Tests & Treatments

Tests

A range of laboratory tests to help you make informed treatment decisions.

Tests for Early Detection of Cancer
Chemosensitivity Tests
Tests to Verify Treatment is Working
Tests to Assess Recurrence Risk

Types of cancer treatment

There are four categories: Conventional, Alternative, Complementary, and Integrative.

Conventional treatments
The standard treatments (e.g. chemo) routinely used by oncologists in mainstream hospitals (see below)

Alternative treatments 
Used in place of Conventional treatments. Only offered by specialist cancer treatment centres & hospitals. Some can be self-administered (see below)

Complementary Therapies
Used to reduce treatment side-effects & pain and prolong survival….see complementary therapies

Integrative treatment
Uses a mix of conventional and alternative/complementary treatments. Not available in Ireland…see integrative treatments

Emotional and Spiritual Healing
When someone is diagnosed with cancer, the focus needs to be not just on their physical state, but on their emotional and spiritual state as well.  Perhaps even more so…see emotional and spiritual healing

Conventional and Alternative treatments are covered below.

12 things to do before you start treatment

Despite what we’re told, research shows that for most patients, standard cancer treatments alone do not improve survival, but often result in short-term remission followed by a deadly recurrence. 

Apart from your main cancer treatment there are a number of things you can do to greatly increase your chance of a complete recovery. Here are some of them.

1 Get a second opinion
Get a second opinion on your diagnosis or treatment plan
– especially if cancer was detected during routine screening…more

2 Check out Chemo Sensitivity Test (and other lab tests)
Shows which chemo drug or natural substance will work best for your cancer…more

3 Take control of your recovery – it could save your life
Be a self advocate to ensure you’re involved in treatment decisions
and have access to tests and services you need…more

4 Check out all your Main Treatments options
Check out all your treatment options. This is one of the biggest decisions you will ever have to make…more

5 Talk to a cancer coach for personalised advice
A Cancer Coach can advise about your proposed treatment plan and
ways to increase your chance of returning to full health…more

6 Ask the right questions about your proposed Treatment Plan
When discussing any proposed treatment plan with your oncologist
it is vital that you ask the right questions…more

7 Learn about your cancer type
Info about your type of cancer (from the National Cancer Institute),
along with treatment updates to aid your recovery…more

8 Learn why you need to address Cancer Stem Cells
Cancer Stem Cells are resistant to Standard treatment and are implicated in metastasis which is responsible for about 90% of cancer deaths…more

9 Have strong reasons for living
A strong reason to live – like wanting to see your children grow up
– can affect your mental state and survival…more

10 Accept Social Support
When cancer patients seek and receive help from family and others,
they often find it easier to cope during illness…more

11 Follow your Intuition
Intuition (a hunch) is the ability to understand something
instinctively. It can save your life if you follow it…more

12 Keep a Health Record
A Personal Health Record contains copies of all medical records
kept by each of your healthcare providers…more

Standard and Alternative Cancer Treatments

Antineoplastons (Alternative treatment)
Antineoplastons were discovered by Stanislaw R. Burzynski, M.D., Ph.D. in 1967 who first identified their anti-cancer properties. Antineoplastons are naturally occurring peptides demonstrating ability to re-program cancer cells without destroying normal cells. Due to their low-toxicity and anti-cancer activity antineoplastons represent a revolutionary avenue in cancer research.
Hannah Bradley

Aggressive Brain Cancer Survivor since 2011
After standard treatment failed, she was successfully treated with Antineoplaston Treatment by Dr. Burzynski.

Ann Wigmore – Living Foods Lifestyle (Alternative treatment)
Ann Wigmore believed that there are two main causes of disease: deficiency and toxemia. Deficiency means that our bodies are undernourished because we cannot get the nutrients we need from undigestable cooked food. Toxemia is a term used to describe poisons that are stored in the body.

Biological Therapy (Conventional treatment)
Biological therapy involves the use of living organisms, substances derived from living organisms, or laboratory-produced versions of such substances to treat disease. Some biological therapies for cancer use vaccines or bacteria to stimulate the body’s immune system to act against cancer cells.

Black Salve (Alternative treatment)

Black salve is a compound derived from various inert ingredients, but it can be transformed into a corrosive ointment by the addition of bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) or zinc chloride. Some alternative practitioners have extremely strong views on its efficacy. 
There are serious warnings about how and where you should use it.

Bone marrow transplant (Conventional treatment)
Bone marrow transplantation involves extracting bone marrow containing normal stem cells or peripheral stem cells from a healthy donor, and transferring it to a recipient whose body cannot manufacture proper quantities of normal blood cells. The goal of the transplant is to rebuild the recipient’s blood cells and immune system and hopefully cure the underlying disease.

Budwig Protocol (Alternative treatment)
The Budwig protocol addresses: sunshine and vitamin D; gut health and its flora of “good” bacteria; acid-alkali balance; “superfoods” including green tea and improved levels of all nutrients; hormone balancing phyto-nutrients; ketogenic diet; exercise and sleep; the importance of the spiritual and emotional side of healing.
This treatment is available at The Budwig Center – an officially approved cancer clinic.

Cannabinoids (Alternative treatment)
Cannabis plants have hundreds of chemicals, known as cannabinoids. The two main ones are THC and CBD. Cannabinoids may cause antitumor effects by various mechanisms, including induction of cell death, inhibition of cell growth, and inhibition of tumor angiogenesis invasion and metastasis. Cannabis is illegal in many countries, including Ireland. Synthetic medical cannabis is available in some countries including Ireland (for only three conditions).

Chemotherapy (Conventional treatment)
Chemotherapy works by stopping or slowing the growth of cancer cells, which grow and divide quickly. But it can also harm healthy cells that divide quickly, such as those that line your mouth and intestines or cause your hair to grow. Damage to healthy cells may cause side effects.

Cell-based Therapies [Dendric Cells etc] (Conventional treatment)
Cell therapy is defined as the administration of living whole cells for the patient for the treatment of a disease. The origin of the cells can be from the same individual (autologous source) or from another individual (allogeneic source). Cells can be derived from stem cells, such as bone marrow or induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), reprogrammed from skin fibroblasts or adipocytes. Stem cells are applied in the context of bone marrow transplantation directly. Other strategies involve the application of more or less mature cells, differentiated in vitro (in a dish) from stem cells. 

Clinical Trials (Conventional treatment)
Trials to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of medications or medical devices by monitoring their effects on large groups of people.

Cryosurgery (Conventional treatment)
Cryosurgery is a technique for freezing and killing abnormal cells. It is used to treat some kinds of cancer and some precancerous or noncancerous conditions, and can be used inside the body and on the skin.

Dr Rath Cellular Solution  (Alternative treatment)

Dr Rath website: Dr. Rath defined a new direction in cancer research by shifting its primary focus from eliminating cancer cells to addressing a common pathomechanism of all cancers, which is the degradation of the surrounding connective tissue. This mechanism is a precondition for cancer metastasis (the main cause of death from cancer), tumor growth, angiogenesis and other aspects of malignancy.

Gerson therapy (Alternative treatment)
With its whole-body approach to healing, the Gerson Therapy naturally reactivates your body’s magnificent ability to heal itself – with no damaging side effects. This a powerful, natural treatment boosts the body’s own immune system to heal cancer, arthritis, heart disease, allergies, and many other degenerative diseases.

This treatment is available at licensed Gerson clinics in Hungary and Mexico. There are also Certified Gerson Practitioners in the USA.

Gonzalez Protocol (Alternative treatment)

A successful alternative therapy that is being studied as a treatment for pancreatic cancer. It includes a special diet, nutritional supplements, pancreatic enzymes, and coffee enemas. Results from a pilot study published in 1999 described the most positive data in the medical literature for pancreatic cancer.

Dr Gonzalez passed away in 2015. RIP
His clinic and work continues under the leadership of Dr Linda Isaacs.

High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (Alternative treatment)
In clinics, HIFU has been applied to treat a variety of solid malignant tumors, including the pancreas, liver, prostate, breast, uterine fibroids, and soft-tissue sarcomas. Unlike conventional treatments such as open surgery, radiotherapy and chemo, HIFU is non-invasive and has fewer complications after treatment. Over 100,000 cases have been treated throughout the world with great success.
HIFU treatment is recognized by the orders of urology specialists in several countries and is available in many hospitals and clinics.

Hormone Therapy (Conventional treatment)
Treatment that adds, blocks, or removes hormones. To slow or stop the growth of certain cancers (such as prostate and breast cancer), synthetic hormones or other drugs may be given to block the body’s natural hormones. Sometimes surgery is needed to remove the gland that makes a certain hormone.

Hoxsey Treatment (Alternative treatment)
Hoxsey’s plant-based remedies contain naturally occurring compounds with potent anticancer effects. One formula is a paste which is applied directly onto skin cancer tumors, while the other is a tonic for internal use.

An investigative journalist sent to write an article rubbishing his work, became a convert and, instead, wrote an article entitled, ´Hoxsey – the quack who cured cancer´.

Hyperthermia (Alternative treatment)
Hyperthermia is the use of heat as a treatment for cancer. It may be used as an all-over-body treatment, or as a localised treatment where it may also be called Ablation, or Ablatherm.

This study says: Our investigation has shown that hyperthermia can be useful in cancer therapy, particularly in the management of patients with recurrent tumors in areas subjected to previous irradiation.

Insulin Potentiation Therapy (IPT) (Alternative treatment)
Insulin Potentiation Therapy (IPT) uses a combination of two orthodox drugs – insulin (actually insulin is also found in nature) and a chemotherapy drug. With IPT the insulin works on the cell membranes and allows chemotherapy to target cancer cells. Thus, it is the chemotherapy that kills the cancer cells, however, because of the insulin, the amount of chemotherapy needed is greatly reduced, meaning the side-effects of the chemotherapy are greatly reduced. This treatment is available in a number of cancer clinics worldwide.

Jane McLelland Off Label Drugs for Cancer (Alternative treatment)
Jane McLelland was first diagnosed with cervical cancer and then  developed leukemia after chemotherapy treatment and was deemed Stage 4, Grade 4 in 1999. She beat her cancer by using a mixture of diet, exercise, supplements, herbs and off-label drugs.
Many others are now following her example.
Book:  How to Starve Cancer.
Facebook page 

Joe Tippens Protocol (Alternative treatment)

US businessman Joe Tippens was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2016. He was told he had less than 1% chance of survival and about 3 months to live. He put together a cocktail of Fenbendazole, vitamins and CBD oil. The Protocol saved his life and now thousands of cancer patients are following his example.

You can read  Joe Tippens own story

See the full Tippens Protocol at healnavigator.com

Tippens Facebook Group (has over 22,000 members)

See Joe Tippins interview on YouTube

Ketogenic Diet (Alternative treatment)
Starving cancer using calorie-restricted / keto diets. Normal cells can burn ketones to stay alive, cancer cells cannot – they use both glucose and glutamine for fuel. Starve the tumor without harming healthy cells: Calorie-restricted / ketogenic diets can transition normal cells to use ketones for fuel while also keeping them hungry for glucose – this will force normal cells to compete with cancer cells for glucose, thus depriving cancer cells of their fuel.

Laetrile (Alternative treatment)
Laetrile is the patented drug made from the natural compound amygdalin, found in the seeds of many fruits, such as apricot, plum and peach pits, apple seeds, and quince, as well as in almonds. Laetrile is also known as Amigdalin B-17 or vitamin B17, although there is very little evidence it warrants classification as a vitamin.

This treatment is available at Hyperthermia-Centre-Hannover, Germany; Oasis of Hope Hospital, Mexico and a number of other cancer clinics.

Laser Therapy (Conventional treatment)
A device that forms light into intense, narrow beams that may be used to cut or destroy tissue, such as cancer tissue. It may also be used to reduce lymphedema (swelling caused by a buildup of lymph fluid in tissue) after breast cancer surgery.

Mistletoe (Alternative treatment) (Conventional treatment in some countries)
Mistletoe extract has been shown to kill cancer cells in the laboratory and to affect the immune system.
One study concluded Iscador treatment can achieve a clinically relevant prolongation of survival time of cancer patients and appears to stimulate self-regulation. This treatment is available in a number of clinics in the Uk and throughout Europe and Mexico.

Suzanne Somers
Breast Cancer survivor since 2001
Underwent Lumpectomy and Radiation but opted to forego Chemotherapy in favour of Iscador.

Oncolytic Virotherapy (Alternative treatment)

Treatment using an oncolytic virus (a virus that infects and breaks down cancer cells but not normal cells ). Oncolytic virotherapy may make it easier to kill tumor cells with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. It is a type of targeted therapy. Also called oncolytic virus therapy, viral therapy, and virotherapy.

RIGVIR^® is the world’s first approved oncolytic virotherapy medicine for the treatment of melanoma, local therapy of skin and subcutaneous metastases of melanoma, prevention of relapse and metastases after surgery. In clinical practice RIGVIR^® is used for the treatment of melanoma, cancers of stomach, colorectum, pancreas, kidney, uterus, bladder, lung, prostate and several types of sarcoma. This treatment is available through the International Virotherapy Center

Proton Beam Radiation Therapy (Conventional treatment)
A type of radiation therapy that uses streams of protons (tiny particles with a positive charge) to kill tumor cells. This type of treatment can reduce the amount of radiation damage to healthy tissue near a tumor. It is used to treat cancers of the head and neck and organs such as the brain, eye, lung, spine, and prostate. Proton beam radiation is different from x-ray radiation.

Radiation Treatment (Conventional treatment)
Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells. X-rays, gamma rays, and charged particles are types of radiation used for cancer treatment.

RadioFrequency Ablation (RFA) (Alternative treatment)
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) uses heat to destroy cancer cells. It is a type of treatment called thermal ablation. It is used to try to cure a cancer, reduce its size or relieve pain. It can be given alone, or with surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy.  

RFA is mainly used to treat liver, lung or kidney cancer. It may sometimes be used to treat other cancer types.Depending on your situation, you will have the treatment under local or general anaesthetic. The doctor uses an ultrasound or CT scan to guide the procedure. A probe called an electrode applies an electrical current (radiofrequency) to a tumour. The current heats the cancer cells to a high temperature, which destroys (ablates) them.

Sonodynamic and Photodynamic Therapy Combined (Alternative treatment)
A combination of sonodynamic therapy (SDT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT), named sono-photodynamic therapy (S-PDT), is a new composite cancer therapy. Because the therapy can significantly improve the tumor curing effect, it has good application prospects in cancer prevention and treatment.

Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) has emerged as a promising option for the minimally invasive treatment of solid cancerous tumours. SDT requires the combination of three distinct components: a sensitising drug, ultrasound, and molecular oxygen.

This study states: Sonodynamic therapy (SDT) represents an emerging approach that offers the possibility of non-invasively eradicating solid tumors in a site-directed manner. It involves the sensitization of target tissues with a non-toxic sensitizing chemical agent and subsequent exposure of the sensitized tissues to relatively low-intensity ultrasound. Essentially, both aspects (the sensitization and ultrasound exposure) are harmless, and cytotoxic events occur when both are combined.

Surgery (Conventional treatment)
Surgery is frequently used to remove cancerous growths or obtain small samples of tissue for examination. For several types of cancer, surgical removal of a tumor may be sufficient to cure the patient. The likelihood of a surgical cure is dependent on the size, location, and stage of the disease.

Targeted Cancer Therapies (Conventional treatment)
A type of treatment that uses drugs or other substances to identify and attack specific types of cancer cells with less harm to normal cells. Some targeted therapies block the action of certain enzymes, proteins, or other molecules involved in the growth and spread of cancer cells.

Watchful Waiting (Conventional treatment)
Closely watching a patient’s condition but not giving treatment unless symptoms appear or change. Watchful waiting is sometimes used in conditions that progress slowly. It is also used when the risks of treatment are greater than the possible benefits.

→ Clinics offering Integrative or Alternative Treatments

More info
Ways to Prolong Survival
Reduce side-effects & Pain
More Ways To Heal
Topics A-Z
Emotional Healing
Cancer Recurrence
Cancer Prevention
Cancer Screening
Survivor Stories
About Cancer Ireland
List of Cancer Clinics

Dr. Antonio Jimenez discusses his research into non-toxic, effective, alternative strategies for treating cancer.

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