BREAST CANCER?
WHY?
HOW TO BE HEALED!
Are you curious about new knowledge about health?
Are you not satisfied with the usual explanation to cancer?
Is there something that the doctors don’t know?
What can I do myself to heal my cancer?
Is there a connection between my life situation and my cancer?
Bent
Madsen, Norway, July 2014
|
The author of this article does
not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form
of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the
advice of a physician. The intent of
the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in
your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being, In the event you use any
of the information in this article for yourself, the author assume no
responsibility for your actions.
|
Bent
Madsen is educated as an electronic engineer. In the last thirty years he has
used his skills as an integrative medicine therapist but has
now retired. In recent years he has been
a META-Medicine Master Trainer in Norway, Denmark and Estonia. Together with
Dagfrid Kolaas he lives on an organic farm in the mountains of western Norway.
If you
want to read a personal history about the breast cancer issue, we can recommend
How I Healed My Life. From Crises and
Cancer to Self-Empowerment. Balboa
Press, Amazon and other bookstores, 2014.
How I Healed My Life shows how breast cancer
can be understood at a much deeper level than most people think. The
heartwarming storytelling style makes the book easy to read and informative.
The fear of cancer becomes to hope of healing.
How I Healed My Life also contains a comprehensive mind-body
encyclopedia in which you easily can find what emotions or situations that
cause your particular disease or cancer. It is a home pharmacy that deserves to
be in every home.
See: www.ihealedmylife.com
You tube: From Breast Cancer and Crises to Self-Empowerment. An
interview with Dagfrid Kolaas.
For more information about META-Medicine and Meta-Health:
www.metamedicine.info
and www.metahealthuniversity.com
We can recommend the following books:
·
Billander, Susanne.
META-Health: Consciously Healing
Body and Soul. Amazon, 2013.
·
Fisslinger, Johannes R. META-Health---Decoding
your body's intelligence. Los
Angeles, META-Health University, 2013.
·
Flook, Richard.
Why am I sick? How to Find Out
What's Really Wrong Using Advanced Clearing Energetics. London, Hay House
Ltd., 2013.
·
Levine, Peter A., PhD.
Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma:
The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences. Berkely, North Atlantic Books, 1997.
·
Lipton, Bruce H. The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of
Consciousness, Matter, & Miracles. New York, Hay House, 2009.
·
Overbruggen,
Rob van, Ph.D. Healing Psyche. Patterns and Structure of
Complementary Psychological Cancer Treatment (CPCT). Charleston USA, Book Surge
Publishing, 2006.
Contents
Why
Breast Cancer? - How to be Healed?
Introduction 4
Epigenetic 4
META-Health 5
Growth rate of cancer cells 6
Breast cancer and estrogen dominance 7
Statistical data about breast cancer 8
I: Slow-growing breast cancer and estrogen
dominance 9
II: Ductal carcinoma in situ 13
III: Hereditary breast cancer 13
IV: Fast-growing invasive cancer - all malignancies 15
V: Aggressive cancer in the mammary glands 17
VI: Aggressive cancer in the milk ducts 18
Some
words about food and diets 19
Treatment
of breast cancer in Norway 2014
Introduction 20
Breast operation
20
Radiation therapy
22
Chemotherapy 22
Anti-hormonal treatment 24
Mammography 25
Why Breast Cancer? - How to be
Healed?
Introduction
The contribution I wish to make with this
article, is to offer a supplement to the established truths in the fields of
psychosomatic and somatic medicine. At the same time I wish to give persons,
who are faced with a serious diagnosis or life situation, psychic or physical,
the possibility to see the connections between the disease and the life
situation they are in or have been in.
The new in the current situation is that the knowledge
of how life experiences affect the body has exploded. Publications flow from
prestigious institutions. Based on advanced scientific methods new knowledge is
gained of phenomena which until now has been regarded as belonging to the
psychology. The defined shell between
soul and body is moldering in favor of the recognition that these are not only
related, but belong together, they are simultaneous phenomena. This must have
paradigmatic implications for medicine. "
The last decade multidisciplinary research has
scientifically documented that all life experience, from the very good to the
extremely bad, is reflected as well in the brain as in the nervous, endocrine
and immune systems and " inward
" in cells in which the genetic material DNA is regulated and activated.
Epigenetic is central in this context.
Epigenetic
The research from epigenetic have shown us, that it is
our unconscious belief systems that largely control our lives and
behavior. Most of the belief systems
have already been imprinted before reaching school age, and others are coming
from our experiences as adults.
Based
on our belief systems, all life events trigger different emotions in the
subconscious part of the mind. Thus, it is not an event in itself that matters,
but it is how our belief system interprets the event.
These
feelings from the subconscious will then trigger the instinctive reactions and
thoughts.
As it
has been documented by many researchers all over the world, strong emotional
experiences will immediately trigger many biological reactions in the body. Via
hormones and neurotransmitters the metabolism changes and different gene
expression is turned ON or OFF. We then got instant biological changes. All
these changes are evolutionary optimal response to enable us to resolve the
situation. It is not a malfunction of the body.
A
consequence of this is, that if we can change our belief systems and associated
emotions and thoughts, we can create immediate changes in the biology. We can
activate the body's own self-healing powers and can even create what we up to
now have referred to as "miracles".
META-Health
META-Health or
META-Medicine is not a therapy or treatment and there are no diagnoses in the
traditional way. META-Medicine is a scientific framework to understand how life
experiences, emotions and reactions in the body are interrelated. It is a model
that has shown an amazing accuracy in practice.
META-Medicine appears today as a true integrative model that has
coordinated the highly specialized disciplines into a whole. It has led to
detailed knowledge of the relationship between the different emotional shocks
and trauma experiences and which organs may react with cellular changes.
META-Medicine
gives people the opportunity to understand the causes of their own disease
processes, how to be healed and how to prevent diseases. We have very often
observed, that when a person has become aware of the real cause of his illness,
then a healing process begins automatically.
Health professionals in many disciplines integrate META-Health into
their existing practice, gaining a more precise and integrated
(bio-psycho-social) understanding of clients’ health issues. This enables
us to access deeper ways to assist clients to heal and grow.
Alongside the knowledge and understanding it provides, META-Health gives
us a methodology for uncovering the root cause and meaning behind symptoms.
META-Health Analysis processes enables Practitioners to work with clients to
pinpoint the specific underlying causes of their health issues. This enables us
to take a mind-body-social approach to resolving issues, applying therapies far
more precisely to client’s individual needs, and coaching them to achieve
greater wellness.
Since 1989 I have had knowledge of the principles,
which META-Medicine is based on, and I have been META-Medicine Master Trainer
for years. During all these years I have met hundreds of clients and numerous
of workshop participants and I have learned that META-Medicine has an
astonishing accuracy.
Breast
Cancer
The most talked about and
feared cancer might be breast cancer. We experienced an almost global media
attention in connection with the famous actress Angelina Jolie who stood up
and told that she had both breasts removed as a prevention against getting
hereditary breast cancer. In Norway there was an immediate increase of 75% of
women who wanted to test their genes.
It is a paradox that
prostate cancer, where the mortality rate is about 48 men out of every 100,000,
are rarely discussed in the media, while breast cancer, which by comparison has
a mortality rate of 28 women out of every 100,000, get almost all the media
coverage about cancer.
Mortality rates for both breast and prostate cancer has been virtually
unchanged over the last 75 years where we have had useful statistics. Does it indicate, that it has not been such a
great medical advances that we could wish, and that the current medical
treatment of breast cancer do not have the healing and life-prolonging effect
as most people think?
Fact is, that scientific research over the past 20 years has produced
enormous advances and knowledge about breast cancer. The problem is, that it
takes time for new ideas to come to fruition. It can often be very difficult to
let go of the perception of reality that has been established under the medical
education and as a career is built on.
It is especially research on estrogen's role in cancer that has provided
a much greater insight into the biological processes. It has been shown that
estrogen dominance is very often involved by cellular changes in the breast,
uterus and ovaries in women and by changes in prostate in men. We will look
into the effects of the hormone and find the factors that can cause estrogen dominance and risk for breast cancer.
Growth rate of cancer
cells
Over the years, there have been many attempts to calculate or measure
the growth rate of tumors. For ethical reasons it is not appropriate to compare
with a control group and all research is subject to some uncertainty. After my
review it may be the research of John S. Spratt which could be the best
description of reality.
Spratt, J.
A., von Fournier, D., Spratt, J. S. and Weber, E. E. (1993), Mammographic
assessment of human breast cancer growth and duration. Cancer,
71: 2020–2026.
They found that the
average doubling time was 260 days. The fastest-growing tumor doubled in 10
days and the slowest was doubled in 20 years.
They also found, that
tumors generally do not grow at the same rate, but the growth became more and
more slowly with time.
In 1-2% of the patients the tumors showed no changes in size. The data from
these patients were excluded from the analysis.
If the average tumor
doubles in 260 days it means, that it will take 18-20 years before it is
visible on mammography, and another 6 years before it is possible to feel it
with the fingers.
If we look at the average
woman, then it means, that if the first cancer cell was formed at an age of 43
years, it will be visible on mammography in the early 60s, and this is
precisely the average age of breast cancer diagnoses found with mammography.
Without mammography the tumor will be palpable when the woman is approaching 70
years.
When the tumor is likely to grow more slowly with time it must be
assumed, that the average woman will die with the tumor and not due to the tumor.
The fastest-growing tumor
they found doubled in 10 days. This means that it is visible on mammography
after about 270 days and might be felt with the fingers after about 1 year.
It turns out that the
greatest risk of rapidly growing tumors were found in the group of women under
50 years.
We may denote many lumps in the breast as "pseudo-tumors".
These are lumps that come and go. Many women experience them often associated with menstruation, abortion and childbirth. It is
particularly related to the estrogen responsive endothelial cells in milk
ducts. These "lumps" can grow very fast and can vanish very fast. By observing
through a few months, all of these cases may be filtered out and a very large
number of unnecessary diagnoses may be avoided.
In the United States annually about 25 to 28 women out of every 100,000
die of breast cancer. This is a number that hasn't changed significantly since
the 1930s. The same applies to Norway with about 28 women per 100,000.
It therefore seems as it is primarily the rapidly growing aggressive
tumor type with high risk of spreading that results in deaths. It also appears,
that there has been no significant progress in treating of this type of cancer
in the last 75 years.
The statistical improvements in breast cancer treatment appears to stem
from, that there are detected far more
slow-growing tumors than before. Tumors which in most cases would disappear by
itself or never give rise to problems.
Although the growth rate is incompletely defined, the conclusion may be,
that there is no clinical reasons to hurry up if a woman finds a lump in her
breast.
If it is an aggressive
tumor with "spreading" the tumor is likely to be at least 1 year old
and the spreading will already have happened.
If it is a slow-growing
tumor it is probably already several years old and will probably be without
"spreading".
This means that it is time to think about. It is time to observe the
growth rate. It is time for the patient to gain knowledge and better consider
different approaches.
Breast cancer and
estrogen dominance
It is especially research on estrogen's role in cancer that has provided
a much greater insight into the biological processes. It has been shown that
estrogen dominance very often is involved by cellular changes in the breast,
uterus and ovaries in women and by changes in cells of the prostate in men. We
will look into the effects of the hormone and find the factors that can
cause estrogen dominance and risk for
breast cancer.
If you want to go
deeper into this topic, we recommend:
The book
"What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer" by John R.
Lee, MD
The research of
Ercole Cavalieri, Ph.D. the Eppley Institute of Research in Cancer, University
of Nebraska. It describes how estrogen causes cancer of the prostate in men and
breast and uterus in women.
Pruthi S, Yang L,
Sandhu NP, Ingle JN, Beseler CL, Suman VJ, Cavalieri
EL, Rogan EG.
J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2012 Oct;132(1-2):73-9. doi:
10.1016/j.jsbmb.2012.02.002. Epub 2012 Feb 24.
Cavalieri EL, Rogan EG.
J Steroid Biochem Mol
Biol. 2011 Jul;125(3-5):169-80. doi: 10.1016/j.jsbmb.2011.03.008. Epub 2011 Mar
·
Depurinating estrogen-DNA
adducts in the etiology and prevention of breast and other human cancers.
Cavalieri EL, Rogan EG.
Future Oncol. 2010 Jan;6(1):75-91. doi: 10.2217/fon.09.137.
The hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone are 3 of the most
important hormones that determine how we perceive ourselves and our
environment. The hormones are produced in both sexes, but it is the ratio
between them that determines the gender and how we evolve. This delicate
balance can be changed by emotionally stressful influences and from external
hormone disruptors.
Testosterone and estrogen are direct antagonists (counteract each
other). Progesterone has a more balancing role in relation to estrogen. One of
the tasks of estrogen is to provide cells message to grow and divide to form new tissue
to build e.g. lining of the uterus or to replace old tissue in the milk ducts.
Progesterone has as one of its tasks to give these new cells message to mature
and differentiate themselves. That is, stop the growth and develop into the
cells that the body need.
Progesterone receptors are found in many of the body's tissues.
Progesterone is an anabolic steroid that helps build tissue, provides energy
and is essential for the repair of body tissues. The human body is programmed
to deal with stress to protect us from danger. The stress hormone cortisol is
partly produced from progesterone. If we are in stress over time it may
therefore lead to a generally low level of progesterone and thus estrogen
dominance. It is estimated that women with low levels of progesterone have 5-6
times greater risk of getting breast cancer.
Each month there is a gradual increase in estrogen levels. This stops
the bleeding and initiate cell growth in the uterine mucosa which gradually
becomes thicker. Immediately after ovulation there is produced larger amounts
of progesterone. This makes the lining of the uterus stop growing and to mature and prepare for a possible
implantation of a fertilized egg. If fertilization is not happening, 2 weeks
later there will be a large fall in production of both estrogen and progesterone.
It causes cell loss in the endometrium and secretion of unfertilized eggs and
mucosal remnants.
These hormone
fluctuations can also affect other systems in the female and may provide mood
swings and breast tenderness. The breast tenderness is experienced usually one
week before menstruation where cell depletion is in full swing. Fluctuating
estrogen levels affect not alone uterine lining to cell growth or cell loss but
affect also a number of other estrogen-sensitive cells. It applies primarily to
the fallopian tubes, ovaries and the endothelial cells that line the inside of
the milk ducts.
With increasing age estrogen
production is going down. The same happens with the production of testosterone
and progesterone which often drops relatively more. This can cause a slow growing
natural estrogen dominance.
With age the production of aromatase enzyme, that converts testosterone
to estrogen, increases. This may also contribute to a slow rising estrogen
dominance.
The age associated estrogen dominance is completely natural and does not
cause tumor that can cause problems or
shorten life.
Statistical
data about breast cancer
There are differences in
the statistical data from country to country. The following data can fairly
well represent the Western countries:
Approx 110-120 out of 100.000
women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.
Approx 25-28 out of 100.000 women die annually from breast cancer. It is
a number that has been virtually unchanged for decades.
Approx 25% are diagnosed
before the ages of 50.
Approx 50% are diagnosed
between the ages of 50 - 69.
Approx 25% are diagnosed
at the age of 70 years or more.
Approx 1% are diagnosed in men.
Approx 18-40 % are diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). This
means that there are local cellular changes that are interpreted to be
precancerous and normally they have receptors that are sensitive to estrogen and/or
progesterone.
Approx 45-65 % are diagnosed with ductal carcinoma. The breast cancer
originates in the endothelial cells that line the inside of the milk ducts.
Approx 10% are diagnosed with lobular carcinoma. This means that the
cancer originates in the end pieces to the mammary gland.
Approx 1% occur in the connective tissue and is called sarcomas.
Approx 25 % of diagnosed breast cancer are fast-growing invasive tumors
with a tendency to spreading and where the prognosis is poor and they are often
without receptors to estrogen and progesterone. The mortality rate has been
almost unchanged in the last 75 years.
I: Slow growing breast
cancer and estrogen dominance
As we have seen, maybe
75% of all diagnosed cases of breast cancer are slow growing tumors with little
risk of spreading and in most cases with receptors that are sensitive to
estrogen or progesterone and with good prognosis. In these cases there are events
or stress situations that do not completely meet the four criteria for an
biological conflict shock (see later) and/or there is external influences resulting
in estrogen dominance. We also know that
if estrogen - progesterone -
testosterone levels are brought in balance, these tumors normally stop
the growth and in many cases gradually disappear by itself.
Some of the symptoms of estrogen dominance include:
·
Weight gain with fat
gathering around the waist - so called visceral fat which is indicative of the
metabolic syndrome and thus insulin resistance. Insulin
resistance is contributing to estrogen dominance which in turn is contributing
to insulin resistance and a vicious
circle is created.
·
Tender or swollen breasts
or lumps.
·
A feeling of being tired
or exhausted for no apparent reason.
·
Decreased sexual desire
and hard to have an orgasm. It may be vaginal dryness.
· Fluctuating blood suger.
·
Cold hands and feet.
·
There may be sleep
problems.
·
There may be mood swings
or PMS, anxiety or irritability.
·
Ovarian cysts,
endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome or menstruation problems may often
occur.
·
Low metabolism
contributes always to an estrogen dominance.
Some ideas for preventive
and curative measures by slow-growing breast cancer.
In the following we will mention the stressors and external causes that
may contribute to estrogen dominance and thus slow-growing breast cancer and
ductal carcinoma in situ. Each woman may here find what is appropriate for just
her and thus go directly to the cause of her
breast cancer.
Perhaps the biggest
challenge may be the media created fear that we all are bombarded with daily.
Here it is especially breast cancer that again and again creates headlines.
Emotional causes of
estrogen dominance may include:
·
Emotional stress
associated with losing or having fear of losing connection with a loved person
as spouse, parents, children or anything that is perceived as "my
child", pets, home (or
"nest"), a job and so on. These emotions affect especially the milk
ducts.
·
Emotional stress
associated with conflict, argument, disagreement, worry, agitation or quarrel,
with spouse, child, parent, colleagues, boss, about the home and so on. These
emotions affect especially the mammary glands.
·
If the woman is in a
situation, where she either at work, at home or with her social network can
experience to be confirmed in her value as a feminine being, then it will
usually result in low self-esteem and an sustained change in hormone balance
with low level of progesterone and thus estrogen dominance. In societies where
older women are experiencing to be respected and their wisdom is appreciated
there are hardly any problems with menopause and breast cancer. In our modern
society, older women are often considered "out of date". The growing
number of senior citizens is often portrayed as a social problem and the result
is an increasing emergence of the slow-growing breast cancer.
·
In endless epochs there
has been an instinctive and inherited gender roles where women have had a
caring role with responsibility for the home, the children, cooking, social
networking etc.
In human evolution, we may at present time have came to an period of
time where the gender role patterns are transformed into something new.
Especially in the western world there has been a total change regarding
equal status. It may give a inner uncertainty about what the female role
implies. Perhaps she in her heart might
want to stay home with the children while the rest of the world mean that she
must go on job to be a modern women?
Today it may be almost impossible to live up to her own and others'
expectations. What exactly is my role in life?
This stress can often be present as a constant underlying condition
which affects self-esteem and may result in estrogen dominance.
· All forms of stress over time affects the hormone balance. The adrenal
glands produces stress hormones including
cortisol. As cortisol is produced from progesterone, the two steroid
hormones will have major morphological similarities. It means that cortisol can
occupy progesterone receptors and thereby partially block the progesterone
effect. This
automatically provides greater dominance of estrogen.
·
A good posture may be a
nice tool. In the same way as emotions can affects the body, so can the body
affects the emotions. If one poses in a dominant position with raised head, the
chest forward, arms at the sides with elbows out, the levels of testosterone and progesterone
will be increased after few minutes and the level of stress hormones decreases
accordingly. Similarly, it will have the opposite effect if one takes a
position with bent head and humble attitude.
Physiological causes of
estrogen dominance.
·
The pill may cause
increased risk of slow-growing breast cancer. The reason is that manufacturers
of the pill use gestagen together with
estrogen. Gestagen is a synthetic form
of progesterone (there are patent on gestagen while the real hormone
progesterone cannot be patented) and inhibit the action of the woman's own
progesterone and suppresses ovulation and thus the production of her own
hormones.
·
Conventional hormone
therapy is often used for women over 50. It is now recognized by most
physicians that the risk of lumps is greatly increased. This is because there
becomes an excess of estrogen while the synthetic gestagen inhibits
progesterone's effect on breast tissue.
·
High age at first
full-term child may increase the risk. It appears that the hormones of pregnancy
and lactation at a young age develops and matures (differentiate) breast tissue
and provides a good protection against future cellular changes. It is
progesterone that is the dominant hormone while pregnancies.
· X-ray radiation increases the risk. The greatest impact has exposure to
lung x-rays on children where the breast tissue is not yet developed. Also radiation from
mammography increases the risk.
·
The metabolic syndrome is
today perhaps the biggest global health challenge. It is an almost epidemic
rates of obesity, high blood pressure, high blood fats, low levels of HDL (the
good cholesterol), type 2 diabetes or pre-diabetes, heart - blood vessel
diseases and slow-growing cancer.
High insulin level stimulates the
androgen producing cells in the ovaries
to produce more testosterone (in women
most of the male sex hormones are produced in the adrenal gland and a
smaller portion in the ovaries). Some of the production of testosterone is
converted to estrogen in fatty tissue.
This means that the higher the testosterone level is and the more fat
tissue there is, the greater is the risk of estrogen dominance.
Fat tissue also produce the enzyme aromatase, which converts
testosterone to estrogen. Obesity and the metabolic syndrome will therefore
contribute to estrogen dominance.
·
In many countries they
use hormone enriched feed in meat production. This meat increases estrogen
dominance.
·
Endocrine disrupters
(xenoestrogens) are found in many substances in our modern environment. It is
all about chemical pesticides, many plastics such as bottles of mineral water,
solvents, dioxins, PCBs and more.
·
Parabens (propyl - and
butylparabens) are used in most cosmetic products. These parabens may now be
found in the breast tissue in most women and are contributing to local estrogen
dominance.
·
Cholesterol-lowering and
blood pressure-lowering drugs (statins and beta blockers) are known to cause
sexual dysfunction, increase the risk of metabolic syndrome and increase the
risk of estrogen dominance.
·
Low level of vitamin D3.
The most important vitamin supplements may be vitamin D3. Maybe up to 5000 UI
daily in the dark season. If one, during the summer, take only 1 hour sun on
the body it can provide a large increase in the level of testosterone,
progesterone and other hormones. It is not strange that the wellness and sexual
activity are stimulated by sunlight. Vitamin D3 is essential for the immune
system to function.
·
High alcohol consumption.
Alcohol increases the amount of aromatase enzyme so more testosterone is
converted to estrogen.
·
Working at night in
illuminated rooms and subsequent sleeping in the day. It may disrupt the
production of melatonin, which in turn lead to increased estrogen levels.
·
Hypothyroidism always
contribute to an estrogen dominance.
·
Really many women have
received help from natural identical progesterone cream. It works most often
both preventive and curative. . It is important to avoid most of the pharmaceutical
products that the doctor may give. They
are usually not identical with the body's own hormones and may give
side-effects. A laboratory analysis of capillary blood or saliva can show the
hormone status and thus who can get assistance from hormone supplements.
In Norway there are information about natural hormone therapy on www.futhark.no and internationally on www.johnleemd.com
or www.virginiahopkinshealthwatch.com These websites are also a very
good source for the woman who wants to educate herself.
A careful review of the above possible causes will often give a good
indication of where each woman would benefit from implementing changes.
We will mention again,
that many of these cellular changes may disappear by themselves left without
treatment or they will not cause problems or shorten the lifespan. If it still
is concern or anxiety or if there is pressure from the environment to do
something, remember that it usually only have to be minor changes or measures
to prevent or cure these cell changes.
Dr. Christine Homer
describes in her book, "Waking the Warrior Goddess", that all the
lifestyle changes, that have been scientifically tested, individually have the
ability to reduce the risk by half.
Vitamin D3 occupies a special position here. There are now more than 830
peer reviewed scientific studies showing, that optimal D3 level can reduce the
risk by 70-80%.
www.ajen.nutrition.org/content/85/6/1586.full
We would like to highlight, that it may be important that one really has
a good feeling about the changes and actions that one want to implement. To
implement things out of fear may create even more stress. The greater the joy
one feels in life the better balance in the hormones and thus the self-healing
powers are activated.
First and foremost, it will therefore for most people be very important
to be aware of the circumstances that give the most stress, and perhaps be
inspired to make a change. An effective way to become aware of stress is to notice, what are the last thing one
think about before one fall asleep, and what are the first things one think of
when one wake up.
Perhaps the most important achievements may be to take responsibility
for one's own life and be an active part in the healing process. One can start
own research and become one's own
expert. It may be an exciting journey that can enhance self-esteem and be the
beginning of an exciting self-development process.
Many women may have great pleasure to get support in this process. A
therapist or friend with knowledge of META-Health may have a good understanding of the problems and may
often be an effective sparring partner.
II: Ductal carcinoma in
situ (DCIS)
As the name suggests, it is considered as local cellular changes that
may be precursor to cancer. It is estimated that 18-40% of all breast cancer
diagnoses are ductal carcinoma in situ. Other sources operate with even higher
figures. Although these "tumors" has limited its growth to milk
ducts, where they grow as spheres or tubes and where they often calcify, they
are treated as cancer.
Mammography studies took off in the early 1980s. Before that time ductal
carcinoma in situ was an nearly unknown concept as it rarely develop into a
tumor. We must assume that the number of diagnoses will be added much upon in
the years ahead as the technology becomes more advanced and yet more "abnormalities" may be detected.
Many
cancer doctors like to say that this cancer is 99% curable. Ten years after
diagnosis 96 to 98% of women are alive (Allegra 2010).
DCIS
are normally treated with operation often in combination with radiation and anti
hormonal treatment. This lower the risk for recurrence and the risk for progress
to invasive cancer. However, it appears that the survival rate is of the same
order whatever treatment combination is chosen or one choose not to treat.
Controversy over name
"Cancer or carcinoma implies invasiveness and DCIS is
specifically not invasive. Some scientists and medical professionals are calling
for removal of "carcinoma" from the name for the disease. Nomenclature
was discussed at the National Institute of Health State-of-the-Science
Conference: Diagnosis and Management of Ductal Carcinoma. Proponents argued
that a name change would be more accurate and would decrease some of the
anxiety associated with the diagnosis. In the final report, the Consensus Panel
concluded "because of the noninvasive nature of DCIS, coupled with its
favorable prognosis, strong consideration should be given to removing the
anxiety-producing term 'carcinoma' from the description of DCIS" (Allegra,
2010).
Today many experts believe these
abnormalities are caused by estrogen dominance and low level of progesterone
Allegra CJ, Aberle DR, Ganschow P et al. National
Institutes of Health State-of-the-science conference statement: Diagnosis and
management of ductal carcinoma in situ September 22-24 2009. JNCI 2010;
102:161-169.
http://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types/dcis
http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-stage-0-and-stage-1
III: Hereditary breast
cancer.
Hereditary breast cancer received global attention when the famous
actress Angeline Jolie stood up and told that she had removed both breasts as a
preventive measure.
It is estimated that by about 10% of breast cancer cases there are an
accumulation in the immediate family of additional cases of cancer of the
breast and ovaries. It appears to be a hereditary tendency.
By about a fifth of these cases (2% of all diagnosed breast cancer
cases) they have found deviations in the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2. These deviations
are often referred to as "genetic defect" or
"mutations", and is considered
as a cause of cancer of the ovaries and breasts.
The researchers estimate that the BRCA1 and BRCA2 plays an active role
in regulating estrogen's effect on cell division rate. When there is a
discrepancy or genetic defects, then this
two genes are no longer sufficiently effective to regulate estrogen and an estrogen dominance may results which
may provide cellular changes.
The researchers also discovered that certain substances in vegetables
(Indole-3-carbinol) may antagonize the effects of these gene mutations. This
means that consumption of broccoli, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, spirulina
and other green vegetables may modify estrogen effect and thus prevent cell
changes.
With the knowledge, that
it is estrogen dominance which is active in hereditary breast cancer, then we
know that all the advices given about
slow-growing breast cancer may be used to prevent and heal.
For more information see British Journal of Cancer:
www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v94/n3/full/6602935a.html
By hereditary breast cancer it may be of big value to be aware of the
emotions, reactions and behavioral patterns that we unconsciously have
"inherited" from family.
In the last 5-10 years, the new research branch "Behavioral
epigenetic" has provided great new insights. We now know, that traumatic
experiences and perceptions, both from our own past as well as from our
ancestral past, can provide molecular scars that adheres to DNA.
This means that our own and our ancestors experiences does not disappear
even if they are forgotten. As molecular residues they remain as a part of us.
It means that many of our psychological, emotional and behavioral tendencies
are "inherited". It also means that there is a tendency that family
members got the same diseases.
This knowledge is also
very encouraging. It indicates that the most important for women with
hereditary breast cancer risk may be to become aware of the family's
"behavioral" tendencies and then process and transform them.
Then it is possible to
change the "family fate" and drop all fear of hereditary breast
cancer.
In the section "Emotional
causes of estrogen dominance" we have indicated the main areas of life,
that can serve as ideas for the woman who decide to go ahead with this exciting
journey.
An
excellent article on the subject can be found on the blog of Lynne McTaggart. www.lynnemctaggart.com/blog/226-what-doctors-didnt-tell-angelina-jolie
Perhaps we may conclude
with a quote from Dr. Christine Northrup:
"May be the most powerful thing you can do for your breast health
is to cultivate a loving relationship with them, making breast-healthy
lifestyle choices, and, if you are concerned, monitor their health with an
attitude of self-love and self-care and not a "search and destroy
mentality." Acknowledge that your breasts - like every other part of your
body - have the ability to become and stay healthy throughout your life"
www.drnorthrup.com/blog/2013/09/the-other-side-of-angelina-jolies-double-mastectomy
IV: Fast-growing invasive cancer with spreading and poor prognosis - all
malignancies
In all cases of
fast-growing invasive cancer with spreading and poor prognosis, we find a combination
of emotional conflict situations.
It applies to all types
of cancer.
The combination or syndrome may consist of the following:
A: Fast-growing.
When the cancer is fast growing the triggering cause seem to be an
emotional conflict shock. The conflict
shock must meet four criteria and is designated as a biological conflict shock.
1.
The incident or shock
occurs unexpectedly. It comes as a bolt from the blue.
2.
The emotions about the
incident are very strong.
3. It happens an emotional isolation. Some of the emotions are so intimate
that it is not possible to share them with others. There may be emotions of
rage, shame, inadequacy, and more and emotions perceived as unethical, immoral
or condemned by the environment or oneself. It is an emotional displacement.
4.
It is perceived as
hopeless to find a solution to the conflict. It is often constant thought buzz
about the event. It's the last thing one think about at night and the first
thing one think of in the morning. It is like a video film playing all the time.
Billander, Susanne. META-Health:
Consciously Healing Body and Soul. Amazon,
2013.
Fisslinger,
Johannes R. META-Health---Decoding your body's intelligence. Los Angeles, META-Health University,
2013.
B: Spreading.
There
are often several different strong emotions which are triggered in the conflict
moment - the moment where lightning strikes.
If
one experience a self-devaluation, a feeling of being inadequate, a feeling of
not being good enough, a feeling of being worthless then one may also get
lymphatic cell changes.
If
the self-devaluation conflict is strong the bones can also get cell changes. It
goes to the bones.
If
it is concern about not being able to cope financially or fear of losing one's
livelihoods then it may provide cell changes in the liver and possibly in the
guts if the whole situation is hard to digest. If one is experiencing a
diagnosis shock and get fear of death then the lungs may react.
It
is these emotional shocks together with the wasting syndrome (see point D) that
are the main cause of what is normally called spreading or metastasis.
C: The "Refugee conflict".
Complications
may occur when a patient have a "refugee conflict". That is:
·
A conflict of existence or
abandonment.
·
Feeling totally
exhausted: "My life is falling apart".
·
Feeling of isolation and
helplessness.
·
A feeling of not being taken care of.
·
A feeling of being out of
one's natural element.
·
To feel one are not at
home.
·
A feeling of having lost
everything.
·
To feel all alone.
·
A feeling of wandering in
the desert.
·
A feeling that no one is
listening.
·
A feeling of being
treated badly.
·
A feeling of not having
control over own life.
·
A feeling of fear of
overwhelming unfamiliar hospital environment and scary treatment.
·
And so on.
The
refugee conflict has pronounced influence on the kidney tubules, inflammatory
reactions, the brain, the hormone balance, the immune system and accumulation
of fluids in different organs and tissues or the entire body.
If
the feeling of abandonment and isolation is strong enough one may lose the
desire to continue living and one can develop cachexia or wasting syndrome.
D: Cachexia or wasting syndrome.
This is defined as an
involuntary weight loss and is very common in patients with cancer. These
patients have diminished appetite and food intake and lower insulin
sensitivity. This contributes to a decrease in functional performance, takes a
heavy toll on patients’ quality of life and is associated with poor survival.
In my meetings with
hundreds of patients with wasting syndrome, there is one thing they have in common.
Their life situations have become so overwhelming that they have abandonment to
find a solution. The spark of life force has gone. Everything is hopeless. It
is just too much. Some of the conscious or unconscious feelings may be:
·
I can no longer find a
reason to live. The life has no longer a purpose for me.
·
The conflicts in my life
have become too large and comprehensive. I'm so tired of trying to find
solutions to my life situations. Everything seems hopeless. I've lost my desire
to live and want to get peace now.
·
Life is too painful -
physically and/or mentally - I want to escape - to die.
·
I feel that my diagnosis
is scary and I feel and experience that treatment with chemotherapy and other
medications drains my life force. I have no longer the desire, strength or
ability to take nutrition to me. I do not think I can survive and want just to
end it all.
· I feel that I can no longer live up to the demands of my surroundings. I
feel inadequate. My family would be better off without me. I just want
to disappear.
The liver has
traditionally been considered as the source of life force. When the desire to
live disappears then the liver may increase the production of special molecules
that alter the metabolism. First and foremost we are talking about:
1: An increase in an
enzyme, protein kinase R (PKR), which is an intracellular sensor of stress and
leads to muscle atrophy by a process of protein synthesis depression and an
increase in protein degradation.
2.
Production of cytokines. Cytokines are a large family of hormone-like cell
signaling molecules. They can be produced by many cells in the body and can
exert systemic as well as local effects. These stress induced cytokines can
inhibit programmed cell death (apoptosis) which is one of the most fundamental
defense mechanism that our body has to fight cancer. (Normally, when a cell
begins to get too abnormal, it is programmed to commit suicide).
3. Enhanced production by the liver
of C-reactive protein (CRP). When the level of CRP rises there will be inflammation
throughout the body.
Cachexia is an ongoing
loss of skeletal muscle mass with or without loss of fat mass. The condition
cannot be reversed by conventional nutritional support. There is a negative
protein and energy balance driven by a reduced food intake and abnormal
metabolism. This cause the body to start breaking down its own tissues and
cause mal-absorption in which the digestive tract is not able to absorb
nutrition from the foods the patient consumes.
Cachexia
is a serious however under-estimated and under-recognized condition but is
known by all doctors. We find the condition very often by malignant cancer,
chronic hearth failure, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, HIV
and AIDS, traumas and burns, in individuals with age-associated "failure
to thrive" syndrome and many other chronic illnesses.
It is estimated that 30 %
of patients with breast cancer have unintentional weight loss upon diagnosis
and 85 % of patients with advanced cancer have cachexia.
It is also known that the
use of chemotherapy and opiates for pain management enhances cachexia and
participates to create a vicious circle.
Over the years it has
been unfolded huge efforts to understand the cause of cachexia. By cancer
cachexia one assume, that it is the body's reaction to a tumor. When cachexia
occurs in other diseases one try to find other explanations. I have studied
cachexia many years, and as mentioned before, I have found that the only common
factor is a feeling of abandonment and lack of desire to live. I have also
found that if a patient can regain hope and desire for life then healing of cachexia
may occur. immediately. For me it is common sense consistent with my life
experiences.
As mentioned in Cancer,
29: 484–488, the progressive wasting
and cachexia is of major clinical significance in patients with cancer. Warren
reported that cachexia was the most frequent single cause of death in cancer,
especially of the stomach, breast, and colon- rectum group. Emotional reactions
to the disease play a prominent role in suppressing food intake, and the
presence of pain aggravates all these conditions. The chemotherapeutic drugs
are also major contributory factors to the anorexia and the gastrointestinal disturbance.
National Cancer Institute:
http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/110111/page5
Pathogenesis of cachexia
in cancer. A review and a hypothesis.
Cancer, 29: 484–488.
How can we help these patients?
In cases, where the
patient want it and has the necessary strength, we can use intensive therapy on
all the emotional topics that are relevant in each case.
It may also be
appropriate to get the patient out of the hospital environment and terminate
treatment with chemotherapy and other immunosuppressive drugs and replace with
treatment that strengthens the body and soul focusing on health and not
disease.
V: Aggressive lobular carcinoma
- cancer of the mammary
glands
All
what is mentioned under "fast-growing invasive cancer with spreading
applies here.
The content of the biological conflict shock:
When the mammary gland responds the topic in the conflict shock is about
a dispute, argument, disagreement, worry, quarrel or concern in connection with
partner, colleague, boss, kids, home, parent and so on. The conflict shock must
meet the aforementioned four criteria.
Examples of the types of conflict
can be a sudden and unexpected termination of the apartment without the
possibility of finding a new home. It can also be a serious argument with one's
partner which is giving constant thought buzz. Another example could be that your
child in an unguarded moment runs off and becomes involved in an accident and
you feel it's your fault.
There are an infinite number of variations of the subject content. However,
at a therapeutic conversation it turns out, that the women always know what her
individual theme is.
In the moment of the conflict big changes in hormonal status is going
on. The levels of both testosterone and progesterone may fall drastically while
the level of stress hormones are increased tremendous and the metabolism switch
modes
This will result in a
quick cell growth in the mammary gland. Cell growth will continue as long as
the conflict is active. The greater the conflict mass the faster cell growth.
If they are very fast growing, one can feel it with the fingers after 8-12
months.
After the conflict has
been resolved, the cell proliferation immediately stops, and the tumor either
becomes encapsulated or disintegrates. A slight swelling accompanied by some
pain may occur during the disintegration. At the end of the healing phase,
there may be some pain as the tissue shrinks and forms scar tissue.
VI: Aggressive ductal carcinoma
- cancer of the milk
ducts
All
what is mentioned under "fast-growing invasive cancer with spreading
applies here.
Endothelial cells in the
milk ducts are evolutionary been developed later than the mammary gland. They
therefore behave quite differently and react to other emotions than the mammary
gland.
The content of the biological conflict shock:
When milk ducts react with cell changes, there is a conflict shock about
separation or fear of separation from a loved person, spouse, children, parent,
home or anything perceived as my "child, spouse or home.".
It can be an event arising a feeling that "my child was pulled from
my breast," or "she robbed my husband, I can no longer hold him to my
chest." There may be unexpected death of a loved person, pet or anything
that is perceived as my "child".
The conflict shock must meet the aforementioned four criteria: the event
is totally unexpected, the event creates strong emotional reactions, some of
the emotions are so intimate that they cannot be shared with others and it
feels hopeless to find a solution.
In the moment of the conflict there will be big changes in hormonal
status. Stress hormones are triggered
and the ratio of estrogen, progesterone and other hormones change. Symbolically
it is a reaction of the body in the same way as when fertilization does not
take place and the unfertilized egg and the endometrium are expelled.
This cell degradation of
endothelial cells in the milk ducts begins in the very moment of conflict
shock. This is a continuous ulcerative process.
Often the ovaries also
react similarly with cell loss. This is normally not detected but will result
in a lower estrogen level and may cause irregular menstruation.
One may recognize a
little tension in the breast just as many women feel breast tenderness one week
before menstruation. These symptoms are virtually always neglected.
The longer the conflict is active, the more cell loss. This means that
the breast slowly is getting smaller and may get a sunken appearance. It may
also cause the nipple to be drawn more and more into the breast. The breast may
also have reduced sensitivity.
By a solution of the
conflict the cell shrinkage stops and a healing process begins. There will be a
repair with cell growth to build new tissue and to restore milk ducts
abilities.
In this phase, the breast swell up, the ulcerated ducts get inflamed and
it may give tenderness, pain and itching and the breast sensitivity can be
greatly enhanced. The swelling may cause the milk ducts to be occluded and may
generate lumps. These lumps are often seen in the area behind the nipple but
can occur anywhere in the breast.
If the repair phase is completed without complications the breast can
end up being a little smaller and a little harder but it will be fully
functional.
Some words about food and
diets.
It appears that insulin resistance constitute a growing influence to
estrogen dominance and overweight, and it looks like slowly growing breast
cancer and the metabolic syndrome often are interrelated. Insulin resistance
may often be due to our modern way of life and changes in dietary habits and
drinking habits. It may therefore be appropriate for many to educate oneself on
the metabolic syndrome.. To become one's own expert and take responsibility for
one's own health is perhaps the most healing effort that exists.
There are a huge amount of books and advices about different diets to
prevent and heal both breast cancer and the metabolic syndrome. For the woman
who begins to seek informat ion
it can easily be very confusing and intimidating. What should I believe?
There is probably no experts in the world who can provide the ultimate and true answer.
I will, however, with a few comments express some of the experiences that I
have gained over many years.
·
By fast- growing breast
cancer , it appears that neither conventional medical treatment or diet and
other advice for cancer has significant impact on survival . In this cases one
have to find a resolution of the emotional conflicts. It may be a practical
solution or it may be a conscious process of the emotions.
·
By slow -growing breast
cancer in women who didn't have the metabolic syndrome, it appears that almost
all diets and other advice for cancer may have a positive impact, if they are
implemented with hope and without stress. This suggests, that these tumors
often would disappear by itself or that the woman has reduced or removed the
fear of cancer by making a choice she believes on .
Maybe diet and other measures have reduced the burden of estrogen mimic
chemicals and other estrogen-enhancing substances?
Maybe the changes in lifestyle has lowered stress levels and given a
strengthening of the immune system?
Maybe it sometimes is placebo effect?
·
By slow -growing breast
cancer in obese women with the metabolic syndrome , it appears that all diets
and other advices that can contribute to improve insulin sensitivity will have
a positive effect. Here it is primarily about reducing the hidden over
consumption of fructose that one can
advantageously be aware of (sugar is 50% fructose),
Remember that prevention and healing always are an individual process
and can involve all aspects of life.
Treatment of breast cancer in Norway 2014.
Introduction
Causes of breast cancer.
The conventional
medicine's model.
Within the framework of conventional medicine and the pharmaceutical
industry, it has been invested huge amounts of money in trying to find the
causes of breast cancer. They have not yet succeeded to understand the cause,
but they have found a wide range of risk factors that they believe may have a
contributing effect.
It appears however that more than half of breast cancer cases falls
outside the risk pattern.
The following are some of the risks they have
agreed on:
·
Estrogen therapy
increases the risk to the double.
·
Combined estrogen -
progestin therapy increases the risk even more.
·
The use of birth control
pills increases the risk by 30%
·
Heredity factors are the
cause of 8-10% of cases.
· Longer life.
·
Fewer births and higher
age at first birth.
·
Earlier menstruation and
later menopause.
· Obesity.
· Low metabolism.
· Alcohol consumption.
·
Social status. Women with
high social status are most vulnerable.
·
Smoking is normally not
considered as a risk factor for breast cancer.
The lack of knowledge of
causal relationship to breast cancer is causing, that they believe breast
cancer cannot be prevented.
The current treatment of breast cancer.
In case of suspected
tumor in the breast they most often take X-ray pictures (mammography) of the
breasts. If the images are positive it is usually taken tissue samples (biopsy)
to be examined in the laboratory. Depending on the results of the
investigations they implement a combination of treatments. Treatments options
include most often:
·
Most women get the entire
breast removed. It is referred to as radical mastectomy. It is often subsequent
radiation, chemotherapy and / or anti-hormone therapy.
· Less than half of women receive breast-conserving surgery followed by
radiation therapy. It
is referred to as lumpectomy.
In the following, we will
discuss the various treatment options.
Breast operation
By a breast cancer
diagnosis, it is common to make an operation of the breast.
The most common operating
method dates back to the 1890s where a famous surgeon, William Halstad at Johns
Hopkins University, developed radical mastectomy. It is a technique to remove
the entire breast, the underlying muscle and lymph nodes in the armpit.
There was so much respect
for Halsted, that it went more than 75 years before some doctors began to
question Halsted ideas about how cancer is spreading, and whether it has any
purpose to remove the entire breast.
In the mid-1980s cancer specialist Bernard Fisher published the result of a series of clinical trials. It
turned out that in the vast majority of cases, a much smaller intervention,
lumpectomy where only the tumor is removed, will provide the same or better chances
of survival.
From
WikipediA: "Bernard Fisher was Chairman of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast
Project at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.[2] His work established definitively that early-stage breast cancer could
be more effectively treated by lumpectomy, in combination with radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and/or hormonal therapy, than by radical mastectomy.[3]"
"The oncology journal The ASCO Post described Fisher's research as
“groundbreaking,” noting that it “ultimately ended the standard practice of
performing the Halsted radical mastectomy, a treatment that had been in place
for more than 75 years.”[4] Thanks to Fisher, notes another major oncology journal, breast-cancer
survival rates have improved worldwide.[3]"
After that time there
have been changes in surgical practice, but amazingly enough it is a very slow
change. In Norway, still more than half of women are getting there breast removed completely. Globally receive
less than a third of all women breast-conserving surgery, although a majority
could get it without reducing survival chances.
Fortunately, there is a
debate on this topic in the medical community in Norway. It gives the hope,
that in the next few years we can drop this bad habit of cutting breasts of
women.
Radiation therapy.
By treatment, where the entire breast is removed,
it is estimated that the risk for a new tumor in the following 10 years may be
5-10 % (local-regional Recurrence).
By a breast-conserving
surgery it is estimated that the risk is 15-20%.
Radiation as a subsequent
treatment after surgery is therefore common to reduce this risk.
It is often a high price women pay for radiation therapy. The treatment
is very brutal to the body. It kills the cells and creates inflammation in the
chest. There are fibroblast cells growing and they form scar tissue. Fifteen
years after radiation therapy the area
often feels thick and hard almost like wood. Further, the radiation cause
genetic damage to cells and may contribute to other types of cancer and heart
disease.
In an article in the
prestigious journal Lancet (2005) it was announced, that local radiation can
reduce the breast cancer mortality. In return, it increased the mortality for
other reasons, usually heart disease. In the conclusion they said:
" To help assess the life-threatening side-effects of
radiotherapy, the trials of radiotherapy versus not were combined with those of
radiotherapy versus more surgery. There was, at least with some of the older
radiotherapy regimens, a significant excess incidence of contra-lateral breast
cancer (rate ratio 1.18, SE 0.06, 2p=0.002) and a significant excess of
non-breast-cancer mortality in irradiated women (rate ratio 1.12, SE 0.04,
2p=0.001). Both were slight during the first 5 years, but continued after year
15. The excess mortality was mainly from heart disease (rate ratio 1.27, SE
0.07, 2p=0.0001) and lung cancer (rate ratio 1.78, SE 0.22, 2p=0.0004).
In a more recent study
from 2013, The New England Journal of Medicine
wrote:
" In conclusion, we
found that incidental exposure of the heart to radiotherapy for breast cancer
increased the rate of major coronary events by 7.4% per gray, with no apparent
threshold. The percentage increase per unit increase in the mean dose of
radiation to the heart was similar for women with and women without preexisting
cardiac risk factors, which indicates that the absolute increases in risk for a
given dose to the heart were larger for women with preexisting cardiac risk factors.
Therefore, clinicians may wish to consider cardiac dose and cardiac risk
factors as well as tumor control when making decisions about the use of
radiotherapy for breast cancer.
Radiation therapy has no
effect on metastases, and it is a possible spreading that has the crucial
effect on cancer development.
As a result of this it is not likely, that radiation therapy provide a
positive effect on the overall survival rate.
Chemotherapy
The beginning of chemotherapy was in 1946, when the U.S. defense
ministry funded some researchers to investigate whether the large stockpile of
mustard gas, that was after the war, could be used for medical purposes. They
tested it on among other things on a cancer patient with advanced cancer. When
the patient died shortly after it was found that some of the tumors were
reduced. The results led to large monetary licenses granted to additional
research and was the beginning of a booming industry.
The used chemicals in chemotherapy are toxic to the body and kills cells.
The hope for treatment is, that the poison will also kill all metastases that
hide in the body. The drawback is, that the poison also may kill healthy cells.
Most types of chemotherapy kill primarily those cells that grow fast. Beyond
cancer cells it applies to hair cells, cells of the intestinal system and the
white blood cells of the immune system.
It is performed numerous
studies of the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
A well-known mega study is: "Morgan G et al. The Contribution of
Cytotoxic Chemotherapy 2: 05-years Survival in Adult malignancies.
Clinical Oncology 2004; 16: 549-560
The following table shows the main results of the U.S. part of the study.
The numbers indicate how many % of cancer patients which seems to have been
helped by chemotherapy.
|
Table 2 e
Impact of cytotoxic chemotherapy on 5-year survival in American adults
Head and neck 1,9 Esophagus 4,9
Stomach 0,7 Colon
1,0
Rectum
3,4 Pancreas --
Lung 2,0 Soft tissue
--
Melanoma -- Breast
1,4
Uterus --
Cervix 12
Ovary 8,9 Prostate --
Testis 37,7. Bladder
--
Kidney -- Brain 3,7
Unknown primary site -- Non-Hodgkin’s
lymphoma 10,5
Hodgkin’s disease 40,3 Multiple myeloma
--
|
The study show that by
some cancers, such as Hodgkin's lymphoma and testicular cancer, chemotherapy
may have a contributing positive effect in perhaps 40% of cases. For most other
cancers, it appears that the effect is minimal or undetectable.
For breast cancer the
study suggests a contributing positive effect in 1.4% of cases.
Another well-known study
is a meta-analyses of adjuvant therapies for women with early breast cancer: :
the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group overview.
See:
http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/content/17/suppl_10/x59.full.pdf
The study indicate that
chemotherapy may help to lower the risk for recurrence in the next 15 years by 12,4% for women under 50 years and by 4,1%
for women over 50 years. The risk to die of breast cancer in the next 15 years was
reduced by 10% and 3% respectively.
David Plotkin M,D, has
written a splendid article i the magazine The Atlantic, where he among other discuss
these studies.
You can read the article
on:
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1998/06/good-news-and-bad-news-about-breast-cancer/305504/
It is estimated that chemotherapy has the best effect in younger women.
Researchers believe that the reason is, that chemotherapy stops the function of
ovaries and therewith also estrogen production. Chemotherapy acts as a chemical
castration. It may therefore also lead to a drastic change in the hormonal balance,
sex life and quality of life. A topic that often is covered up before
treatment.
The most likely
conclusion may be, that only by a tiny percentage of women with breast cancer,
chemotherapy can reduce the recurrence and lower the risk to die of breast cancer
and enhances not the overall survival rate significantly.
A cure with chemotherapy
is usually a very hard burden both physically and mentally and for most we must
assume that quality of life is sustained impaired.
Side effects of
chemotherapy can be reduced!
If a woman fasts 1-2 day before treatment with chemotherapy the side
effects can be reduced a lot and the effect increased a lot.
After one day's fasting almost
all free glucose in the body is used. This means that a healthy cell changes
its metabolism. At the cellular level it can be seen, that some genes are
switched ON and other switched OFF. One can say that the cell go to a kind of
defense mode where it is much better able to protect itself against toxins.
A cancer cell has a different metabolism than a healthy cell. Cancer
cells are dependent on free glucose in the blood. After one day's fasting they
will begin to starve. Also in cancer cells it results in that some genes are
switched ON and other OFF. Here it
means, that cancer cells get weakened and stop dividing. They are also much
more susceptible to toxic effects.
If you want more information see Valter D. Longo, University of Southern
California. In one of the studies the conclusion is that " these studies
suggest that multiple cycles of fasting promote differential stress
sensitization in a wide range of tumors and could potentially replace or
augment the efficacy of certain chemotherapy drugs in the treatment of various
cancers."
"Fasting Cycles Retard Growth
of Tumors and Sensitize a Range of Cancer Cell Types to Chemotherapy".Science Translational Medicine 4 (124):
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22323820
Anti-hormonal treatment.
We are talking about substances which block or inhibit the action of the
women's own estrogen.
By breast cancer is routinely performed analysis of tumor cell
sensitivity to estrogen and progesterone. If the cells have receptors for these
hormones it is believed, that an anti-hormonal treatment can inhibit cancer
cells continued proliferation.
About 75% of breast
tumors have those receptors. These tumors usually grow slowly and have a good
prognosis as they are rarely aggressive with spreading.
About 25% of tumors are
receptor negative, i.e. they do not respond to estrogen or progesterone. Here
the prognosis are usually poorer.
In dealing with anti-hormonal treatment
there are 2 groups of drugs:
anti-estrogens and aromatase inhibitors. They are typically used for up
to 5 years after surgery.
The most commonly used remedy in Norway and worldwide is Tamoxifen which
is an anti-estrogen agent. It prevents the women's own estrogen from binding to
cancer cells' estrogen receptors.
There are many studies performed on the effect of anti hormone therapy.
The results vary but the trend is the same. If we again look at the study from
The Early Breast Cancer Trialists Collaborative Group we see the following trend:
If we have two comparable
groups and follow them for 15 years, we see that the benefits in the absolute
reductions in breast cancer deaths are 5.3% for women with estrogen-negative receptors
and 12,2% for women with estrogen-positive receptors.
(See:
http://annonc.oxfordjournals.org/content/17/suppl_10/x59.full.pdf).
Treatment with tamoxifen may have some side effects that can affect quality
of life and may rise the risk to die from thrombi-embolic disease and
endometrial cancer.
More common side effects
include:
·
Absent. Missed, or irregular periods. Decrease in
the amount of urine. Feeling of warmth. Menstrual changes. Noisy, rattling
breathing. Redness of the face, neck, arms and occasionally, upper chest. Skin
changes. Stopping of menstrual bleeding. Swelling of the fingers, hands, feet,
or lower legs. Troubled breathing at rest. Weight gain or loss. White or
brownish vaginal discharge
Less common or rare
·
Anxiety. Blistering, peeling, or loosening of the
skin and mucous membranes. Blurred vision, cataracts in the eyes or other eye
problems. Chest pain. Chills. Confusion.
Cough. Dizziness. Fainting. Fast heartbeat. Fever. Hoarseness. Lightheadedness.
Lower back or side pain. Pain or feeling of pressure in the pelvis, pain or
swelling in the legs, pain, redness, or swelling in your arm or leg. Painful or
difficult urination. Rapid shallow breathing, shortness of breath or trouble
with breathing. Skin rash or itching over the entire body. Sweating. Weakness
or sleepiness. Vaginal bleeding. Yellow eyes or skin. Abdominal or stomach
cramps. Black, tarry stools. Bleeding gums. Blood in the urine or stools. Bluish
color changes in skin color. Bone pain. Decreased interest in sexual
intercourse. Discouragement. Feeling sad or empty. Hair loss or thinning of the
hair. Headache. Irritability. Itching in the genital area. Loss of interest or
pleasure. Loss in sexual ability, desire, drive, or performance. Nausea or
vomiting. Stomach or pelvic discomfort. Aching, or heaviness. Trouble
concentrating. Unusual bleeding or bruising.
The conclusion may be,
that anti-hormone therapy may lower the risk for recurrence and death of breast
cancer in a few percent of cases but enhances not overall survival rate significantly.
Many may expect that quality
of life may be reduced.
Mammography
In many countries there
is the opportunity to participate in screening programs. The purpose is to find
women with breast cancer to provide early treatment.
In the last 10 years
there has been a growing debate about, whether to extend the age limits for
women receiving the offer or if the mammography screening is ineffective.
It is now performed extensive studies in many countries on this
relationship. In the following are citations from a new study from January 2012
from The Nordic Cochrane Centre.
See the study on http://www.cochrane.dk/screening/index-en.htm
Mammography screening of 2,000 women regularly over 10 years gives the
following results:
·
If 2000 women are
screened regularly for 10 years, 10 healthy women will be turned into cancer
patients and will be treated unnecessarily. These women will have either a part
of their breast or the whole breast removed, and they will often receive
radiotherapy, and sometimes chemotherapy. Treatment of these healthy women
increases their risk of dying, e.g. from heart disease and cancer.
Unfortunately, some of the early cell changes (carcinoma in situ) are often
found in several places in the breast. Therefore, the whole breast is removed
in one out of four of these cases, although only a minority of the cell changes
would have developed into cancer.
·
If 2000 women are
screened regularly for 10 years, about 200 healthy women will experience a
false alarm. The psychological strain until it is known whether or not there is
a cancer can be severe. Many women experience anxiety, worry, despondency,
sleeping problems, changes in the relationships with family, friends and
acquaintances, and a change in sex drive. This can go on for months, and in the
long term some women will feel more vulnerable about disease and will see a
doctor more often.
The Cochrane report concludes that recent studies suggest, that
mammography screening has no effect on mortality from breast cancer. They
say that if one does not go to the screening, it reduce the risk of a breast
cancer diagnosis. Screening results in an increase of 30% of the number of
women who get breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The report continues by saying that some of the cancer nodules and
precursors to cancer (carcinoma in situ) one finds by screening grow so slowly
that they never would have developed into a real cancer. Many of these
"pseudo-cancers" would even be gone again by itself if one did not
have treated them.
Mammography screening cannot detect all cancers and can give false
reassurance. It is important, therefore, that the woman sees a doctor if she
finds a lump in her breast, even if she has had a mammogram recently.
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