Cancer Treatment » Chemotherapy Articles & Stories

Simple ginger root seems to dramatically ease the nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy, a recent study demonstrated. The research, which was revealed at a news conference sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), validates what has been standard practice in homes around the world, namely, that taking ginger ale or ginger tea relieves an upset stomach. The study - the largest to date showed that taking a quarter - to a half-teaspoon of ginger a day reduced nausea symptoms by at least 40 percent.
( Read more about Ginger Appears to Relieve Chemotherapy-Related Nausea)

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A new source of stem cells could be as good as embryonic stem cells for researching and developing treatments for a range of serious diseases, and without the ethical implications of embryonic stem cells. Scientists from Germany and the UK have discovered this new source: routine biopsies of men's testicles. Stem cells from embryos have the potential to become any cell in the body, since a whole person grows from a single fertilized egg. But ethical issues arise because extracting stem cells requires the destruction of embryos.

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A recent report from the Institute of Medicine addresses the toll that cancer therapies have on patients' mental and emotional state that may potentially cause other health problems. Cancer treatments save and prolong many people's lives; however, care that focuses solely on eradicating tumors without acknowledging a patient's well-being can increase the patient's suffering and affect their ability to follow through on treatment. The report proposes that oncology care providers use a new standard of care that accomplishes three goals: screen patients for distress and other problems, coordinate and connect patients with health care or service providers who can treat these problems, and periodically re-evaluate patients to determine if patient care needs adjustment.

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There is new hope for patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. Researchers have now shown that using high doses of chemotherapy--typically a cancer treatment--can have marked benefit for those suffering from this neurologic disease. In fact, immune system diseases with no answer, like Lupus, and Crohn’s disease, and multiple sclerosis, might have met their match in a medicine already being used to treat cancer. The drug cyclophosphamide, or cytoxan, has now been shown to stop M.S. from progressing, and it can even reverse the effects. Take Melissa Kaplan , for example. It’s a simple maneuver for most of us: opening up a trash can with one’s foot. But three years ago, it wasn’t simple for Melissa, who was going downhill with multiple sclerosis. “I saw an orthopedic doctor, he made me these braces for my legs that will hold my feet up so I don’t trip over my own feet,” says Melissa. M.s. is a disease of the nervous system. It’s caused by white blood cells--the t-cells--erroneously attacking the nerves. It was only time before Melissa would be destined for a wheelchair. Desperate to find an answer, she went to dr. Douglas Gladstone at SUNY Stonybrook University Medical center. The treatment: an aggressive approach, using very high doses of this chemotherapy….cyclophosphamide, .which wipes out all the white blood cells…healthy ones, and the ones causing the problem and are abnormally attacking the nerves.

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There is some encouraging news tonight regarding the treatment of lung cancer. A minimally invasive procedure is shown to be so effective at zapping away tumors, it’s prolonging the lives of patients far beyond what’s currently expected. The best way to get rid of lung cancer is to cut it out. But many patients, like Candi Harrah, can’t have surgery, leaving them stuck with few good options. “My husband had noticed that I coughed up a little blood which I didn’t think was unusual because of sinus stuff, you know it is really easy to get nose bleeds when you have severe allergies.” But at the age of 50, after years of smoking cigarettes, Candi got a disturbing diagnosis: lung cancer. “The gentleman who read the scans said basically you have three months to live, we will make you as comfortable as possible. I said there is no way, there is no way I accepted that,” says Candi.

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There is important research that will directly affect one out of every four women diagnosed with breast cancer. Herceptin, a treatment used to boost the benefits of chemotherapy and surgery has been shown to be highly effective, and experts are saying it's a must-use. Now, two new studies say herceptin can reduce the risk of cancer recurrence and the overall risk of death. Three years ago, when Wendy Funk she was only 35, she thought her life was over. Diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 32, her cancer had later spread. "When I had the breast cancer metastasis, they had given me six months to live," says Wendy.

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There is new hope for patients diagnosed with lung cancer but with too much lung disease to go through surgery to get their cancer removed. Radioactive seeds deliver concentrated doses of radiation treatment to the specific areas affected by cancer.

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Four years ago Maryann Dillon was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. “You’re just numb, any time you receive a diagnosis like that, you’re just numb,” says Maryann. Maryann says she felt like she was given a death sentence. Because her cancer spread, surgery was not an option so she began intense rounds of chemo and drug therapy. “They said that I had a year, maybe a year and a half to live. And it was diagnosed as a terminal cancer,” says

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