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Interactive Health Communication for longer, better lives.

Therapies

homeopathy as a cancer therapy?

Last week I began a discussion of the very important new paper on homeopathy and cancer from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDA). I conclude, with references, this week.

 

Vit D for both bone strength and muscle strength?

Seniors who take a large daily dose of vitamin D may be significantly less likely to suffer from falls, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Center on Aging and Mobility at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and published in the British Medical Journal.

"Falls are important events to prevent," said researcher Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari, "and 700 to 1000 IU of vitamin D per day is safe and inexpensive."

Even Moderate Physical Activity Can Boost the Immune System and Protect Against Chronic Diseases

"One study of 3,000 women being treated for breast cancer, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that for those patients with hormone-responsive tumors, walking the equivalent of three to five hours per week at an average pace reduced the risk of dying from the disease by 50% compared with more sedentary women."

medline plus

radiation for the myeloma patient

As Scott Jerome-Parks lay dying, he clung to this wish: that his fatal radiation overdose — which left him deaf, struggling to see, unable to swallow, burned, with his teeth falling out, with ulcers in his mouth and throat, nauseated, in severe pain and finally unable to breathe — be studied and talked about publicly so that others might not have to live his nightmare.

Fewer side effects and increased efficacy?

Addition Of Defibrotide To Melphalan-Prednisone-Thalidomide Combination Produces Fewer Side Effects In Multiple Myeloma Patients

No Comment By Funmi Adewale
Published: Feb 4, 2010 11:22 am

only 43% of them actually discuss costs with patients on a regular basis

You have cancer." These dreaded words are heard by more than a million Americans each year. From that point on, doctors and patients embark on the long process of therapy, trying to decide the best course of treatment. But while oncologists are able to discuss such painful matters as prognosis with their patients, they still shy away from discussing the issue of cost.

quacamole enhances the superbowl

I don't normally talk about food or recipes but since the superbowl is two weeks away and since my wife makes a terrific quacamole dish, I thought I would post this article to the b-m.org site.

Choose allo or auto stem cell transplants for therapy with caution-

As stem cell transplantation (SCT) becomes more common, it has also become safer. This is great news for the more than 40,000 people who receive a SCT worldwide each year. People receiving SCT are living longer after transplantation, often with improved quality of life immediately after treatment. But as the numbers of people surviving SCT increase, long-term and late effects may also become more common.

Researchers have pinpointed some of the most common late-term effects after SCT, including:

Autologus Stem Cell Transplant and immune stimulation-

March 1, 2006 — To lessen the impact of chemotherapy on bone marrow cancer patients, hematologists are recruiting the patients' own immune systems to help. White blood cells are extracted before a bone marrow transplant, treated to up their activity, and injected back after chemotherapy. Doctors hope to test technique on other patients with immune deficiencies, including HIV.

If HDT does not work the first time, it will NOT work a second time

A study, led by Dr. Joan Bladé, researcher of the Haematooncology Group of Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS (Barcelona), in collaboration with Dr. Laura Rosiñol, researcher of the same group, assessed the efficiency in terms of response and survival of autologous bone marrow transplantation in patients suffering from refractory myeloma previously having undergone high-dose chemotherapy (HDT). Results were conclusive; in patients suffering from resistant myeloma, neither did transplantation show any benefits nor increased survival.

Resveritrol along with grape seed extract, curcumin, fish oil, green tea extract-

Multiple myeloma is characterized by the accumulation of clonal malignant plasma cells in the bone marrow, which stimulates bone destruction by osteoclasts and reduces bone formation by osteoblasts. In turn, the changed bone microenvironment sustains survival of myeloma cells. Therefore, a challenge for treating multiple myeloma is discovering drugs targeting not only myeloma cells but also osteoclasts and osteoblasts.

FDA approves Overall survival data added to Velcade label

* Study showed 35 pct reduction in risk of death

NEW YORK, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The drug Velcade used to treat the second most common form of blood cancer can now state on its label that it has led to longer survival among patients with the often fatal illness, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co (4502.T) said on Monday after U.S. regulators approved the change.

Could supplementation during conventional therapy help one's immune system combat infection?

Multiple myeloma patients on various thalidomide (Thalomid) combination regimens may develop infections despite preventative drug measures, according to a data analysis performed by Italian researchers. The analysis also identified which factors increase a patient’s likelihood of experiencing severe infection. Researchers presented the results on December 6 at the 51st annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in New Orleans.

Guidelines for vitamin D replacement in myeloma

Welcome to mSMART: the risk adapted approach to management of multiple myeloma and related disorders

Guidelines for Calcium and Vitamin D Supplementation in Myeloma

•Measure baseline 25-hydroxy VitD3 levels in all patients with myeloma
•VitD deficiency is very common in elderly
•Patients on routine bisphosphonates need to maintain adequate VitD and Ca intake

Advances in elderly patient therapy

Several key presentations at the recent American Society of Hematology (ASH) 51st Annual Meeting have featured new combinations of drugs in the treatment of multiple myeloma in patients older than 65 years.

The treatment of multiple myeloma has transformed in recent years, with the introduction of the immunomodulators thalidomide and lenalidomide and the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib joining older products such as melphalan and corticosteroids, but there is still much debate as to how these drugs are best used in combination with one another.

More info on resveritrol

Red wine has long been touted as a health elixir. Now wine's purported health-giving ingredient, resveratrol , is available in daily supplements, beverages and even a new nutritional bar claimed by sellers to help you live longer and help prevent cancer and other diseases. Until recently, the evidence for resveratrol has been animal data, but preliminary human testing has yielded intriguing results.