FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
How
is your service different from other cancer research services?
We
customize the CANHELP report to your particular needs. We listen very
carefully to your preferences of treatments and tailor the information
on cancer treatment options accordingly.
The
biggest concern of cancer patients is that they are overwhelmed with
information and feel they need someone who is knowledgeable and compassionate
they can consult with when the need arises. We offer our clients a
year-long opportunity to follow up with us via phone or email at NO
extra cost! As one of our clients said, CANHELP's follow-up service
"has shifted me from an incompetent and frightened patient to
an empowered, informed and determined-to-live-through-this individual...I
have a team of my own creation and it continues to grow and evolve
to my needs." There is no other service available as far as we
know that provides this kind of a service.
What
treatments would you research that my team consisting of a surgeon,
oncologist and radiologist would not offer?
At
CANHELP we respect and search for treatments that work, whether they
are traditional, cutting-edge, complementary or alternative treatments.
For example, an oncologist will traditionally treat lung cancer patients
with a chemotherapy combination such as Carboplatin and Taxol. Chemotherapy,
the literature amply demonstrates, does not enhance survival more
than a few months, usually less than a year. Then, when the prescribed
regimen fails, the doctor customarily offers yet another chemo regimen.
While this may destroy a few more cancer cells briefly, it also weakens
the patient’s basic immune system defense and, in the long run,
often hastens the patient’s demise. I often suggest that my
client might benefit from a specific herbal soup combination, which,
according to a study published in a peer-reviewed medical journal,
gets better results than any chemotherapy program.
Do you only suggest
alternative therapies?
No,
we do not limit ourselves by any doctrine other than what will work
best for the patient. Chemotherapy often works very well to stop rapid
progression of disease. In the hematologic diseases, such as leukemia,
it works better than it does with solid tumors. Therapeutic failure
can be greatly minimized by prior testing of a chemotherapeutic agent
against a small excised tissue sample or blood sample (in case of
leukemia) from the patient. There is now also extensive DNA testing
on micrometastases in blood available in Europe, which often identifies
different chemotherapy protocols traditionally used for the primary
cancer with very encouraging results.
Do
you recommend clinical trials?
Unless
they are fairly non-toxic agents such as a vaccine, a biological response
modifier or immune stimulating therapy, we rarely recommend clinical
trials. We are uniquely concerned with our client’s quality
of life and survival.
Scientists
from Boston's Dana Farber Cancer Institute report in the January 2004
Lancet, that "Despite widespread belief that enrolment in clinical
trials leads to improved outcomes in patients with cancer, there are
insufficient data to conclude that such a trial effect exists."
The authors explain that participating in a clinical trial is mainly
an altruistic act, something a cancer patient does "for improving
treatment of future patients," not for enhancing his or her own
chances of survival.
What do you think
of immunotherapy?
Immunotherapy
can be extremely helpful to a patient as a prophylactic means of warding
off a recurrence, once they have minimal disease. Many patients are
understandably happy to get on with their life once they have finished
their traditional therapy. However, the next six months may be a window
of opportunity to encourage the immune system to wipe out any remaining
cancer cells. Immunotherapy such as vaccines, powerful herbal remedies
and supplements, administered by a knowledgeable medical practitioner,
can be of great value.
Do you believe
it is wise for a cancer patient to go to the most respected cancer
hospitals?
Not
always, however, it is very important to see diagnosticians at major
cancer treatment centers. What we believe is important for the cancer
patient, is not only to work with a highly knowledgeable, brilliant
doctor, but also one who is compassionate and willing to listen to
the cancer patient. Moreover, we recommend clients to search out the
oncologist who is willing to try the unusual, in other words someone
who can function as a "gourmet chef of oncology".
Will
CANHELP's services provide me with a cure for my cancer?
We
do not dare claim that we have a cure for cancer, however we do have
clients who have recovered from very difficult cancer situations.
We tend to want to put these into the miracle category and miracles
are possible as we all know. The cancer patient's attitude and will-to-live
is as much part of the healing process as the pills and therapies
they choose. Feeling empowered in the treatments you choose and the
potential of healing is huge!
We
all have to do our best to be well-educated and prepared in dealing
with cancer and at the same time we need to realize there are no quarantees
whether we are doing aggressive chemotherapies or alternative therapies.
This is not an easy concept for cancer patients to embrace, however,
in my opinion, having been there myself, critical to our well-being.
We
have cancer clients who have been cured from their cancer by following
up on the treatment options we offer. We have a pancreatic cancer
client who was sent home to die, who is still very much alive without
any cancer for over three years, and a young woman who had a hepatocellular
cancer who has been cancer free for over a decade. A 92-year old man
with early prostate cancer with a PSA of 11 refused a biopsy and instead
choose a novel treatment called HIFU outside of this country and has
now a PSA of 0.5. This elderly gentleman traveled from the East Coast
to Mexico after careful considerations on the pros and cons of therapies
available. It took a lot of courage to travel that far for care. We
are very proud of him!
