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The Next Generation of Chemotherapy

Numerous published papers and literature on the discovery of new chemotherapy, mechanisms of cancer kill, showed specific pathways that are linked to the genetics of each person's individual tumor and molecular profiling and not so much to the actual cancer type. This is a huge change from the old one size fits all method of cancer treatment that simply uses protocols based on type of cancer or tissue type only. The interesting part to this is that once the genetic information of the tumor is unlocked, not only do we find appropriate drug selection but also adjunctive natural therapies that may work complementary.

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  Chemocare

Confused about chemotherapy? What it does? Learn about the history, definitions, terminology and types of treatments used to remedy various cancers.

  Chemotherapy Isn’t Only for Cancer Patients

Every patient receiving chemotherapy has a heavy load on their shoulders whether it be for cancer, lupus, scleroderma, MS, PNH, or any other illness. We are all warriors just trying to win back our bodies.

 Old-Style Chemo Is Still A Mainstay In The Age Of Targeted Cancer Therapy

Chemotherapy remains one of the mainstays of cancer treatment, but these harsh drugs are slowly being edged aside in medical research, as new treatments, like immunotherapy, grab the spotlight. Still, this is not the end of the road for chemotherapy. For one thing, doctors are coming to realize that some of these drugs are useful for more than just killing cancer cells. Dr. Robert Comis, a professor and oncologist at Drexel University, had the first inkling of this phenomenon 30 years ago, after he ran a test involving radiation therapy along with just two cycles of chemotherapy — far too few cycles to be truly effective. Even so, the patients did much better than he'd expected.

 What is Genetically Targeted Fractionated Chemotherapy?

In conventional cancer centers, chemotherapy is the standard drug regimen for patients suffering with cancer. We reject that approach and believe that no single treatment should become standardized, due to the overwhelming fact that each cancer patient is unique. Rather, our medical team has developed a specialized and highly effective approach to chemotherapy and other treatments that are genetically-targeted, fractionated and personalized to fit the needs of our patients. Many patients that have been unresponsive to other cancer treatment programs have often been successful with our approach.

Articles of Interest

Chemotherapy, a Trusty Weapon Against Cancer, Falls Out of Favor

Breast-cancer doctors are at odds over whether some patients should get less chemo—or none at all.

How does targeted therapy treat cancer?

Each cancer patient is unique. So, when developing a cancer treatment plan, our doctors consider all the things that make them that way, including their diagnosis, medical history and treatment preferences. Targeted therapy enables us to personalize cancer treatment even further by tailoring drugs to the genetic characteristics of a patient’s specific tumor. “Unlike traditional chemotherapy, targeted therapy focuses on specific molecules that are thought to be important for cancer cell growth,” says Ecaterina Dumbrava, M.D., who specializes in Investigational Cancer Therapeutics.     Sometimes referred to as "precision medicine" or "personalized medicine," targeted therapy aims to stop or slow down the growth of cancer. Targeted therapy drugs are given either as a pill or through an IV.

In photos: A burlesque guide to making it through chemo

“Chemotherapy sucks the happiness out of you,” says Sondhe. “They have you on so many drugs and so much is going on, you would think you would be able to find that place and find that humor, but it doesn’t exist.”

Study: Chemo hurts patients with end-stage cancer

An important new medical study finds that chemotherapy does not extend life for end-stage, terminal cancer patients. What's more, those who received chemotherapy treatment near the end of their disease had a worse quality of life than those who didn't.

The Worst Part of Chemo Isn't Nausea

The side effects of chemo are well known and include nausea, vomiting, and hair loss, but preliminary results of a study released over the weekend suggest that patients aren't as worried about these physical consequences as they used to be. Rather, it's the more hidden aspects of chemotherapy that stress them out in their day-to-day lives, like losing sleep or feeling like their illness is a weight on their loved ones.

Virtual Chemotherapy

Today, whether you want to or not, you are coming along for a ride to my chemotherapy session. You’re welcome. You might call this a virtual chemo experience.

A History of Cancer Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy has, in fact, transitioned to the age of “targeted therapy.” The story of how we got to the point of identifying many molecular targets takes us back again to the 1960s to a seemingly unrelated program—the Special Virus Cancer Program (SVCP).

All aboard the chemo bus

Chemotherapy is a harrowing experience but it becomes even harder to endure when such potentially lifesaving treatment lies in a hospital hours away from home. However, there is now a solution that brings chemo to the heart of the community.

Can chemotherapy make cancer worse?

Chemotherapy is the last chance for many cancer survivors, but researchers in Seattle just made what they call a "completely unexpected" discovery that suggests the go-to cancer treatment is a double-edged sword

Chemo Wasn’t Good Enough

When you first start treatment, it’s kind of fun. Well, maybe fun is the wrong word. It’s... new? The days of chemo are long, but they move a little more quickly at first because there is so much to learn and experience. However, your freshman naivety is quickly overpowered by heavy fatigue, nausea, and other terrible side effects. I felt this shift about a month after chemo, and each week it only got worse. Two months into chemo, I crashed and burned.

Chemotherapy Doesn’t Work, Doctor Blows the Whistle

A compendium of misrepresentations led to a Facebook rumor claiming a long-dead doctor had recently revealed that chemotherapy doesn't work.

Chemotherapy doesn’t work? Not so fast

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve come across statements like the ones above, often in all caps, quite frequently with more than one exclamation point, on the websites of “natural healers,” purveyors of “alternative medicine.” In fact, if you Google “chemotherapy doesn’t work,” “chemotherapy is poison,” or “chemotherapy kills,” you’ll get thousands upon thousands of hits. In the case of “chemotherapy kills,”

Chemotherapy is brutal, but targeted drugs can reduce collateral damage

Targeted therapies are like heat-seeking missiles programmed to find and attack cancer but leave healthy cells alone.

Cooling Cap May Limit Chemo Hair Loss In Women With Breast Cancer

Researchers don't know exactly how the cooling caps work. One theory is that cooling constricts the blood vessels in the scalp, slowing the circulation and thereby reducing the amount of toxins to which hair follicles are exposed. Or it may be that cold slows the growth of hair follicles, making them less susceptible to damage from chemotherapy, which targets rapidly dividing cells.

Doctors Suggest Less Chemo, Surgery for Some Cancer Treatments

Researchers explore leaner approaches aimed at sparing patients tough side effects—and costs.

Does Chemotherapy Deserve Its Bad Rap?

Fortunately, with advanced testing of the tumor, some patients are learning they can avoid chemotherapy as part of their treatment. But for those of us who turn out to be candidates for harsh chemical infusion, the fear of what chemotherapy will do can be overwhelming. We have all heard the horror stories.

Gene Test Helps Some Breast-Cancer Patients Skip Chemo, Study Says

Oncotype DX can help women determine their treatment options

Herbal Cancer Treatments

On this site, there are over 100 pages that provide only information. There are also about 30 pages that discuss herbs and herbal products that can be used to support different aspects of cancer treatment.

How the Promise of Immunotherapy Is Transforming Oncology

Cancer immunotherapy comes in several forms. The drugs sparking the most interest are called checkpoint inhibitors. They work by releasing the natural brakes on the immune system, enabling its foot soldiers, called T cells, to attack tumors.

Making Chemo More Tolerable

With traditional chemotherapy still the go-to method of treating many cancers, physicians and researchers are trying new ways to ease side effects and make the treatment less toxic.

Secondhand chemo

Cancer drugs help patients, but could they also be endangering caregivers, family members, and the environment?

Some breast cancer patients may not need chemotherapy, depending on their genes

Although this work does indicate that thousands of women can be spared this difficult treatment, it doesn’t mean skipping chemo is the right choice for all early-stage breast cancer patients.

The Doctor’s Wife in the Chemo Chair

The surgery had gone pretty well. The chemo up until that point had the predicted side effects. But each new day, each new test and each new treatment carried new dangers. Clearing one hurdle did not mean the next would be lower. The whole harrowing experience up to that point had in one way or another just been a dizzying progression of numbers and chances and probabilities culminating at that moment – a colorless fluid easing its way into Ruth’s circulation that had a hair’s breadth of a chance killing her.

The End of Chemo?

Chemotherapy has long been one of medicine’s potent weapons against cancer, helping cut cancer deaths by about 20% in the U.S. over the past two decades. But cytotoxins, which target fast-growing cancer cells while killing normal cells too, can be just as brutal on the patient, with side effects ranging from nausea to infection to death. So researchers are making progress with kinder, gentler ways of targeting cancer that could require nothing more than popping pills, and with fewer side effects. Could the end of chemotherapy be near?

The Worst Part of Chemo Isn’t Nausea

In what’s both a testament to modern medicine as well as the unpredictable nature of cancer, it’s the side effects of treatment rather than its symptoms that we associate with the disease most. Every case of cancer develops differently, but many patients undergo similar kinds of treatment, whether that’s surgery, doses of radiation therapy, or potent chemotherapy drugs—all in an attempt to selectively kill wayward cancer cells.

What Is Chemo-Brain?

Chemo brain is a mental cloudiness reported by about 30 percent of cancer patients who receive chemotherapy. Symptoms typically include impairments in attention, concentration, executive function, memory and visuospatial skills.

What Your Oncologist Isn’t Telling You About Chemotherapy and Radiation

Cancer is big business, no doubt about it. But did you know that the treatment your doctor orders could actually increase the likelihood that you will become a repeat customer? Conventional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation actually promote cancer. Yes, you read that correctly… they promote cancer! Cancer is increasingly becoming a survivable disease, yet the treatments cause considerable collateral damage – including initiating new, second cancers.

When Chemotherapy Does More Harm than Good

A cancer diagnosis is a life-altering event, and the news—let alone making decisions about how to manage treatment—is already challenging enough. But with a terminal diagnosis, those choices become even more fraught.

Why Chemo Sucks So Bad

“Chemo sucks so bad because it makes your world stop and move in slow motion while everyone buzzes around you because they have to live their lives.

Resources

13 things to know about chemotherapy

Starting chemotherapy for the first time? If you are new to this common cancer treatment, you're probably wondering how chemotherapy works, if you'll lose your hair or even if chemotherapy hurts.

5 Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Chemo

It’s not easy for you to feel clear headed in the face of a cancer diagnosis. But asking questions — writing them down before your appointment — can give you helpful information and also give you time to think through your decision.

Chemo for Beginners-An A to Z fo all Things

I hope my A to Z guide of all things “C” provides some useful tips to get you through treatment and surgery – or at the very least reassures you that you are not alone and that it is all doable.

ChemoBrainFog

How chemotherapy saved my body and rearranged my brain.

Cocktails and Chemo

The Cocktails and Chemo Foundation’s mission is to create a support network for the often forgotten caregivers of cancer patients by providing one-of-a-kind care packages.

Coffee and Chemo

Welcome to RivkA's online Coffee & Chemo Cafe discussing Life, the Universe, and Me.

Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy

The Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy is among the foremost international journals in antimicrobial research. Our readership includes representatives of academia, industry and health services, and includes those who are influential in formulary decisions.

My Chemo Experience

..and other cancer stuff.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy is a major forum exclusively devoted to antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, and antiparasitic agents and chemotherapy. It is also a key source for microbiologists, pharmaceutical researchers, biochemists, pharmacologists, clinicians, and other specialists in infectious diseases.

Cancer.org

This easy-to-read guide explains chemotherapy (chemo) at a basic level.

Macmillan Cancer Support

The section is divided into sections about how the treatment works, how it is given and how to deal with some of the more common side effects.

National Cancer Institute

Chemotherapy and You is written for you - someone who is about to receive or is now receiving chemotherapy for cancer. Your family, friends, and others close to you may also want to read this book. This book is a guide you can refer to throughout your chemotherapy treatment. It includes facts about chemotherapy and its side effects and also highlights ways you can care for yourself before, during, and after treatment.