Cancer: A Controversial Subject
Things to consider about complementary medicine & CCRG
Complementary medicine can be a justified provider of hope
The vast majority (80%+) of cancer patients that visit the CCRG facilities have
very late stage cancers. For the most part they have undertaken
conventional cancer treatment and there is little else that conventional
medical modalities have to offer them. Since they have not yet been cured, they are left with
little or no hope and they have often been sent off to “get their
affairs in order”.
Historically, most patients are introduced to CCRG services by past or
current patients of CCRG, who have benefited from Aminomics/immune
system management. There is normally few other medical options for our
patients so, when a friend/associate suggests that CCRG may be able to
help strengthen the body’s immune system and internal disease fighting
mechanisms, the patient naturally gets a bit of hope, often the first
and only hope they have had in months.
Does CCRG encourage the individual to have a positive mindset about
complementary immune system based cancer support? Absolutely! Many
studies indicate that emotions alter immune function and adversely
affect cancer survival rates. (O’Leary, 1990) Investigators have
reported that psychological intervention and/or stress reduction may
increase the median patient survival-time by as much as double that of
national averages (Simonton et al, 1980). Stress has been demonstrated
to facilitate carcinogenesis by adversely affecting DNA repair (Takabe
et al, 1983; Kiecolt-Glaser at al, 1985). Even the anticipation of a
stressful event, such as chemotherapy treatment, may initiate immune
suppression and other reactions as indicated by evidence of anticipatory
immune nausea, vomiting and reduced monocyte and NK cell activity. (Bovbjerg
et al, 1990; Fredrikson et al, 1993)
CCRG will discuss with patients our own research observations that
outline, on a cumulative basis, the success that other patients have
experienced. We recognize that this research is ongoing and information is presented on the basis of reporting the results of case
series research. These discussions are based upon actual, documented
experience with managing the immune systems of a wide range of people with cancer and
other illnesses from almost a decade of working with hundreds and
hundreds of individuals. CCRG stands firmly behind the ongoing
research observations that are conveyed (further on the CCRG research below).
Does CCRG in any way “guarantee a cure”?. Absolutely not! Neither conventional nor complementary medicine can provide you with health guarantees.
Is this "false hope"? Absolutely not! It is real hope that is founded in
valid clinical and laboratory research and conferred by thousands of
documented peer-reviewed research studies on the impact of nutraceutical
support of immune system dysfunctions.
Today, the limitations of cytotoxic chemotherapy and the relatively
stagnant and low effectiveness of radiotherapy are not disputed by most
oncologists. “The limits of the <cancer killing> model seem to have been
reached.........cancer killing strategies may be counterproductive because they
impair host response and drive the already defective regulatory process
of the cancer cell toward further aberrancy” (Schipper, 1995, Journal of
Clinical Oncology). Despite spending $14 billion annually on cancer
research, the percentage of patients dying from cancer is still close to what it
was in 1970… and in 1950. (Leaf, 2004)
Bottom Line: No conventional or complementary/alternative practitioner
can definitively claim 100% success with any cancer therapeutic. The
question is…. Are CCRG clients receiving any clinical benefit? CCRG
maintains that improved quality of life, improved support of the
individual to the after-effects of conventional therapy and extension of
life demonstrated through CCRG protocols are very significant health benefits.
"The Cost of Hope"
In today's world of publicly insured health care, people can be reactive to paying for additional health care support. Yet, in reality we all pay from our pockets every day. Over 80% of adults purchase some form of nutritional supplements or visit uninsured complementary medical clinics for pain relief, mental health and many other medical conditions and diseases. CCRG continues to maintain the cost of services as low as practically possible while maintaining extremely high quality standards. A 6-month CCRG program costs about $6K. Compare this to the average cost of cytotoxic
chemotherapeutic drugs which range from $20K to $75K per treatment (which may or may not be insured and may or may not have been proven effective). (Globe, Feb 2, 2006). Many individuals who have paid $50K-$100K for
private treatment out of country.
Why do we have to charge? CCRG services include the cost of
patient dialogue and interaction with professional and licensed medical staff, several HPLC laboratory blood analysis', data interpretation,
formulation of high-quality, custom compounds in an ISO 9000 compounding
facility using premium, pharmaceutical grade, pathogen free, highly
bio-available compounds and ongoing patient
management/re-testing/re-compounding. Furthermore, each year CCRG budgets to provide a portion of services at no charge to both children and adults, particularly to those without financial
resources. Virtually all profits from CCRG operations over the past 10
years have been rolled back into research and development.
Top of Page
Many complementary medicine approaches demonstrate excellent health benefits
Though one must be wary of unsubstantiated health claims the fact is CCRG’s approach to immune system management
has demonstrated remarkable success as observed through our direct
experience with hundreds of patients over many years.
The medical benefits of immune system management, is further confirmed in thousands of peer-reviewed medical studies. Our own ongoing research, based on case
series studies, indicates very positive health benefits for patients with cancer and other diseases.
Are the CCRG patient observations “incredible”? Yes! Every patient that extends their life by a few months or by several years........every patient that is better able to tolerate the stresses of chemo and radiation.......every patient that has a better quality of life, IS an incredible success. CCRG has observed
some amazing successes with the Aminomics protocol, especially when integrated as an overall cancer management program of conventional and complementary therapy. CCRG’s long list of
healthy patients are a testament to this.
See Factual information regarding CCRG patient success.
Top of Page
CCRG nutraceutical supplements are safe.
All the component products in CCRG's program are recognised natural health products as defined by Health Canada's, Natural Health Products Directorate.
Of course, no approach to combating cancer is 100% successful. There are patients that have run the gamut of
conventional medical options, have late stage, metastatic cancers and
despite the best, combined efforts of their doctors and the CCRG clinic,
they pass away. In this situation, it is typical that CCRG has not had
significant enough time with the patient to administer several rounds of
custom nutraceutical compounds. But, this group represents a small
minority of CCRG patients. The majority of our patients acknowledge that they:
- have experienced extended life beyond
their and their doctor’s expectations
- have improved their quality of life
- are alive and well today, having
“beaten” their cancer into submission, sometimes even remission.
The CCRG clinic employs licensed physicians,
pharmacists and nurses. (Note that we do not employ an oncologist. An
oncologist’s primary role in cancer treatment is to provide
radiation and chemotherapy interventions to cancer.) Our medical staff
has had extensive experience dealing with cancer patients at a medical,
psychological and social level. Patient health and comfort are
paramount. It is a fundamental rule of the doctor’s oath to “Do no
harm”.
The CCRG approach is founded upon thousands of peer-reviewed scientific
and medical research studies that demonstrate the safety and efficacy of
nutraceutical intervention in cancer and other immune system disorders.
Our own case
series research indicates positive health benefits.
Yes, people do die from cancer. Cancer is the cause of significant
morbidity and one in 2.5 of us will have to face this disease at some
point in our lives. In fact, the annual incidence of cancer is 40%
greater today than it was 40 years ago. The Canadian Cancer Society
estimates that this year alone over 65,000 Canadians will die from
cancer (over 600,000 in the USA: American Cancer Society).
Each year in North America over 1.5 million people are newly diagnosed
with cancer. Approximately ½ of these people receive surgery,
radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy and are cured of the symptoms of their
disease (Miller et al, 1992). The other half of the population is not so
fortunate: even with conventional therapies, they will die within 5
years. Treatment itself can be the cause of further morbidity. Intensive
chemo- or radio- therapy is commonly associated with a range of adverse
side effects from malnutrition to bone marrow failure, further declines
in quality of life and development of secondary cancers as much as 1,000
times greater than normal. (Calabresi and Schein, 1993)
One can only wonder how many thousands of cancer patients might be saved through the proactive use of an integrated medical and complementary system such as that advocated by CCRG. Of course, it
is generally acknowledged by the public, government and healthcare professionals that our healthcare system (both at a government and
an institutional level) is often resistant to change.
Top of Page |
