Tips to Combat Cancer Side Effects and Improve Comfort During Cancer Treatment

by Margot Malin, Founder and CEO of Lots To Live For, Inc.

Please note that this is an excerpt from a recent blog piece posted on our new Wordpress blog.
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Our latest post is entitled:

Tips to Improve Comfort During Cancer Treatment / How To Combat Cancer Side Effects

Starting either chemotherapy or radiation oncology treatment can feel overwhelming. There are logistics and arrangements to consider, medical research and treatment options to review, as well as getting through daily tasks.  Patients often forget to explore how they can reduce cancer treatment side effects.  Reducing unpleasant and uncomfortable side effects is important because the more comfortable you feel during treatment, the more likely you will be to continue through treatments uninterrupted, and the better your outcome will be. In addition, you will be able to carry on a more normal lifestyle, and have a better overall frame of mind.

Lots To Live For, Inc. provides Comfort During Cancer

In the post we offer concrete suggestions about how to combat the inevitable debilitating side effects of treatment. We share information about a variety of products that can make you more comfortable during chemotherapy and radiation. We offer tips and resources about nutrition and exercise during cancer. And perhaps most helpful, we offer suggestions for a "goody bag" of helpful items to take with you to radiation and chemotherapy treatments to enhance your comfort.

Please click here to view the full blog post.

To learn more about products to help reduce and relieve the unpleasant and uncomfortable side effects of chemotherapy and radiation please visit us at: www.LotsToLiveFor.com

The Lymphedema Breast Cancer App - A Comprehensive “On the Go” Guide to Lymphedema

The Lymphedema Breast Cancer App features information on what lymphedema is and how to reduce your risk. The App is a resource for all women who have had lymph node surgery or radiotherapy as part of their cancer treatment and who are at risk of developing Lymphedema. The App includes a “step by step” video teaching users how to measure their own arm. Users can save their arm measurements in the App’s measures diary, allowing them to track the size of their arm over time.

The Lymphoedema Breast Cancer App can be downloaded from the itunes and Google Play stores for $1.99. The App is compatible for both smartphone and tablet devices.

The Lymphoedema Breast Cancer App was developed by Kelly Foote, who is a cancer care physiotherapist and the app developer. She is a guest blogger for the article described herein and which you can access by clicking below.

Lymphodema Breast Cancer App

We are transitioning the Cancer Blog: Lots To Live For!  blog format over to our new Wordpress Blog.

You can click here to view the full post about The Lymphedema Breast Cancer App.

(http://blog.lotstolivefor.com/2013/05/07/tools-and-tips-for-managing-lymphodema/)

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We appreciate your interest in our blog posts.  We have some awesome and informative posts scheduled in the near future so please be sure not to miss them!

Note: Kelly Foote is a Cancer Care Physiotherapist and the Lymphoedema Breast Cancer App Developer. Kelly resides in Brisbane, Australia.

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Lots To Live For, Inc. offers one stop web shopping for patients combating unpleasant side effects from chemotherapy and radiation treatment. There are also helpful resources for cancer patients and caregivers.

Lots To Live For, Inc. offers:
Products to help heal and soothe radiation burns

Cancer skin care products for sensitive and compromised skin
Cancer hair care products to reduce hair loss and stimulate hair regrowth
Oral care items for dry mouth and mouth sores
Nutritional products to help boost the immune system.
Cancer gifts for individuals undergoing radiation and chemotherapy
Natural, Botanical and Homeopathic products to relieve cancer side effects
Products for the Relief of Nausea associated with chemotherapy
An all natural Skin Care line of products made without perfumes or chemicals
Post radiation sun protection products

No other company offers such a complete collection of cancer care products to help all types of cancer side effects. We are also a cancer care resource offering cancer information and links to useful articles, organizations and research. Please take your time exploring and call or email us with your questions.

To view the Lots To Live For, Inc. facebook page please click here.
To view the Lots To Live For, Inc. website where you can view and order products on line click here.

Cure Today Magazine - A Great Resource - Free Subscription for Patients, Survivors and Caregivers

CURE Media Group has become the source of information and inspiration for those on the cancer journey. CURE Media Group's flagship product, CURE magazine, is the indispensable guide for every stage of the cancer experience. Through the magazine, educational forums, a resource guide for the newly diagnosed, a national nursing award, books, and a variety of online tools, CURE Media Group combines science and humanity to make cancer understandable.

The Spring 2011 issue of CURE is now available on line or in print with the latest on chemobrain, advancements in ovarian cancer and the changing landscape of cancer drug approvals. In the cover story, "Lifting the Fog," the author explores what may cause chemobrain, also called cognitive dysfunction, and coping strategies some survivors are using to deal with the side effect. You'll also find information on oral mucositis, a survivor's reflection on losing her hair and newly approved treatments for breakthrough pain, anal cancer and follicular lymphoma.

Some other articles you will find in this issue are:
Breaking Out of the Silence
Advances in ovarian cancer gain ground.
Hitting Hard-to-Treat Cancers
Hampered by lack of screening tools, science is taking aim at the most lethal forms of the disease.
Bending the Rules
Yoga has earned accolades as a complementary therapy, and now studies are confirming its value.
Hurdles on the Faster Track
Patients & the FDA struggle over how to define success in the battle against metastatic disease.

You can click here to sign up to receive a free subscription of Cure Today.
Cure Today is a wonderful and free resource for patients, caregivers and survivors.
The above information is taken from the Cure Today website.
To view the Cure Today Spring 2011 magazine on line click here.

You can view a collection of product lines which will effectively combat all types of cancer treatment side effects at our companion website Lots To Live For, Inc.
The products offered on www.LotsToLiveFor.com can help prevent and heal radiation burns, help improve and soothe dry, flaking and compromised skin, and help dry mouth and mouth sores. You can also find homeopathic remedies for skin care side effects. There are also hair care products to help prevent loss, and stimulate regrowth for thinning hair. Nutritional products, so helpful for compromised immune systems are also available.

Breast Cancer Lymph Node Treatment Protocol Updated: For Up to 20% of Patients Removal of Cancerous Nodes Yields No Survival Advantage

A somewhat surprising and counterintuitive recommendation is the result of a multiyear breast cancer study: approximately 20% of women with breast cancer should not have cancerous lymph nodes from under their arms removed. This new approach to treatment was adopted by Memorial Sloan-Kettering, a renowned cancer treatment hospital in New York City in September 2010. Dr. Monica Morrow, chief of the breast service at Sloan-Kettering is one of the author's of the study supporting this new protocol which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on 2/9/11. The study found that the survival rate for patients whose lymph nodes were removed is very similar to the survival of patients whose lymph nodes were not removed.

The study concludes that taking out the lymph nodes does not change the treatment plan, improve survival, or make the cancer less likely to recur. Often, the removal of lymph nodes causes dangerous, painful and potentially disabling complications such as infection and/or lymphedema.

Chemotherapy and radiation treatment are now standard therapy for women whose breast cancer has traveled to the lymph nodes. It is believe that this treatment is effective for wiping out any disease in these lymph nodes.

Importantly, the new results do not apply to all patients, only to those whose women who meet the specific criteria as laid out in the study with regard to lymph node descriptive details.

For products that can help you reduce and relieve side effects caused by chemotherapy and radiation for breast cancer, please visit http://www.lotstolivefor.com/

For more information you can refer to:
The article by Denise Grady in the NY Times entitled “Lymph Node Study Shakes Breast Cancer Treatment” dated 2/9/11
The article in the Journal of the American Medical Association entitled "Auillary Dissection vs No Axillary Dissection in Women With Invasive Breast Cancer and Sentinel Node Metastasis" with multiple authors including Armando E. Giuliano, MD
A followup article to the 2/9 article in the NY Times, also by Denise Grady "Implications of Study on Breast Cancer"

More Highlights on New Cancer Treatments and Studies from the American Society of Clinical Oncology Conference

Chrionic Myeloid Leukemia
Dasatinib (Sprycel) which is made by Bristol-Myers Squibb is effective as an initial treatment for newly diagnosed patients with chronic phase (early stage) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), according to a phase II clinical trial from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
CML is a cancer of the blood-producing cells of the bone marrow. Patients with CML have an acquired genetic mutation (change) in their bone marrow cells called the Philadelphia chromosome, which produces the BCR-ABL protein. This protein causes the bone marrow cells to grow uncontrollably.
Dasatinib is currently approved as a second-line treatment when imatinib (Gleevec), the standard initial treatment, is no longer effective. Dasatinib and imatinib are targeted therapies that disrupt BCR-ABL. Both medications are given as a pill by mouth.
About ten years ago, Gleevec (manufactured by Novartis SA) was considered an amazing discovery with its ability to prolong lives in this deadly form of leukemia. Another drug called Tasigna, also from Novartis showed promise on CML as well. Soon doctors and patients will have a couple of other alternatives to combat this disease.
Advanced Prostate Cancer
For the first time, a new drug called cabazitaxel helped men with advanced prostate cancer that had stopped responding to standard treatment live longer. Currently, men with advanced prostate cancer receive hormone therapy and when hormone therapy does not work, they receive chemotherapy with the drug docetaxel (Taxotere). When the prostate cancer cells stop responding to treatment with docetaxel, meaning that the drug is no longer able to kill the cancer cells, there is no standard treatment, although mitoxantrone (Novantrone) is commonly used. In this study of almost 1,000 men with prostate cancer no longer responding to docetaxel, men who received cabazitaxel lived longer than men who received mitoxantrone. “There are no effective treatments available to help men with advanced hormone-resistant prostate cancer whose disease continues to grow despite standard chemotherapy, and this large study shows that patients who received cabazitaxel live longer,” said lead author Oliver Sartor, MD, Piltz Professor for Cancer Research at Tulane Cancer Center in New Orleans. “This treatment offers men with this advanced form of prostate cancer a new option.” Cabazitaxel is not currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study referenced is a Phase III study. The drug cabazitaxel is manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis.
Metastatic Breast CancerWomen with breast cancer that has spread lived about two and a half months longer when they received a new drug called eribulin mesylate (manufactured by Eisai) compared with patients who received other treatments recommended by their doctors. Currently, there is no standard treatment for advanced breast cancer and this is the first study to look at this drug. Side effects included a low white blood cell count, fatigue, and nerve problems. This drug is not yet approved.
The source of the information in this post is from the conference highlights and related news releases found on the ASCO website (www.cancer.net). Please consult your medical practitioner to confirm and verify the topics discussed herein.

Advances in Cancer Drugs from the ASCO conference 2010

June is a month of hope and inspiration for cancer patients and the medical professionals who treat them. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) holds its annual conference in early June. Companies report on clinical trials of their promising drugs in this forum. Several encouraging studies were presented during the conference this year and are briefly highlighted below.

Pfizer has a prospective drug for patients with advanced non small cell lung cancer called crizofinib which was promising in an expanded Phase 1 study. The drug targets just a small percentage of lung cancer patients, those with a specific alteration of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene. The results are encouraging and dramatic because the drug stopped the progression of disease in 87% of the patients and reduced tumor size in 57% of this very targeted group of patients. An expanded trial is planned. This is another new targeted therapy as it is very effective on a very small group of patients.

In another study, the targeted therapy drug Avastatin (bevacizumab), which is manufactured by Roche Holding AG, helped to slow the growth of advanced ovarian cancer. In the study Avastatin was shown to extend the time that women with ovarian cancer survived without disease progression from ten to fourteen months. This improvement occurred when patients were given Avastatin with chemotherapy and when the women continued Avastatin for up to 48 weeks after the chemotherapy had ended. Robert A. Burger, MD, Director of the Women’s Cancer Center at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. said “Based on these results, bevacizumab can be used as an initial treatment for patients with advanced ovarian cancer and other related cancers.”
Avastatin works by starving tumors of their blood supply.

Bristol Myers reported encouraging results from ipilimumab, under development for prolonging the life of melanoma patients. Ipilimumab works by stimulating the body’s immune system to combat the cancer. Patients receiving ipilimumab survived almost four months longer than patients who did not receive this drug. According to lead researcher Steven O’Day, MD, Chief of Research and Director of the Melanoma Program at The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute in Los Angeles, and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. “These results are an important advance for patients with advanced melanoma.”

The source of the information in this post is from the conference highlights found on the ASCO website (www.cancer.net). Please consult your medical practitioner to confirm and verify the topics discussed herein.

Lots To Live For, Inc. Sponsors a Biathlon to Benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation

We all wish that many new and innovative ways to treat Breast Cancer will be discovered over the next decade. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is helping to fund research to discover these treatments.

On May 8, 2009 approximately 200 women will participate in the first annual Upper Saddle River Biathlon to raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

The mission of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is to achieve prevention and a cure for breast cancer in our lifetime by providing critical funding for innovative clinical and translational research at leading medical centers worldwide, and increasing public awareness about good breast health. A minimum of 85 cents of every dollar goes to research and awareness programs. For more information about the BCRF please refer to their website at: http://www.bcrfcure.org/

For more information about the race you can check out the website at: http://www.usrbiathlon.org/
The race consists of a 2 mile run, a 10 mile bike ride, and concludes with another 2 mile run. There is still space if you would like to join us! Come down to Lion’s Park to encourage the participants, or stand along the course on race day and support us!

We all know someone who has courageously battled breast cancer, and there has been so much progress, but so much more is possible!

Lots To Live For, Inc. offers one stop web shopping for patients combating uncomfortable and unpleasant side effects from chemotherapy and radiation treatment. We have helped many breast cancer patients.

Our website offers high quality:
• Products to help heal and soothe radiation burns
• Cancer skin care products for sensitive and compromised skin
• Cancer hair care products to reduce hair loss and stimulate hair re-growth
• Oral care items for dry mouth and mouth sores
• Nutritional products to help boost the immune system
• Cancer gifts for individuals undergoing radiation and chemotherapy
• Natural, Botanical and Homeopathic products to relieve cancer side effects
• Post radiation sun protection products and unique and effective sunscreen products for everyone

No other company offers such a complete collection of cancer care products to help all types of cancer side effects. Lots To Live For, Inc. is also a cancer care resource offering cancer information and links to useful articles, organizations and research.

In keeping with the Good-Bye to Cancer theme for this Biathlon, Lots To Live For, Inc. has contributed two protective Skin Care products and a sanitizer pen to USR Biathlon participant goody bags.

SolRx Dry Zinc SPF #40
SolRx Dry Zinc SPF #40 is excellent for facial blocking. This product is truly exceptional. It goes on clear and dries quickly, leaving a matte finish. It stays on in the water. Reapplication is not necessary. Overall it has a great feel and easy application.
Tri Sport SPF #30-Lip Ice (Vanilla Flavoring) – Lip Protection
Simply the best for triathlon participants. Applied once, stays well, moisturizes, protects from sunburn and wind chap, warm weather, cold weather, swimming, cycling, running.

If you would like to make a contribution, please write a check payable to:
The Breast Cancer Research Foundation
You can send it to us at:
Lots To Live For, Inc.
PO Box 660
Saddle River, NJ 07458

"There is in every true woman's heart a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity; but which kindles up, and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity." — Washington Irving