Promising Early Cancer Tests Able to Detect Stage 0 Cancer
Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in the March 2017 edition of TTAC’s Heroes Against Cancer member newsletter.
There’s exciting news on the cancer front… three early detection cancer tests are reported to detect most cancers when the tumors are only about the size of a pencil tip (about the size of the period at the end of this sentence). Cancer at such an early stage is known as Stage 0 cancer and it is reversible virtually 100% of the time.
Other than finding a universal cure for cancer, being able to detect cancer when it is in the earliest stage of development has been the “Holy Grail” of cancer research. Quite simply, the earlier cancer is detected, the better the odds are of beating it. Thanks to revolutionary new advances in cancer testing and detection, we may finally be on the verge of being able to detect many (if not most) types of cancer much earlier than ever before.
The early detection cancer tests are also reported to be extremely accurate as well as relatively affordable. One of the tests, whose cost is estimated to be $850 or less, is able to detect cancer 99% of the time and it identifies where the cancer is located 97% of the time. Another test, which detects lung cancer in very early stages of development, costs around $1,200. A third test detects the amount of cancer in the body (but not the location), and is set to cost less than $200. Even better news is that all of this vital information is available from simple blood tests!
One potential course of action is that working with a qualified healthcare provider, a person could use the less expensive test to identify the presence of cancer. If that test comes back positive then one could proceed using the second test to determine the type and location of the cancer, and what kind of treatment will be most effective. Thereafter, the less expensive test could be used to monitor treatment progress.
In other words, for around $1,000 to $1,350 you could detect the presence of cancer, identify it, and begin a therapeutic program to eliminate it in the very earliest stages. Meanwhile you could be monitoring progress periodically with tests costing less than $200.
If these tests work as predicted, existing medical tests such as mammograms, colonoscopy, and PSA testing could become obsolete for many kinds of cancer.
Liquid Biopsies and Other Early Detection Tests
Jenny Hrbacek, RN
Author, registered nurse, and cancer survivor Jenny Hrbacek talked about the early detection cancer tests during this author’s The Best Years in Life radio show in October 2016. Ms. Hrbacek is perhaps the go-to authority on early cancer detection, which is a major topic of her book Cancer Free! Are You Sure?
Ms. Hrbacek said that two of the most promising early detection tests are so-called liquid biopsies. These are non-invasive tests that require only a drop of blood and test for the presence of the Enox2 protein – a protein which is only produced on the surface of cancer cells.
Here are some details on these cancer tests and how you can access them:
The ONCOblot® Test
You may have heard about The ONCOblot® test, developed by ONCOblot® Labs in Coppell, Texas, previously on The Truth About Cancer, as it is a favorite test of several of the docu-series experts. The ONCOblot technology is in the process of changing hands after the death of the owner, and is forecast to be available once again in early April 2017.
Under its previous ownership, ONCOblot was able to detect 20 different sites of origin for cancer and 25 different types of cancer. Results for the test have typically taken about three weeks. The cancers detected by the test included:
- Bladder
- Breast
- Cervical
- Colorectal
- Endometrial
- Esophageal
- Gastric
- Hepatocellular
- Kidney
- Leukemia
- Non-Small cell
- Lung Small cell
- Lymphoma
- Melanoma
- Mesothelioma
- Myeloma
- Ovarian
- Pancreatic
- Prostate
- Sarcoma
- Squamous Cell
- Follicular Thyroid
- Papillary Thyroid
- Testicular Germ Cell
- Uterine
The way ONCOblot® testing works is that a test kit is ordered and delivered to your physician (the kit must be ordered by a physician). Blood is then drawn and the completed test kit is sent back to ONCOblot® Labs. It typically takes about 3 weeks (15 business days) for ONCOblot® Labs to complete the test and send the results back to your doctor.
A study published in the journal Clinical Proteomics found that the ONCOblot® test detected mesothelioma 4 to 8 years in advance of clinical symptoms.
EarlyCDT®-Lung Test
EarlyCDT®-Lung is a blood test that has the ability to help detect cancer before it is visible on the standard CT diagnostic test usually used to find lung cancer. The test measures seven auto-antibodies to aid in the detection of lung cancer earlier and with higher specificity than CT scans.
Lung cancer is the most common cancer in men and the fourth most common cancer in women. Each year, lung cancer kills nearly 160,000 Americans – taking more lives than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney, and skin cancers combined. Lung cancer is usually only detected after symptoms appear, when the cancer is in its latest stages. If lung cancer is detected early, at Stage I or Stage II, survival rates triple. Find out more at: http://www.myinnovativelab.com/lung-cancer/
Why Tumor Size Matters When It Comes to Cancer Detection
The ONCOblot® and EarlyCDT® tests can detect cancer which has as few as 2 million cells. By comparison, standard cancer tests such as CT scans are unable to detect cancer until the cancer has grown to anywhere from several billion cells to trillions of cells. In other words, these tests are able to detect cancer when it is anywhere from several thousands of times smaller than conventional cancer tests to over a million times smaller.
Traditional cancer tests often do not detect cancer tumors until they are pea sized (8mm) and become clearly visible on CT scans. In lung cancer, fast-growing lung tumors such as large or small cell carcinomas grow to the size of a pinhead in an average of 1.1 years. The tumors reach pea size at 2.3 years.
A little over a year later, at 3.4 years, the fast-growing tumors will be the size of a golf ball, which is the point where tumors become clinically apparent and physical symptoms appear. From there, the tumors grow to the size of a grapefruit at 4.6 years, which is the terminal stage (the stage where death occurs).
Intermediate-growing lung tumors, such as squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas, reach the size of a pinhead at 4.2 years, the size of a pea at 8.4 years, the size of a golf ball at 12.6 years, and grapefruit size (terminal size) at 16.8 years.
Thus one can see the rapid growth rate of cancers from the time they are only a pinhead in size until death occurs. Fast-growing tumors go from golf ball size where symptoms become apparent, to death in little more than a year.
What to Do If Cancer Is Detected in Early Stages
When cancer is detected in a very early stage, relatively simple natural cancer therapies and good health practices may be all that is needed to eliminate the cancer. However, most people have been conditioned to treat all cancers using mainstream treatments – especially chemotherapy. Not to mention that most mainstream oncologists are going to recommend chemotherapy even when the cancer has been detected early. What many people are unaware of is that non-traditional (i.e. natural or alternative) cancer therapies can be more successful than mainstream therapies for virtually all cancers, and that is especially true of cancers which are detected early.
Instead of opting for conventional cancer treatments which are harsh, expensive, and often dangerous, cancers in early stages can be healed with fairly simple and inexpensive natural therapies. These might include detoxing and avoiding future toxins, changing to a healthier anti-cancer lifestyle, employing a healthy diet which includes cancer-fighting and immune boosting foods, and using natural anti-cancer supplements that support the immune system.
The Truth About Cancer website, the Heroes Against Cancer newsletter, and TTAC docu-series are all filled with information about how to naturally beat cancer and keep cancer at bay.
Chemo Sensitivity Testing
Chemo sensitivity testing is an emerging field with great promise for improving patient outcomes. Many people end up opting for chemotherapy due to urging by their doctor and/or oncologist, as well as pressure from family and friends. Therefore it is important to be aware that conventional chemotherapy can be greatly enhanced with chemo sensitivity tests. These tests enable a person to personalize their treatment by finding out which drugs are most effective against their particular cancer(s). Sadly, the majority of patients are never offered the option of such tests. If you or a loved one does choose to go the allopathic cancer treatment route, it would be a very good idea to inquire about (and insist on!) such tests.
A chemo sensitivity assay is a laboratory test that measures the number of tumor cells that are killed by a particular cancer drug once tumor cells have been removed from the body. The assay may help in choosing the best drug or drugs for the cancer being treated with a goal of giving each patient the best opportunity for a positive response to their drug treatment.
As Ms. Hrbacek explains, the word “goal” is used advisedly because even though drug therapy can be effective against cancer cells, it is not a cure. There are inherent problems administering any cytotoxic drug, even if it is the best choice for the patient’s tested cancer cells. Side effects can be debilitating and lasting. Plus, tumors have the ability to develop drug resistance. That means patients need repeat sensitivity testing and adjustments to the treatment plan. Perhaps most importantly, drug therapy does not address the root causes that enabled cancer to first gain a foothold.
