How to Cure Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma by Epoch Chemotherapy?

Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment by Epoch Chemotherapy

Epoch Chemotherapy is used as a treatment to cure many types of Cancer. One such treatment is the Non-Hodgkin lymphoma treatment in which the Epoch chemotherapy regimens like etoposide, vincristine, and doxorubicin are injected in the patients along with the drugs like intravenous (IV) bolus cyclophosphamide and oral prednisone for four days.

When the Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) treatment was carried on 74 patients their immune system did not respond to the same injected drugs (regimens). But surprisingly the immune system of the patients with the fatal NHL responded nicely to the this treatment.

After this treatment medical tests were done and the test results were found. Results showed that the patients who were in the fourth stage of Lymphoma comprised of 77% of the patients who had responded to the NHL treatment and all the drugs in Epoch regimen were previously administered in 71% of the patients. Also it was found that 92% of the patients were injected with at least four of the drugs of the Epoch regimen. Our of 21 patients who did not respond to the Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma treatment,15 responded and only one among them was able to achieve a complete diminution.

Patients with deteriorating CD-20 positive large B-Cells with NHL cells were treated with 375 mg rituximab drug on first day. The Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma treatment was then given to the patients from 2-4 days with the drugs being injected with different proportions into the patient's body. Only Cyclophosphamide with 750 mg was given on the day fifth and 60 mg Prednisone was given orally to the patient on the days 1-14 as a part of the Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma treatment. After treating fifty patients between the ages of 23-72 years having with rituximab drug it was found that the primary large B-Cell lymphoma was spread out in 25 patients and large B-Cell lymphoma was converted to other form in 18 of them. Thus the treatment of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma with the help of Epoch Chemotherapy with rituximab drug proved to be fruitful.

Side Effects of the Epoch Chemotherapy Treatment

We all know that the Epoch Chemotherapy is a treatment which is used when there are complicated cancerous tumors. This treatment is given to the patients by mixing various toxic drugs in proper proportion due to which many harmful side effects are seen. So this treatment should only be given to the patients after studying their family history and then finding that whether those persons are allergenic to the toxic drugs or not.

Sometimes it is found that the patient suffers from nausea, hair loss, depression and appetite loss which are the side effects caused by the toxic drugs that are used during the this treatment. Even some patients become resistant to the drugs which are injected during the epoch chemotherapy treatment while treating the NHL which is a dreadful form of cancer.

In one such study done after the treatment of Non- Hodgkin lymphoma it was seen that the toxicity of the drugs had caused large scale neutropenia and gastrointestinal disorders in the patients.

Friends, we have now understood the importance of the Epoch Chemotherapy in treating cancer patients. Every coin has two sides. So has Epoch Chemotherapy. So do consult doctor before going for any kind of Chemotherapy because self-medication and self-analysis about once health is always dangerous. Always remember that Health is Wealth.

Wish all of you Nice in Health.

For more detail visit Epoch Chemotherapy

Original article

You've Opted for Chemotherapy, Now What?

How to prepare yourself for treatment!

Depending on the severity and type of cancer, you may have some time before starting treatment. If this is you, or someone you know, I would recommend the following 12 things to prepare. Preparation is the best way to get through this horrible ordeal.

The biggest problem with having chemotherapy treatment is that most doctors say you MUST have chemotherapy. Nine out of ten do not give you an option.

April 5, 2001 the phone rang and my surgeon's voice was on the other end. "Robin," she said, "your test results are back. I'm sorry. It's cancer." She then continued to tell me she would see me in the office that next week to have my stitches removed. Just like that, then she hung up. In total shock and disbelief, I hung up the phone then sat down and cried. She said we can talk about drug therapy when I came in and I remember thinking to myself - at least she wasn't talking chemo.

Yah right!

In the office the surgeon gave me my full diagnosis to the best of her ability. It was Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL). We discussed "drug therapy" and I told her then I wasn't doing Chemo or any of those drugs. Her response was I needed to keep an open mind. It was I told her and no drugs were going into it. With that I left.

Next I saw my primary care physician and he sent me to a hematologist. Before I left we discussed my options and said it was my decision. We also discussed the surgeon's letter to him with my "refusal" of drug therapy.

The hematologist was very nice and spent the whole time during my appointment explaining exactly what NHL was, how it was typed and the various stages. What my options were and how she likes to treat patients. She uses Chemo and Radiation.

Well, I didn't care for her treatments either. My cancer was found in the right groin and she wanted to do radiation on both the right and left of the groin. When I asked why - her response was - just in case it decides to move to the left.

After her visit I went home and did major research. I Googled NHL, chemo treatments, remedies, herbs, etc. Then I went to the video store and rented movies about cancer patients. I watched shows on lifetime channel about cancer as well. When I was all done crying it was time to take action.

I called my primary care and told him I wanted another opinion or I was off to Europe where they use herbs to treat cancer. He sent me to Boston.

My doctor in Boston told me I could wait but someday I would have to have Chemo. I immediately liked this guy - since we both agreed there was no rush.

In 2004 my cancer spread from type 1 to type 3 meaning it went from just 1 part of my body to being in 3 parts. I was under mega stress during that time in my life and two nodes at the back of my head stuck out like points of a pencil. This made me nervous - January 2005 I finally gave in.

Twelve things to do before giving into chemo treatments

Here are the 12 things I did before giving into chemo treatments that I highly recommend to anyone who has to go through this horrible ordeal -

Talk with your doctor (s) with regard to your diagnosis and treatment. Ask about different drugs they want to give you and get documentation about each oneRead everything you can about your disease and drugs - especially side effects - but don't drive yourself crazy over itJoin a support group - call 800 number and find nearest support group to youSpend time mourning the loss of your normal self and cry till it's out of your system - you'll need your strength to get through chemoGo to the library and get books on humor (study them)Become a student of humor, watch various comedy movies as well as Patch Adams with Robin WilliamsListen to self-healing tapes - read the booksCut your hair short - in case you lose it, visit a wig shop if you want or make hats to wearKeep a journal about your chemotherapy treatments, how you feel, what you notice around you or write poetry about itGet a support system in place for people to help you - whether it's to take you back and forth for treatments, run to the store or refill prescriptions, visit you in person or on the phoneAsk family and/or friends to put you into their prayers (they do work wonders)Don't shut your friends and family out - talk about having to go through chemo and having the cancer - you may find that you will lose some people who you thought were close to you, but that's okay - it's their problem not yours that they can't deal with what you are going through - you need to concentrate on you and getting better!

To go through chemo itself is tough. In fact, it is downright nasty. However, if you have the right frame of mind - it does make it easier.

As for the side affects of Chemotherapy, that's for another story.

Robin G. Coles of R G Coles and Co LLC, freelance writer and photographer

Original article

Chemotherapy and Bloodletting

The goal of chemotherapy is to kill part of a cancer patient's body without killing the patient. It involves lethal drugs that do serious damage, hence the side effects. The drugs work by damaging the RNA or DNA that controls cell division. If cells are unable to divide, they die. Healthy cells grow back; hopefully the cancer cells won't.

Pharmaceuticals are risky business. Having them prescribed and monitored by a doctor is a safeguard, but it doesn't make them safe. In her book, Another Day in the Frontal Lobe, neurosurgeon Katrina Firkin notes that,

Anything strong enough to help you is strong enough to hurt you. No treatment, at least no worthwhile treatment, comes without risk. Even natural supplements, if you take unnaturally large amounts, can have untoward effects... There are plenty of medications that work wonders without us having a clear idea as to how or why they work. To me, that means there are probably other things those drugs are doing that we may not expect. It would be unlikely for a drug to have one and only one effect on the body. That's not how the body works. One physiological mechanism can mediate numerous different functions. One natural chemical, blocked or enhanced by a certain drug, may have dozens of different targets. Those targets are probably not all figured out yet.

It's a Faustian bargain, but I've adopted Dr. Firkin's approach, "I'll take a medication when I need it, when the time comes, if the benefits clearly outweigh the risks. But I won't expect to get something for nothing."

Bloodletting

A hundred years from now chemotherapy may be looked back upon with the same aversion we have to bloodletting today as a barbarous rite of pre-enlightened medicine. For almost 2,000 years sincere physicians drained copious amounts of the vital fluid to relieve their patients of "bad blood."

The practice was supported by the best scientific minds of the time and based on observation of the body itself, specifically menstruation. None other than the father of medicine, Hippocrates-who gave us the word "cancer"-believed menstruation purged women of bad humors. His most famous student, Galen, began physician-initiated bloodletting in the second century.

Bloodletting was once used to treat cancer, along with everything else from cholera to diabetes, herpes to leprosy, plague to pneumonia, and scurvy to smallpox. The earliest recorded cancer treatment comes from the Egyptians, who used a "fire drill" to cauterize tumors. Medical science lurches forward by trial and error.

Even great advances sometimes have unforeseen consequences. A popular theory regarding how AIDS entered the human population posits that it came from chimps whose organs and fluids were used in culturing a strand of oral polio vaccine used in the Congo, the epicenter of the pandemic.

Never mind inadvertent danger, modern chemo causes lots of collateral damage. It is a shotgun that indiscriminately kills both terrorists and hostages. But for many forms of cancer, it's the best weapon we have right now.

Chemo is one of those things in life for which a stunt double would be absolutely great. Other experiences where a stand-in would be wonderful are:

childbirthIRS auditsroot canalsprostate exams(add your least favorite activity here)

Mike Hamel is the author of more than a dozen books and the blog, OPEN Mike, http://mikehamel.wordpress.com/. He is also a cancer survivor.

Original article

Surviving Chemo - The Best Diet to Follow During Chemotherapy

Sugar is one of cancer's favorite foods. By eliminating sugar from your diet, you can boost your body's immune systems.

Many studies show lowering sugar intake is paramount to the health of cancer patients. Glucose has been shown to assist in the growth and metastasis of cancer cells. Initially, elimination of sugar in the diet leaves the patient feeling more deprived by the lack of taste in ordinary foods. Our society is littered with over-processed, high carbohydrate foods. Our taste buds have become so familiar with overly sweetened foods that healthy, quality, natural foods taste bland. Combine the genetic engineering of our food crops that produce bland, even colorless fruits and vegetables. Imagine that you grew up in the 1900's when fruits and vegetables tasted sweet naturally. You can taste the natural sweetness of foods again.

Miracle Fruit is a tropical fruit used in Africa for centuries. The local indigenous people pick the fruit, rub it on their tongue to offset the bitterness in their natural diet. After rubbing the fruit on the tongue a lemons taste shockingly sweet, like sweet lemonade. We experience this effect everyday. Have you ever noticed foods tasting different or off after chewing gum, eating cranberries? Temporarily milk and orange juice taste funny. This same temporary taste alteration we experience all the time, but we simply dismiss it.

Although Miracle Fruit berries are available, they are costly and spoilage is a problem. They generally need to be shipped with dry ice and have a 2 day shelf life. The alternative, Miracle Fruit freeze dried tablets, are a high quality alternative. They are inspected for contaminants that may accompany fresh fruits. Tablets are under a calorie and generally have a 1-2 year shelf life.

Dr. Cusnir, from the Mt. Sinai Medical Center has been studying the effects of Miracle Fruit on cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Many Chemotherapy patients experience an unpleasant metallic aftertaste. This decreases their desire to eat, thus aggravating their ability to maintain proper weight levels. In his initial study, he discovered that in many cases, Miracle Fruit offset the metallic taste, resulting in food tasting more palatable and eating more appealing.

Weight-loss is a major concern for cancer patients undergoing chemo treatments. The ability to enhance the appeal of natural food is a plus for the health and survivability of cancer patients.

Consuming more natural fruits and vegetables can improve the health of all individuals and benefit our society as a whole. The obesity epidemic has far reaching concerns in the medical field, from diabetes to high blood pressure. Miracle Fruit can benefit everyone in our quest to maintain a healthy living style by enhancing the taste of natural foods.

http://www.miraclefruitmn.com/ Offers high quality Miracle Fruit in a freeze dried tablet form and ISO 9001/HACCP quality standard for purity. The tablets are less than 1 cal., offer a Miracle Fruit with a longer shelf life. Many Chemo patients find food tastes more appealing when they use Miracle Frooties before eating.

Original article