Someone once told me to think of cancer as a chronic condition -- an illness like diabetes or asthma that may linger for life and may require continual treatment. And while battling cancer, perhaps for life, I should just hope that medical advances occur and new treatments become available. And maybe, just maybe, the science of medicine will decrease by leaps and bounds the number of people who die from cancer.During my own battle with cancer -- which has been 18 months long -- two new breast cancer drugs have hit the scene with rave reviews from researchers and medical professionals. This is good news for me because my type of breast cancer makes me a candidate for both drugs. Herceptin is one of these drugs -- given to women who are HER-2/neu positive -- that's me -- and over express a protein that makes the tumor aggressive. Herceptin is received over 52 weeks -- and I go every three weeks for a 90-minute infusion of this clear liquid that causes me really no side effects at all. It can be toxic to the heart but monitoring tests have revealed that my heart is not suffering at this time. And with just three more infusions to go -- one this Wednesday -- I will likely encounter no adverse reactions to this potentially life-saving drug.
And now Tykerb is making headlines. Tykerb, suggested for use with advanced breast cancer and manufactured by British-based GlaxoSmithKline PLC, is an experimental drug that delays the growth of tumors nearly twice as long as standard chemotherapy in patients who no longer respond to Herceptin. This finding, reported this past Saturday at a meeting in Atlanta of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, confirms initial findings about the promise of this drug -- that like Herceptin, made by Genentech, precisely targets tumors without killing lots of healthy cells. The difference between the two drugs is that Herceptin blocks the protein on the cell's surface and Tykerb does it inside the cell -- blocking a second abnormal protein too. And while Herceptin is given intravenously, Tykerb is given in pill form -- which may make it cheaper and easier to use.
While now part of an international study, Tykerb may be available to women in the United States later this year. And it perhaps will be offered in conjunction with Herceptin or instead of Herceptin for women with advanced breast cancer.
I hope I do not ever need Tykerb -- and that Herceptin alone will be enough for me -- but it is comforting to know that there is something else out there. Something that if necessary, just might help me live with this potentially chronic condition called cancer.
I've been wondering lately about how I might alter my diet in a post-cancer world. I am a moderate eater -- I eat moderate amounts of meat and fruits and vegetables and grains and dairy. And moderate amounts of fats and sweets too. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing myself a disservice by eating meat and processed foods and refined sugar. I've gathered many opinions that indicate that the further our food comes from the dirt of this Earth, the worse it is for us. That perhaps the increase in cancer cases in the United States is linked to the increase in diets rich in artificial stuff. Part of me resists this speculation -- maybe because I enjoy a variety of foods from the entire food pyramid and I just don't want to give them up. And part of me believes that if this argument is true, then I am a fool to not jump on board and take control of my future health. So I've taken the first step -- I've done some research and have located a destination where I could explore this route with detail and precision by practicing a whole new way of eating and being.
