By Keith I. Block, MD People who have survived cancer with the help of conventional treatments should be aware of any potential long-term toxic effects of those treatments.  Among the more common problems in this regard is cardiotoxicity, which refers to damage to the heart and cardiovascular system.  Given that heart disease is the leading … Continued

By Keith I. Block, MD
As you probably know, hormonal therapy is considered standard treatment for women – and men – with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, and tens of thousands of patients, predominantly women, receive this treatment each year. The most widely used option for premenopausal women—first introduced in the 1970s—is Tamoxifen, which blocks the activity of estrogen by binding to the hormone’s receptor site. In more recent years, for postmenopausal women, Tamoxifen has been upstaged by aromatase inhibitors (AIs), drugs that block production of estrogen. (AIs generally follow two years of Tamoxifen for premenopausal women.) Both AIs and Tamoxifen, used either separately or together in sequence comprise an essential conventional strategy for curbing the risk of breast cancer recurrence. And some recent data suggests that AIs may be more effective in preventing early relapses.

One More Baseless Attack on Herbs and Chemotherapy! By Keith I. Block, MD Recently a colleague of mine emailed me a media report issued by Northwestern Memorial Hospital titled “Popular Herbal Supplements May Adversely Affect Chemotherapy Treatment.”  The first line of the article states: “Acai berry, cumin, herbal tea, turmeric and long-term use of garlic … Continued

By Keith I. Block, MD UPDATED SEPTEMBER 26, 2011 Recently I received a flood of questions from concerned patients in response to a study published online on 12 September 2011, in the journal Cancer Cell.  The findings reported by scientists at University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands revealed a discovery of two fatty acid … Continued

By Keith I. Block, MD Insomnia and other sleep disorders are quite common among people with cancer, occurring in about one out of every three cases on average.  In my clinical experience, most patients with advanced cancer have disorderly sleep, which can include difficulty entering into deep sleep, fitful sleep and nightmares, and serious trouble … Continued

By Keith I. Block, MD In the first blog article of this three-part series on detoxification, I explained the concept of the total load, and the different types of toxins the body has to deal with.  In the second article, I explored how to take care of your body’s central detoxification organ, the liver.  Here … Continued

By Keith I. Block, MD In the preceding blog entry, I explained the concept of the total load, and the different types of toxins the body has to deal with.  I also briefly introduced your body’s main detox systems, which are as follows: the liver and gall bladder the digestive tract the kidneys the lungs … Continued

By Keith I. Block, MD Many of us have grown weary of the reality that pollutants have flooded our modern environment, with little sign of reprieve on the horizon.  U.S. industries annually release billions of pounds of toxic chemicals into the environment.  Modern agriculture, too, is a major source: By conservative estimates, about two billion … Continued

By Keith I. Block, MD “Know thy enemy” is an ancient concept often invoked in times of war or competition.  The idea is simply that one must study one’s foe in order to win.  The same can be said for cancer, a disease that uses multiple methods to thrive.  When an enemy uses multiple means … Continued

By Keith I. Block, MD Though many forms of exercise seem fairly mechanical in their execution, some are more grounded in the realm of awareness and mindfulness.  The latter include Tai Chi and Qigong (pronounced Chee-Gung), both of which are more generally referred to as meditation in motion.  This is because, although each type of … Continued