Interesting Findings, Discussions, Developments, Cannabis & Cancer

11th issue, Contents:

Interesting Findings & Discussions

• Cancer Deaths in 2017 Result in More than 4 Million Potential Years of Life Lost
• Review Shows That Pharma Payments Do Influence Prescribing
• New Findings on ‘Exceptional Responders’ to Cancer Therapies
• Delays in Cancer Treatment Associated with Increased Mortality Rates
• Curing Metastatic Breast Cancer

New Developments in Detection and Treatment

• New breast cancer therapy promises to destroy tumours inside the body
• With new ‘elegant chemo,’ Israeli scientists edit genome to destroy cancer DNA
• ‘Game changer’ cancer treatment eliminates 6 of 7 tumors for Kentucky man
• Blood-Based Methylation Assay Enables Early, Accurate Detection of Solid Tumors

Cannabis and Cancer

• The Evidence is Clear – Cannabis Can Treat Cancer. Allow Cancer Patients to Use Cannabis Medicine
• Free book download, Cannabis and Cancer, by Justin Kander.
• Petition to sign: Allow Cancer Patients to Use Cannabis Medicine Without Legal or Economic Barriers

Interesting Findings & Discussions

• Cancer Deaths in 2017 Result in More than 4 Million Potential Years of Life Lost

This study found that deaths from cancer accounted for more than 4 million potential years of life lost in 2017.”

My two cents: That’s a lot of laughs not shared, cookies not baked together, trips not taken, hugs not exchanged, tears not dried, grandbabies not held….

• Review Shows That Pharma Payments Do Influence Prescribing

“Financial payments from the pharmaceutical industry to US physicians were associated with increased prescribing of the paying manufacturer’s drug, concludes a review of 36 recent studies.”

My two cents: This is unconscionable.  Thought this sort of conflict of interest had been outlawed. I knew it was true that doctors get chemo at wholesale and sell at retail, making it very profitable but I thought that was the exception.

• New Findings on ‘Exceptional Responders’ to Cancer Therapies

“A small percentage of patients with cancer show exceptional responses to treatment and survive significantly longer than patients with clinically comparable tumors, despite having advanced disease.The researchers have found particular molecular features in the tumors of about a quarter of these patients. In some cases, there are multiple rare genetic changes in the tumor genome. In other cases, the tumors are infiltrated with certain types of immune cells.”

My two cents: This is exciting but also frustrating. I am considered an exceptional responder… except in some cases, I didn’t have chemo when miracles occurred and I attribute success to the complementary treatment protocol I employed. But do they want to study that? Noooooo.

• Delays in Cancer Treatment Associated with Increased Mortality Rates

A study published in The BMJ found that even a slight 4-week treatment delay is associated with increased mortality across a number of indications for 7 cancer types.”

My two cents: Again, I’d like to see this study include complementary protocols. This tells me one should act fast when diagnosed but not necessarily that western medicine needs to be started right away.

• Curing Metastatic Breast Cancer

“Metastatic breast cancer is generally considered incurable. Although there appear to be important exceptions, instances where long-term disease-free survival occurs. How will we move toward cure for a much larger population of patients with metastatic disease?”

My two cents: As I discuss in my essay/chapter Causes & Cures: Blame vs. Empowerment”, I don’t believe there ever will be one cure, because there isn’t one cause. Western medicine may be able to play an effective game of Whack-a-mole and I truly hope for everyone that these technologies develop. This article is a good and informative discussion of where some of those breakthroughs will come from. But they will never replace the art and science of finding out why your body is out-of-balance (why it is “cancering”) and working WITH your body to bring it back into balance.

New Developments in Detection and Treatment

• New breast cancer therapy promises to destroy tumours inside the body
“The therapy, developed in Poland and known as Nanocargo, involves injecting nanoparticles directly into a tumour. The nanoparticles are heated by a laser and a magnetic field, killing the cancer cells. At the same time, chemotherapy drugs are released from nanoparticles right inside the tumour.”

My two cents: The good news is that this therapy is targeted and designed to spare healthy cells from the harmful effects of chemotherapy. There isn’t really any bad news but this seems preliminary and vague so I hate to get my hopes up. Still, it’s interesting.

• With new ‘elegant chemo,’ Israeli scientists edit genome to destroy cancer DNA
“Israeli scientists say they have destroyed cancerous cells in mice with a method so pinpointed it’s as if “tiny scissors” were being used to target only affected cells, while leaving everything around them intact.”

My two cents: Study in animals, human trials expected in two years. 3 treatments to destroy a tumor. Uses CRISPR gene-editing technology… we knew this was coming.

• ‘Game changer’ cancer treatment eliminates 6 of 7 tumors for Kentucky man
“Tony Burton, diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and given 4 to 6 months to live, has seen 6 tumors disappear and has one left he expects to disappear as well. A cell-based immunotherapy called tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, it’s a procedure not a drug… Doctors remove a portion of the tumor and teach existing cells to fight the tumor.”

My two cents: This represents the promise of immunotherapy… teaching our own immune system to prevail against the monster. Yay…

• Blood-Based Methylation Assay Enables Early, Accurate Detection of Solid Tumors
“The noninvasive blood-based targeted methylation assay identified early cancers with high specificity and provided accurate predictions of the tissue of origin… ELSA-seq is a sensitive targeted methylation sequencing assay that interrogates epigenetic alterations from circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA), enabling simultaneous identification and localization of multiple cancer types.”

My two cents: I love seeing developments in non-invasive early detection. One thing I appreciate about western medicine technology is diagnostics and testing. The earlier you detect the little bastard, the sooner you can implement lifestyles changes and the more chance those changes can play a significant role in your healing path.

Cannabis and cancer

• The Evidence is Clear – Cannabis Can Treat Cancer. Allow Cancer Patients to Use Cannabis Medicine
“Over the past decade, many cancer patients have increasingly turned to medical cannabis to potentially treat their cancers. In at least some cases, cannabis therapy was clearly responsible for achieving profound anticancer effects, including remissions from terminal cancers or significantly extended survival times. The purpose of this initiative is to accelerate global cannabis reform and allow safe access to affordable cannabis medicines for cancer patients.”

My two cents: I have survived and thrived due, in large part, to the anti-cancer and immune-boosting healing qualities of Cannabis and its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier where most chemos can’t. Justin Kander is one of the most knowledgeable people I have encountered regarding Cannabis & Cancer. His free downloadable book is a “must-read.” The petition to broaden access to the healing powers of cannabis is a “must-sign.”

• Free book download, Cannabis and Cancer, by Justin Kander
My two cents: A well-researched resource detailing the anti-cancer activity of phytocannabinoids and endocannabinoids.

• Petition to sign: Allow Cancer Patients to Use Cannabis Medicine Without Legal or Economic Barriers
My two cents: Support access to Cannabis. Sign it, please!

Cancer in the News has a posting frequency of once every two weeks, usually on Wednesday.

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