Lung Cancer
Lung Cancer refers to the growth of a cancerous tumor in the lung.
There are 2 categories of lung cancer:
- Primary lung cancer, which originates in the lung; and
- Secondary lung cancer or lung metastases, which have originated in other parts of the body and spread to the lung.
It is believed that lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the United States in men over 35 years old. Cancers deriving from the end bronchial epithelium make up 90% of all lung cancers.
They are usually classified into 5 types: Squamous cell, adenocarcinoma, large cell, small cell, and broncho-alveolar.
- The 1-year survival rate (the number of people who live at least 1 year after their cancer is diagnosed) for lung cancer was 42% in 1998, the last year for which we have national data. This had not changed in 10 years.
- The 5-year survival rate for all stages of lung cancer combined is only 15%.
- For people whose lung cancer is found and treated early with surgery, before it has spread to lymph nodes or other organs, the average 5-year survival rate is about 49%. However, only 15% of people with lung cancer are diagnosed at this early, localized stage.
Even if standard treatments have reached their limits, patients suffering from lung cancer, either primary lung cancer or lung metastases from other types of cancer, have treatment options.*
At the Issels Medical Center we have integrated advanced, research-based alternative/complementary and conventional therapies into a comprehensive immunobiological treatment concept that has a 50 year history.
Treatment
The Treatment Program is a comprehensive strategy for lung cancer of all types and stages.*
It is a two-pronged attack and consists of:
- Non-toxic Immunobiological Treatments designed to attack the cancer and at the same time restore the natural mechanisms of regulation, repair and defense.
- Standard Treatments aimed at the removal or reduction of the cancerous cells and tumors, when indicated and possible.
Each treatment program is specifically designed to meet the individual patient's needs and consists of components that complement one another.
>>> For ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on Treatment and Costs please click here or call 1.888.374.7735
Rationale
In lung cancer patients, as in all cancer patients, the body's regulatory, repair and immune mechanisms fail to prevent formation of a cancerous tumor. This failure is called by some researchers a "regulatory freeze" or "tolerance," which is due to a combination of causal factors that vary from one individual patient to the other.
The comprehensive immunobiological treatment offered at the Issels Medical Center aims to break through the "regulatory freeze". It is a unique blend of treatment modalities that complement and enhance one another in an effort to attack the cancer and at the same time restore the body's regulatory, repair and immune systems
Evidence is growing that in addition to genetic disposition, western lifestyle, nutritional imbalances, hormonal and psychological factors, along with other immune suppressive factors such as tobacco smoking, play an important part in the development of lung cancer.
There are various types of cancer cells that can develop into a lung cancer. The criteria of diagnosing and staging are the same for every patient suffering from a specific type of cancer. However, even if the histological diagnosis shows the same type of cancerous cell and the staging shows the same state of progression, every patient has his/her own individual cancer as a result from many different combinations of causal factors ranging from inherited constitution and disposition to adapted lifestyle.
Findings of modern research indicate that it is not only the type of cancerous cells that determines the course of the disease, but also the extra-cellular matrix, the medium on which these cells grow, i.e. the internal bodily environment, and the power of the natural defenses against cancer.
Cancer cells develop in every human being, in fact in every vertebrate organism, according to L. Thomas and other researchers. However, not every newly produced cancer cell leads to a tumor, as the body possesses a natural defense system, an immune surveillance according to M. Burnet. An intact immune system and intact regulation of physiological cell death, called apoptosis, protect the organism from the development of a cancerous tumor. Therefore, it is of great importance to restore the natural regulatory, repair and immune mechanisms, as a part of the healing strategy, or as prevention from the outbreak or progression of the disease.
Statistical studies show that the incidence of recurrent cancer can be reduced considerably, if the patient takes action to strengthen the immune system instead of wasting precious time by passively waiting for the next test results.
Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, although having made great strides in their ability to eradicate cancer cells and tumors, are merely aimed at the malignancy and ignore, and sometimes aggravate, the underlying condition, which led to the formation of the tumor in the first place.
Unless the preconditions for the growth of cancerous tumors are corrected, the high risk of disease progression and recurrence remains.
* DISCLAIMER: The extent of the response to treatment varies from patient to patient, even with similar diagnosis as the internal bodily environment is unique to each individual patient.
>>> For ADDITIONAL INFORMATION on Treatment and Costs please click here or call 1.888.374.7735