimes called Trastuzumab -- for a year. Each
patient received an initial cardiac assessment and was followed for
32 months.
The
researchers discovered that 49 of the patients -- 28 percent --
suffered some form of heart damage while on the drug, most
experiencing damage that could lead to heart failure. One woman died
because of such heart failure. In addition, 31 of those patients
suffered heart damage while taking only Herceptin, while the other 18
were taking the drug combined with chemotherapy.
Heart
function improved in 46 of the 49 patients with heart damage when
Herceptin treatment was stopped and common heart drugs such as ACE
inhibitors or beta-blockers were started.
"What's
so astonishing about this finding," said Mike Adams, a consumer
health advocate and frequent critic of dangerous drugs, "is not
only that the drug apparently harms such a huge percentage of
patients, but also that the drug's maker and the mainstream media are
claiming this is no big deal. Can you imagine the national outcry if
an herb harmed 28 percent of its users?"
The
researchers recommend that advanced breast cancer patients have a
cardiac assessment before and during treatment with Herceptin. The
study did not examine patients with early-stage breast cancer.
Critics
of conventional cancer treatments such as Herceptin say that herbal
remedies for cancer would be quickly pulled from the market if they
harmed 28 percent of patients, but Herceptin and other potentially
toxic treatments are allowed to remain on the market in spite of
dangerous side effects because they make money for pharmaceutical
companies.
"What
else is astonishing about Herceptin," added Mike Adams, "is
that clinical trials show it only helps a tiny fraction of patients
avoid breast cancer. One study showed that only 0.6 percent of
patients were helped by the drug. Given the 28 percent rate of harm
revealed today, this means the drug appears to harm 46 times as many
people as it helps. And yet Herceptin remains one of the most
widely-hyped drugs in the history of Big Pharma."
There's
a lovely selection of side effects to choose from... Only the
patients don't get to choose. All our bodies our bodies are
different, they all react in different ways.... But obviously a high
percentage suffer the heart problems as illustrated before. Many
more suffer severe joint pain, which they talk about on the breast
cancer forums, though this isn't recognised as a side effect of
Herceptin, so of course these poor ladies aren't suffering any severe
joint pains whatsoever.....
Bloody
wonder drug my back side.....
There are also issues with Tamoxifen which is now going to be provided to women who are seen as high risk due to the BRCA genes.... Clinical studies have demonstrated a reduction in incidence of breast cancer of 38 - 45% (a pessimist might say a 55% to 62% failure rate to inhibit breast cancer from forming, plus exposure to the side effects) for women on Tamoxifen. There is apparently no way of telling which women will benefit. Women who take Tamoxifen run an increased risk of getting uterine cancer - about two to three times the normal incidence of the disease. The drug may also induce symptoms similar to those of the menopause, such as hot flushes. Other common side effects include vaginal dryness, irregular periods and weight gain. But experts stress that all the studies done on the drug so far show that the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.
Basically it increases the chance of uterine cancer by 200% to 300% in potentially all the women who take it, but that's ok because it reduces the likelihood of these women suffering Oestrogen receptive breast cancer by 42% on average.....
Why don't the governments push all the natural methods of avoiding breast cancer? The drugs companies always come out laughing. This will be worth millions to the them now that Tamoxifen has been approved as a pre-cursor to oestrogen receptive breast cancer! The women don't even have to have it. Now they can start investing their cash on developing a half arsed way of prolonging all the lives of women who suffer uterine cancer as a side effect of taking Tamoxifen. It's a vicious circle of suffering for profit...... Very sad indeed.
There are also issues with Tamoxifen which is now going to be provided to women who are seen as high risk due to the BRCA genes.... Clinical studies have demonstrated a reduction in incidence of breast cancer of 38 - 45% (a pessimist might say a 55% to 62% failure rate to inhibit breast cancer from forming, plus exposure to the side effects) for women on Tamoxifen. There is apparently no way of telling which women will benefit. Women who take Tamoxifen run an increased risk of getting uterine cancer - about two to three times the normal incidence of the disease. The drug may also induce symptoms similar to those of the menopause, such as hot flushes. Other common side effects include vaginal dryness, irregular periods and weight gain. But experts stress that all the studies done on the drug so far show that the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages.
Basically it increases the chance of uterine cancer by 200% to 300% in potentially all the women who take it, but that's ok because it reduces the likelihood of these women suffering Oestrogen receptive breast cancer by 42% on average.....
Why don't the governments push all the natural methods of avoiding breast cancer? The drugs companies always come out laughing. This will be worth millions to the them now that Tamoxifen has been approved as a pre-cursor to oestrogen receptive breast cancer! The women don't even have to have it. Now they can start investing their cash on developing a half arsed way of prolonging all the lives of women who suffer uterine cancer as a side effect of taking Tamoxifen. It's a vicious circle of suffering for profit...... Very sad indeed.
Hi, I have had various treatments including surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy followed by Tamoxifen and when that stopped working all manner of hormone therapies and Pamidronate and when they stopped working it was back to chemo but in a tablet form which I was promised would be made tolerable.I always promised myself I would never have chemo again but after 2 weeks of deliberation I decided to give it a try and 3 days later I had heart problems. I stopped immediately and have found a sort of peace by following my intuition which I should have listened to in the first place. It is over 6 years from diagnosis to where I am now so I guess I would be classed as a success in medical terms. I am grateful that I am still alive 6 years on but have felt all along that it is all about money. The cancer industry is big business. Simple. I am facing each day as it comes. When you say 'No' to conventional treatment, what is left for you is the dedicated teams who run the hospices where you become a person again and not a case study or an experiment. I am beginning to experience the symptoms of my cells rapidly dividing and there's not much left of me where things aren't as they should be but at least I can now say that this is my body and I choose not to bombard it with poisonous noxious substances that will make me feel so unwell that life as I know it would be so severly compromised I have to ask myself the question is it really worth it ? I totally agree with your views, its about time treatment for cancer changed. From start to finish its all about serious life changing decisions based on fear, not enough information , very little understanding of what is actually happening to you and an impending sense of doom putting pressure on an individual to accept anything and everything going. Personally I think that sick people are big business, and its no accident the food we eat , the lifestyles we lead, the air we breathe...Go out and look for good food to buy ..it's not that easy. Look at the water we drink, what's actually in it ? Maybe ignorance is bliss , cancer is on the increase they say. Is it really any wonder ? We are drip fed false hope along with chemicals so toxic it makes your hair fall out. Or your heart stop beating. What a sad state of affairs.
ReplyDeleteHi Alison, your words bring tears to my eyes, I've had one of those days where emotions have ran high (well low, very low I suppose). When I read the various cancer forums and see what women are going through with the side effects of treatments that are brutal, barbaric and nigh on useless it breaks my heart. Side effects that doctors, chemo nurses and oncologists refuse to acknowledge are caused by the treatment not the actual cancer itself.... Is ignorance bliss? Maybe it really is.... I feel more let down by the commercial side of the human race than ever before. I feel angered at what is going on and being hidden behind an iron curtain. The snippets that do escape are rarely taken notice of by people who have had or are currently suffering cancer, let alone those who have never been directly affected by cancer. It will all change eventually, but the cost of human life in the meantime will cause suffering to friends and families throughout the world, the numbers are already monumental. It's a human catastrophe that this has been allowed as far as it has. Alison stay strong, stay true to yourself. It sounds like you have found peace in recognising the here and now. The present. I hope your quality of life is enough to be able to enjoy it Alison. Thanks for reading, thanks for taking the time to comment. I wish more people experiencing this would also take the time. Take care. Stay in touch.
ReplyDeleteMark.
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Thank you Mark for your reply. Again , I totally agree with your comments. I find that most people I speak to at treatment centres will not engage in conversation with you about their treatment mainly because they are at a place where they are convinced this drug that they are being given is going to perform some sort of miracle and cannot allow themselves to deviate from that idea. The nurses , who in my six years experience have all been very good in what they do , and are genuinely nice people . But I see them ask each patient the same question every time, ' How are you feeling ?' The thing is , they don't really understand how anyone really feels. Seeing it and hearing it is one thing , feeling it is entirely something else. I read somewhere that doctors and oncologists are so tied up with their guidelines that they cannot even comment on any other alternative treatments. When you mention say for instance the benefits of B17 its as if they didn't hear you. Which isn't much help when you are trying to help yourself. You have to research it all yourself and then go back and research it again. And you also have to be very discerning. There is so much to learn out there but also so much to mislead you. It has been my belief for a long time that nature provides everything we need to stay healthy. I also believe that the powers that be have done everything they can to modify , distort and remove as much as they can from our food sources and pollute and contaminate everything else. Its a losing battle I'm afraid. And all controlled by governments and Big Pharma. Saying that , I am not a defeatist. I accept that I have this condition and have lived with it for long enough to know that I am most certainly not alone and life has a way of delivering little packages of light along with the dark spells. I have met lots of truly decent people along the Cancer Road and had I not I might have lived a life of mundanity and never had the opportunity to look at the bigger picture . It is great that you take the time to write about yours and Amanda's experience because it is a beacon to others out there. Not many people refuse the drugs that already have your name on them before you've even had time to think it through. And its true, once you say no thank you , its like you are put out to pasture and left to get on with it. I will continue to see my oncologist even though I have no intention of accepting any more offers. I'm fortunate enough to have one that knows what she is talking about for real as she has tried it herself. But we all have a cut off point and mine falls way short of the average. I value the strength having a choice gives me. And anyone out there reading this , don't underestimate that word. Without Choice, you are nothing but a slave. And who in their right mind would choose slavery , to the death.
ReplyDeleteRegarding Herceptin, I have never been offered that so cannot comment. Of three people I did speak to recently , one said that she was angry about the effects of the treatment she had been given and had she known at the time she might not have had any, another said he was frustrated because he can no longer do the things he used to do, and that was 50 per cent down to the treatment and the other 50 per cent the illness itself. The third , who was quite unwell and faced with yet another decision about another drug was admittedly only considering it because of her family. She had had enough treatments. Its such a shame that in some ways we know too much these days. Being bombarded with facts and statistics doesn't help much and when you want a straight answer nobody knows or are willing to commit themselves. A bit of a paradox really. Hey Ho , its another beautiful day , I can still get out there and life is good. Its just not the sure thing that most people take for granted. Take care and keep posting. Your photos are an inspiration. Wishing you both all the best.
Ali
I totally agree Ali. Though don't believe it's a losing battle. As you rightly say, as human beings we have the right to make choices.... We don't get to choose them in totality, but we do get to pick from a few options, which provides a little freedom. It's true the choices offered tend to be poor from the medical side of things, but there are so many other things we can try. I for sure having read so many medical papers, clinical tests and having read so many folks cancer experiences, would never consider chemotherapy as a 'treatment' for cancer. As long as the overwhelming majority of the population believe that's all there is, and that chemo is the best and wisest way to treat cancer, the best way of seeing another 5 years or more of life, then chemotherapy drugs will continue to be produced making millions for those involved whilst damaging or eventually killing the majority of those cancer sufferers who are convinced by the medical establishment that flooding their body with pharmaceutical grade toxins is the best way to rid themselves of cancer.
DeleteWe all need to be more aware of what we put in, on or around our bodies. It's difficult to avoid environmental pollutants on the whole, but there are many ways of avoiding them. Then there is the whole emotional side of things to consider.... It goes on... and on... but it's worth learning, knowing and bringing in to the lives of everyone... Everyone who can be bothered... Some people detest the thought of change so much they would rather die. 'Oh I'd rather have my feet cut off than give up milk' was one example of a lady that suffer's terrible arthritis in her joints... There are hundreds of thousands of people like this in the world. They lack belief in the power they hold within themselves.
HI Mark,
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic last sentence! It sums it all up for me. So I guess we are the lucky ones because we have that awareness already. I'm reading Living Proof at the moment by Michael Gearin-Tosh. Have you read it ? What you need to read always has a way of finding you , doesn't it. Take care.
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ReplyDeleteDiets high in fruit may lower the risk of stomach and lung cancer.
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Eating oranges, berries, peas, bell peppers, dark leafy greens and other foods high in vitamin C may also protect against esophageal cancer.
Foods high in lycopene, such as tomatoes, guava, and watermelon, may lower the risk of prostate cancer.
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ReplyDeleteWow, excellent post. I'd like to draft like this too - taking time and real hard work to make a great article. This post has encouraged me to write some posts that I am going to write soon. Cancer Drugs
ReplyDelete