Prostate Cancer Treatment in Mexico
About Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is a significant concern in the United States, with approximately one in five men being diagnosed with this disease at some point in their lives. While it can be lethal if it metastasizes to other organs, early detection can lead to successful treatment. The primary treatment avenues are surgery, radiation, and hormone-blocking medications.
Symptoms of Prostate Cancer
In many cases, over 60% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not exhibit any symptoms at the time of diagnosis. The disease might only be indicated by an elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level, which can be detected through screening tests. In some instances, a tumor can be felt during a digital rectal examination. Advanced stages of the disease may present symptoms such as difficulties in urination, pelvic discomfort, and blood in the semen. If the cancer spreads beyond the prostate, it can cause additional symptoms, including bone pain.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of prostate cancer involves several tools, including:
- PSA Test: A blood test used to measure the level of PSA in the blood, which can be an indicator of prostate cancer.
- Biopsy: A procedure where a small sample of prostate tissue is removed and examined under a microscope to check for cancer cells.
- MRI: Utilized to create detailed images of the prostate and surrounding tissues.
- Transrectal Ultrasonography: A test that uses sound waves to create an image of the prostate.
Most Common Associated Conditions
Treatment for prostate cancer can potentially damage the nerves and muscles near the prostate, bladder, and bowel, leading to side effects such as erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence, decreased libido, and infertility.
Prostate Cancer Conventional Treatments
The conventional treatments for prostate cancer encompass various approaches, including:
Surgery
- Radical (Open) Prostatectomy: This involves the surgical removal of the entire prostate along with the seminal vesicles.
- Robotic or Laparoscopic Prostatectomy: A less invasive alternative to radical prostatectomy, potentially reducing recovery time.
- Bilateral Orchiectomy: This procedure involves the surgical removal of both testicles.
Radiation Therapy
- External-Beam Radiation Therapy: The most prevalent type of radiation treatment, where a machine outside the body focuses a beam of x-rays on the cancerous area.
- Brachytherapy: This internal radiation therapy involves inserting radioactive sources directly into the prostate.
- Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT): Utilizes CT scans to create a 3D image of the prostate before treatment, allowing for more precise radiation therapy.
- Proton Therapy: A type of external-beam radiation therapy that uses protons instead of x-rays to treat the cancer.
Radiation therapy can cause side effects such as increased urinary urgency or frequency, sexual dysfunction, bowel issues, and fatigue. However, these side effects generally subside post-treatment.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells, typically by halting their growth and division. This treatment is administered by a medical oncologist, a specialist in treating cancer with medication.
Moving Forward
Understanding the nuances of prostate cancer, from its symptoms to its treatment options, is crucial in navigating this disease.
Autologous Immunotherapy
This treatment involves using a patient’s own immune cells to fight cancer. The cells are extracted, treated, and then reintroduced into the patient’s body to target and destroy cancer cells.
It offers a personalized approach to cancer treatment, utilizing the patient’s immune system to target cancer cells specifically, which often results in fewer side effects compared to conventional treatments.
Pharmacological Immunotherapy
This involves the use of drugs or substances to enhance the immune system’s ability to fight cancer, often targeting specific pathways or mechanisms involved in cancer growth.
It can potentially improve the effectiveness of other treatments, help prevent recurrence, and may be used to target cancers that are resistant to other forms of treatment.
Dendritic Enhancers
These are treatments that boost the function of dendritic cells, which are immune cells that play a crucial role in initiating immune responses against cancer cells.
Enhancing dendritic cell function can potentially increase the body’s ability to recognize and attack cancer cells, improving the overall effectiveness of the immune response against cancer.
Systemic Perfusion Hyperthermia
This treatment involves raising the body’s temperature to create an environment that is unfavorable for cancer cells, potentially making them more susceptible to other treatments.
Hyperthermia can enhance the effectiveness of other treatments like chemotherapy and radiation by increasing the vulnerability of cancer cells to these treatments.
Mistletoe
Mistletoe extract is used as a complementary treatment in cancer therapy, believed to stimulate the immune system and improve quality of life.
It has been shown to reduce side effects of conventional cancer treatments and improve patient well-being, potentially enhancing the overall effectiveness of cancer treatment plans.
Glutathione
A powerful antioxidant that helps protect cells from damage and supports the liver in removing toxins from the body.
It can potentially protect healthy cells from damage during chemotherapy and enhance the body’s ability to detoxify, supporting overall health during cancer treatment.
Personalized Nutrition
A tailored nutrition plan designed to support the individual needs of cancer patients, promoting overall health and supporting the body during treatment.
Proper nutrition can help to maintain body strength, keep the immune system functioning optimally, and potentially improve treatment outcomes.
Vitamin D IV
Intravenous administration of vitamin D, which is known to have various health benefits including supporting immune function.
It can potentially enhance the immune response to cancer and improve the effectiveness of other treatments, as well as help to maintain bone health in cancer patients.
Zinc
An essential mineral that is known to support immune function and promote wound healing.
Supplementing with zinc can potentially enhance immune responses and help to maintain overall health during cancer treatment.
Melatonin
A hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles and has been found to have antioxidant and immune-enhancing properties.
It can potentially improve sleep quality in cancer patients and enhance the effectiveness of other treatments through its immune-modulating and antioxidant effects.
Curcumin
A compound found in turmeric that has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
It has been shown to inhibit the growth of various cancer cells in laboratory studies and may enhance the effectiveness of other cancer treatments through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects
Immunotherapy
The goal of cancer immunotherapy is to improve the body’s natural ability to find and destroy cancer cells. Successful immunotherapeutic approaches stimulate the natural defenses of the immune system and provide new ways to attack cancer. This is possible with comprehensive interventions that include cell therapy / immuno-pharmacological therapy in combination with nutritional, endocrine measures and supplements.
Vaccines
Cancer vaccines deliver a cancer-specific protein to the body and direct the immune system to target cells that contain that protein. A vaccine developed for prostate cancer called was designed to trigger the immune system to attack cells that have PSA on their surface.
T-cell immunotherapy
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-modified T-cell immunotherapy involves taking the patient’s T cells, genetically engineering the T cells to produce receptors that direct them to the cancer cells, and returning these CAR T cells to the patient’s body (NCI 2017b).
Dendritic enhancer or T-cell modulators
T-cell Modulators are peptide chains composed of tens of amino acids that appear to store all the experience of the immune system. The great intellectual leap to understand is that T-cell Modulators do not transfer antibodies nor create them directly, but its function is to educate, and teach the immune cells to recognize specific antigens that could happen to them unnoticed i.e. Prostate malignant cells.
T-cell Modulators do not cure anything but work to make a “smarter” immune system so that it
is the body itself eliminating disease. They are therefore vital in developing the strategies of the immune system against cancer.
T-cell Modulators contains several immunoactive components that have been shown to act synergistically in raising Dendritic and NK function and also effective as adjuvant therapy in Prostate cancer treatments, elevating dendritic and NK function as much as 250%
Hyperthermia
Hyperthermia involves the use of heat to directly treat a tumor or increase the vulnerability of cancer cells to other forms of treatment, such as immunotherapy, vitamin C, chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
Concerning clinical trials, hyperthermia has already shown antitumor activity and has a potential role in the treatment of prostate cancer.
Non-ablative or mild hyperthermia (HT) has been shown in preclinical and clinical studies as a localized sensitizer that enhances the tumoricidal effects of immunotherapy, radiation or chemotherapy.
A novel, minimally invasive interventional technique, HT has been suggested to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy for solid organ tumors.
Thus, hyperthermia may be a promising approach in prostate cancer treatment that enhances the cytotoxic effect of the chosen therapeutics.
Liposomal Mistletoe
Mistletoe helps fight tumor-induced immune suppression. Natural killer cells (NK) are a type of white blood cell that looks for and destroys Prostate cancer cells. Research has shown that NK cells can spontaneously recognize and kill a variety of Prostate cancer cells.
Mistletoe has been called a “biological response modifier” due to its ability to improve various aspects of immune function. Studies show that it activates natural killer cells, T cells, macrophages and monocytes.
A special proprietary form of liposomal mistletoe created with nanotechnology has been created for use in our Prostate cancer treatment approach.
Gluthatione
Glutathione is the most important antioxidant produced by your body and a master detoxifier of every cell in your body. It prevents cellular damage caused by free radicals and peroxides.
Glutathione metabolism is able to play both protective and pathogenic roles. It is crucial in the removal and detoxification of carcinogens, and alterations in this pathway can have a profound effect on cell survival. However, by conferring resistance to a number of chemotherapeutic drugs, elevated levels of glutathione in tumor cells are able to protect such cells
Personalized nutrition
A typical diet, characterized by dependence on animal products, refined carbohydrates and unhealthy fats such as processed vegetable oils, can promote an inflammatory environment in the body. A pro-inflammatory diet has been associated with an increased risk of Prostate cancer and an increased risk of death from Prostate cancer.
We custom-make a diet targeted to enhance the immune system’s ability to heal and provide our patients with the right nutrition for their current and long-term needs.
Vitamin D
Patients with higher vitamin D levels were significantly less likely to die from the disease (Mondul 2016). In another study, short-term supplementation with high-dose vitamin D for three to eight weeks lowered PSA levels (Wagner 2013).
Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy can weaken the bones of prostate cancer patients, but supplemental vitamin D may help prevent fractures in these patients (Ottanelli 2015; Dueregger 2014).
A study examining factors associated with bone preservation in prostate cancer patients using hormone therapies found that those taking vitamin D supplements experienced less bone loss in their lower-back vertebrae (Alibhai 2013).
Zinc
Healthy prostate cells accumulate zinc to accomplish their normal cellular functions. In contrast, prostate cancer cells have depleted zinc stores, which makes them less susceptible to cell death.
Melatonin
Melatonin, a hormone best known for its role in regulating sleep, is also emerging as a promising anti-cancer agent. Evidence to date has shown that melatonin can interfere with cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis.
Fish Oil and Omega-3 Fatty Acids
These fatty acids have many health benefits and may even slow the growth of prostate cancer. In laboratory and animal studies, omega-3 fatty acids were found to inhibit inflammation, interfere with blood vessel growth in tumors, and cause cancer cells to die.
In a study that included more than 290,000 men, those who reported high fish and high omega-3 fatty acid intake on diet questionnaires at the beginning of the study were significantly less likely to die from prostate cancer during approximately 20 years of follow up
Curcumin Liposomal
Curcumin, a carotenoid pigment extracted from the spice turmeric, has well-established anti-inflammatory and oxidative stress-reducing effects. In laboratory studies, curcumin interfered with cancer growth signals, decreased androgen receptor activity, reduced production of PSA, and slowed tumor growth
Diseases Treated at Integrative Immunotherapy Institute
Questions? We've got answers.
How do you handle complications or side effects?
Patients are monitored daily during treatment. Side effects are tracked, documented, and addressed in real time; sometimes with medication adjustments, sometimes with supportive therapy, occasionally by pausing a treatment. The treating physician reviews the patient's status every day the patient is on-site.
Can I continue treatments I'm already on at home?
Usually yes, but it depends on the specific medication and how it interacts with our protocol. Bring a complete medication list to the consultation. We coordinate with your home physician where possible.
Will my treatment plan change while I'm here?
Sometimes. Blood work, imaging, and response markers are checked during your stay, and the protocol is adjusted if the data suggests it should be. Any meaningful change is reviewed with you before it's implemented.
How is my treatment plan decided?
After we receive your medical records, imaging, and pathology, your case is reviewed by the medical board. They draft a proposed protocol, which therapies, in what sequence, over how many days. You then have a consultation with the treating physician to review it, ask questions, and adjust before anything begins.
Do you offer CAR-T therapy?
Yes, we offer CAR-T therapy in addition to our broader autologous immunotherapy program. Both are built on the same core principle; collecting the patient's own immune cells, engineering or activating them to better recognize cancer, and reinfusing them to do the work. The specifics of which approach fits your case, and how it's delivered, are reviewed during the medical consultation.
What supportive therapies do you offer?
IV vitamin C, ozone therapy, hyperbaric oxygen, peptide therapy, IV nutrition, metabolic support, lymphatic therapy, and others, selected based on the patient's case, not applied as a fixed menu. These are supportive, not curative; they're used to help the body tolerate and respond to the core treatment.
Do you use radiation?
Radiation is not delivered on-site. When radiation is part of the recommended plan, we coordinate with established radiation oncology centers and incorporate it into the broader protocol.
Do you use chemotherapy?
We do, when it's the right tool for a given case, and we say so clearly. For some cancers, low-dose or fractionated chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy is more effective than immunotherapy alone. We don't reject chemo as a category; we use it strategically and at the lowest effective dose.
Do you only treat late-stage or terminal patients?
No. We see patients at every stage, newly diagnosed, in active treatment elsewhere, in remission and looking to lower recurrence risk, and patients who have exhausted conventional options. The protocol is adjusted to the situation.
How does diet affect my immune system?
Our immune system is our army, responsible for protecting us from any possible threat, internal or external. Our food supply is full of chemicals more now than ever, to create shelf life and to preserve the quality of the product, and to avoid contamination, yet it is not related to nutrient lifespan. We now know that food can trigger inflammation and alter our digestive processes, potentially leading to severe dysfunction and disease.
Why are supplements part of the Institute nutritional plan?
Supplements are a main part of a healthy diet regimen. We offer a more specialized line of supplements to our patients designed for them. Our medical team takes into consideration your medical history, lab work, specific medical tests, genetics, physical state, lifestyle, age, gender and type of disease.
Your supplements are reviewed and altered with time as our patients heal and their body finds the balance it needs.
What are the characteristics of the Institute nutrition plan?
Our nutritional plan is:
- Chemical and preservatives free.
- Organic fruit and vegetables.
- Hormone free meat.
- Personalized supplements.
- Metal and mercury free fish.
- Hypo allergenic.
- Gluten and diary free to promote immune tolerance.
- Alkaline to optimize the internal environment to fight and overcome cancer.
How do you create my nutrition plan?
Your personalized nutritional plan is developed, reviewed and redefined by our specialized medical team with our clinical nutritionist, kitchen staff and functional trained chefs.
They take into consideration your unique needs in a stressful situation, nutritional deficiencies, the nutritive food you desperately need, allergies and personal preference of taste and food appearance.
What is the main difference between Enhanced Low Dose Chemo vs conventional chemotherapy?
At the immunotherapy Institute, we use a proprietary method called “Enhanced Low Dose Chemotherapy”, this is a metabolic-supported low dose chemotherapy.
“Enhanced Low Dose Chemotherapy” targets a cell and changes its composition.
First, it attacks the cancer cell through its internal environment and then via the external environment by “prepping” the cancer cell so it becomes more vulnerable to treatment.
In more simple words, “Enhanced Low Dose Chemotherapy” is just a fraction of the normal dose and it only goes after the cancer cells instead of your whole body, which reduces or eliminates the horrible side-effects of conventional chemo.
What kind of hyperthermia do you offer?
There are two types, regional and systemic.
Regional refers to the increase of temperature of a single zone or area.
Systemic is whole-body hyperthermia, which refers to the increase in temperature to hyperthermic levels over the entire body.
Hyperthermia is proven to enhance the effect of anti-cancer treatments like immunotherapy and conventional treatments such as chemo or radiation.
Positive trials have established hyperthermia, in combination with anti-cancer drugs, as a breakthrough cancer treatment.
Hyperthermia doesn’t have any side effects.
Another thing you might wonder is, How long will each session be?
We see great outcomes with 2 to 4 hour-long sessions.
What are the benefits of the hyperthermia we use at our center?
It’s fast acting. You’ll feel results within the first couple of sessions.
You’ll be alert, you won’t have to go through sedation and anesthesia.
You won’t experience any discomfort, which allows for a much larger period, and hence, achieves in a single session, what would take us up to 8 sessions to achieve with other methods.
What is the difference between the Immunotherapy offered through your program and what my doctors are recommending at home?
There are two main types of immunotherapy, chemical, and autologous immunotherapy; we have seen great success with the latter.
In the autologous cellular immunotherapy process, we collect your immune cells and infuse them back into your body after culture.
In the process we activate the anti-tumor response and “train these cells” to effectively target and attack cancer cells.
Autologous Cellular Immunotherapy is made out of specific types of cells mainly Dendritic, NK cells and T lymphocytes.
These cells act against the cancer cells and recharge the immune system.
When they find a tumor cell, the NK and T cells bind themselves to its membrane and inject toxins which kill the cancer cell.
In less than five minutes, the cancer cell dies and the NK and T cells move on to their next target.
Every single case has different specifications, which is why its so important to explore your unique situation.
To find out if this is the right therapy for you, please contact us via phone or Facebook.
What are the side effects of cancer treatment?
Because our program employs natural treatments that only enhance the body’s own natural ability to attack cancer, there’s no negative side-effects. Patients who have previously undergone chemotherapy will be administered a chemo-preconditioning program that will decrease the negative side-effects like, such as hair loss, nausea, toxicity, anemia, and others, until the body is in optimal condition for our treatment program.
What is the probability of curing my cancer?
Unfortunately there’s no guarantees, however our statistical studies have shown that if admitted into our program, there’s a very high chance that the patient will have a positive outcome, in fact on average, 80% of our cancer patients have managed to control their cancer into a manageable state that allows them to gain quality-of-life and avoid the major set-backs known to most cancer patients, or in many cases have completely cured their cancer. Please talk to our doctors so that they can assess your situation and provide a better idea of your possibilities.
Can I undergo treatment at the Institute if I've undergone chemotherapy?
Yes, many of our patients are still doing chemotherapy or have had it done in the past. One of the great benefits of our treatments is that it doesn’t affect being in chemo like most other treatments, in fact, many of our most successful cases have already done chemo in the past. Our treatments will precondition the body to eliminate the toxic effects from previous chemotherapy to get the body to its optimal condition for the treatment.
Can the Institute treat Stage IV cancer?
Yes, in fact, over half of cancer patients are stage IV and although each patient’s outcome is different based on their current health situation, medical history, eating habits, and overall lifestyle, our studies have shown that 90% of our cancer patients have benefited from our treatments. It’s very important that patients in stage 4 make timely decisions because time is of the essence for the treatment to take a positive effect.