CANCER ISN’T CONTAGIOUS..

 

CANCER ISN’T CONTAGIOUS!!  (opinion piece) Why Suffer In Silence! You are not alone !! You have heard the side effects from chemotherapy treatment like hair loss, fatigue, and nausea. Yet, there is another side effect that many cancer patients may suffer in silence.  Oftentimes, friends will shy away or even abandon you. Sometimes they stop speaking or calling you altogether due to your cancer diagnosis, especially once you announce you have cancer. This is the part of the cancer "diagnosis"  that is the most hurtful and painfully. And what's worst is that we suffer in silence. We were friends for 30 long, happy years. It was almost like a marriage. Through sickness and health, through thick and thin, I thought I would have my two dearest friends by my side forever. Someone to talk to you or go to the mall with. Coffee, dinner, movies etc.. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that my closest friends would walk away due to a cancer diagnosis that was out of my control. I could feel the energy towards me changing and I knew I was not imagining it. Then came the day.   I received confirmation of what I was feeling.  I was told by one of my friends that she just could not deal with MY cancer diagnosis. It is amazing that you can be dealing with cancer and fighting for your life while your friends are healthy and living it up and they tell you that your battles can be too much for them to handle. This hurt just as much as the cancer diagnosis did.  Fear and ignorance can scare friends away however, in many situations cancer has helped to create new friendships and brought people together. In living with cancer. You will learn to move forward and believe me you can get through this. Please don’t make the mistake of “walking away” or turning your back on a friend or family member.  That is the absolute worst thing you can do. Sometimes, friends become strangers during cancer and strangers become friends.   LET BE FRIENDS!   Sharon S. Twitter - @SP4acure Saving Pennies For A Cure

Cancer vs Coronavirus

As a cancer patient, the only silver lining that I can currently think of during a global pandemic is that our oncology team has prepared us so very well.

When you have been diagnosed with cancer, a lot of things change. Your schedule gets all kind of crazy and you are put into a situation in which you are fighting for your life every single day. Not all cancer patients have the same treatment routine, but I have found that almost all cancer patients have been told to follow some of the same guidelines to keep their fragile immune system from falling apart. These guidelines coincide with keeping healthy during the global pandemic as well.

We are told that we should Social Distance yourself when we are first diagnosed with cancer. Because our immune system is very weak our bodies are using all its might to fight off the cancer cells. Even the smallest of colds could be land us in the hospital. Oncology teams usually suggest that when you are starting treatment you stay away from family and friends (especially if they are sick) for your own safety. Usually this will continue throughout all your treatment until your counts normalize.

Next is wearing a mask. During your cancer diagnosis is vital to try and stay as healthy as possible. Wearing a mask can help prevent the germs of others from getting to you. If your immune system is compromised, wearing a mask may be one the best ways to prevent catching an illness.

Washing your hands is super important also. We are taught from an early age that washing your hands helps kill germs and that is true. By washing your hands for at least 20 seconds you can kill up to 99% of germs off your hands. If you take a second to stop and think about all of the surfaces that you touch with your hands, and the different germs that can be present on those surfaces, it can be vital to your health to make sure your hands are washed.

My oncology team also suggested to avoid public spaces. As a cancer patient I think this was one of the hardest things for me to follow. I love going to the mall and just strolling around. However, in public spaces there are many uncertainties. You do not know if people are sick or not, or what types of germs they are carrying. Some individuals may not have any signs or symptoms of being sick, but they can carry germs to others and infect them. It is just not safe.

Maintaining a healthy diet is another important thing you can do for your health. There are many foods that are highly processed, packed with sugar and coated with germs from people touching them. Whether you shop for yourself of order from a delivery service, it is important to choose foods that will help your immune system. Some foods I added to my diet with the suggestion of my nutritionist were berries, turmeric, ginger, fresh vegetables, wheatgrass, pumpkin seeds, and pineapple. There are many guides online or at your hospitals nutritionist’s office that you can find to help you. Remember, before eating any fresh produce make sure to wash it thoroughly.

We, as cancer patients, are lucky to have amazing oncology teams that support us and share life saving tips with us. Although there is a lot of stress and anxiety going on during this time, I hope this article can give you a little bit of hope in knowing you are doing all the right things to stay as healthy as possible.

CDC Website

Brian Shelly's Story....

Read Brian Shelly's story,



My name is Brian Shelly and I am a 50 year old cancer fighter, survivor and WARRIOR.  I came across your website in hopes that I can possibly find some assistance. I was told in April of 2017 that I had approximately one month to live and was diagnosed with advanced stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma of the left tonsil, and if I were to survive that although I am the living Rocky Balboa ( a fighter from the same neighborhood of Kensington and once an amateur boxer in Philadelphia) that I would literally be in for the fight of my life. I was all alone and I was scared and after what I had endured 4 years prior it took a lot to scare this tough "Philly Guy". Let me try and briefly explain , in 2011 after my 2 children graduated from high school I wrote a book about my growing up poor and becoming an alcoholic and drug addicted dealer in the streets of Philly's Badlands ( Kensington), the book is titled "DRUNKENEESE" and after it was published I decided  to go and visit an old friend in Tampa Bay ,Florida to visit a friend who I hadn't seen since childhood. While there a woman who I hadn't seen since I was released from the U.S. Army in 1989. I met with the woman who had shown me photos of a child that she carried in her wallet and the child looked almost identical to my son Brian who I had to my then ex wife Dina. The woman explained that the child in the picture was my son but it wasn't Brian it was Austin, she explained that she had gotten pregnant by me in 1989 and never told me because she decided at the time to reconcile with her husband whom she was separated from at the time. I couldn't deny the child who is an adult now nor did I care to, but she had never explained why she never tried to find me and I later found out that she didn't even raise my son , she had left him as an infant with her ex husband and his family who raised him properly. I started to sort of try and rekindle a short relationship that never truly developed to begin with and that's when things got really bad. I was clean and sober for quite some time and she was extremely active in her alcoholism. She also had another son from her marriage who moved into her home and he was also an active alcoholic and it wasn't long before he and I started to go at it with each other.  I was also an interventionist for troubled teenagers at the time and the job required for me to travel a lot. When I would travel he would get drunk with his mother and it wasn't long until they were getting drunk daily and trouble started as he would try to bully her for money and anything else he could. The next thing you know I started to drink after a long period of sobriety and one day after drinking at a club with her, him and a few of my friends, I got into a fist fight with him because I couldn't tolerate his constant bullying. Well, it only got worse and he eventually had a drinking buddy who also happened to be a sheriff arrest me. He also obtained a protective order against me and I was no longer able to go to the house where he lived with his mother. She even went to court on my behalf but his drinking buddy sheriff's word held in court over the truth told by an outsider. I ended the relationship after being arrested several times for protecting her from her abusive son and I moved to another town. One night after she called me crying hysterically I went back to the house to get her away from him and once again I was arrested for violating the court order. I wasn't so lucky this time and the judge hated to do it because he knew that I was the only victim in the situation, but I broke the law and a court order and the State of Florida didn't care about the truth or the situation,  they saw a profit in me, and as a prisoner for profit state they wanted to put me in prison for 10 years but the judge who had no choice because of the design of the laws sentenced me to a level 7 maximum security Florida Prison for 5 years. I had never ever been in any legal trouble in my entire life until then. I was starved, beaten, gassed and tortured constantly by Florida Dept. Of Correction Officers because I was a Yankee from up North. That abuse continues today for many inmates that made mistakes and society has turned a blind eye on . The only good thing about prison was that I was able to teach and educate other inmates and I had also took courses to become a licensed and Ordained Minister. I was released from prison in Nov .2016 only to return to Philadelphia and to a horrifying situation, my daughter Nicole who was my personal Angel , born with the same infection that killed her sister my daughter Devon who died in my arms had become a crack and heroin addict and was also prostituting herself on the streets of Kensington and was missing. I wasn't out of prison for 3 days and all hell was breaking loose, as I went kicking crack house doors down and holding drug dealers at gunpoint searching for her. I finally got information from an undercover DEA officer who is also a friend of mine and I had to have Nicole arrested to save her life, as I was literally losing mine. I was offered a spot on a Comcast Cable show that would eventually have led to my own television show but God had other plans. A fan of my online show had kept insisting that I have a lump that was on my neck looked at by medical professionals, the fan was deeply concerned and she was also a nurse who knew that what I considered to be a swollen gland might be a problem and one day after waking up in excruciating pain I went to the emergency room on Frankford Avenue and after tests I found out.  The Dr. diagnosed me with cancer. I had just literally survived a life that not many human beings could ever survive and now I was literally handed a death sentence. I reached deep inside of my heart where a tiny glimmer of a spark remained for God who at one time was fire inside of me and with passion. I didn't ask God to save or spare my life, I thanked him for the life he'd given me and I was lonely and extremely tired but mostly I was ready to meet Him,  I was literally out of faith and I was out of gas. However, there was something very special about that nurse who convinced me to go to the hospital that kept me wanting to know more about her. So I decided to put the gloves back on and climb into the ring of life for my final round. I'm not going to sugarcoat the process or minimize the treatment that I endured from beginning to end the entire fight was BRUTAL, period ! However, that little flame of God is now a passionate inferno, I am in remission, however, I needed emergency surgery recently and had my C3&C4 disks in my neck replaced due to cancer treatment damage and the surgery failed, leaving no more options to treat my chronic pain syndrome. I refuse to take any opioid pain medications, I can get a prescription for anything that I need but I choose God instead and if the Dr.s are correct then I could go paralyzed at any time but if God is right I'll never use my wheelchair again. Oh, and remember that fan who was a concerned fan who was a nurse? Well, on JANUARY 10, 2020 Debbie became my beautiful bride and made me the luckiest, and happiest man on the planet. My daughter Nicole has just celebrated 3 years clean and my son Brian has made me a proud Pop-Pop by giving me a beautiful granddaughter. Today I have graduated from a Christian Living Program for men who struggle with life ,drugs and addiction that society has thrown away and I have dedicated my time and life to God and The Lord to help others, if I can put a smile on just 1 face today, then my entire life was worth every minute and as I continue on my path trusting in God, the rest of my life is none of my business. Cancer tries to destroy everything in it's wake, especially the victims and their families. It's a lonely place to be in and that's what CANCER WARRIORS mission is, to let cancer patients, fighters, SURVIVORS and their families know that we've through the battles and that nobody fights alone. We're CANCER WARRIORS FOR CANCER WARRIORS! Making cancer patients, fighters and survivors not just feel like they are battling a hideous disease, but that they are at war and that they will win that war, making them WARRIORS!


GODSPEED,

Brian Shelly 

https://www.bonfire.com/store/cancer-warrior-gear-1/



https://brianstrong215.wixsite.com/cancerwarriors


https://www.facebook.com/groups/816221482192273/


https://m.facebook.com/beacancerwarrior

https://www.facebook.com/groups/816221482192273/

cancer awareness...

Sometimes you just need a little bit of inspiration...

What is a stem cell...

What is a STEM CELL?


 [ˈstem ˌsel]

NOUN

biology

an undifferentiated cell of a multicellular organism which is capable of giving rise to indefinitely more cells of the same type, and from which certain other kinds of cell arise by differentiation.



In mammals, there are two broad types of stem cells: embryonic stem cells, which are isolated from the inner cell mass of blastocysts in early embryonic development, and adult stem cells, which are found in various tissues of fully developed mammals. In adult organisms, stem cells and progenitor cells act as a repair system for the body, replenishing adult tissues. In a developing embryo, stem cells can differentiate into all the specialized cells—ectoderm, endoderm and mesoderm but also maintain the normal turnover of regenerative organs, such as blood, skin, or intestinal tissues. 

There are three known accessible sources of autologous adult stem cells in humans: bone marrow, adipose tissue, and blood. (Stem cells can also be taken from umbilical cord blood just after birth. Of all stem cell therapy types, autologous harvesting involves the least risk.) (WEB SOURCE)


Stem cells are cells that have two essential characteristics:

1. Self-renewal: In other words, these cells are able to create new stem cells.
2. Ability to differentiate into one or more types of cells.

The more types of cells the stem cell is capable of changing into, the greater its differentiation capacity. By using this characteristic, we can classify the different types of stem cells. Differentiation is nothing more than the process of adopting morphological and functional characteristics of a certain cell. This process takes place when a stem cell adopts the characteristic genetic configuration of the cell that it copies. Differentiation ultimately expresses only the genes of the particular cell.

Once the new genetic configuration is set, the stem cell gradually acquires the characteristics of the target cell. After a set of cellular divisions, the result is a completely functional differentiated cell. (Web Source)


In medicine and research, the interest in stem cells lies in their ability to differentiate. They offer an enormous potential to decode science’s biggest puzzles that are, even today, a burden for humankind.

1.       Understanding more about the progress of a disease. In many cases, we know exactly just what causes an illness. For example, we know that Alzheimer’s results from an accumulation of certain proteins that take apart the brain’s architecture. However, we don’t know how the process develops: When does it happen? Why? How does it affect the neuron function in the first stages of the disease? All of these questions could find an answer thanks to stem cells. By differentiating stem cells into neurons in vitro, scientists can reproduce the disease perfectly. By doing so, they can unveil exactly what happens in the long-term process of the disease.

2.       Generating healthy cells to replace sick ones. This practice is known as “regenerative medicine.” This practice could serve in a multitude of cases. To give an example, when a person suffers from a third-degree burn, they need to undergo a skin graft. By using stem cells from the patient’s own skin, scientists could generate new epidermic tissues to cover the affected area.

3.       Evaluating the efficiency of new medication. As we all know, new medication needs to pass many tests before being commercialized. One of these tests consists in human testing. By using stem cells, we could generate in vitro internal micro-environments very similar to those of human beings for testing purposes. For example, scientists could test a new medication for a heart disease treatment on heart tissue generated from stem cells.

Adult stem cells are frequently used in various medical therapies (e.g., bone marrow transplantation). Stem cells can now be artificially grown and transformed (differentiated) into specialized cell types with characteristics consistent with cells of various tissues such as muscles or nerves. Embryonic cell lines and autologous embryonic stem cells generated through somatic cell nuclear transfer or dedifferentiation have also been proposed as promising candidates for future therapies. (web Source)




A stem cell transplant, also called a bone marrow transplant, infuses healthy blood-forming stem cells into the body to replace those damaged by disease, chemotherapy or radiation. Stem cell transplants for cancer patients are most effective when the cancer is in remission, meaning all signs of the cancer have disappeared. Stem cell transplants allow patients to begin creating their own stem cells, which increases their ability to fight infection and prevent bleeding.


But before you go transfusing blood into each other, for a stem cell transplant to take place there are several factors that have match. 

HLA stands for “human leukocyte antigen.” These are protein molecules that we inherit from our parents. We currently know about nearly 600 different HLA molecules. Before you have a stem cell transplant, your HLA type must be determined. This is done by taking a blood sample.


The laboratory will also determine the HLA type of anyone who may donate stem cells to you. It is important in stem cell transplants to see how closely the HLA of the transplant patient matches the HLA of the stem cell donor. The HLA “match” is the number of HLA molecules that any two people have in common. HLA matching is usually based on six HLA molecules. The more molecules two people share, the better the match. When two individuals share the same HLA type, they are said to be a good match. That is, their immune systems will not see each other as “foreign” and are less likely to attack each other.

The most likely place to find an HLA match between two people is among siblings (brothers and sisters who have the same mother and same father). If two siblings inherit the very same HLA molecules from both parents, they are said to be an “HLA identical match.”

You have a 25 percent (1 in 4) chance of being an HLA identical match with your sibling. Why? Because there is a basic rule in HLA inheritance: You have a 25 percent chance of inheriting the same HLA molecules as your sibling, a 25 percent chance of inheriting none of the same HLA molecules as your sibling, and a 50 percent chance of inheriting half of the same HLA molecules as your sibling.

However, two unrelated people can just happen to be a good HLA match, too. Although it is less likely, it is possible that you could have some of the same HLA molecules as a friend or as someone you don’t even know. If you and your friend share three HLA molecules, for example, then you are said to be a “three HLA antigen match.”(Web Source)

The Process of HLA Typing

HLA typing assesses the particular HLA genes that you have inherited (i.e., your string colors). Because there are a number of different HLA genes, as well as different variations of these genes, there are very many different possible color combinations that together make up your specific HLA type.

HLA typing also usually includes testing for antibodies targeted to specific HLA proteins. Antibodies are made by part of the immune system. If a person already has an antibody against an HLA protein (i.e., if it already is primed to attack a certain color string), it may attack that protein if it is transplanted. This may cause the transplant to fail. So generally, you shouldn’t receive a transplant from someone if you already have an antibody against one of their HLA proteins.(Web Source)

HLA is much more complicated than blood typing because there are many more HLA markers that make a person’s cells unique. There are only eight basic blood types, and many people can safely receive more than one type of blood (depending on their type). To receive only blood from a person, you do not need to be an HLA match, because HLA is not present on red blood cells.

However, to receive a solid organ transplant, the recipient must have a compatible blood type with the donor, as well as the best HLA match possible. For stem cell donations, one needs a very strong HLA match, but blood type is not as important as it is for solid organ transplants.

Because the HLA genes are located close together on your DNA, they are usually inherited as a group—you inherit a whole set of colors not just one individual color at a time. Your HLA type is composed of the set of HLA genes you inherited from your mother and the HLA genes you inherited from your father. In our analogy, the HLA genes contain information about the "color of the strings" your cells will have.

Biological parents always share half of their HLA proteins with their child. This is also called a “half match.” Conversely, a child always is a half match with their parents. In our analogy, a child would share half of the colors on his cells with each of his parents.1

Siblings who share both parents are most likely to be an identical HLA match. Such siblings have a 1 in 4 chance of being a perfect HLA match (with perfectly matching colored strings).

There is also about a one in two chance that siblings will share half of the HLA markers and be a half-match.

Because siblings only have a one in four chance of being HLA identical, it’s not uncommon for people not to have anyone in their family that is a close match.5

For a solid organ transplant (like a kidney) that can be given by living donors, it may be worth getting HLA typing for other members of the family as well: uncles, aunts, (and more) to help find a good match. Because stem cell donations require a higher percentage of HLA matches, it is less likely that a suitable match will be found this way.

Ethnicity

Groups of HLA “colors” run in certain ethnic groups. So even if someone in your family isn’t a good match, it may be more likely that someone from a shared genetic heritage will be a match for you. This is part of the reason it may be harder for some people to find a good HLA match than others.

For example, bone marrow registries currently contain fewer potential donors of African American descent. This may make it less likely that these individuals can find a good HLA match from a non-relative.5

How Is It Performed?

HLA typing is a genetic test. For the test, you’ll need to give some sort of tissue sample. This is usually from a swab from inside your cheek or from a blood sample drawn from a vein in your arm.6 Usually, no preparation for the test is necessary. The sample will probably need to be sent to a specialized center for analysis. Since HLA typing is not a commonplace blood test, you may want to check with your insurance carrier ahead of time to assess for coverage and cost.

How Many HLA Matches Do You Need?

Ideally, the donor and recipient would be perfectly HLA matched. However, this is not always possible. The details of this depend on the specific type of transplant and on other medical circumstances.

Stem cell transplantation is often a greater challenge than solid organ transplantation in terms of the importance of a good HLA match. In both, there is a risk that the cells of transplant recipient may attack the donated tissue. But in a stem cell transplant, there is also a chance that some of the donated cells may also attack the cells of the transplant recipient. This is known as graft-versus-host disease.7 So, people receiving stem cell donations usually need to have a higher percentage of matches than people receiving a solid organ.

People receiving solid organ donations tend to do better if they have a better HLA match. For example, 10 years after a kidney transplant, you are more likely to still have a functioning kidney if you received a kidney with a full HLA match than if you received only a half HLA match.

Different doctors and medical institutions may have different guidelines about the number of HLA matches needed to go ahead with a transplant. But in certain situations, you might still be able to have a transplant with a smaller number of matches.

Your doctor will work with you to find the best treatment option if you haven’t yet found a good transplant match. In some cases, you may want to go ahead with a transplant that isn’t a very good match. In other cases, you may want to receive other treatments while you wait for a better match to potentially become available. It’s challenging to wait, but sometimes that is the best option. (Web Source)