Pushing Forward – From prevention and detection to treatment and reconstruction, the latest data and technological advancements bring more hope to pat

From prevention and detection to treatment and reconstruction, the latest data and technological advancements bring more hope to patients affected by breast cancer.

Sometimes the simple things make the biggest difference – even in breast cancer prevention.
Now, recent data reinforces the importance of healthy lifestyle choices in reducing the risk of breast cancer development, explains Edith A. Perez, M.D., medical oncologist and director of the Mayo Center’s Breast Clinic. Moreover, the latest studies reveal that regular exercise and a healthy weight also lower the risk of cancer recurrence.
“We need to concentrate more on lifestyle issues,” Dr. Perez says. “It needs to be part of our day-to-day recommendations for patients.”
Though the chemical explanation for the connection to breast cancer prevention is still somewhat elusive, Dr. Perez notes that changes in insulin resistance and estrogen levels resulting from physical activity and proper caloric intake may affect the relationship.
“We continue looking for new medications to decrease the risk, but this is something we can all do,” she says.
And as studies investigate the effects of newer drugs in advanced stages of breast cancer, it’ll only be a year or two until these drugs can be evaluated in prevention studies, too, Dr. Perez says.

Diving into Detection
While mammograms remain the standard for screening, breast MRIs are playing an evermore important role in the detection process, Dr. Perez says. Actually, she elaborates, patients with at least a 15 to 20 percent increased risk of developing breast cancer should be screened with the breast MRI rather than a clinical evaluation and mammogram. Though particularly beneficial for patients with a strong family history of breast cancer, an identified genetic mutation that exposes them to breast cancer development, and women with dense breasts, Dr. Perez strongly cautions against using the MRI as a screening tool for all patients.
“It’s good to have the option of a sensitive test,” she says, “but we don’t want to go overboard.”
Beyond enhanced screening, the breast MRI is also helpful when working with patients already diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Its pristine visibility helps identify the best surgical procedure and, if a mammogram detects cancer on one breast, the bilateral MRI may also detect a lesion in the other breast; in three percent of patients, Dr. Perez says, the MRI finds cancer in both breasts.
But even with advancements in screening and detection, Shahla Masood, M.D., emphasizes the importance of a second opinion. Dr. Masood, Professor and Chair of the Department of Pathology at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville, Chief of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Shands Jacksonville, Director of the University of Florida Outreach Library, Editor-in-Chief of The Breast Journal, and President of the World Society of Breast Health, explains that, while a very small number of breast cancers are misdiagnosed, the many look-alikes in breast pathology may lead to under- or over-diagnosis.
“Breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with a variety of forms and shapes,” she says. “The treatment, the response to therapy … it’s all related to the type of breast cancer.”
Additionally, evolutions in technology, molecularlogy and sub-classifications of breast cancer lead to a better understanding of individual tumors, Dr. Masood explains, which impacts the diagnosis and recommended therapy options.
Tackling the Treatment
It’s not just prevention and detection that have come a long way. Linda Sylvester, M.D., FACP, medical oncologist with Florida Oncology Associates and Co-Founder of the Pink Ribbon Foundation, explains that personalized treatment options are also positively affecting patient outcomes.

“We know that the micro-environments in which cancers live can cross-talk amongst each other,” she says. “We’re learning what turns them on and off.”
While it’s possible to inhibit growth in a single site, Dr. Sylvester explains that cancer cells find other pathways to promote growth, emphasizing the need to personalize care for each patient based on the cancer cells’ mutations in the individual’s pathology specimen.
Moreover, nanoparticles and nanotechnology are proving to effectively kill cancer cells while also reducing neurotoxicity passed to non-cancer cells. Because the nanoparticles are smaller than the cancer cells, Dr. Sylvester says, lipophilic compounds combined with chemotherapy drugs can enter the organs and cells more readily. Moving into the cancer cells, they interfere with the ribosomes and protein formation, enter the nucleus, and interfere with DNA replication.
While Dr. Masood, too, is optimistic about nanotechnology, she adds that chemotherapy treatments are evolving into molecular-targeted therapies that not only kill the cancer but also cause fewer side effects.
“Every one of these advancements is making a difference in the way breast cancer is being viewed these days,” Dr. Masood explains. “It makes a big difference on how well the patient can tolerate it and can get on with her life.”
Personalizing care is key. While breast cancer is treatable in its early stages, Dr. Masood says, it’s critical to take into account the patient’s tumor size, family history and unique needs and characteristics to properly treat the disease. “Breast cancer can be treated aggressively and leave a patient with a significant loss, whereas that same cancer can be treated in a more balanced way to let the patient enjoy life,” she explains. “We need to treat patients right, give them what they deserve. That has to be the focal point in breast cancer care.”
One of the first in the approach to individualize patient care, Dr. Sylvester says, is Oncotype DX testing. Used in Brea patients who have estrogen-positive tumors and lymph node negative disease, Oncotype DX testing compares the molecular arrangement of a patient’s cancer cells in the pathology specimen to 21 known high-risk breast cancer genes, she says. The results then categorize patients into a high-risk, low-risk or intermediate group based on the ratio of the patient’s pathology mutations and the high-risk mutations.
Patients who fall in the high-risk group need chemotherapy and hormonal therapy, while those in the low-risk group can be treated with therapy such as Tamoxifen or an Aromatase Inhibitor. And if results place a patient in the intermediary range, Dr. Sylvester says, she may choose to participate in the TAILOR clinical trial, a national oncology trial that randomizes the intermediate-risk patients to either hormone therapy or chemotherapy plus hormone therapy.
“While not all cancers can be cured,” Dr. Sylvester says, “there is much hope with all the new drugs being developed and the delivery systems of getting these drugs into the cancerous cells. There’s always something new, always more survivors.”

Ready for Reconstruction
Strides in reconstructive surgery are also opening doors for women eager to regain the shape of their breasts after mastectomies or lumpectomies. The latest oncoplastic technique combines oncologic surgery to remove the tumor with reconstructive surgery to preserve the cosmetic outcome, says Laila Samiian, M.D., Assistant Professor, Chief of Breast Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology for the University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville.
During an oncoplastic lumpectomy, Dr. Samiian explains, the surgeon mobilizes surrounding breast tissue to fill in the cavity present after the lump is removed. Oncoplastic surgery, which can also be used during benign biopsies, can match the breasts’ pre-surgery shape and contour. And, sensitive to a woman’s self-image, Dr. Samiian tries to hide surgical scars by creating the incision in the crease below the breast or near the areola. Though still relatively new, Dr. Samiian acknowledges the technique is becoming increasingly popular.

Dr. Samiian is particularly passionate about improving the cosmetic results of breast conservation. “If we’re trying to save the breast, we don’t want it deformed,” she explains. “If it’s going to look worse, then you might as well have a mastectomy.” Without oncoplastic surgery, she adds, women who’ve undergone lumpectomies may experience severe beast deformities within a few years.
She also encourages surgeons to proactively seek education and training on new techniques and skills that offer exemplary medical results and enhance cosmetic outcomes. “We all need to have sensitivity for a woman’s desire for acceptable cosmetic results,” she says. “Patients demand better results, and surgeons who provide that will have better satisfaction from patients.”
Because oncoplastic surgery incorporates plastic surgery into breast cancer operations, it eliminates the need for implants or follow-up reconstructive surgery. When it comes to breast conservation, Dr. Samiian says, patients won’t accept a deformity or a cavity; it’s crucial not only to save the breast, but to also save its shape.
But that’s not the only option for women anxious to keep their breasts after beating cancer.
While not all patients are candidates, skin-sparing mastectomies used with implant reconstruction save as much of the patient’s skin envelope as possible so the plastic surgeon doesn’t have to stretch skin over the implant, Dr. Samiian explains. It’s a complex procedure, as it’s difficult to remove breast tissue from a small incision, but the outcome is much better, she says.
“If the tumor is away from the skin and the nipple,” Dr. Samiian says, “it’s [skin-sparing mastectomy] my number one mastectomy.” Still, she acknowledges that procedures must be carefully selected for each individual.
Another option: subcutaneous mastectomy, also referred to as a nipple-sparing mastectomy. Using an incision below the breast crease or areola, the surgeon saves the skin, nipple and areola by removing tissue from a strategically placed incision.
But skin- and nipple-sparing mastectomies aren’t just for women already diagnosed with cancer; they’re also options for patients with an extremely high risk for developing breast cancer, Dr. Samiian says.

What Lies Ahead
There’s still so much more on the horizon. On the diagnostic side, Dr. Perez explains that, while mobile PET scans are already used in evaluation studies, clinical studies are now investigating their use in general screening.

And in terms of treatment, Dr. Samiian shares that partial breast radiation is under investigation, and the medical community should know more about its safety and ethicality in the next few years.
Like Dr. Samiian, Dr. Masood, too, is empathetic to the effect breast cancer and mastectomies have on a woman’s self-esteem and identity, and she remains passionate about preserving the breasts’ appearance while killing the cancer. Thus, she’s hopeful that long-term studies in Europe and the United States will continue illustrating that treating small tumors with conservation therapy matches the outcome of treating them with mastectomies.

“It’s a fundamental right for women to save their breasts, enjoy their breasts,” she says. “They don’t have to give up their breasts to breast cancer.” Conservation therapy is bringing new light to the way women should be treated, and, in the future, Dr. Masood says, mastectomies may no longer be used to treat small tumors.

And as a strong patient advocate and global leader in the breast cancer arena, Dr. Masood also emphasizes the critical need for more breast care centers throughout the world, to engage the medical community in a multidisciplinary approach to treat breast cancer.

“Breast cancer is still a disease – there’s no cause, no cure – and it will remain a public health threat to women across the globe,” Dr. Masood says. But through education, advocacy, multidisciplinary care centers and technological advancements, women have so much reason to remain hopeful.

Water Treatment System Removing Hazardous Levels of Arsenic From Drinking Water

Green Nanotechnology

Water treatment system

Removing hazardous levels of arsenic from drinking water

Inventor and entrepreneur’s Mayer Fitoussi .Briefly, Aqua Soft Natural ®

It offers better built, longer lasting, cleaner, safer, and smarter products for the home, for medicine, for transportation, for agriculture, and for industry in general.

Most water is used for industry and agriculture; Aqua Soft Natural ® A high-performance products; powerful modern ceramic magnets; Structurally Modified and Molecularly Infused Water; maximum Contact time to water treatment systems; Green Nanotechnology; inexpensive method for removing hazardous levels of arsenic from drinking water ; reduce harmful levels of arsenic in recycling water; reduce Infectious disease; reduce the risk of cancer; has biochemical function and slows aging; increase in 2-3 DPZ Enzyme levels; increase hemoglobin levels; reduce lactic acid levels; has no chemicals; has no salt and/or Siliphos (phosphate) for softening water ; dismantling chlorine; enhanced water; improves taste ; destroys bacteria; destroys coliform ; destroys algae; destroys virus’s in dairy barn; stimulation of immune system; prevent and cure mastitis in milk cow’s ; increase milk production ; de-scales all pipes/water heater/cooling system/fixtures; preventing salt water to be stick an “mattress” radiator / cooling system for agriculture green hothouse in the desert; no maintains cost;

Because the treatment requires no electricity, residents of developing nations where high levels of arsenic occur naturally in water supplies will be able to easily use it. That would help reduce the risk of cancer for tens of millions of impoverished villagers in China and Southeast Asia, where high levels of arsenic occur naturally in many water supplies. Arsenic contamination is also a threat to water supplies in parts of Latin America, Africa and the United States, where the Environmental Protection Agency this year (2006) reduced allowable levels in municipal water systems to 10 parts per billion, down from 50 parts per billion.

New York Times: A simple way to remove arsenic. Vicki Colvin, director of the university’s Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology, said ” researchers were surprised to find that we didn’t need large electromagnets to move our nanoparticles, and that in some cases hand-held magnets could do the trick.”

Scientist; Professor; Researcher, Dr. Klaus Kronenberg: Permanent magnet materials have been developed in recent decades to be 100 times as strong and much more durable than the old-fashioned magnets made out of steel. In contrast to steel magnets, which weaken with age, modern ceramic magnets do not show any changes with age.

bacteria/algae : under “open loop” (exposed to air, such as cooling towers) brought the bacteria count down from over 4,000 per milliliter to only 4 count per milliliter. Open loop systems are the most difficult. When in a “closed loop” system (pipe), bacteria/algae is much easier to control. Dr. Klaus Kronenberg: “Magnetic Water Treatment can actually make naturally polluted lakes and streams fit to drink and safe”.

Pool & Spa News: Magnetically altered water kills Algae. Algae is controlled, PH is stabilized, minerals are polarized and water is soft and silky”.

Better tasting water: Dr. Klaus J. Kronenberg: ” the chlorine odor of chlorinated water is greatly reduced by effective magnetic treatment. In fact, slight chlorination may become unnoticeable to the average user. Water that comes with a slight sulfur odor loses this smell after being treated with magnetic devices”.

Health News: Scientist, Researcher Professor Israel Lin, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology stated: “the change of water’s properties is the key. The magnetized water increases the solubility of minerals to all parts of the body, making the organism work more efficiently, because of breaking minerals down to the smallest particle size, and reducing “surface tension” of water, makes it a better “carrier” of food and minerals. Testing on Dairy Cows proved a 15% better TDN (total digestible nutrients)”.

The recent investigations have indicated that there are a more number of hexagonal structure at a lower temperature (cold water), 22% at 10% AND 26% at 0 C . The hexagonal water can exist almost 100% at super cooled temperature of –30C to –40C. Also, another factor to increase hexagonal structure of water when the water was magnetized by a powerful magnetic field.

Experiments on magnetized water under various magnetic fields AND various flow conditions of ionic solutions indicate that the effects observed in magnetized water are related to the effects shown by the addition of structure-making ions OR by lowering the temperature.

Most people think we take oxygen only through the air we breathe, but foaming oxygen increased by magnetized water activates the kinetic energy, stimulates the mucous membrane while passing through the stomach, small AND large intestines AND promotes blood circulation to the blood vessels. The oxygen also takes out the toxic gases AND waste in the intestines, which provide a clean intestinal environment as well as clear blood stream.

An excess amount of oxygen existing in the magnetized hexagonal water can easily be absorbed AND penetrated in the blood within 30 seconds, to the brain tissues AND genitals after one minute, to the skin after 10 minutes and, to the liver, heart AND kidney after 20 minutes. The brain accounts for 20% to 30% of total oxygen consumption in our body. Lack of oxygen to the brain may cause one to be lethargic, have a lower attention span, AND over an extended period of anoxemia will certainly lead to dementia AND eventual death.

Lemon juice, vitamin C powder OR other health aid, mix with hexagonal water will be more effective.

Hexagonal water is believed to activate the enzymes that remove the harmful free radical oxygen in the body.

Hexagonal or magnetized water is not a medicine but is an effective medium against certain diseases, playing a preventive medical role in enhancing the resistance AND immunity of the human body AND as such, has the natural healing properties against diseases.

Human Studies (Japan)

A study with the Japanese Olympic Scientific Research Team to test the enhanced water’s ability to remove waste byproducts … in particular, lactic acid. In the study, 25 members of the Japanese Olympic swimming team (13 men and 12 women) were required to swim at an accelerated pace until their heart rates were highly elevated (i.e., 180 beats/minute to 200 beats/minute). Each swimmer was then allowed to rest and given a controlled quantity of either enhanced or tap water to drink. Lactic acid levels were then monitored over time until they had returned to normal. This trial was repeated several times in a crossover, double blind fashion so that each athlete was tested with both enhanced water and tap water but without knowing which water they were drinking. During two months of additional training, the athletes were given the enhanced water on an exclusive basis and monitored for 2-3 DPZ Enzyme (an enzyme critical for the ability of blood to absorb oxygen) and blood hemoglobin levels.

In all test subjects, swimmers were observed to quantitatively reduce lactic acid levels by an average of 50 percent greater with the enhanced water versus tap water. The lactic acid removal rate was also approximately 50 percent faster with the enhanced water than the control tap water. During the testing period, all athletes showed an increase in 2-3 DPZ Enzyme levels and hemoglobin levels when compared with the baseline levels.

“Water that has been Revitalized through Magnetic Treatment is restored to its natural energy”. retains valuable minerals and converts them to a form that increases digestibility. No other system will do this. Improves digestion. Some individuals have a stomach trouble involving digestion. in most cases eliminates this problem. Since this treatment reduces “surface tension” of water, it becomes a better carrier of nutrients”.

“Naturally Soft Water”. Dr. Klaus Kronenberg states: “The positive effects were described as making the water appear to “behave” as if the mineral content was lowered”. Water feels soft and silky.

Reduces the need of soaps ; detergents; shampoo/conditioners; chemicals; chlorine for pools/spa. Dries quicker, eliminates water spots; ends chlorine irritation. Magnetic Water Treatment reduces the surface tension and makes water a better “wetting agent”. It takes about 75% less to do the job because it increases the solubility of the treated water.

De – Scales Pipes and Equipment. Magnetized, by Dr. Klaus Kronenberg: (New Technologies) Not only was formation of scale totally eliminated, the removal of scale deposits in old water pipes could be accomplished in relatively short time.

Michael Keefe (Magnetic Water Conditioner): Every private home can be relieved of water problems by utilizing permanent magnets. The thermal efficiency of hot water heating systems is impaired with scale build-up and corrosion problems. The magnets can thus save energy by keeping heat transfer surfaces free from insulating scale.

Air Conditioning, radiator, Plumbing and Heating: As the water flows through the Aqua Soft Natural ® the hard water minerals are polarized and remain in liquid suspension eliminating the problem of the particles clinging to water pipes, cool radiator and water heater, Essentially, scale forming minerals end up suspended in the water and all prior scale is magnetically attracted to the water. This descaling process is known as the stabilization period and lasts from two to six months.

Reduces Heating Costs: National Air Conditioning; Plumbing and Heating Contractors: 3/8 inch of scale in hot water heaters uses 48% more fuel to heat. When the scale is removed a more efficient water heating system is created. U.S. Bureau of Standards: On the third year, your 40 gallon water heater only hold about 30 gallons (10 gallons of scale) and costs about five times as much to heat. One half inch of scale has a 70% increased fuel cost. Magnetic Water Conditioning, by Michael Keefe: The tangible benefits to the user are preservation and improvement of thermal efficiencies in hot water heaters, which results in energy savings and a reduction of the economic impact of steadily soaring heating costs.

www.aquasoft-natural.com

Benchmark Technology for Cancer Treatment- NANOTECHNOLOGY

Search for newer technology has always fascinated researchers. Nano technology is a multidisciplinary field, which recently has emerged as one of the most propitious field in cancer treatment. Nano technology is definitely a medical boon for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cancer disease. It supports and expands the scientific advances in genomic and proteomics and builds on our understanding of the molecular underpinnings of cancer and its treatment. The various nanotechnological approaches in cancer treatment have been encompassed in the current article. One of them includes localized delivery of heat and the localized imaging of biological materials through nanoparticles. The delivery may be in vitro or in vivo and is useful for the localized treatment of cancer and disorders involving over proliferation of tissue. Other approach relates to a novel process of manufacture of nanoparticles of substantially water insoluble materials from emulsions. These emulsions have the ability to form a single liquid phase upon dilution of the external phase, instantly producing dispersible solid nanoparticles. The formed nanoparticles can be used in a wide range of therapeutic treatments of cancer. Additional approach comprises of solid tumors having an acidic extra cellular environment and an altered pH gradient across their cell compartments. Nanoparticles responsive to the pH gradients are promising for cancer drug delivery. Such pH-responsive nanoparticles consist of a corona and a core, one or both of which respond to the external pH to change their soluble/insoluble or charge states, thereby they have therapeutic advantages over the conventional pH-insensitive counterparts. An alternative advancement discloses a method/system utilizing interaction of electromagnetic pulses or ultrasonic radiation with nano- and micro particles for enhancement of drug delivery in solid tumors. These particles can be attached to antibodies directed against antigens in tumor vasculature and selectively delivered to tumor blood vessel wall. A widespread understanding of these new technologies can provide essential breakthroughs in the fight against cancer.

Tiny man-made nanoparticles have been used to successfully smuggle a powerful cancer drug into tumor cells leaving healthy cells unharmed. When tested in mice, the Nan structure-based therapy was 10 times as effective at delaying tumor growth and far less toxic than the drug given alone. Researchers believe the therapy could transform many cancers from killer into chronic, treatable diseases.4,5 The major goals in designing nanoparticles as a delivery system are to control particle size, surface properties and release of pharmacologically active agents in order to achieve the site-specific action of the drug at the therapeutically optimal rate and dose regimen. Though liposome have been used as potential carriers with unique advantages including protecting drugs from degradation, targeting to site of action and reduction toxicity or side effects, their applications are limited due to inherent problems such as low encapsulation efficiency, rapid leakage of water-soluble drug in the presence of blood components and poor storage stability. On the other hand, polymeric nanoparticles offer some specific advantages over liposome. For instance, they help to increase the stability of drugs/proteins and possess useful controlled release properties. The purpose of the chemotherapy and radiation is to kill the tumor cells as these cells are more susceptible to the actions of these drugs and methods because of their growth at a much faster rate than healthy cells, at least in adults. Research efforts to improve chemotherapy over the past 25 years have led to an improvement in patient survival but there is still a need for improvement.6, 7 Current research areas include development of carriers to allow alternative dosing routes, new therapeutic targets such as blood vessels fueling tumor growth and targeted therapeutics that are more specific in their activity. Several nano biotechnologies mostly based on nanoparticles, have been used to facilitate drug delivery in cancer. The magic of nanoparticles mesmerizes everyone because of their multifunctional character and they have given us hope for the recovery from this disease. Although we are practicing better drug delivery paths into the body, we ultimately seek more accurate protocols to eradicate cancer from our society.  This review will primarily address new methods for delivering drugs, both old and new, with a focus on nano particle formulations and ones that specifically target tumors.