1/4. Clinical holistic medicine: metastatic cancer.We believe that the consciousness-based/holistic medical toolbox has a serious additional offer to cancer patients and, as a consequence, designed a treatment for the patient with metastasized cancer. From a holistic perspective, cancer can be understood as a simple disturbance of the cells, arising from the tissue holding on to a trauma with strong emotional content. This is called "a blockage", where the function of the cells is allocated from their original function in the tissue to a function of holding emotions. We hope to be able not only to improve the quality of life, but also to improve survival and in some cases even induce spontaneous remission of the metastasized cancer. This paper describes how work with a patient with metastasized cancer can be done in the holistic clinical practice in 14 days on an individual basis, helping the patient to recover her human character, purpose of life, coherence, and will to live, thus improving quality of life and possibly also survival time. The holistic therapeutic work includes (1) teaching existential theory, (2) working with life perspective and philosophy of life, (3) helping the patient to acknowledge the state of the disease and the feelings connected to it, and finally (4) getting the patient into the holistic state of healing: (a) feeling old repressed emotions, (b) understanding why she got sick from a holistic point of view, and finally (c) letting go of the negative beliefs and decisions that made her sick according to the holistic theory of nongenetic diseases. The theory of the human character, the quality of life theories, the holistic theory of cancer, the holistic process theory of healing, the theory of (Antonovsky) coherence, and the life mission theory are the most important theories for the patient to find hope and mobilize the will to fight the cancer and survive. The patient went through the following phases: (1) finding the purpose of life and hidden resources; (2) confronting denial; (3) taking responsibility for being very ill; (4) severe existential crises with no wish to live while still fighting; (5) integration of many repressed feelings and negative decisions thus rehabilitating character; (6) confronting lack of intimacy and trust in others and this way rehabilitating the ability to love; (7) rehabilitating the will to live, breaking through and falling in love with life; (8) assuming responsibility for the social relations; and sometimes (9) quality of life is improved radically with indications of spontaneous remission of the liver tumors.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = tea (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/4. Clinical effects of oral green tea extracts in four patients with low grade B-cell malignancies.Green tea or its constituents have long been touted as a health promoting substance including claims it may have cancer prevention properties. We previously reported the in vitro ability of one tea polyphenol, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), to induce apoptotic cell death in the leukemic B-cells from a majority of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). After the publication of our findings many patients with CLL and other low grade lymphomas began using over-the-counter products containing tea polyphenols despite the absence of evidence to suggest clinical benefit, definition of possible toxicities, or information on optimal dose and schedule. We have become aware of four patients with low grade B-cell malignancies seen in our clinical practice at Mayo Clinic who began, on their own initiative, oral ingestion of EGCG containing products and subsequently appeared to have an objective clinical response. Three of these four patients met criteria for partial response (PR) by standard response criteria. Although spontaneous remission/regression is occasionally observed in individuals with low grade B-cell malignancies, such events are rare. Several patients presented here had documented steady clinical, laboratory, and/or radiographic evidence of progression immediately prior to initiation of over-the-counter green tea products and then developed objective responses shortly after self-initiating this therapy. Such anecdotes highlight the need for clinical trials of tea polyphenols to define the optimal dosing, schedule, toxicities, and clinical efficacy before widespread use can be recommended. An NCI sponsored phase I/II trial of de-caffeinated green tea extracts for patients with asymptomatic, early stage CLL opened at Mayo Clinic in August 2005.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 11keywords = tea (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/4. Self-healing reticulohistiocytosis: a clinical, histologic, and ultrastructural study of the fourth case in the literature.A case of self-healing reticulohistiocytosis is reported. Our case differed from those previously reported in that tumors developed 17 days after birth (instead of at birth) and all tumors disappeared rapidly within three weeks (instead of two to three and one-half months). Hematologic abnormalities such as absolute neutropenia, marked lymphocytosis with many atypical cells, and atypical monocytes in bone marrow in association with this disease have not previously been reported. The patient had palpable liver which persisted with absolute neutropenia for about a month. The diagnosis of self-healing reticulohistiocytosis was confirmed by characteristic histology and by the demonstration of Langerhans' cells with typical granules in the tumor cells.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = tea (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/4. Regression of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma after highly active antiretroviral therapy.Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is the most common neoplasm affecting people with the human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) infection. The skin is the most common site of disease; however, KS can also involve visceral organs such as the lungs, leading to severe morbidity and contributing to death in almost 30% of patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). New antiretroviral strategies incorporating combination nucleoside analogues with a protease inhibitor lead to increased circulating CD4 lymphocyte counts, decreased plasma levels of hiv, and decreased mortality from AIDS-defining opportunistic infections. The effects of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on AIDS-associated KS remain largely unknown. Herein the case of an antiretroviral-naive man with advanced AIDS (CD4 helper T-lymphocyte count, 35/mm3; hiv viral rna quantification, more than 800,000 copies/mL), and symptomatic pulmonary KS is described. After HAART was initiated, his CD4 cell count increased fourfold, his hiv-viral load decreased to nondetectable levels, and the pulmonary KS regressed dramatically. To my knowledge, this report represents the first documented case of pulmonary KS regression after the initiation of HAART. Although this finding is preliminary, if confirmed by other clinicians, the effect of potent antiretrovirals on KS growth and development will have important implications on the manner in which KS is staged and treated.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = tea (Clic here for more details about this article) |