Cancer chronotherapy; Switzerland legalizes CAM

[Guest guest]

From Ralph Moss:

http://www.cancerdecisions.com/content/view/213/2/lang,en/

Saturday, 20 June 2009 TIME AND CANCER

I am about to take off for another conference (my third this month)-

this one on " Circadian Disruption and Cancer " at the New York Academy of

Sciences. This will be an all-day conference on June 19, 2009. It will

bring together various scientists, including some of the world's leading

" chronobiologists " to determine the various mechanisms by which

circadian disruption increases cancer incidence and cancer growth rate.

What is " circadian disruption " ? The most obvious example is

insomnia-when your normal sleep patterns are disrupted. I hope therefore

to learn new information about how sleep affects one's health and the

growth of cancer. I expect there to be a significant discussion of the

role of the pituitary hormone, melatonin, as a cancer treatment. I also

look forward to discussions of " chronomodulated chemotherapy, " wherein

drugs are administered at particular times of the day and night to

increase their effectiveness and/or diminish adverse effects.

The cochairs of the meeting are the esteemed JM Hrushesky, MD,

University of South Carolina/ WJB Dorn VA Medical Center and

Blask, PhD, MD, Tulane University School of Medicine. I am particularly

looking forward to Dr. Block's presentation, " Making circadian

cancer therapy practical. "

 

THE CANCER GUIDES II CONFERENCE

The four day Cancer Guides II meeting, held by the Center for Mind-Body

Medicine (CMBM) was a resounding success. Between us and the concurrent

& lsquo;Food as Medicine' conference we were about 500 strong. There were

many highlights. I was particularly struck by Congressman Conyer's

opening remarks, the friendly greetings from Senator Tom Harkin and from

Margaret Hamburg, MD, the new commissioner of the Food and Drug

Administration, and the fascinating lunchtime speech of Lieutenant

General B. Schoomaker, MD, PhD, surgeon general of the Army and

Commander, U.S. Army Medical Command. CAM is making big inroads in the

Army and the VA system. All very inspiring!

We also heard from Gordon, MD, head of CMBM, and from phine P.

Briggs, MD, the new director of the National Center for Complementary

and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). E. Dieter Hager, MD, PhD, and his

colleague, Friedrich Migeod, MD, came from Bad Bergzabern, Germany to

present their results at the Biomed Klinik.

 

 

BIG NEWS FROM SWITZERLAND

From them I learned a very interesting fact. On May 17, 2009, the people

of Switzerland voted in favor of a constitutional amendment that

supports the use of complementary medicine (CAM). A total of 67 percent

of the population voted in favor. Thus Switzerland becomes the first

country in Europe to set out in its constitution authority for the

national government and its constituent states to take CAM into

consideration in its health services. It is an astonishing victory and

may set the model for other countries as well. I hope to go to

Switzerland at some point in the future to see how this change is

affecting medical care, particularly the treatment of cancer.

--Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D.

To check out my latest Current Topic report, Cancer, Enzymes and

Trophoblasts: The Legacy of Beard, DSc. (click here)

Where to Go? - CAM Resources in Selected Metropolitan Regions

The Where To Go? series continues to attract favorable reviews from

readers. Already available are Where To Go? - Germany (Complementary And

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Where To Go? - Philadelphia, Where To Go? - Chicago and Where To Go? -

Boston. These reports offer useful information on regional availability

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For more information, or to purchase any of these reports, please click

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Cancer Decisions® & Current Topics Reports