Hope is believing in spite of the evidence, and then watching the evidence change. – Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners magazine Physicians who offer cancer patients innovative but “unproven” therapies are often criticized for providing false hope. The basic line of reasoning here is that, without definitive evidence from randomized clinical trials to support the use … Continued
As regular readers of our page know, Dr. Block is considered by many to be a pioneer in the world of integrative oncology. So it made sense that when Leroy Lowe, a business professor in Nova Scotia and founder of the organization “Getting to Know Cancer” was looking for an ally to help develop a … Continued
As we discussed in our previous blog, the headlines last week were warning cancer patients about the potential problems with taking antioxidants while undergoing chemotherapy treatment. These headlines were generated from a recent study by a group of Swedish researchers, who used two antioxidants in studying mouse tumors. The antioxidants were n-acetyl cysteine (often called … Continued
It’s October, and it’s scarecrow month! Therefore, it was not a surprise when we started seeing publicity about a study that erects a straw man, only to knock it down. Or, should I say, a straw mouse? A group of Swedish researchers performed a study that used two antioxidants in studying mouse tumors. The antioxidants … Continued
Nature is a reservoir of therapies for many diseases, and the reality of this statement was trumpeted across news headlines this week. Dr Tu Youyou of the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of the anti-malarial drug artemisinin. She shared the prize with two … Continued
For the past few weeks, we’ve been writing about current research on ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, research has yet to uncover much that we can do in our daily lives to significantly minimize our risk of ovarian cancer. For example, a study that tracked 82,000 women for 24 years graded their diets to see which of … Continued
Research has linked both body weight and exercise to survival in various cancers. For example, a review of 16 observational studies of populations of breast cancer patients showed that women who engaged in any kind of physical activity before their cancer diagnosis had approximately a 20% lower risk of dying from breast cancer or other … Continued
One of the most critical decisions that cancer doctors help patients make is determining which chemotherapy and molecular regimen is likely to work best. Often, there are many options with no clear-cut reason to choose one over another. While existing research data may help a doctor select one regimen over another, each patient’s tumor characteristics … Continued
There’s been a lot of talk about the potential health benefits of flaxseed, and whether it can help prevent or fight breast cancer. But does the talk actually have any scientific basis? According to a review article published last year in Integrative Cancer Therapies, it does! As reported in the review, a study of newly-diagnosed … Continued
Evidence of the ability of inflammation to both initiate and fuel cancer has been accumulating since at least the 1980s. In fact, any chronic inflammatory disease – such as arthritis, bronchitis, fasciitis, colitis, and asthma – can increase the risk of cancer. A study published in the May 2009 issue of the Journal of Clinical … Continued