HDR Brachytherapy: An Innovative Option for Cancer Patients

What is HDR Brachytherapy?

High-Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy is an innovative type of internal radiation therapy that delivers high doses of radiation from implants placed close to, or inside, the tumor(s) in the body. This technique allows delivery of maximum radiation dose to the target tissues which harbor cancer, while minimizing exposure to the surrounding healthy tissues.

How is HDR Brachytherapy different from Low-Dose Rate Brachytherapy? HDR Brachytherapy is a procedure where the radiation source is placed only for a few to several minutes in the proximity of the target volume. LDR Brachytherapy involves the radioactive sources to be in the proximity of the target volume for days (temporary) or permanently implanted in the target volume (example: seed implant in Prostate Cancer).

What kind of Cancers can this procedure help? This procedure is commonly available for selected patients with prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung, sarcoma, head and neck cancer, skin cancer and cancers of the cervix and uterus.

Do patients have to be admitted to the Hospital for this procedure? Majority of the HDR Brachytherapy procedures are done as an outpatient and does not require hospitalization.

How is this procedure performed? For the most part, this procedure is a collaborative effort between the Surgeon and the Radiation Oncologist. The surgeon places hollow catheters directly into the target tissue such as the breast, lung and prostate. These catheters are then hooked up to an HDR machine which houses a small radioactive source measuring less than a grain of sand. This source is threaded into the catheter under computer control. The source stays in the catheter for a predetermined period of time allowing a precise amount of radiation dose to be delivered to the target volume. The source subsequently is withdrawn into the machine and the patient is allowed to go home after the procedure.

Are patients radioactive after the HDR Brachytherapy procedure? The answer is no. It is the EFFECTS of radiation that will continue within the target volume. Since the radiation source is withdrawn from the patient once the procedure is complete, they are no longer radioactive and are free to continue on with their lives unhindered.

How long does each each procedure take? The actual time that each HDR Brachytherapy procedure may take is generally between 15 mins to 30 mins depending on the complexity of the situation.

How Many sessions are needed for a given patient? This depends on each situation. Breast HDR for example is done twice a day for five days and involves 10 sessions of the procedure.

Do patients undergoing HDR Brachytherapy need additional treatments for their cancer? Again, this depends on the situation. This procedure may be combined with surgery, chemotherapy and external beam radiation therapy for several weeks according to the disease process that is being addressed.

Conclusion: Overall HDR Brachytherapy offers a quick and effective way to give radiation treatments for selected patients with cancer. The key here is for patients to discuss with their cancer physicians regarding this option of treatment.

Dr. Kumar is a board certified Radiation Oncologist who is co-founder of a private practice group in Florida. He has over 17 years experience dealing with cancer patients including several members in his own family who have been afflicted by this disease.

His philosophy of managing patients is through a unique holistic approach that takes into account the wishes and needs of patients and their families. He believes that any battle is won at the level of the mind first before the body goes into action to win the war. His website http://curingcancerofthemind.com/ reflects this philosophy.

He is always available to help any patient with questions regarding cancer and radiation therapy and can be reached at 772 293 0377.

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Keeping Company With a Client With Depression

I first saw the patient at the front desk, trying to compose herself as she gave her insurance information and co-payments to the financial representative. Our center is always cold, an old house renovated with air conditioning that makes it either too hot or too cold. She was shivering from cold and crying, struggling to compose herself. I brought her a heated blanket and stood behind her gently rubbing her back as she did all the initial paperwork. It was the beginning of her journey of chemo, surgery and possibly radiation treatment.

As I waited with her, we talked about many things: about her occupation as a sales clerk in a store that I frequent, her upcoming wedding, family members who were with her. She confided in me that she had a long history of clinical depression. I thought to myself how cancer treatment alone puts people at risk of clinical depression; it had to be even harder, starting out with a level of risk. And so often, depression and anxiety appear together. I brought her something to drink and waited as she got her blood work taken. At times, she was tearful as she talked.

I asked her if I could give her a gentle shoulder massage while she waited to see the doctor. First I taught her a relaxation technique that I use with lots of patients, something to focus on while I massaged her shoulders. It is an easy one: Breathe in, think of a word, breathe out, think of another. Once she could do that, I massaged her hands for a few minutes until she was called into the exam room. I know the importance of patients telling their stories. So we talked. I listened.

A few days later I got a phone call from her. She wanted me there on her first day of chemotherapy. I was across the street at the other center, but told her to call me when they started and I would walk over. When I walked in and saw her face, her smile was so genuine, her eyes lit up, it amazed me how different she looked from a few days ago. I hardly recognized her.

To decrease anxiety in a treatment center, this is what I do: bring blankets and refreshments. Talk about our families and vacations and jobs. Share photos of grandchildren, commiserate over parenting challenges. Laugh. Give hugs for good news and extra hugs when the news is not so good. Depending on the patient, massage can also be done. It can calm someone's heart and put them on a beach someplace. When there is a lot of anxiety and isolation, the personal contact of massage can offer a simple, brief diversion.

I never forget that each patient may come in with a host of pre-existing conditions. In our work with people in cancer treatment, each patient comes in with a whole physical and emotional history. We can't forget or overlook those conditions. In the case of anxiety and depression, someone may need extra care. I am mindful of this as I work.

http://www.tonimuirhead.com/
Copyright © 2011, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins/Wolters Kluwer Health. Reprinted by permission.
Medical Conditions and Massage Therapy A Decision Tree Approach,Tracy Walton, pg., 162 story submitted by Toni Muirhead

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Advertising Your Benefit Fundraiser - Know Your Target Audience

Whenever a group of people asks for my help with advice and direction on putting on a benefit fundraiser for a friend or loved one with an illness or debilitating injury who is facing financial catastrophe, one of the first questions they ask is, "How do we advertise this benefit?" They ask about taking out an ad in the newspaper, on radio and even television. But my answer usually surprises them because my advice is you don't need to advertise it but you do need to get the word out - and there is a difference.

The first thing to keep in mind is that except in rare occurrences, strangers are not going to come to your benefit! This may sound harsh, but use yourself as an example. I am sure you've seen newspaper ads for a benefit or heard one on radio or TV. And how many times have you walked into your local convenience store over the years and have seen a poster advertising a benefit? Did any of these ads ever entice you to go to the benefit? I'll bet not and it's not because you're hard-hearted, but rather, you don't know the person for whom the benefit is being held.

With that in mind, let's change our advertising approach to make sure that on the day of the benefit you've got a line out the door of people waiting to get in! The key is to simply make sure the word gets out to the family, friends and co-workers of the person the benefit is being held for. If the benefit is being held for a child, get the word out to all of mom and dad's co-workers, their friends, both sides of the family as well as the child's classmates and their parents. Bottom line - make sure everyone in that person's life circle is made aware of the benefit. If you can cover that base, you'll have a full house.

To get the word out, begin with the obvious - email, Facebook, Twitter and whatever other internet social network you may be a member of. Ask everyone you know if they might possibly be able to post a company-wide email at work. Contact the local newspaper (especially the smaller community newspapers) on the outside chance they would advertise your event for free. At the very least, be sure all of your local newspapers, radio and television stations receive a flyer or news release about your event for their Community Calendar. Sometimes news departments pick up these items to use as 'filler' stories. If you want posters, try contacting the local beer distributor (Miller, Budweiser). These companies will often front $500 worth of the cost of printing the posters as long as their logo is prominently displayed.

All of these advertising vehicles are meant to do one thing - to remind family, friends and co-workers that, "Oh yeah, mark the calendar - it's Bob's benefit that day."

Tom Zalaski is a television news anchorman, professional speaker and emcee who has helped coordinate and produce benefit fundraisers for countless groups and organizations looking to come to the aid of a friend or loved one stricken with an illness, an accident or any other unforeseen circumstance. Tom has also served as emcee for hundreds of these events.
Tom has put everything you need to know about putting on a benefit fundraiser in his book simply and aptly titled, "We Need To Do A Benefit Fundraiser -- But How?"
More about the book plus a FREE preview chapter can be found in The Bookstore at http://www.tomzalaski.com/. The book is also available at the Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites.

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Cancer Does Not Mean That You Are Dead!

You Have Cancer!

These are the three most dreaded words many people around the world may have to hear one time or another in their lives. Is this the beginning of the end? Not if you go about it in a dispassionate and sensible way.

After coping with the shock, most of us would find the top specialist we can afford, and follow his treatment plan to the letter. You are made to believe that since oncologists went to medical school for years ---only they know what is best for you. Not necessarily!

While conventional doctors are undoubtedly experts in chemotherapy, radiation and surgery ---the only treatments taught in most medical schools--- their methods are by no means the safest or the most effective ways to cure most cancers.

Sure, they can fight the cancer for a while, but these treatments also poison your whole body, especially your immune system. They weaken your body's natural defenses just when you need them most. That's why most cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation- suffer terrible side effects and become susceptible to all kind of infections. Ask these patients and they will tell you they would rather die than go through it a second time - and that's exactly what they choose to do.

So why is chemotherapy recommended by the large majority of doctors? While there is a tremendous conflict going on in the minds of honest and caring oncologists they are in a very difficult position because they've only been trained to give these drugs. Their good intentions fail when the only resource available to them has so little to offer.

Chemotherapy, the mainstay of any conventional cancer treatment has a success rate of 3%. Yes, the failure rate amounts to 97%. Not very encouraging since cancers such as breast, colon, and lung cancer are simply untreatable by chemotherapy.

That's right, after our loved ones have suffered for months on end and paid a fortune for conventional treatments, over 55% of the most feared cancers come back again according to researchers at the prestigious MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Americans are known to donate generously to the cancer cause. Millions are spent on cancer research every year while the best brains toil away hoping for a breakthrough. But with a small percentage of cancer survivors left to spend 5-7 years of a miserable existence; failure stares at us straight in the face.

What if you could treat cancer more successfully than most oncologists?

There are hundred of thousands of cancer patients around the world who are leading healthy, normal lives today. The truth is doctors so often get it wrong.

Experts in Nature Cure and Alternate Medicine claim that you can naturally cure most cancers at home for a fraction of the cost of chemotherapy -- without the horrible side effects. You will discover the most potent alternative cancer treatments that 94% of doctors don't even know exist. And it's probably easier to cure cancer in its earlier stages than it is to cure pneumonia. So, don't let panic rush you into a decision you may regret later.

It is a known fact that cancer is a multidimensional, systematic total body disease where the tumor is merely a symptom. Studies have shown that there is no known tumor that could not be cured 35 years ago, and can be cured today with conventional treatment. The entire purpose of the alternative cancer treatment is to correct the root cause of cancer in the whole body. Once the cause is discovered; reversing the cancer is a simple matter.

Cancer patients deserve to know the truth and to make choices based upon this truth and the choices to be made in treating cancer are not easy ones; because there is so little certainty of cure in any of them. Yet, the evidence that there are literally hundreds of alternative cancer treatments which really do work is voluminous.

R.P.Bhalla, retired airline captain and avid golfer writes extensively on Health and Relationship issues. Based on personal experience, he believes that nature can cure the most deadly diseases.

http://truth-about-cancer.info/

http://nature-cancer-cure.info/

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Bladder Cancer Survival Rates - Know Your Chances By Stage

Like many cancer cases of any types, the bladder cancer survival rate is relatively higher if the patient is treated and cured at the earliest stage of the disease. As the disease progresses and the cancer cells have penetrated a larger portion of your bladder, prognosis goes down to the drain as well. By stage 4 of the disease, your bladder cancer survival rate may still be too low despite adequate treatment regimen and successful surgeries.

By definition, bladder cancer is the type of cancer in your urinary bladed affecting more than 70,000 lives in the US. Each year, bladder cancer takes about 14,000 American lives. The good thing is, this cancer is amongst those types of cancer that are easily detected at the early stages so there are more chances of curing it before it worsens. The signs and symptoms of this cancer may already be felt at its early stage that is why more people are able to seek medical advice and get properly screened and diagnosed of the disease. But more than ever, it is the early treatment that really influences the patient's bladder cancer survival rate.

According to a report released by the National Cancer Institute, SEER Data Base for the year 1988-2001, patients are likely to live up to 5 years or more than that if cure has been given while the cancer is at its first stage, which is Stage 0. The survival rate at this stage is up to 98%, which is slightly higher than most cancers at the same stage. However, similar to other cancer cases and despite the fact that this cancer is an easily-detected cancer, not all patients are able to see the symptoms as early as stage 0. Therefore, not all patients are given the chance for an early treatment.

At stage 1 (which is actually the second stage of bladder cancer), your rate of surviving may be down to 10 percent lower from the first stage. If the spread of your cancer at this stage has not reached maximum yet proper treatment has already been started, your bladder cancer survival rate may slightly go up to 92%.

Stage 2 and stage 3 are the stages where there is an increase proliferation rate and your cancer cells may eat up your healthy cells faster than they do on the previous stages. Therefore, the rate of surviving may be substantially decreased. From the same report by the National Cancer Institute, your survival rate is around 63% for stage 2 and 46% on stage 3 even with treatment.

Stage 4 is where the cancer metastasize and may affect surround vital organs like the ovaries, reproductive system, kidneys, pelvic bones, etc. In some cases, the coccyx or the bottommost part of your spinal cord may also be affected, leading to severe nervous function on those parts. Survival rate at this stage is around 15-20 percent.

Find more information about bladder cancer survival rates and see what other patients feel about the disease at Cancer Survival Rates.

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Why Is the Wireless Industry Not Taking Responsibility for the Coming Pandemic?

Let's get something straight right from the get go.

I am not trying to advocate for the dismantling of the wireless industry globally. Heaven knows if this was to happen the havoc it would wreck on the global economy would be devastating. You should know that the wireless industry, and that includes manufacturers, wireless providers, the ones that sell you the services and accessory resellers, make up an industry that on a worldwide scale is second in annual revenue to only the automotive sector. So we are talking about an industry behemoth!

So perhaps this is the reason why this industry itself has been so sheepish about discussing and addressing the concerns of medical professionals, researchers and scientists, who are all sounding the alarm regarding health concerns because of constant exposure to electro magnetic radiation, the stuff that is given off by anything that is electric.

Where cell phones and cordless phones are concerned the products we are using today are more powerful than the products of five, ten and fifteen years ago,and we hold them right against our head or carry them strapped to our body. A lot of the lack of concern is because many of the past studies were based on these underpowered devices and there was no real threat then. Studies conducted over the past 5 years combined with the more than 170 studies accumulated over the past fifteen years are all pointing in one direction and that is that there is now consensus among the medical community that this exposure is not a good thing especially where children are involved.

I believe that although there is conclusive medical evidence to confirm a link between the rising incidence of rare forms of brain cancers, especially those growing behind the ear of cell phone users, no one wants to sound the alarm for fear of destroying a massive industry.

What should be happening is for the industry to show some leadership and take some responsibility for educating consumers about how to use the technology in a safer fashion. Of particular note, people under the age of twenty, especially children are at a higher risk for all of the associated maladies for a couple of reasons. We know that the brain and the skull of a human does not fully mature till we reach our early twenties. Brain tissue in children is more porous and as a result any radiation that children are exposed to, travels deeper into the brain tissue.

Remember, our bodies are made up of mostly water. Cell and cordless phones operate on the same frequency of microwave energy that we use to cook our food so in essence when we talk for prolonged periods of time we are actually slow cooking our tissue. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know this is not a good thing.

At the very least the manufacturers as well as the wireless providers should be providing a safe usage guide to all consumers. The most you will see right now for example is a little foot note from Apple and Blackberry instructing users to hold their phones in a certain way when placing them near the ear. This is their solution. It makes me angry that they can get away with stuff like this.

Also you should know that in North America, the CTIA, the industry association for wireless providers has blocked every attempt by the government to force the manufacturers and wireless providers to list the S.A.R. (specific absorption rate) rating of each phone. Every wireless device gives off radiation. The S.A.R. rating tells what this dose of radiation is and in North America the S.A.R. rating cannot exceed 1.6 w. Not only does the new Apple iPhone 4 surpass this rating, they are not even willing to make this information public.

Let me expand on this..if you look at the safety guide section of the manual that comes with the iPhone 4 they do list the SAR ratings that are under 1.6w. If you read closely and examine their testing protocol you will understand that when they take the measurement they position the phone 25 mm away from the ear..that is about an inch..I don't know about you but I don't know anyone that holds their phone this way when they put it to their ear. If anything they push it right up against the ear to hear more clearly.

It is quite obvious that Apple and other manufacturers test their phones this way because it allows them to get a lower SAR rating. But as you can see, this rating is not accurate. The other point of note here is that the testing standards as laid out by the government here in Canada haven't been upgraded since 1999.

The wireless and cordless devices of today are very different in terms of power than they were almost 12 years ago.

What is going on?

In other parts of the world like Finland and Israel for example it is mandated by law that S.A.R. ratings must be public knowledge. and posted on product boxes and at wireless locations so consumers can make an informed decision when purchasing products and services.

And so it goes...the devices get more complex and they get more powerful, exposing all of us and especially our children who are increasingly using these devices at a younger age, to the harmful effects of radiation.

Just when is this madness going to stop?

How many people are already sick, will get sick and will die?

What are we waiting for?

It all comes down to money.

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CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery - A Giant Leap in Cancer Treatment

The name "CyberKnife" is actually a bit of a misnomer, there are no knives in sight! However, it does allow the ablative treatment of tumours (hence "knife") to be performed painlessly and effectively without the need for an operation by a robotic (hence "cyber") linear accelerator (radiotherapy machine)

Conventional radiotherapy uses large field sizes and just a few radiation beams to treat 'regions' in the body, which means the dose given to the tumour is often limited by the radiation tolerance of the surrounding normal tissues. The latest chemotherapy and 'magic bullet' drugs have been a small step forward, but they have side effects and have generally not lived up to the hype.

Tumours are chaotic, and tend to wrap themselves around, or are close to other vital tissues. This means that the surgeon's skills can be stretched to the limit, or the use of conventional radiotherapy would damage too much healthy tissue. Cancer radiation oncologists need a clear image of the exact location of the tumour (with all its irregularities) so that the delivery of radiation can be accurately pinpointed to these parts, and these parts alone. This is where CyberKnife® comes in.

What can CyberKnife® treat?

The treatment is so accurate that it is now possible to treat tumours previously thought to be untreatable. Although the results of treatment do not always show immediately, in most cases the procedure will initially stop the growth of tumours before gradually reducing their size.

As there is no open surgery, the complications normally associated with an operation are eliminated, as is the need for a long recovery time. This makes treatment suitable for those who are not well enough to cope with the side-effects of surgery and most patients leave the clinic the same day as their treatment.

Major operations such as lung and liver resections, removal of pancreas and prostatectomy now have a viable alternative option with this technique.

The future

The potential for this form of instrumentation is incredible, and the next few years will see some exciting new developments in cancer treatment. Trials are now well underway including a study of CyberKnife® compared with conventional surgery for stage 1 or 2 lung cancer. CyberKnife® is being tested in functional brain disorders such as epilepsy and Parkinsons' Disease, and there are plans to extend the application of the therapy to correct electrical disturbances in the heart (as an alternative to catheter ablation). CyberKnife® is also being trialled in early breast cancer.

About the author
Dr Andrew Gaya is a consultant clinical oncologist at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and The Harley Street Clinic. He specialises in the treatment of solid tumours using chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and biological therapies.

About totalhealth
totalhealth provides authoritative medical information in plain English. Including more articles on Cyberknife surgery.

(c) Copyright - Total Health World Ltd

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