Why me? Cancer at 23

[FunkyMonkey]

Hey man. That is shitty news.
First off I want you to know that even though you are going to be having all kinds of emotions right now, and rightfully so, and you have every right to wonder "why me?" the fact of the matter is that this one little phrase can and will hinder your healing and your recovery.
Im not saying that a snap of the fingers can change your outlook, especially when the news is so fresh ...but I do want to emphasize the need for you to work towards gaining a more positive outlook. This is so crucial to your healing that I cant stress it enough. I dont want to sound like an ass or insensitive because I feel quite the opposite though but I do want to make that point clear.
At 23, as the doctors have likely told you, your body is strong and you can strengthen in even more.
I dont know much about your specific type of cancer but I do know about the power of love, self healing, and positive energy.
A strong spirit will take you a long way.
I dont know about your beliefs in different healing techniques but there is room for learning if you dont know already about eastern and native american philosophies about dis-eases of the body and ways to reverse them, or to cope and adapt to them.
I am availlable to share all that I know. And my door is open if you would like to come here to retreat and heal. I dont know if you have read any of my posts about this place ("healing retreat") but I live on some healing lands in Ontario Canada. We offer a place to come to heal the mind body and spirit in many traditions. And, whatever we do not have here we can arrange to bring in. We can help to restore your energy and begin the path towards healing the whole. Or just a place to come and be surrounded by nature and get away for a while. A day, a week,whatever it takes.
Im not doing a $ales pitch here. Im opening our doors and our hearts and saying you are welcome to join us. Thats all.
If we can help you we are here to do it.
We can also help you to find these things in your own area if youre far off.
Other than that I offer my words and my prayers.
Keep the dialogue open to vent the shit out. Its all gotta go.


peace and love.



FM

[thcbongman]

Thank you for the prayers from everyone, hunny, thcgirl, paul. Bong, thanks for the rehash on the principles on the chemo. Ganjaursex, thanks for the info on alternative cancer treatments, and the comparison to orthodox treatments. It opened my eyes to know what direction this treatment is going. It's scary, I can only digest so much information at once, but man, it doesn't sound like Orthodox treatments is the cure alone.

I am in a lot of pain right now, but I can only help to read the prayers going out to me, and using those words to think positively. I will keep fighting so this can all go away, and I can live my life to the fullest again. Thank you all for listening.

Funky, what traditions do you speak off? I'm interested to know.

[birdgirl73]

Hello, THCBongman! I'm so sorry to hear about your diagnosis and will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. That's such rough news, especially for a young man.

You may or may not know that I come from a traditional medical background. I'm in med school myself and am married to a heart doctor and come from a family filled with other types of docs, too. The reason I say this is because, while all the info and advice you get on a cannabis board is well-intentioned, I'm sure, your best advice is going to come from the folks who know you personally and are familiar with your case. You probably already know that, with treatment, testicular cancer has one of the most impressive recovery/cure rates there is. It happens in an unfairly young population, but, as Lance Armstrong and Scott Hamilton and Tom Greene and thousands of others with that disease can attest, the treatments you receive can work miracles and they DO cure testicular cancer in an impressive majority of cases. Keep your faith and do all sort of reading and investigating about holistic and natural therapies that can complement your treatments, but definitely primarily listen to your caregivers as you do these other things, too.

All the love and luck in the world to you! Please keep us updated on how you're doing!

[Ganjasaurusrex]

Bongman.... do what your doctors say........

then do what ganja says...........

You might have this information allready, but everyone can use more information.

Chemotherapy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Chemotherapy is the use of chemical substances to treat disease. In its modern-day use, it refers primarily to cytotoxic drugs used to treat cancer.

In its non-oncological use, the term may also refer to antibiotics (antibacterial chemotherapy). In that sense, the first modern chemotherapeutic agent was Paul Ehrlich's arsphenamine, an arsenic compound discovered in 1909 and used to treat syphilis. This was later followed by sulfonamides discovered by Domagk and penicillin G discovered by Alexander Fleming.

Other uses of cytostatic chemotherapy agents (including the ones mentioned below) are the treatment of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, the treatment of some chronic viral infections such as Hepatitis, and the suppression of transplant rejections (see immunosuppression and DMARDs).

History
Main article: History of cancer chemotherapy
The era of chemotherapy began in the 1940s with the first uses of nitrogen mustards and folic acid inhibitors. Cancer drug development since then has exploded into a multi-billion dollar industry. The targeted-therapy revolution has arrived, but the principles and limitations of chemotherapy discovered by the early researchers still apply.

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Principles
Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of cells due to damage to DNA (mutations) and, occasionally, due to an inherited propensity to develop certain tumours. Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body - in other words, the body attacks its own cells. In contrast, transplant rejection happens because a normal healthy human immune system can distinguish foreign tissues and attempts to destroy them. Also the reverse situation, called graft-versus-host disease, may take place.

Broadly, most chemotherapeutic drugs work by impairing mitosis (cell division), effectively targeting fast-dividing cells. As these drugs cause damage to cells they are termed cytotoxic. Some drugs cause cells to undergo apoptosis (so-called "cell suicide").

Unfortunately, scientists have yet to be able to locate specific features of malignant and immune cells that would make them uniquely targetable (barring some recent examples, such as the Philadelphia chromosome as targeted by imatinib). This means that other fast dividing cells such as those responsible for hair growth and for replacement of the intestinal epithelium (lining) are also affected. However, some drugs have a better side-effect profile than others, enabling doctors to adjust treatment regimens to the advantage of patients in certain situations.

As chemotherapy affects cell division, tumours with high growth fractions (such as acute myelogenous leukemia and the lymphomas, including Hodgkin's disease) are more sensitive to chemotherapy, as a larger proportion of the targeted cells are undergoing cell division at any time.

Chemotherapeutic drugs affect "younger" tumours (i.e. less differentiated) more effectively, because at a higher grade of differentiation, the propensity to growth usually decreases. Near the center of some solid tumours, cell division has effectively ceased, making them insensitive to chemotherapy. Another problem with solid tumours is the fact that the chemotherapeutic agent often does not reach the core of the tumour. Solutions to this problem include radiation therapy (both brachytherapy and teletherapy) and surgery.
^^^^^^ thats you bongman^^^^^^^^ Surgery and Radiation..
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Types
The majority of chemotherapeutic drugs can be divided in to: alkylating agents, antimetabolites, anthracyclines, plant alkaloids, topoisomerase inhibitors, and antitumour agents. All of these drugs affect cell division or DNA synthesis and function in some way.

Some newer agents don't directly interfere with DNA. These include the new tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate (Gleevec® or Glivec®), which directly targets a molecular abnormality in certain types of cancer (chronic myelogenous leukemia, gastrointestinal stromal tumors).

In addition, some drugs may be used which modulate tumour cell behaviour without directly attacking those cells. Hormone treatments fall into this category of adjuvant therapies.

Where available, Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System codes are provided for the major categories.

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Alkylating agents (L01A)
Main article: alkylating agent
Alkylating agents are so named because of their ability to add alkyl groups to many electronegative groups under conditions present in cells. Cisplatin and carboplatin, as well as oxaliplatin are alkylating agents.

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Anti-metabolites (L01B)
Main article: antimetabolite
Anti-metabolites masquerade as purine ((azathioprine, mercaptopurine)) or pyrimidine - which become the building blocks of DNA. They prevent these substances becoming incorporated in to DNA during the "S" phase (of the cell cycle), stopping normal development and division. They also affect RNA synthesis. Due to their efficiency, these drugs are the most widely used cytostatics.

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Plant alkaloids and terpenoids (L01C)
These alkaloids are derived from plants and block cell division by preventing microtubule function. Microtubules are vital for cell division and without them it can not occur. The main examples are vinca alkaloids and taxanes.

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Vinca alkaloids (L01CA)
Vinca alkaloids bind to specific sites on tubulin, inhibiting the assembly of tubulin into microtubules (M phase of the cell cycle). They are derived from the Madagascar periwinkle, Catharanthus roseus (formerly known as Vinca rosea). The vinca alkaloids include:

Vincristine
Vinblastine
Vinorelbine
Vindesine
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Podophyllotoxin (L01CB)
Podophyllotoxin is a plant-derived compound used to produce two other cytostatic drugs, etoposide and teniposide. They prevent the cell from entering the G1 phase (the start of DNA replication) and the replication of DNA (the S phase). The exact mechanism of its action still has to be elucidated.

The substance has been primarily obtained from the American Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum). Recently it has been discovered that a rare Himalayan Mayapple (Podophyllum hexandrum) contains it in a much greater quantity, but as the plant is endangered, its supply is limited. Studies have been conducted to isolate the genes involved in the substance's production, so that it could be obtained recombinantively.

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Taxanes (L01CD)
Taxanes are derived from the Yew Tree. Paclitaxel is derived from the bark of the European Yew Tree while Docetaxel is derived from the pine needle of the Pacific Yew Tree. Taxanes enhance stability of microtubules, preventing the separation of chromosomes during anaphase. Taxanes include:

Paclitaxel
Docetaxel
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Topoisomerase inhibitors (L01CB and L01XX)
Topoisomerases are essential enzymes that maintain the topology of DNA. Inhibition of type I or type II topoisomerases interferes with both transcription and replication of DNA by upsetting proper DNA supercoiling.

Some type I topoisomerase inhibitors include camptothecins: irinotecan and topotecan.
Examples of type II inhibitors include amsacrine, etoposide, etoposide phosphate, and teniposide. These are semisynthetic derivatives of epipodophyllotoxins, alkaloids naturally occurring in the root of mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum).
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Antitumour antibiotics (L01D)
See main article: antineoplastic

The most important immunosuppressant from this group is dactinomycin, which is used to in kidney transplantations.

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Hormonal therapy
Several malignancies respond to hormonal therapy. Strictly speaking, this is not chemotherapy. Cancer arising from certain tissues, including the mammary and prostate glands, may be inhibited or stimulated by appropriate changes in hormone balance.

Steroids (often dexamethasone) can inhibit tumour growth or the associated edema (tissue swelling), and may cause regression of lymph node malignancies.
Prostate cancer is often sensitive to finasteride, an agent that blocks the peripheral conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone.
Breast cancer cells often highly express the estrogen and/or progesterone receptor. Inhibiting the production (with aromatase inhibitors) or action (with tamoxifen) of these hormones can often be used as an adjunct to therapy.
Gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRH), such as goserelin possess a paradoxic negative feedback effect followed by inhibition of the release of FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone), when given continuously.
Some other tumours are also hormone dependent, although the specific mechanism is still unclear.

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Dosage
Dosage of chemotherapy can be difficult: if the dose is too low, it will be ineffective against the tumor, while at excessive doses the toxicity (side-effects, neutropenia) will be intolerable to the patient. This has led to the formation of detailed "dosing schemes" in most hospitals, which give guidance on the correct dose and adjustment in case of toxicity. In immunotherapy, they are in principle used in smaller dosages than in the treatment of malign diseases.

In most cases, the dose is adjusted for the patient's body surface area, a composite measure of weight and height that mathematically approximates the body volume. The BSA is usually calculated with a mathematical formula or a nomogram, rather than by direct measurement.

[edit]
Delivery
Most chemotherapy is delivered intravenously, although there are a number of agents that can be administered orally (e.g. melphalan, busulfan,capecitabine). Depending on the patient, the cancer, the stage of cancer, the type of chemotherapy, and the dosage, IV chemotherapy may be given on either an inpatient or outpatient basis. For continuous, frequent or prolonged IV chemotherapy administration, various systems may be surgically inserted into the vasculature to maintain access. Commonly used systems are the Hickman line, the Port-a-Cath or the PICC line. These have a lower infection risk, are much less prone to phlebitis or extravasation, and abolish the need for repeated insertion of peripheral cannulae.

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Treatment schemes
There are a number of strategies in the administration of chemotherapeutic drugs used today. Chemotherapy may be given with a curative intent or it may aim to prolong life or to palliate symptoms.

Combined modality chemotherapy is the use of drugs with other cancer treatments, such as radiation therapy or surgery. Most cancers are now treated in this way. Combination chemotherapy is a similar practice which involves treating a patient with a number of different drugs simultaneously. The drugs differ in their mechanism and side effects. The biggest advantage is minimising the chances of resistance developing to any one agent.

In neoadjuvant chemotherapy (preoperative treatment) initial chemotherapy is aimed for shrinking the primary tumour, thereby rendering local therapy (surgery or radiotherapy) less destructive or more effective.

Adjuvant chemotherapy (postoperative treatment) can be used when there is little evidence of cancer present, but there is risk of recurrence. This can help reduce chances of resistance developing if the tumour does develop. It is also useful in killing any cancerous cells which have spread to other parts of the body. This is often effective as the newly growing tumours are fast-dividing, and therefore very susceptible.

Palliative chemotherapy is given without curative intent, but simply to decrease tumor load and increase life expectancy. For these regimens, a better toxicity profile is generally expected.

Most chemotherapy regimens require that the patient is capable to undergo the treatment. Performance status is often used as a measure to determine whether a patient can receive chemotherapy, or whether dose reduction is required.

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Side-effects
The treatment can be physically exhausting for the patient. Current chemotherapeutic techniques have a range of side effects mainly affecting the fast-dividing cells of the body. Important common side-effects include (dependent on the agent):

Hair loss
Nausea and vomiting
Diarrhea or constipation
Anemia
Depression of the immune system hence (potentially lethal) infections and sepsis
Hemorrhage
Secondary neoplasms
Cardiotoxicity
Hepatotoxicity
Nephrotoxicity
Ototoxicity
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Immunosuppression and myelosuppression
Virtually all chemotherapeutic regimens can cause depression of the immune system, often by paralysing the bone marrow and leading to a decrease of white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets. The latter two, when they occur, are improved with blood transfusion. Neutropenia (a decrease of the neutrophil granulocyte count below 0.5 x 109/litre) can be improved with synthetic G-CSF (granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, e.g. filgrastim, lenograstim, Neupogen®, Neulasta®.)

In very severe myelosuppression, which occurs in some regimens, almost all the bone marrow stem cells (cells which produce white and red blood cells) are destroyed, meaning allogenic or autologous bone marrow cell transplants are necessary. (In autologous BMTs, cells are removed from the patient before the treatment, multiplied and then re-injected afterwards; in allogenic BMTs the source is a donor.) However, some patients still develop diseases because of this interference with bone marrow.

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Nausea and vomiting
Nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy; stomach upset may trigger a strong urge to vomit, or forcefully eliminate what is in the stomach.

Stimulation of the vomiting center results in the coordination of responses from the diaphragm, salivary glands, cranial nerves, and gastrointestinal muscles to produce the interruption of respiration and forced expulsion of stomach contents known as retching and vomiting. The vomiting center is stimulated directly by afferent input from the vagal and splanchnic nerves, the pharynx, the cerebral cortex, cholinergic and histamine stimulation from the vestibular system, and efferent input from the chemoreceptor trigger zone (CTZ). The CTZ is in the area postrema, outside the blood-brain barrier, and is thus susceptible to stimulation by substances present in the blood or cerebral spinal fluid. The neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin stimulate the vomiting center indirectly via stimulation of the CTZ.

The 5-HT3 inhibitors are the most effective antiemetics and constitute the single greatest advance in the management of nausea and vomiting in patients with cancer. These drugs are designed to block one or more of the signals that cause nausea and vomiting. The most sensitive signal during the first 24 hours after chemotherapy appears to be 5-HT3. Blocking the 5-HT3 signal is one approach to preventing acute emesis (vomiting), or emesis that is severe, but relatively short-lived. Approved 5-HT3 inhibitors include: dolasetron (Anzemet®), granisetron (Kytril®), and ondansetron (Zofran®). The newest 5-HT3 inhibitor, Aloxi® (palonosetron), has a distinct advantage over the other 5-HT3 inhibitors because, in addition to preventing acute nausea and vomiting, Aloxi® also prevents delayed nausea and vomiting, which occurs during the 2-5 days after treatment. Aloxi® is the only drug in its class that is approved by the FDA for the treatment of delayed nausea and vomiting.

Some studies[1] and patient groups claim that the use of cannabinoids derived from marijuana during chemotherapy greatly reduces the associated nausea and vomiting, and enables the patient to eat. Some synthetic derivatives of the active substance in marijuana (tetrahydrocannabinol or THC) such as Marinol may be practical for this application.

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Other side effects
In particularly large tumors, such as large lymphomas, some patients develop tumor lysis syndrome from the rapid breakdown of malignant cells. Although prophylaxis is available and is often initiated in patients with large tumors, this is a dangerous side-effect which can lead to death if left untreated.

A proportion of patients reports fatigue or non-specific neurocognitive problems, such an inability to concentrate; this is colloquially referred to as "chemo brain" by patients' groups[2]

Chemotherapy may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and occasionally leads to secondary cancer.



Im here for ya bongman

How about bongman educating himself first on how both work before he makes a decision.

If he goes the orthodox route first. There is not much alternative medicine can do for him with a dessimated immune system and multiple side effects from the process.

It is your immune system that destroys cancer. We all get cancer, some times several times a year.

Chemo is a derrivative of mustard gas used in world war 1. There are 50 or so different types. It is very toxic to every single cell of the body. It kills all cells.

Radiation is in itself carcinogenic and that is why the people that deliver this type of "medicine" wear protective clothing. This is also why people die shortly thereafter within the 5 year mark.

The site I directed him to has quotes from multiple Nobel prize winners, Doctors, phyiscists and even oncologists who praise some of these methods or developed some of these methods. There are several quotes from these Nobel prize winners on just why chemo radiation is a deadly form of treatment.

Below is a side by side comparison of what a person can expect.
Its what each of my relatives went through when they chose chemo radiation. It is the same with my friends.

Bottom line, the success rates for chemo radiation havent changed in decades. 10,000 people die every single week from cancer and the typical treatment.

Why? If it is so good and so advanced then why the high death rate?

Because it is a patented form of medicine and the average patient will spend 200,000 in insurance money. That is it. Bottom line. It is about money.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is brainwashed.

It doesnt work and Nobel prize winners have made this complaint many times when they in fact have known for years the cause and logical treatment of cancer.

Antibiotics are part of the problem in relation to cancer. You cannot suppress the immune system with indescriminate use of antibiotics. Your immune system therefore is unable to deal with cancer cells. We all get cancer. It is the immune system that destroys those cells.

When enzyme production drops off at about age 25 due to a limited supply and what we eat, sticky protein coats can develope around tumors. The immune system nor chemo/radiation can penetrate the tumor. Enzymes such as bromelain and papain, bromelain from pineapple stem and papain from pappaya are excellent protease enzymes that breakdown this sticky protein coat so the immune system can destroy it.

There is nothing as powerful as beta glucan to ramp up the immune system.
2000 scientific backed reports world wide to confirm this including the U.S government and test done for the military.

All of these other substances perform a specific function to cancer. In a healthy, non-destructive way.

Yet you never hear about these non patentable substances that are cheap and easily attainable.


What you quoted, I am familiar with, it is how 6 people close to me died.

Blocking things such as folic acid in a cell is down right insane, a cell cannot function without folic acid or coQ10.

Sorry Bong I read everything in that post.

I disagree with everything in it based on my experience with those who have went through the process and my extensive study into alternative means backed by experienced, responsible and humanitarian scientists, Doctors, physicists and oncologists who also disagree with chemo/radiation.

All the other diseases that they treat with chemo/radiation is uncalled for as well.


http://www.cancer.com/Compare.html

[Storm Crow]

Gods! What awful news to get! Although I have many abstracts on cancer and cannabis (which say that cannabis is efective against many forms of cancer), I don't have one for testicular cancer. However considering that cannabis can kill glioma (nasty brain cancer) cells, breast cancer cells, leukemia cells, and others, leads me to suggest that you keep as stoned as possible. (Get a vaporizer- your lungs will thank you.) So far the only abstract that deals with your cancer is one that says Nabilone ( cannabis based med) worked better than another drug for nausea. Not much help there, we already know that cannabis is better for chemotherapy nausea . http://www.acmed.org/studies/ww_en_d...w.php?s_id=127
Two scientific sites that might have something to help you are:
http://marijuana.researchtoday.net/ (go to "View Latest issue" and check the past ones too- scroll right til you hit the blue section) and also http://www.ccicnewsletter.com/ I also want to suggest visiting treatingyourself.com an excellent medical marijuana site. I wish you well.

[Ganjasaurusrex]

http://www.cancertutor.com/Compare.html

correction on link

[Bong30]

Ganja sorry to hear of your loss............

this is information he can use.....PLEASE dont waste space quoting full articles

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Testicular Cancer:
Survival High with Early Treatment
by John Henkel

Glenn Knies wasn't thinking the worst when he felt the abnormality in his groin area 11 years ago. It was probably a hernia, he guessed.

He had just finished working out. In the shower, he noticed his right testicle seemed enlarged.

"I thought I had strained something," says Knies, an insurance adjuster in Schwenksville, Pa. He was 23 and barely out of college at the time.

"I wasn't having any discomfort or symptoms to speak of," he says. "I was strong as ever, and there was nothing else to indicate a problem."

He mentioned the condition to his mother, a nurse, who urged him to see a urologist quickly. She suspected something more serious than a hernia was bothering her son.

His doctor determined the enlargement was cancer, and he removed Knies' right testicle, the standard first-line treatment for testicular tumors. Later, after tests showed that cancer may have spread to the lymph nodes deep within the abdomen where the testicles drain, doctors also removed the nodes.

But the lymph nodes were "clean," free of cancer, Knies says. It was the first sign that he probably was going to be OK, that his doctor likely had gotten all the cancer after removing the testicle. To make sure, a regimen of regular examinations followed--monthly at first, tapering off to annually after five years. Eleven years later, he still has a yearly exam but considers himself a cancer survivor.

Most Common Cancer in Young Men

Cancer of the testicles--egg-shaped sex glands in the scrotum that secrete male hormones and produce sperm--accounts for only about 1 percent of all cancers in men, according to the National Cancer Institute. About 7,000 Americans were expected to get the disease in 1995, with an estimated 325 deaths. Compared with prostate cancer, estimated to kill 40,400 of its 244,000 victims in 1995, testicular cancer is relatively rare. However, in men aged 15 to 34, it ranks as the most common cancer. For unknown reasons, the disease is about four times more common in white men than in black men.

Only 15 years ago, a diagnosis of testicular cancer was grim news. Ten times as many patients died then as now. But dramatic advances in therapeutic drugs in the last two decades, along with improved diagnostics and better tests to gauge the extent of the disease, have boosted survival rates remarkably. Now, testicular cancer often is completely curable, especially if found and treated early.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved several drugs to treat testicular cancer, including Ifex (ifosamide), Vepesid (etoposide), Velban (vinblastine sulfate), Blenoxane (bleomycin sulfate), and Platinol (cisplatin).

Many medical professionals regard Platinol as the "magic bullet" for treating certain forms of testicular cancer. FDA approved the platinum-based drug for use after surgery or radiation. Platinol almost always is used in combination with other chemotherapy drugs.

"[Platinum-based treatment] is truly the great success story for solid-tumor chemotherapy," says S. Bruce Malkowicz, M.D., co-director of urologic oncology at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. These drugs have helped cut testicular cancer's death rate and bolster its cure rate, he says, adding that many patients "respond very nicely" to platinum-based drug treatments, which are effective even when cancer has spread beyond the testicle.

"That is not a death sentence," Malkowicz says. About 70 percent of men with advanced testicular cancer can be cured, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Detection and Diagnosis

Most testicular tumors are discovered by patients themselves--either by accident, as Knies did, or while performing a self-examination on each testicle. "The usual presentation is of an enlarged, painless lump," says Malkowicz. "Occasionally there can be pain." The lump typically is pea-sized, but sometimes it might be as big as a marble or even an egg.

Besides lumps, if a man notices any other abnormality--an enlarged testicle, a feeling of heaviness or sudden collection of fluid in the scrotum, a dull ache in the lower abdomen or groin, or enlargement or tenderness of the breasts--he should discuss it with a physician right away. These symptoms can be caused by conditions other than cancer. But only a doctor can tell for sure, and it is critical to seek attention promptly.

Physicians have various methods to help diagnose testicular cancer. Often a physical exam can rule out disorders other than cancer. Imaging techniques can help indicate possible tumors. One such method is ultrasound, which creates a picture from echoes of high-frequency sound waves bounced off internal organs. Malkowicz calls this method "a painless, noninvasive way to check for a mass."

But the only positive way to identify a tumor is for a pathologist to examine a tissue sample under a microscope. Doctors obtain the tissue by removing the entire affected testicle through the groin, a procedure called inguinal orchiectomy. Surgeons do not cut through the scrotum or remove just a part of the testicle, because if cancer is present, a cut through the outer layer of the testicle may cause the disease to spread locally. Besides enabling diagnosis, testicle removal also can prevent further growth of the primary tumor.

Nearly all testicular tumors stem from germ cells, the special sperm-forming cells within the testicles. These tumors fall into one of two types, seminomas or nonseminomas. Other forms of testicular cancer, such as sarcomas or lymphomas, are extremely rare.

Seminomas account for about 40 percent of all testicular cancer and are made up of immature germ cells. Usually, seminomas are slow growing and tend to stay localized in the testicle for long periods. It was a seminoma that struck former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman John Kruk at age 33 in 1994. His right testicle was removed, and doctors say his prognosis is good.

Nonseminomas are a group of cancers that sometimes occur in combination, including choriocarcinoma, embryonal carcinoma, and yolk sac tumors. Nonseminomas arise from more mature, specialized germ cells and tend to be more aggressive than seminomas. According to the American Cancer Society, 60 to 70 percent of patients with nonseminomas have cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes.

Cancer Stages

Physicians measure the extent of the disease by conducting tests that allow the doctor to categorize, or "stage," the disease. These staging tests include blood analyses, imaging techniques, and sometimes additional surgery. Staging allows the doctor to plan the most appropriate treatment for each patient.

There are three stages of testicular cancer:

Stage 1--Cancer confined to the testicle.
Stage 2--Disease spread to retroperitoneal lymph nodes, located in the rear of the body below the diaphragm, a muscular wall separating the chest cavity from the abdomen.
Stage 3--Cancer spread beyond the lymph nodes to remote sites in the body.
Through blood tests, doctors can check for tumor-associated markers, substances often present in abnormal amounts in cancer patients. Comparing levels of markers before and after surgical treatment helps doctors determine if cancer has spread beyond the testicles. Likewise, measuring marker levels before and after chemotherapy treatment can help show how well the chemotherapeutic drugs are working.
FDA has approved a test that checks blood levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) as a tumor-associated marker. Other tests, such as those that gauge levels of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (bHCG) or lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), are widely used as tumor-associated markers, but FDA has insufficient data to approve these tests.

Imaging techniques provide doctors with pictures of internal organs, giving visual clues to cancer staging. Chest x-rays can tell doctors if disease has spread to the lungs. Lymphangiography allows the lymph nodes to be visualized on an x-ray. CT scans create detailed views of cross sections of the body and can indicate possible tumors at various body sites.

Surgery to remove the retroperitoneal lymph nodes, into which the testicles drain, often is necessary for testicular cancer patients. Doctors examine lymph tissue microscopically to help determine the stage of the disease. Also, removing the tissue helps control further cancer spread.

Cancer Treatment

No one treatment works for all testicular cancers. Seminomas and nonseminomas differ in their tendency to spread, their patterns of spread, and response to radiation therapy. Thus, they often require different treatment strategies, which doctors choose based on the type of tumor and the stage of disease.

Because they are slow growing and tend to stay localized, seminomas generally are diagnosed in stage 1 or 2. Treatment might be a combination of testicle removal, radiation, or chemotherapy. But surgical removal of lymph nodes usually is not necessary for seminoma patients because this type of tumor is what the University of Pennsylvania's Malkowicz calls "exquisitely sensitive" to radiation. Normally directed to the retroperitoneal lymph nodes but sometimes to other lymph nodes, radiation can effectively remove cancer cells there. Stage 3 seminomas are usually treated with multidrug chemotherapy.

Though most nonseminomas are not diagnosed at an early stage, cases confined to the testicle may need no further treatment other than testicle removal. These men must have careful follow-up for at least two years because about 10 percent of stage 1 patients have recurrences, which then are treated with chemotherapy. Stage 2 nonseminoma patients who have had testicle and lymph node removal may also need no further therapy. Some doctors opt for a short course of multidrug chemotherapy for stage 2 patients to reduce the risk of recurrence. Most stage 3 nonseminomas can be cured with drug combinations.

Side Effects

Any kind of cancer treatment can cause undesirable side effects. But not all patients react the same way or to the same degree. One of the main concerns of young men is how treatment might affect their sexual or reproductive capabilities.

Removing one testicle does not impair fertility or sexual function. The remaining testicle can produce sperm and hormones adequate for reproduction. Removal of the retroperitoneal lymph nodes usually does not affect the ability to have erections or orgasms. It can, however, disrupt the nerve pathways that control ejaculation, causing infertility.

Modern "nerve-sparing" surgical techniques have increased the odds of retaining fertility. Many surgeons are abandoning a "total scorched-earth policy where you take out every single lymph node," Malkowicz says.

"We now can limit the amount of dissection necessary to get a good therapeutic cure, but not overdissect to disrupt every bit of nerves," he says, adding that "ejaculation can be preserved" in as many as 80 percent of cases.

Testicular cancer patient Knies points to his twin sons as proof that though his reproductive capacity was temporarily lost, it was restored.

Chemotherapy can cause increased risk of infection, nausea or vomiting, and hair loss. Not all patients experience these. Some drugs may cause infertility, but studies have shown that many men recover fertility two to three years after therapy ends. Radiation patients may experience fatigue or lowered blood counts. Infertility may also occur, but this usually is temporary.

Doctors emphasize that even though the cure rate is very high for all types and stages of testicular cancer, many of the drastic measures taken to cure later-stage disease can be avoided if the tumor is caught early enough. The best way to do this is through regular self-examination, a message that Knies says might be difficult to convey to the prime risk group.

"You have a real sense when you're in your late teens and early 20s of invincibility," he says. "The last thing you're thinking then is that something can stop you. But as I know, it can."

John Henkel is a staff writer for FDA Consumer.




^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Great information ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


Ganja Easy on the bullshit.

[FunkyMonkey]

Well, to answer your question:
In our little corner we focus primarily on native spritiuality, using various ceremony to help to first regain the positive energy flow and connection to the healing forces that are availlable. We dont distinguish between different tribal tradition but rather incorporate what works from various tribal ceremonies. We have renewal dances, sweat lodges, sun/moon dance, drumming ceremonies, vision quests..to name a few. Basically first you meet with our elder "wolf" and he learns from you and then the great spirit what ceremony will be the best place to start based upon your needs.
This will balance you and connect you to the forces that will assist in your healing path. Sweat lodges are an excellent way to remove toxins from your body, mind and spirit and give you an opportunity for rebirth. A renewal dance ceremony will help to light your new path ahead of you and adhere you to it.
"Moon Fawn" performs eastern healing through Reiki ( usui and karuna) which will direct your own healing energies to the areas of your body , mind, and spirit that need it most.She is a Reiki Master in both traditions.
I have only my first degree attunement and can assist or practice under her indirect supervision.
Physical dis-eases are but a portion of what truly is the problem. So she directs energies to help heal all aspects of the problem.
She can also perform various hands on therapuetic touch to help melt away stresses, accumulated tensions and energy blockages that hinder healing within the body.
Drumming is an effective way to harmonize your bodies energies flows to remove conflict from within yourself and to give voice to the sacred within.
I do drumming, and help you to find your sacred inner rhythm. I also do vision quests , dream work.
We all contribute to natural herbal remedy using what our mother earth provides for us.
We offer our wisdom and open our hearts and our connection to the forces of nature to help counsel you on the emotional aspects of your ailments.
We offer a place to free yourself from the "shit" of society and to calm yourself so that your true self can emerge.
Here you can meet yourself, go for a walk in the woods, speak with nature and hear the wisdom on the winds.
We dont promise to cure anything. We do promise you will leave here renewed, stronger in spirit and better balanced. Your immune system will be boosted and working like never before and you will feel the great spirit within you.
Ours is a small place...20 acres of forrest, meadow, with a creek running through the middle.( but surrounded by hundereds of acres of unused natural spaces.)
We have a sweat lodge, a vision quest wikki-up, sun/moon dance arbour, medicine prayer circle, healing circle, teepee's and wikki-ups to sleep or vision quest in,(if you prefer to have electricity and plumbing you can stay in the main log house) There are nature trails around here to lose your cityself on . We are not totally secluded from civilization but we are set back and distanced from all the hustle and bustle.
There is a reservation nearby that can provide some of the things we do not have here. There is a wellness community 20 miles or so away that offers just about everything you can imagine with regards to 'old world" or "new age" ( i dislike that term) healing.
Thats it in a nutshell. Lots more I could say but I dont want to overwhealm you with info and Im starting to sound like an all night info-mercial.
It slices It dices, It puree's and its all yours for 3 easy payments of 9.99!
Call now and youll get a free plush bird in a plastic egg and a set of sea monkeys!
hehe, anyhow...
Anything else I can answer feel free to ask here or email me.
BTW our place is called Trails End.


peace.

[Ganjasaurusrex]

Ganja sorry to hear of your loss............

this is information he can use.....PLEASE dont waste space quoting full articles

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Testicular Cancer:
Survival High with Early Treatment
by John Henkel

Glenn Knies wasn't thinking the worst when he felt the abnormality in his groin area 11 years ago. It was probably a hernia, he guessed.

He had just finished working out. In the shower, he noticed his right testicle seemed enlarged.

"I thought I had strained something," says Knies, an insurance adjuster in Schwenksville, Pa. He was 23 and barely out of college at the time.

"I wasn't having any discomfort or symptoms to speak of," he says. "I was strong as ever, and there was nothing else to indicate a problem."

He mentioned the condition to his mother, a nurse, who urged him to see a urologist quickly. She suspected something more serious than a hernia was bothering her son.

His doctor determined the enlargement was cancer, and he removed Knies' right testicle, the standard first-line treatment for testicular tumors. Later, after tests showed that cancer may have spread to the lymph nodes deep within the abdomen where the testicles drain, doctors also removed the nodes.

But the lymph nodes were "clean," free of cancer, Knies says. It was the first sign that he probably was going to be OK, that his doctor likely had gotten all the cancer after removing the testicle. To make sure, a regimen of regular examinations followed--monthly at first, tapering off to annually after five years. Eleven years later, he still has a yearly exam but considers himself a cancer survivor.

Most Common Cancer in Young Men

Cancer of the testicles--egg-shaped sex glands in the scrotum that secrete male hormones and produce sperm--accounts for only about 1 percent of all cancers in men, according to the National Cancer Institute. About 7,000 Americans were expected to get the disease in 1995, with an estimated 325 deaths. Compared with prostate cancer, estimated to kill 40,400 of its 244,000 victims in 1995, testicular cancer is relatively rare. However, in men aged 15 to 34, it ranks as the most common cancer. For unknown reasons, the disease is about four times more common in white men than in black men.

Only 15 years ago, a diagnosis of testicular cancer was grim news. Ten times as many patients died then as now. But dramatic advances in therapeutic drugs in the last two decades, along with improved diagnostics and better tests to gauge the extent of the disease, have boosted survival rates remarkably. Now, testicular cancer often is completely curable, especially if found and treated early.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved several drugs to treat testicular cancer, including Ifex (ifosamide), Vepesid (etoposide), Velban (vinblastine sulfate), Blenoxane (bleomycin sulfate), and Platinol (cisplatin).

Many medical professionals regard Platinol as the "magic bullet" for treating certain forms of testicular cancer. FDA approved the platinum-based drug for use after surgery or radiation. Platinol almost always is used in combination with other chemotherapy drugs.

"[Platinum-based treatment] is truly the great success story for solid-tumor chemotherapy," says S. Bruce Malkowicz, M.D., co-director of urologic oncology at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. These drugs have helped cut testicular cancer's death rate and bolster its cure rate, he says, adding that many patients "respond very nicely" to platinum-based drug treatments, which are effective even when cancer has spread beyond the testicle.

"That is not a death sentence," Malkowicz says. About 70 percent of men with advanced testicular cancer can be cured, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Detection and Diagnosis

Most testicular tumors are discovered by patients themselves--either by accident, as Knies did, or while performing a self-examination on each testicle. "The usual presentation is of an enlarged, painless lump," says Malkowicz. "Occasionally there can be pain." The lump typically is pea-sized, but sometimes it might be as big as a marble or even an egg.

Besides lumps, if a man notices any other abnormality--an enlarged testicle, a feeling of heaviness or sudden collection of fluid in the scrotum, a dull ache in the lower abdomen or groin, or enlargement or tenderness of the breasts--he should discuss it with a physician right away. These symptoms can be caused by conditions other than cancer. But only a doctor can tell for sure, and it is critical to seek attention promptly.

Physicians have various methods to help diagnose testicular cancer. Often a physical exam can rule out disorders other than cancer. Imaging techniques can help indicate possible tumors. One such method is ultrasound, which creates a picture from echoes of high-frequency sound waves bounced off internal organs. Malkowicz calls this method "a painless, noninvasive way to check for a mass."

But the only positive way to identify a tumor is for a pathologist to examine a tissue sample under a microscope. Doctors obtain the tissue by removing the entire affected testicle through the groin, a procedure called inguinal orchiectomy. Surgeons do not cut through the scrotum or remove just a part of the testicle, because if cancer is present, a cut through the outer layer of the testicle may cause the disease to spread locally. Besides enabling diagnosis, testicle removal also can prevent further growth of the primary tumor.

Nearly all testicular tumors stem from germ cells, the special sperm-forming cells within the testicles. These tumors fall into one of two types, seminomas or nonseminomas. Other forms of testicular cancer, such as sarcomas or lymphomas, are extremely rare.

Seminomas account for about 40 percent of all testicular cancer and are made up of immature germ cells. Usually, seminomas are slow growing and tend to stay localized in the testicle for long periods. It was a seminoma that struck former Philadelphia Phillies first baseman John Kruk at age 33 in 1994. His right testicle was removed, and doctors say his prognosis is good.

Nonseminomas are a group of cancers that sometimes occur in combination, including choriocarcinoma, embryonal carcinoma, and yolk sac tumors. Nonseminomas arise from more mature, specialized germ cells and tend to be more aggressive than seminomas. According to the American Cancer Society, 60 to 70 percent of patients with nonseminomas have cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes.

Cancer Stages

Physicians measure the extent of the disease by conducting tests that allow the doctor to categorize, or "stage," the disease. These staging tests include blood analyses, imaging techniques, and sometimes additional surgery. Staging allows the doctor to plan the most appropriate treatment for each patient.

There are three stages of testicular cancer:

Stage 1--Cancer confined to the testicle.
Stage 2--Disease spread to retroperitoneal lymph nodes, located in the rear of the body below the diaphragm, a muscular wall separating the chest cavity from the abdomen.
Stage 3--Cancer spread beyond the lymph nodes to remote sites in the body.
Through blood tests, doctors can check for tumor-associated markers, substances often present in abnormal amounts in cancer patients. Comparing levels of markers before and after surgical treatment helps doctors determine if cancer has spread beyond the testicles. Likewise, measuring marker levels before and after chemotherapy treatment can help show how well the chemotherapeutic drugs are working.
FDA has approved a test that checks blood levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) as a tumor-associated marker. Other tests, such as those that gauge levels of beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (bHCG) or lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), are widely used as tumor-associated markers, but FDA has insufficient data to approve these tests.

Imaging techniques provide doctors with pictures of internal organs, giving visual clues to cancer staging. Chest x-rays can tell doctors if disease has spread to the lungs. Lymphangiography allows the lymph nodes to be visualized on an x-ray. CT scans create detailed views of cross sections of the body and can indicate possible tumors at various body sites.

Surgery to remove the retroperitoneal lymph nodes, into which the testicles drain, often is necessary for testicular cancer patients. Doctors examine lymph tissue microscopically to help determine the stage of the disease. Also, removing the tissue helps control further cancer spread.

Cancer Treatment

No one treatment works for all testicular cancers. Seminomas and nonseminomas differ in their tendency to spread, their patterns of spread, and response to radiation therapy. Thus, they often require different treatment strategies, which doctors choose based on the type of tumor and the stage of disease.

Because they are slow growing and tend to stay localized, seminomas generally are diagnosed in stage 1 or 2. Treatment might be a combination of testicle removal, radiation, or chemotherapy. But surgical removal of lymph nodes usually is not necessary for seminoma patients because this type of tumor is what the University of Pennsylvania's Malkowicz calls "exquisitely sensitive" to radiation. Normally directed to the retroperitoneal lymph nodes but sometimes to other lymph nodes, radiation can effectively remove cancer cells there. Stage 3 seminomas are usually treated with multidrug chemotherapy.

Though most nonseminomas are not diagnosed at an early stage, cases confined to the testicle may need no further treatment other than testicle removal. These men must have careful follow-up for at least two years because about 10 percent of stage 1 patients have recurrences, which then are treated with chemotherapy. Stage 2 nonseminoma patients who have had testicle and lymph node removal may also need no further therapy. Some doctors opt for a short course of multidrug chemotherapy for stage 2 patients to reduce the risk of recurrence. Most stage 3 nonseminomas can be cured with drug combinations.

Side Effects

Any kind of cancer treatment can cause undesirable side effects. But not all patients react the same way or to the same degree. One of the main concerns of young men is how treatment might affect their sexual or reproductive capabilities.

Removing one testicle does not impair fertility or sexual function. The remaining testicle can produce sperm and hormones adequate for reproduction. Removal of the retroperitoneal lymph nodes usually does not affect the ability to have erections or orgasms. It can, however, disrupt the nerve pathways that control ejaculation, causing infertility.

Modern "nerve-sparing" surgical techniques have increased the odds of retaining fertility. Many surgeons are abandoning a "total scorched-earth policy where you take out every single lymph node," Malkowicz says.

"We now can limit the amount of dissection necessary to get a good therapeutic cure, but not overdissect to disrupt every bit of nerves," he says, adding that "ejaculation can be preserved" in as many as 80 percent of cases.

Testicular cancer patient Knies points to his twin sons as proof that though his reproductive capacity was temporarily lost, it was restored.

Chemotherapy can cause increased risk of infection, nausea or vomiting, and hair loss. Not all patients experience these. Some drugs may cause infertility, but studies have shown that many men recover fertility two to three years after therapy ends. Radiation patients may experience fatigue or lowered blood counts. Infertility may also occur, but this usually is temporary.

Doctors emphasize that even though the cure rate is very high for all types and stages of testicular cancer, many of the drastic measures taken to cure later-stage disease can be avoided if the tumor is caught early enough. The best way to do this is through regular self-examination, a message that Knies says might be difficult to convey to the prime risk group.

"You have a real sense when you're in your late teens and early 20s of invincibility," he says. "The last thing you're thinking then is that something can stop you. But as I know, it can."

John Henkel is a staff writer for FDA Consumer.




^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Great information ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


Ganja Easy on the bullshit.

Bong,

The information "bullshit" I get comes from well respected Scientists, Doctors, Physicists and Oncologists.

I noticed your article comes from a writer from the FDA.

Heres a quote from an alternative cancer practioneer concerning people at the FDA, AMA and American Cancer Society.

"You wouldnt believe how many FDA officials or relatives or aquaintances of FDA officials come to see me as patients in Hanover, Va. You wouldnt believe this, or directors of the American Medical Association or the American cancer society or Presidents of orthodox cancer institutes. Thats a fact.

Hans Nieper M.D. 1928-1998 Alternative cancer practioneer.


What does that tell you. They dont even trust it themselves yet its the norm for the rest of society?


Here is some more "bullshit" for ya.

"To the cancer establishment, a cancer patient is a profit center. The actual clinical and scientific evidence does not support the claims of the cancer industry. Conventional cancer treatments are in place as the law of the land because they pay, not heal, the best. Decades of politics-of-cancer-as usual have kept you from knowing this and will continue to do so unless you wake up to their reality".

John Diamond M.D. and Lee Cowden M.D.


"But nobody today can say that one does not know what cancer and its prime cause be. On the contrary, there is no disease whose prime cause is better known so that today ignorance is no longer and exuse that one cannot do more about prevention. That prevention of cancer will come there is no doubt, for a man wishes to survive. But how long prevention will be avoided depends on how long the prophets of agnosticism will succeed in inhibiting the application of scientific knowledge in the cancer field. In the meantime, millions of men must die of cancer unneccessarily".

Nobel Prize winner and cancer researcher Otto Warburg.


"Everyone should know by now the war on cancer is largely a fraud".

Two time Nobel prize winner, Linus Pauling.


Dr. James Watson won a Nobel Prize for determining the shape of DNA. During the 70s he served two years on the National Cancer Advisory Board. In 1975 he was asked about the National Cancer program. He declared, "Its a bunch of shit"

Nobel Prize winner, James Watson.

There are a ton of these quotes but Im not going to list all of them.

You see bong even the people that make up the FDA, AMA, The National Cancer advisory board dont even practice what they preach.

So any data that you quote from FDA sources to me is worthless when they dont even adhere to it and choose the alternative route for themselves.

I guess it all sounds good.

But there is alot they dont tell you. When orthodox practioneers perform a biopsy of the tumor, (for legal reasons), this perforation of the tumor actually releases cancer cells to spread elsewhere. Nothing like releasing cancer cells iinto the blood stream.

Now is it really done for legal reasons or is the real reason to prep you for the next stage of "treatment"? What do they typically tell you after radiation. "Lets start chemo to make sure we got it all" How many times have I heard this.

Fucking brilliant.





http://www.cancertutor.com/Compare.html

http://www.cancertutor.com

scroll midpage.

1. The medicine
2. The great deception.
3. The politics.

[SinisterK]

But honestly, the biggest factor in beating cancer is a positive outlook. Keep positive, KNOW that you'll make it, meditate, eat right, and everything will be okay.

Thats the best advice, honestly. I know its hard, very hard... But just try to stay possitive. I don't really know you, but your in my thoughts.

And smile!