Chemotherapy Drugs
Little known side effect YOU need to know about
In January, 2005 it was reported that cancer has surpassed
heart disease - for the first time - as the top killer of Americans
younger than 85. In 2002, the most recent year for which information
is available, 476,009 Americans younger than 85 died of cancer, compared
with 450,637 who died of heart disease. An estimated 1,372,910 new
cancer cases and 570,260 cancer deaths are expected this year.
Paclitaxel, a preferred treatment for lung and breast cancers,
has a cancer-promoting risk as well.
Lung cancer remains the biggest cancer killer, projected
to claim 163,510 lives this year. Paclitaxel will be used in the attempt
to save the lives of many of these patients.
However, one little-known effect of Paclitaxel is
that in a subset of these patients there will be up to a fivefold
increase in the production of Interleukin - 8 (IL-8) - a cellular
communication molecule that initiates the growth of new blood vessels
to feed the growing cancer.
In other words, if you fall into this subset of patients,
treatment using Paclitaxel alone may not be effective at preventing
recurrence.
NF-kB blockade enhances cancer killing ability of Paclitaxel
IL-8 is under the control of
an inflammatory regulating protein called nuclear factor-kappa Beta
(NF-kB). When the activation of NF-kB is blocked, IL-8 dries up, much
like a faucet that has been turned off.
Thus, blocking NF-kB activation
enhances the cancer killing ability of Paclitaxel. These results were
seen with many types of cancer cells, including lung and esophageal
cancer cells.
Paclitaxel is NOT the Only Drug that Promotes Excessive NF-kB
Paclitaxel is but one of a group
of drugs that has this unwanted side-effect of activating NF-kB. Other
drugs in this group include Doxorubicin, 5-Fluorouracil, Cisplatin,
VP-16 (Etoposide), ARA-C, and Methotrexate.
In addition, research demonstrates
that excessive NF-kB activity contributes to cancer development in
the following types of cancers: non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic,
primary liver, head and neck cancer, prostate, breast, esophageal,
stomach, colon, Hodgkin's disease, and multiple myeloma.
Supportive treatment that improves chemotherapy effectiveness.
Paclitaxel, along with the other NF-kB activating
chemotherapeutic drugs, is approved for the treatment of a wide range
of cancers. It appears likely that they will continue to be used for
the foreseeable future.
If you are on (or considering using) Paclitaxel or
one of the other drugs in this group to treat cancer, there is a supportive
treatment that you need to know about that improves the effectiveness
of these drugs and reduces your risk of having a cancer recurrence.
We have a Multi-Dimensional Approach to Reducing Inflammation that
Complements and Enhances the Impact of these Drugs.
At the Center for Learning about
Healing in Ann Arbor, MI where I practice integrative medicine and
behavioral oncology, I focus on multi-dimensional ways to empower
patients to evaluate and change patterns of eating, behaving, thinking,
and coping that are known to contribute to inflammatory reactions
in the body. These methods complement the cancer killing effects of
Paclitaxel, Doxorubicin, 5-FU, and other such drugs.
Genomic Testing Can Clarify Your Specific Inflammatory Molecular
Mechanisms that Sustain Your Cancer
Inflammation is present before,
and during the life of a cancer. In cancer, inflammation is a pathological
process characterized by injury or destruction of tissues caused by
a variety of cellular and chemical reactions.
It is usually manifested by typical
signs of pain, heat, redness, swelling, and loss of function. However,
inflammation is also essential for tissue repair and tissue rebuilding.
Genomic testing (easily performed
with saliva or blood samples) allows us to create a personalized map
of your inflammatory tendencies based on your genomic predispositions.
This method
is revolutionary because it allows you to regulate your genomic capabilities
to your advantage, which then allows you to reduce the expression
of your inflammation-related genes.
What Cancer Patients Need to DO is Reduce the Expression of Inflammation-Related
Genes
Once you know your specific
genomic blueprint for excessive inflammation, we work together to
develop the tools you need to re-set the expression of your inflammation
blueprint.
These tools must be unique to
you, precisely because your genomic expression capabilities are unique
to you. These tools include anti-inflammatory diets supported by oral
and intravenous nutrients that block and down-regulate NF-kB. Remember,
it is this protein that is responsible for the abnormal rise in IL-8
during Paclitaxel administration.
By measuring markers of cellular
inflammation before, during, and after chemotherapy treatment, and
using your unique tools, we compile a personalized treatment record
of inflammatory responses (normal and abnormal) that serves as a benchmark
for your risk of cancer recurrence after chemotherapy treatment.
With these personalized guidelines, you will have insider knowledge
about choices of foods, behaviors, and interpersonal relationships
that will be conducive to keeping your inflammation-related genes
quiet.
Patients with high inflammatory
markers during chemotherapy are at higher risk for recurrence, and
thus need to more closely monitor and modulate their NF-kB expression
after the chemotherapy ends.
What is important to understand
is that:
- There is an optimal amount of expression
of NF-kB consistent with health;
- Excessive expression contributes to diseases
like cancer recurrence, especially when NF-kB is turned on continuously;
and
- You will have the power and the tools needed
to regulate NF-kB's expression.
Become the Captain of Your Healing Team! As
your physician-coach, I recommend that you become the captain of your
healing team, and let me and my team partner with you to clarify the
specific molecular mechanisms driving your specific cancer.
We coach you to learn the skills and to master
the tools needed to reduce the collective contribution of foods, emotions,
and behaviors to the excessive expression of inflammation-related
genes.
By working together, you learn to modulate your
inflammation blueprint by modulating the expressive capacity of NF-kB.
Modulating your expression of NF-kB is the inner game of self-discovery,
consciousness expansion, forgiveness, and cell (self) renewal that
is what allows healing to occur.
To view diagrams describing NF-kB in health
and in disease, visit our website at http://www.arond-thomasonline.com
Learn More about How You Can Improve Your
Chances of Not Having a Cancer Recurrence. You or a loved one can
learn more about how you can improve the effectiveness of your cancer
treatments and improve your chances of not having a recurrence. at
http://www.1CancerCoach.com
James Arond-Thomas, MD, is Director of The Center for Learning about
Healing in Ann Arbor and West Bloomfield, MI. Dr. Arond-Thomas partners
with people with cancers and other serious illnesses to construct
a "whole person" roadmap leading to health and well-being.
To find out more about how you can benefit from Dr. James' ground-breaking
research and clinical experience, send an email to DrJames@1CancerCoach.com,
or call us at (734) 995.4999.
