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FREE CONSULTATION If you would like to schedule a 15 minute phone consultation at no charge with us to determine how we can help you, call 480-240-2600. If you want to send us a brief description of the issue you would like help with, email info@Arizona AdvancedMedicine.com   An Alphabet Of Good Health In A Sick World |
Insulin Potentiation Therapy for CancerThe conventional treatment for cancer is the familiar trio of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. The subsequent devastation to the immune system and the organs especially the liver and heart is significant. The reduced quality of life, including losing one's hair, is also tough to take.
A time-tested, modified form of chemotherapy has been used successfully and safely around the world for more than 70 years. It is called IPT, or Insulin Potentiation Therapy. Some people call it IPTLD, or Insulin Potentiation Targeted Low Dose therapy. IPT uses about one-tenth the dosage of a conventional chemotherapy regime. IPT provides a safer, much gentler alternative to conventional chemotherapy, without the harsh side effects. When combined with complementary therapies to nurture the body, it is also more effective. It is a smart way to approach cancer based on what makes cancer cells vulnerable. Sugar and CancerThere is a key difference between cancer cells and healthy cells: cancer cells run exclusively on sugar. Cancer cells have a ravenous need to consume the glucose (sugar) found in the blood stream. Glucose is their unique source of energy, and because of the relatively inefficient way cancer cells burn this fuel, they use up a great deal of it. This is why cancer patients lose so much weight. Because cancer cells require so much glucose, they virtually steal it away from the body's normal cells, thus starving them.To help sugar get inside the cancer cells, they are equipped with 10-16 times as many insulin receptors as healthy cells. Insulin manages the delivery of glucose across cell membranes into the cells. Put another way, insulin escorts glucose through the cell membrane, into the interior where the glucose provides energy to keep the cell alive.  If you have had a PET scan, you have seen this connection between sugar and cancer cells at work. A PET scan is performed by injecting a radioactive agent and glucose into a vein. The cancer cells, always ravenous for sugar, take up the glucose much faster than healthy cells. The radioactive agent gets into the cell along with the glucose. Bingo the scan produces a three-dimensional picture of a cancerous mass.Targeted TherapyNow, what would happen if, in addition to glucose, you add a little bit of chemotherapy to the mixture? Bingo the chemotherapy drugs are taken up into the cancer cells. The healthy cells are not bombarded. This is why patients undergoing IPT do not experience the severe side effects of conventional therapy. Generally, IPT patients do not go bald, nor do they experience severe nausea or organ damage.
There is a second way that insulin helps us defeat cancer. Insulin stimulates cells to grow, which they do by dividing. Cancer cells are most vulnerable to many chemotherapeutic agents when they are dividing.[3] With IPT, we use insulin's stimulating properties to catch more cancer cells in the process of dividing, so more of the drugs are absorbed than if division had not been encouraged. A third way insulin helps is with detoxification. Insulin increases "cellular permeability." Glucose goes in easier, and the low dose chemo goes in easier. The door swings both ways - toxins and debris from dying tumor cells also pass out much easier. Insulin facilitates the detoxification so necessary with cancer. Complementary TherapiesThere is universal agreement that cancer is a failure of the immune system. We feel strongly that "killing the cancer" is only one part of the job. Re-training and strengthening the immune system is another part of our job. Our patients continue to thrive and often end up with a healthier immune system than when they started treatment.We use complementary therapies to create a hostile inner terrain for cancer, to nourish the body and protect the organs, and to create a more robust immune system. As a tumor grows, the body may acclimate to the presence of abnormal cell growth, fooling the brain into accepting the cancer as a normal presence in the system. After the tumor is removed, the body may still respond as if it should be there, much like an amputee's "phantom limb" syndrome. One school of thought is that the brain sends messages that support re-growth. Acupuncture has been used successfully to retrain the body's immune system to defeat cancer, and correct or erase faulty body signals conducive to cancer.[4]
Infrared saunas are another fundamental approach to defeat cancer through the use of elevated body temperature. When fighting pathogens, the body sometimes creates a fever to raise the internal temperature to kill unwanted cells. We use the same principle with infrared saunas. Also, saunas are a great detox. As a tumor shrinks, it sheds a large quantity of debris. Saunas assist the body's efforts to move out the toxins through the sweat. Therapeutic doses of vitamin C, administered intravenously, have been proven to defeat cancer cells. The National Institutes of Health confirmed in 2005 that vitamin C is selectively toxic to cancer cells and that tumor-toxic levels of vitamin C can be attained using intravenous administration. Poly-MVA, or lipoic acid palladium complex, defeats cancer on an energetic level while helping the liver filter out spent chemo agents from the body. We also make use of anti-oxidants like glutathione, various herbs and botanical preparations, coffee enemas, and chelation. Special attention is paid to nourishing the liver, the key organ for that all-important job of detoxification. After administering IPT, along with vitamins, herbs, immune enhancers, and chelation, repeat testing 4-6 weeks later will often show that the cancer has regressed, or even disappeared. IPT's Positive Impact on CachexiaThe culprit behind perhaps half the cancer deaths is a wasting syndrome called cachexia (pronounced "ka-kek-see-ah"). Patients lose weight and literally starve to death.Because cancer cells need even more energy than regular cells, the cancer cells gobble up the incoming nutrition first. Your healthy cells get what is left over which can mean the rest of your cells starve when conventional treatment leaves you too nauseated to eat. The tumor stays strong, but the patient wastes away. The hypoglycemic pulse that occurs with the administration of insulin actually helps the body assimilate the nutrition in food vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. Because IPT is a gentler approach, patients do not get the severe bouts of nausea so common with conventional chemotherapy due to destruction of the rapidly dividing and always renewed cells lining the intestinal tract. The Cellular Genetics TestWhich chemo drugs shall we use? Which complementary therapies are right for you?Unlike conventional chemotherapy treatment, IPT is not a one-size-fits-all approach. You are unique, and your response to various drugs and complementary therapies is not necessarily the same as the next person's. Think back to a time when you had a bladder infection. The lab tested your urine sample against different antibiotics to find out which ones were most effective at killing the bacteria. We use the same concept when choosing therapies for IPT. We take a sample of your blood and test it against the chemo drugs and the various complementary therapies to find out what will be most effective for you. We also look at the genetic makeup of your very own cancer. When we custom tailor your therapy, you have a better result. This test is called the BioFocus Analysis. The best lab in the world for this test, the one that delivers the most consistent results, is in Germany. The test is not inexpensive, and insurance usually does not pay for this test. But we strongly feel it is the best money you will ever spend. The BioFocus Anaylsis shows us the genetic fingerprint of potential metastatic cancer cells, what are called circulating tumor cells. These cells are in the bloodstream; they are the metastatic "seeds" that can break away from the primary site of cancer and spread to other parts of the body. Understanding circulating tumor cells (CTC) is critically important, since it is the spread of cancer to other parts of the body and not the primary cancer that is often responsible for the death of a person with cancer. Also, metastatic cancer cells can vary genetically from the primary tumor. At least two studies with breast cancer patients have demonstrated that CTC can be HER2 positive while the primary breast tumor can be HER2 negative.[5,6] The BioFocus Anaylsis can predict which men with prostate cancer are more or less likely to benefit from surgery by looking at the makeup of their circulating tumor cells.[7] A landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007 compared women with lymph node-positive breast cancer who received the standard trio of chemotherapy drugs Adriamycin®, Cytoxan®, and Taxol® (called ACT) to women who did not receive any chemotherapy. Their HER2 status was also determined the genetic characteristic of the cancer. Researchers discovered that women who were HER2 negative and estrogen receptor positive did not benefit at all from taking Taxol®.[8] Because approximately two thirds of women with breast cancer fall into this category, the ramifications of this study are immense. So much for the ineffectiveness of the one-size-fits-all approach to cancer. A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2008 measured the effectiveness of an anthracycline-based chemotherapy regimen in 5,354 women with early-stage breast cancer. Anthracyclines are a class of chemotherapy drugs of which Adriamycin® is a key member. Scientists determined that women with early-stage breast cancer who were HER2 negative derived absolutely no benefit from taking Adriamycin® or other anthracycline drugs.[9] Given that approximately 80% of breast cancers are HER2 negative, then only 1 out of 5 women with breast cancer can benefit from these drugs that have considerable toxicity associated with their use. In another study, 7% of patients treated with Adriamycin® developed congestive heart failure.[10] Frequency of TreatmentsWith standard chemotherapy, treatments are often spaced several weeks apart, to allow the body to recover from the harsh effects of the treatment. Since the standard dose chemotherapy attacks all rapidly dividing cells, almost every patient experiences hair loss, and frequently they develop diarrhea and intestinal tract ulcerations as well. Treatment is often limited by the number and severity of the "side effects" which the patient experiences. In addition, the length of time between treatments allows the tumor cells which were not killed initially to continue growing. Sometimes the cells not killed become resistant to the chemotherapeutic agent which was used, and by spacing the treatments so far apart (in order to protect the life of the patient) the resistant population of cells is allowed to take over.IPT is a more enlightened paradigm which tailors treatment towards the individual uniqueness of your body and your cancer. With IPT therapy, we generally start with low-dose chemotherapy agents twice a week for the first month. The frequency may then be reduced to once a week, and eventually to once every 2-3 months, until there is no further sign of cancer cells in the blood, and the tumor is no longer visible by conventional means. Chemotherapy agents are interspersed with complementary therapies. So on Monday, for example, you may receive chemotherapy agents and on Wednesday, you may receive intravenous vitamin C. How to BeginWe encourage you to request an orientation so you can make an educated decision. There is no charge for this. Come meet the doctors and staff, and tour the clinic. Meet other patients. The course of action you choose is a significant commitment, and one that will impact those around you. Feel free to bring family to the orientation. Ask every question that is on your mind.For your first appointment (after the orientation visit), plan to spend two hours with us. Bring all your medical records and test results. We will ask you to fill out a history form ahead of time so you can do that at home where you have access to information about prior vaccinations, surgeries, mercury fillings and root canals, major emotional traumas you have experienced in life, etc. We have an integrative cancer therapy program that provides an approach for the short and the long term the treatment is tough enough to defeat cancer in the short term, yet leave your body nourished and empowered to ward off cancer on its own in the long term so the cancer does not return. "Nothing in life is to be feared.
It is only to be understood." - Marie Curie, awarded Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry Frequently Asked Questions About IPT• Is IPT covered by Medicare?The American Standard of Care considers IPT to be an "experimental" therapy, and therefore not "medically necessary," despite the fact that IPT has been in use for more than 70 years, and is used as a standard form of cancer therapy all over Europe. Reimbursement very much depends upon your policy. We use standard drugs and standard coding, so the insurance codes are the same as those used for conventional chemotherapy. Some patients find the drugs are reimbursed, but the insulin and complementary therapies are not. (Apparently, the trick is not to mention the term IPT orally or in writing to the insurance company.) • How many treatments are needed? It depends upon what stage the cancer is in, and how aggressive the cancer is. Basic therapy includes the following: • two treatments per week x 3 weeks • then one treatment per week x 6 weeks • then one treatment every other week x 6 weeks • then one treatment per month x 6 months The schedule may be modified, depending on the patient's response to therapy. We may also use nutritional therapies, in addition to the IPT, again depending on the underlying state of health, and how much in the way of conventional chemotherapy or radiation therapy the patient has had before starting IPT. • Are there any side effects? If the patient is very weakened, or already has a compromised immune system from prior chemotherapy, there may be some minor side effects some drop in white blood cell count, some hair loss, some nausea. However, in a patient whose immune system is not already compromised, there are minimal side effects. Sometimes a patient will complain of fatigue after the treatment. Other than a little fatigue for a day, we have seen no significant side effects to date. • Is IPT as effective as standard chemotherapy? We think it is more effective because IPT does not inflict the severe damage to the immune system that conventional chemo and radiation do; cancer is first and foremost a failure of the immune system. When combined with the chemosensitivity test, we know that we are treating with drugs to which the circulating tumor cells are sensitive, so the effectiveness of treatment is much improved. • How much does IPT cost? The cost very much depends upon your state of health at the time you start the treatments. For someone who has an intact immune system, who does not require daily nutritional IVs in addition to the IPT, the cost is less than for someone who is very ill, with a very compromised immune system, requiring intravenous nutritional therapy and frequent monitoring. Average charge for an IPT treatment is $1200 $1400 per treatment. If you compare the significant deductable costs of standard chemotherapy, people often find they will be about the same amount of money out of pocket, and you will experience a much better quality of life, without the massive side effects from standard chemotherapy. For further information, go to our library and read about cancer. References
[1] Morgan G, Ward R et al. The contribution of cytotoxic chemotherapy to 5-year survival in adult malignancies. Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2004 Dec;16(8):549-60.
[2] Alabaster, A; Vonderhaar, B; Shafie S. Metabolic modification by insulin enhances methotrexate cytotoxicity in MCF-7 human breast cancer cells. Eur J Cancer Clin Oncol. 17:1223-1228 [3] Scavo LM, Karas et al. Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Stimulates Both Cell Growth and Lipogenesis during Differentiation of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells into Adipocytes. J Clin Endocrin Metab 89;7:3542-3552. [4] Litsey T. Acupuncture vs. Cancer: Re-Engaging the Body's Immune System . AcupunctureToday. October, 2003, Vol. 04, Issue 10 [5] S Meng, D Tripathy, et al; HER-2 gene amplification can be acquired as breast cancer progresses. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. June 22, 2004;101(25):9393-8. [6] P. Wόlfing, J Borchard, et al; HER2-positive circulating tumor cells indicate poor clinical outcome in stage I to III breast cancer patients. Clin Cancer Res. March 15, 2006;12(6):1715-20. [7] CA Olsson, GM De Vries, et al; The use of RT-PCR for prostate-specific antigen assay to predict potential surgical failures before radical prostatectomy: molecular staging of prostate cancer. Br J Urol. March 7, 1996;7(3):411-7. [8] DF Hayes, AD Thor, et al; Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) Investigators. HER2 and response to paclitaxel in node-positive breast cancer. New England Journal of Medicine, October 11, 2007;357(15):1496-506. [9] A Gennari, MP Sormani ,et al; HER2 status and efficacy of adjuvant anthracyclines in early breast cancer: a pooled analysis of randomized trials. J Natl Cancer Inst. January 2, 2008; 100(1):14-20. [10] SM Swain, FS Whaley, MS Ewer; Congestive heart failure in patients treated with doxorubicin: a retrospective analysis of three trials. Cancer. June 1, 2003; 97(11):2869-79.
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Paradise Valley, Peoria, Cave Creek, Carefree, Fountain Hills, Ahwatukee, Queen Creek
