The ZRT Laboratory Blog

The Future of Breast Cancer Treatment: Cryosurgery

Thu, 27 Oct 2016 10:35:00 -0700

A technique new to breast cancer treatment that I hope will become the worldwide standard of care is cryosurgery (also called cryotherapy or cryoablation).

I was fortunate enough to work with two women who had this procedure done by Dr. Peter Littrup, an interventional radiologist who gained FDA approval for a device he invented and used to freeze prostate cancer tumors using liquid nitrogen.

Case Study: Patient Receives Cryoablation for Breast Cancer

Mary L. is a patient who refused standard surgery, radiation and chemotherapy for breast cancer, and instead chose cryoablation by Dr. Littrup in 2010. View her thermography scan, conducted by me, prior to her cryoablation treatment. Here’s her story:

Mary L~ 3 Months Pre-Cryoablation

Mary was diagnosed with infiltrating ductal Stage II carcinoma, and had a 2 cm x 2 cm tumor in her left breast with dimpling at 12:00. Mary had a very abnormal thermogram with a 2 degree Celsius Delta thermal shift over the mass and blood flow leading to the tumor. The red circle, highlighted by the white arrow, surrounds the region of the tumor.

Mary L~ 8 Months Post-Cryoablation

Mary returned 8 months post-cryo and the large/spongy mass was 4 cm x 6.5 cm. (Before, the hard mass had been 2 cm x 2 cm.) There was no thermal activity over the soft mass, and the blood vessels that were observed on infrared 3 months prior to her cryotherapy were now absent.

I was initially alarmed by the size of the soft spongy mass, but Dr. Littrup told me that this was common after cryotherapy due to the “immune effect” – which occurs about 85% of the time. This is the process where the immune system is able to recognize the protein structure of the cancer cells, and the body sends out white blood cells and cytokines to clean out the dead tissue frozen by the liquid nitrogen. In this way, the body naturally creates immunity to the cancer.

It’s important to NEVER surgically disturb or needle biopsy the spongy area, which is comprised of dead tissue and white cells. A biopsy will interfere with the body’s immune system process and may cause a life threatening infection.

Mary L~ 2 Years Post-Cryoablation

Checking the patient again 2 years post-cryotherapy, I found a 1.5 cm thermally inactive “cold” mass of scar tissue without any blood flow.

Dr. Littrup confirmed that the spongy mass shrinks about 80% in size leaving a small bit of scar tissue.

More About Cryotherapy

In addition to being used for breast cancer treatment, cryotherapy is also used to treat breast fibroadenomas (instead of cutting them out), to destroy precancerous skin moles and to eliminate cervical abnormalities.

With the improvement of imaging techniques and the development of devices with better temperature control, physicians are now using cryotherapy as a treatment for patients with other forms of cancer, like liver and pancreatic cancer.

For those who are interested in additional detail, here is an overview of cryoablation taken from the book They're Mine And I'm Keeping Them:

In a 30-minute office procedure, local anesthesia is first administered. Then cryoprobes are inserted, guided by ultrasound, and cells are frozen. Afterward, the patient may take 2 Tylenol and go back to work. Many say the procedure is less uncomfortable than a core biopsy.

Ablation occurs in frozen tissue by three mechanisms:

(1) Ice crystal formation within cancer cells disrupts membranes and interrupts cellular metabolism, among other processes.

(2) Coagulation interrupts blood flow to the tissue, in turn causing ischemia and cell death.

(3) This induces the so-called programmed cell death cascade.

Cancer survives in the body by camouflaging itself from the immune system. After a tumor is frozen, the body absorbs the dead tissue. The protein structure of the tumor remains intact after freezing, so the immune system can “see” the cancer and recognize that it is a “foreign body.” When it does, this triggers a complex immune process that often builds antibodies to the cancer. These antibodies then kill other tumors throughout the body.

Cryosurgery is a Win-Win for Women

Cryotherapy is a big win for breast cancer patients because it conserves the breast, eliminates the need for surgery and kills the cancer. Remarkably, it also kills satellite breast cancers (in other regions and lymph nodes) 85% of the time as part of the “immune effect.”

In the 15% of cases where the immune effect does not work, patients can have another cryotherapy or have surgery as a final back up plan.

Author’s Note

My case study slides of Mary L. were presented to 400 researchers at the 5^th International Cryoablation Conference, which was held outside Beijing in July 2016. Laura Ross-Paul, author of the book They're Mine And I'm Keeping Them, delivered this presentation.

I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with Laura Ross-Paul, a breast cancer survivor who received her cryotherapy treatment from Dr. Littrup in 2003. Laura, who calls herself a “patient pioneer,” was the first woman to receive Dr. Littrup’s cryoablation as the primary treatment for multi-focused breast cancer.

Her book was co-authored with her husband, Alex Paul, and Dr. Peter Littrup. It documents the story of how she and her husband bucked the system and ultimately saved her from disfiguring cancer treatment.

About the Author:

Ingrid has been in practice for 35 years as a nationally certified Family Nurse Practitioner with an additional Masters in Health Education. She has become a thought leader in the prevention of breast cancer and effects of toxic exposure to herbicides/pesticides/bovine growth hormones resulting in abnormal Thermography scans. She is president and author of Proactive Breast Wellness, a comprehensive, empowering program to assist women in reducing breast cancer risk or its reoccurrence. Learn more at www.proactivebreastwellness.com.

Continue the Discussion

Proactive Breast Wellness website
My new “Protect YOUR Breasts” book and eBook available Nov 2016 at www.ProactiveBreastWellness.com and Amazon.com
Email us at contact@proactivebreastwellness.com for your copy.
https://breastcancer-news.com/2016/03/29/breast-cancer-story/

Pesticides, Herbicides, Chemicals, Oh My!

Tue, 28 Apr 2015 09:00:00 -0700

If you haven't thought about the risks of chemicals in herbicides and pesticides to the health of your family and pets, there's no time like the present.

Roadside, clear cut and yard spraying is polluting our environment, with the chemicals becoming air-borne and also getting into ground water. People and pets walking outside are absorbing these chemicals through their skin and bringing it inside our homes. Rural families have little or no control over their neighbors who may decide to clear cut their land and then aerial spray herbicides.

These herbicides are not safe. “Weed killer kills human cells. A study intensifies debate over 'inert' ingredients. Used in yards, farms and parks throughout the world, Roundup has long been a top-selling weed killer. But now researchers have found that one of Roundup’s inert ingredients can kill human cells, particularly embryonic, placental and umbilical cord cells. The new findings intensify a debate about so-called “inerts” — the solvents, preservatives, surfactants and other substances that manufacturers add to pesticides. Nearly 4,000 inert ingredients are approved for use by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency”. (1)

These herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals are known as “estrogen mimickers,” “hormone disrupters,“ endocrine disruptors or xenoestrogens. These estrogen-like chemicals bind in estrogen receptor sites which are fat bound. Estrogens and estrogen mimickers from herbicides and other substances, increase vascular patterns and metabolism in the breast. If you have a group of cells that have become abnormal and are growing, or a a cancerous tumor is present, nitric oxide is released from these abnormal cells. If the vascular network has increased in the area of the tumor and the vessels are now dilated due to the release of nitric oxide and the increased availability of oxygen and nutrition, tumor doubling time is likely to become deadly. Tumors set up their own blood flow known as neo-angiogenesis.The medical literature on pesticides/herbicide exposures is clear on the fact that these chemicals harm neurological, reproductive and hormonal systems. (2)

There has been a disturbing pattern involving women who had pesticide and herbicide exposure having abnormal Infrared scans with unusually high estrogen dominance involvement with the tissues and higher incidences of breast cancer. An infrared camera can detect changes in physiology/ heat in the tissues both as vessels and in color palates and has a 97% sensitivity.(3) (4) When abnormal cells begin to accumulate they begin to put up heat signatures due to their metabolic activity. As the cells become a tumor they are warmer still and they create their own vascular system to feed a growing tumor.

Genetics only contribute 7 to 9% to the risk of developing breast cancer. A person's environment and diet has an impact of 91-93%. This means that avoiding herbicide and pesticide use in and around homes and eating an organic diet will have a positive impact on a person's health.

I believe I am currently the only person in the US that is looking at the environmental impact of xenoestrogens on breast tissue using an infrared camera. Providers should consider their patient’s body burden of xenoestrogens as they attempt to decide upon hormone replacement regimes. Adjustments should be made according to laboratory hormone levels and also take into account environmental factors including: rural or city living, work environment, use pesticides or herbicides in everyday life, etc.

Please view my research images to actually SEE what these chemicals do to breast tissue.

Carol Petersen, RPh, CNP from Women’s International Pharmacy stated “This Proactive Breast Wellness (PWB) program is amazing” and wrote an evaluation in the Aug 2014 WIP Newsletter.

I urge women to seek out programs that educate about chemicals and pesticides, so they have the time to try to make changes that will impact their health. Women who are then able to help limit their toxic exposure to xenoestrogens, start eating organically, make lifestyle changes and take supplements that boost their immune system are usually able to make changes in the scans and their other lab work in 6-12 months. This helps to reduce their risk of breast cancer. This gives the “Hope for prevention and prevention is the cure!”

About the Author:

Related Resources

References

Environmental Health News June 22, 2009
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/detailedguide/breast-cancer-risk-factors
The American Journal of Surgery (2008) 196,523-526
Int J Surg. 2014 Nov 7;12(12):1439-1443. doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2014.10.010. [Epub ahead of print]

Breast Cancer: Prevention is the Cure

Tue, 28 Oct 2014 23:52:00 -0700

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, with a flurry of activity directed towards “Race for the Cure,” pink ribbons on posters and products, and people on street corners with butterfly nets to accept donations to defeat breast cancer. Yet with all this activity over the past 30 years we are no closer to any cure, and breast cancer rates have escalated.

According to the National Cancer Institute, incidences of breast cancer in the US have risen during the past thirty years from 1 in 30, to 1 in 8 women life time risk (1). Agencies that track these statistics are concerned that in the next 10 years it may reach 1 in five. In Oregon where I practice, we have consistently been among the top five states for breast cancer incidence, and now rank second highest per capita. This is an epidemic!

So, why aren’t we looking more closely at prevention, and considering what a woman CAN DO to reduce her risk of breast cancer or its recurrence? Racing for the Cure is simply not working!

Empowering women to embrace a more proactive approach to prevention
As a Nurse Practitioner for 35 years, I have observed many of the same concerns and parallels in the area of breast disease that researchers now raise about the environmental/dietary links to the upsurge in thyroid cancers.

In 2006 I started utilizing FDA-approved infrared (IR) thermography to assess metabolic and physiological activity in breast tissue as a risk assessment tool. Within the first six months of my breast health practice, I found that three-quarters of my patients had borderline thermography scans. At first I thought that my camera was overly sensitive but a study at Cornell Medical School using the same military/infrared technology was shown to have a 97% sensitivity (2).

I became increasingly curious as to why some patients had normal IR scans and others did not. I started researching to see why a pattern was developing and asking lifestyle and dietary questions of my patients. This is how my Proactive Breast Wellness program evolved. In the process I found that patients with the most normal breast scans were generally organic vegans with a clean life style, while those with abnormal scans were generally at the opposite end of the lifestyle spectrum. At the same time, I discovered that Oregon and Washington State had been testing grounds for Agent Orange in the early 1970s, and that stockpiles of these herbicides and chemicals were used in state agriculture and timber industries until 1998. (It began to make sense why Oregon is #2 per capita for breast cancer.) Turns out that many of my own patients had a 30-year exposure to herbicide, including Agent Orange!

Proactive Breast Wellness Program (PBW) ™
Today, I believe I am the only person in the US looking at the environmental impact of xenoestrogens (3) on breast tissue using an infrared camera. I have compiled over 1,000 pages of free resource materials to create my “Proactive Breast Wellness Program" (PBW)™. My findings strongly suggest that our environment—what we eat, how we live, how we handle stress, and our exposure to the chemicals and radiation in our environment—may have a greater impact (91-93%) on our future health than bad genetics (7-9%). This is heartening information that allows the possibility that education may empower women to make breast-saving changes in their health.

How Providers Can Help Change Outcomes to Reduce Breast Cancer or its Recurrence
Information regarding the metabolic effects of pesticides, herbicides, bovine growth hormones, and a non-organic diet on breast tissue is the first step. Providers should also take into consideration the patient’s overall body burden of xenoestrogens, as they determine hormone replacement regimes. We adjust the patient’s prescription according to laboratory hormone levels, but do we also ask if she lives on a farm, works as a florist, does filing in an auto body shop, or has horses and uses pesticide-soaked wipes on her animals? We cannot test a woman’s body burden of bovine growth hormone, Atrazine, Round Up, or 2,4,D Agent Orange, but we can help her learn how to recognize and alter the environmental and lifestyle habits that are putting her at risk.

Please view my research images to actually SEE what these chemicals do to breast tissue. In my clinical practice using thermography, lab testing (ZRT testing for steroid, adrenal, and thyroid hormones in saliva or blood spot, and steroid metabolites in dried urine) and my PBW protocols, I am able to improve patient outcomes about 65% of the time. This requires women to embrace the protocol over a 6 to 12 month period, eat organically, decrease gluten, optimize thyroid function and Vitamin D levels, balance hormones naturally, avoid xenoestrogens, and make the appropriate lifestyle and dietary changes. The PBW program is also heart healthy: patients have reduced their cholesterol levels from over 300 to slightly above 200, dropped LDL 30 points, and increased HDL. Women on the PBW program usually lose 15 to 30 pounds and reduce symptoms of hypothyroidism, and the program’s dietary recommendations have also improved the health of the other family members in the household. Click here to see before and after images.

Every middle-aged woman I know is frightened of breast cancer. It does not just affect women; it affects families and whole communities. Many younger women worry, knowing this cancer has struck older female relatives. They wait, hoping they will not become a statistic themselves. Now they have hope. Now they can do something. Empower the women in your life and your patients. Prevention IS the Cure!

Continue the Discussion:

Proactive Breast Wellness website
Watch the webinar "My 40 Year Journey in Breast Cancer Research," presented by David Zava, Ph.D. He discusses 40 years of breast cancer research and testing for Iodine, Selenium, Vitamin D and Melatonin levels that have a role in breast cancer prevention.
Blog: Natural Progesterone as a Preventative for Breast Cancer

Resources: