Guest guest Posted October 2, 2004 Report Share Posted October 2, 2004 Hello Peggy, I assume that this is a primary in the brain and not metastatic to the brain. It is usually not that difficult to deal with brain cancers, regardless of type. The exceptions include benign tumors, diffuse cancers, and cancers after extensive conventional treatment. Past surgery shouldn't thwart your progress unless it contributed to seeding it to critical tissues. It is necessary to post detailed pertinent information about yourself, your tumor (including precis of radiology and pathology reports) and your past treatments. It would be useful to know the recommendations and rationales for conventional intervention and expected outcome. This is very important to quickly narrow your alternative treatment options to those most likely to bring about a sustainable remission. Are you on decadron? If not and if there is evidence of edema or inflammation, then boswellia and ibuprofen are very useful tools to buy yourself time to make sensible decisions. At 03:52 AM 10/02/04, you wrote: >I have a brain tumor that is in critical deep part of my brain. It is >growing again and neuro wants to operate again but there are more risks now >given all the scar tissue from the first surgery. Right now I am looking >into any alternative that I can with hopes of delaying this surgery and >finding alternative measures. I am pretty open to all things right now >please help thanks > >Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 2, 2004 Report Share Posted October 2, 2004 Peggy Sue, please look into the Gerson Therapy (www.gerson.org). Many people have gotten cured from advanced cancers with this! If you have any questions, let me know. Peggy Sue wrote: I have a brain tumor that is in critical deep part of my brain. It is growing again and neuro wants to operate again but there are more risks now given all the scar tissue from the first surgery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 2, 2004 Report Share Posted October 2, 2004 thanks for your insight. Here is more detailed info about my situation..... September 9, 04 (Thursday) first appointment with Dr Lynn Ashby she said that the meeting they had with the Gamma Knife Conference everyone concluded that there has been tumor growth on my brain tumor. She said that during M.R.I they inject some dye into you to see the contrast and she said this most recent M.R.I I had done at Good Samaritan hospital, when the dye was injected into me that there showed a lot of contrast/enhancement/lighting up, which means that the tumor is growing. There are two subsets with tumors (low grade or benign, and high grade being anaplastic. She said fortunately mine is low grade however, that is subject to change at what time and day they do not know and also rate of growth they do not know and cannot predict. The actual tumor growth is on the posterior fossa which is right near the brain stem and actual calcification on brain stem as well. Dr Ashby said tumor board is hoping my juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma is not now progressing/transforming into an anaplastic which is a more advanced brain tumor. Like she said though, brain tumors are unpredictable and spontaneous mutations happen all the time in cells that they cannot explain. Transformations over time? They cannot predict. The main risk with having an operation now though would be the fact that I have all that scar tissue in there from my initial surgery and that complicates things considerably. The problem now is the area of tumor that is compressing that fourth ventricle is at a very critical part of the brain since there is swelling/edema there now she said there is not a lot of room to play with. She said that is such a thin channel for cerebrospinal fluid to flow. She said there will be a tumor board meeting this Monday (the 13th) and she said there will be lots and lots of medical opinions for me there ( Neurologists, Pathologists, Neuropathologists, Radiologists, Oncologists, Neuro-Oncologists, Pediatrician Neurologists Neuropsychologists,Neuroendocrinologists etc.) She said that the reason to account for all my vomiting is that the tumor is growing again and it is obstructing the fourth ventricle in the brain. She said that the fourth ventricle is actually the vomiting center of the brain. The treatment plan until I decide on surgery or Gamma Knife is to take Decatron which are steroids and used frequently in brain tumors to reduce swelling and inflammation. The Gamma Knife she spoke about shortly, she said basically it is a machine that is designed to deliver a very focused type of radiation to tumor only. It is also called Stereotactic Radio Surgery, Gamma Knife, Cyber Knife etc. It is a very high dose of radiation that delivers very extreme precision. There is no surgery involved. Surgery there are too many risks including hemorrhaging, brain swelling, weakness on the opposite side of the body, paralysis, blindness, infection etc. My tumor is at a very deep part of my brain and she said she personally would not operate on me but that she spoke with Dr White and he would be willing to perform the surgery. I told her that my original neuro I talked to when tumor was first discovered said the same thing and would not operate on me and I actually had to go to another hospital till I found a neurosurgeon who would. Dr Ashby said not just anyone would operate on me given the tumor is located so deep in my brain and on brain stem etc. She said it is risky and carries high risk of complication. She said I'm lucky to be living in modern times because back in the old days they would not even consider an operation given the area of the brain my tumor is. I told Dr Ashby That I was not going to make a decision on what to do until I could get a second opinion. She recommended someone from tumor board named Hal Rekhee who specializes in childhood tumors and follows them through lifetime. My tumor is considered to be a childhood tumor. Re: [ ] help brain tumor > > Hello Peggy, > I assume that this is a primary in the brain and not metastatic to > the brain. It is usually not that difficult to deal with brain cancers, > regardless of type. The exceptions include benign tumors, diffuse cancers, > and cancers after extensive conventional treatment. Past surgery shouldn't > thwart your progress unless it contributed to seeding it to critical tissues. > It is necessary to post detailed pertinent information about > yourself, your tumor (including precis of radiology and pathology reports) > and your past treatments. It would be useful to know the recommendations > and rationales for conventional intervention and expected outcome. This is > very important to quickly narrow your alternative treatment options to > those most likely to bring about a sustainable remission. > Are you on decadron? If not and if there is evidence of edema or > inflammation, then boswellia and ibuprofen are very useful tools to buy > yourself time to make sensible decisions. > > > > At 03:52 AM 10/02/04, you wrote: > > >I have a brain tumor that is in critical deep part of my brain. It is > >growing again and neuro wants to operate again but there are more risks now > >given all the scar tissue from the first surgery. Right now I am looking > >into any alternative that I can with hopes of delaying this surgery and > >finding alternative measures. I am pretty open to all things right now > >please help thanks > > > >Peggy > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 2, 2004 Report Share Posted October 2, 2004 What is your age? How positive are your physicians of the diagnosis? Mistakes are often made with this diagnosis. You want to be sure it is not a medulloblastoma for which there are very effective but little-known treatments. Do you have a copy of the surgical pathology report? Do plan ahead to record everything that is discussed at the tumor board. You must deal with the inflammation. I do fear that it will become increasingly undifferentiated or anaplastic and this correlates with inflammation and aneuploidy. A gamma knife might be a sensible option for you. Should this be your decision please contact me re sensitizers to increase efficacy. There are many effective alternative tools for astrocytoma, but I would like to hear input from the tumor board first. Below is an e-mail that I pulled from my files that you might find interesting. FWD: Subject: Anaplastic astrocytoma -- protocell with graviola " Bill - Just a note of thanks for your 'labor of love' and for your ongoing work despite losing Marjorie. You must be a great friend to many people. I stumbled on your site after searching info on Graviola, as the many folks I am involved with who use Protocel (aka Cancell) have recently been made aware of this amazing extract from the Brazilian rainforests. " [see the article on Graviola in my newsletter. You can find it at: <http://www.getandstaywell.com/archive14.shtml>http://www.getandstaywell.com/arc\ hive14.shtml The article is " Graviola-Help From The Amazon Rain Forest. " ] Steve's letter continued: " I am 39 and was diagnosed with Stage 3 Anaplastic Astrocytoma brain cancer about 16 months ago, and after taking Protocel for only 5 months, the tumor is absolutely dead and does not enhance whatsoever. Two neuro-oncologists have told me they have never seen my kind of result, and I hear that so often now from others I just take it for granted. I am so grateful for Protocel, but I am real excited about it being used in conjunction with Graviola. I have heard of 2-3 cases already in which the two were used in conjunction and there was tumor disappearance in literally days -- serious tumors. It would be good to hear from you, but I wanted you to know that I admire your tenacity and love of people to go to the effort to do what you are doing. God bless, Steve Finney, " Steve has said you can contact him if you have questions. His e-mail address is: <mailto:sfinney@...>sfinney@... Scientists find Prozac 'link' to brain tumours By Steve Connor Science Editor 26 March 2002 Scientists have discovered that Prozac, the antidepressant taken by millions of people around the world, may stimulate the growth of brain tumours by blocking the body's natural ability to kill cancer cells. An international team of researchers led by Gordon, professor of immunology at Birmingham University, found evidence to suggest cancer cells can be killed by " positive thinking " , which could be blocked when people take Prozac. The study, to be published in the journal Blood next week, examined the effects of Prozac and other antidepressants on a group of tumour cells growing in a test tube. The researchers found that the drug prevented the cancer cells from committing " suicide " , thereby leading to a more vigorous growth of the tumours. Although an increased risk of cancer has not so far been detected in Prozac patients, the latest findings could lead to a global re-evaluation of the drug's long-term safety. Prozac, a " happiness pill " that was first approved in the United States in 1987, is widely used for the treatment of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and bulimia nervosa. Doctors in Britain issue about three million prescriptions for it each year and worldwide sales reached £1.8bn in 1999. Professor Gordon, whose study was jointly funded by Birmingham University and the Medical Research Council, emphasised that the results of his study cannot be taken as proof that Prozac stimulates the growth of tumours. He said: " Although that extrapolation could be valid, there is no direct evidence from large-scale epidemiological studies currently to back it up. However, it's important that we look again and again. " The research work was designed to find new ways of treating lymphomas, a type of blood cancer, by investigating how the brain communicates with the immune system to induce " positive thinking " through a neuro-transmitter in the brain called serotonin. " Serotonin is a natural chemical that regulates people's moods, keeping them balanced. Too much serotonin affects appetite and sleep and too little affects the mood – often causing depression, " Professor Gordon said. Prozac, along with other members of the class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), works by preventing serotonin from being quickly reabsorbed by nerve cells in the brain. The scientists tested other SSRIs such as Paxil and Celexa and found they, too, had the same effect in stimulating the growth of a type of tumour known as Burkitt's lymphoma. " An exciting property of serotonin is that it can tell some cells to self-destruct. We have found that serotonin can get inside the lymphoma cells and instruct them to commit suicide, thereby providing the potential for an effective therapy, " Professor Gordon said. The researchers found that Prozac blocked the entry of serotonin into the test-tube tumour cells and therefore stopped them from committing suicide. That raised the question of whether Prozac can do the same in the brains of people taking the drug. Professor Gordon said it was still premature to suggest that the drug was unsafe. " We must stress the effects shown for the SSRI on cancer cells is indirect and should cause no concern whatsoever to the many millions of people throughout the world who are prescribed this class of antidepressants, " he said. Further work is underway to test Prozac further in this field. In particular, the scientists want to develop drugs that will mimic the cancer-destroying feature of serotonin which is blocked by Prozac. A spokeswoman for Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Prozac, said that the research is too new for the company to make a detailed response. " It's not something we can directly comment on because we haven't been involved in it, " she said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 5, 2004 Report Share Posted October 5, 2004 Contact the Burzynski Clinic in Houston. http://burzynskipatientgroup.org/index.html Or: Dr. Scheinbart, MD. No web site. Talked at the Cancer Control Society on alternative therapies which were successful against terminal cases of Multiple Myeloma and other cancers. Savannah, GA, 800-375-1556 or 912-354-6165 Dave http://www.dfe.net Peggy Sue wrote: > I have a brain tumor that is in critical deep part of my brain. It is > growing again and neuro wants to operate again but there are more risks now > given all the scar tissue from the first surgery. Right now I am looking > into any alternative that I can with hopes of delaying this surgery and > finding alternative measures. I am pretty open to all things right now > please help thanks > > Peggy > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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