Living Well For the first time in 244 years, we might just have a cure for cancer...
As a physician, I balk at saying the word "cure." But over the past few years, I've followed a cancer treatment known as the "Living Cure" closely.
It's a way to harness the power of your body's own immune system to fight – and defeat – cancer. It seeks to fulfill the promise of a world free from cancer.
But this new treatment, known as "immunotherapy," is still in early stages. That means you can't get it just anywhere. In fact, only a handful of immunotherapy drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA").
But there is a way you can access these new treatment options. If you or a loved one have cancer, I strongly encourage you to talk to your cancer doctor about clinical trials.
Some people avoid clinical trials, thinking they're expensive or dangerous. Others think clinical trials are meant solely for people who are in advanced stages or haven't responded to standard treatments.
These trials are used to test the effects of cancer treatments on patients. There are four phases of clinical trials...
Phase I – The drug or treatment is tested to determine dosage, safety, and side effects. This phase is done on healthy people, not those with disease.
Phase II – The drug or treatment is tested for effectiveness and to continue reviewing its safety.
Phase III – The drug or treatment is tested again for effectiveness and side effects and compared with current drugs or treatments.
Phase IV – The drug or treatment is tested for long-term use after it has been licensed and marketed.
Clinical trials are a crucial part of developing new drugs and treatments. They provide benefits for participants as well. They give patients access to new drugs and the best doctors and treatment centers. And, depending on the trials, patients may receive financial compensation.
If you're interested in finding clinical trials, visit clinicaltrials.gov. The National Institutes of Health maintains this website as a registry and database of trials conducted around the world.
According to the Cancer Research Institute ("CRI"), only three immunotherapies have been approved to treat cancer. So for most patients, a clinical trial is the only way to try an immunotherapy.
The CRI provides information on cancer immunotherapy clinical trials. You can search the Institute's database of trials right here.
You need an account to access the database, but setting one up is simple. Select a username and password, and provide your e-mail address and two security questions. Then you can start searching for clinical trials.
You can also call 1 (855) 216-0127 to speak with a Clinical Trial Navigator.
The CRI has also gathered information on current treatments and the impact of immunotherapy on certain cancers. You can see that list here.
You can also find clinical trials through major cancer centers like the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
You can find more about their clinical trials here:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
(877) 338-7425
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
(800) 525-2225
MD Anderson Cancer Center
(877) 858-3483
Of course, clinical trials come with some risks you should consider...
The drugs could trigger unexpected side effects. Also, your health insurance may not cover the trial, or the drugs may not work for you. But more often than not, the drug costs are included in the trial, and your odds are better than current therapies.
Once you've decided to join a clinical trial, you need to see if you meet the criteria.
There are two types of participants in a trial – healthy volunteers and patient volunteers (though not every trial uses both).
Healthy volunteers have no significant health problems and are used as controls in clinical trials.
Patient volunteers suffer from whatever health issue (like cancer) is being researched and tested in the trial. For example, a trial testing the effects of an immunotherapy drug on breast cancer would need patient volunteers that have breast cancer.
Each trial has "Inclusion/Exclusion" criteria. This information is provided when you find the trial on any of the sites we mentioned above. These criteria are detailed, and you may need the help of your doctor to figure out if you're eligible.
They often include things like the exact type of cancer, the stage of the cancer (how far it has spread), blood counts, other treatments you've tried, and any health complications like a compromised immune system.
Talk to your doctor and contact the researchers handling the trial. They can help you determine whether or not you're eligible, if any costs are covered, and if the benefits to you outweigh any risks.
We hope that soon, you won't need a trial to get access to this promising new treatment. It's something my colleague Dave Lashmet here at Stansberry Research, has written about extensively. He and his managing editor recently attended a prestigious meeting of cancer researchers. They were shocked at how many doctors now use the word "cure."
You need to hear what Dave's team learned at the conference. It involves a radical new combination of treatments that includes immunotherapy. They won't share these results for much longer... so don't wait to read about this complete game changer for cancer treatment. Click here to see for yourself.
What We're Reading...
- We've come a long way in 244 years - here are the major milestones in cancer research.
- Five hidden costs every cancer patient needs to know about.
- Something different: A look inside the lab creating malaria-free mosquitoes.
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
October 24, 2019