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Brain Cancer Therapies

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Brain cancer therapies- both conventional and non-conventional, offer long-odds, at best. Which is why the article linked below jumped out at me.

I underwent a controversial non-conventional therapy called Antineoplaston Therapy (ANP) from November of 1997 through April of 1999.

I was diagnosed with an incurable blood cancer called multiple myeloma in January of 1994, and then underwent almost 4 years of conventional FDA approved standard-of-care therapies.

On September 30th of 1997, I had that meeting with my oncologist that no cancer patients want to experience. “There’s nothing more we can do for you” said Dr. Rassiga. To be clear, Dr. Rassiga was telling me that I had “failed” all conventional SOC theories for MM and that there were no other conventional therapy options at that time.

Being young (37) and in otherwise good health, I choose to go to the Burzynski Research Institute in Houston, TX to undergo ANP therapy. Long-story short, I went from end stage MM to complete remission in 17 months.

I’m telling all this for several reasons.

  1. First, MM is incurable as far as conventional oncology is concerned-
  2. Secondly, conventional brain cancer therapies are usually high risk- 
  3. Lastly, ANP happens to be more effective as a  brain cancer therapy compare to other cancers- 

Conventional, FDA approved therapies for brain cancer do not have good track records. Please confirm this with your oncologist. “What are the odds that I will live for 5 more years Doc? 

My guess is that the odds of you living five more years, if you have a type of brain cancer, is better with ANP than with conventional therapies.

If you have any questions about conventional or non-conventional cancer therapy email me at David.PeopleBeatingCancer@gmail.com 

Hang in there,

David Emerson

  • Cancer Survivor
  • Cancer Coach
  • Director PeopleBeatingCancer

The Long Shots: When Patients Defy All Odds

Restless for More

For Sonikpreet Aulakh, MD, a neuro-oncologist practicing at West Virginia University, the odds for patients are often grim.

Every brain cancer treatment Aulakh recommends is risky. The chance that a treatment doesn’t work is often greater than the chance that it will. And when a drug fails, the disease just has more time to grow.

So, when a patient does beat the odds, “it humbles me,” she said. “And it makes me restless, restless to do more.”

In early 2020, Aulakh was referred a patient with severe headaches. One look at the golf-ball-sized mass on the patient’s MRI and Aulakh could already tell the cancer was aggressive.

After surgery to remove the tumor, follow-up testing confirmed glioblastoma.

When Aulakh walked into the clinic to deliver the news to the patient and his partner, she could feel their fear.

She didn’t mince words. The cancer was aggressive and fast-growing, she told them. In most cases, patients have less than 2 years to live.

“Doc, we will do whatever you recommend,” she recalls them saying.

Aulakh started the patient on radiation and chemotherapy, and then incorporated tumor treating fields — a device worn on the scalp that emits mild electromagnetic fields and can help slow brain tumor progression.

A year later, the tumor showed signs of growth, so Aulakh prescribed an oral targeted therapy off-label alongside the device.

It was still a long shot. “I didn’t know which way it would go,” Aulakh said. “Once the disease starts to progress the likelihood of responding to treatment is low.”

And she knew if this treatment didn’t work, they would have to pivot fast.

The targeted therapy worked well for about a year, but when his scans showed growth in early 2023, Aulakh pivoted to a PD-L1 based immunotherapy.

It has now been 5 years since the initial surgery and 8 months on immunotherapy alongside the device. The patient is not only still alive, he has been able to keep active and spend meaningful time with loved ones.

“That is the biggest achievement in my day-to-day career — keeping patients alive with quality of life,” Aulakh said.

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