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I wear my Daffodil for the loss of my loved ones. Who are you wearing it for?

On Daffodil month Canadians wear a daffodil pin throughout the month of April to show their support for the thousands of people who are living with cancer and to remember those who have lost their precious life. April 27th is the actual Daffodil day. On this important day we encourage Canadians to do something special for those living with cancer or to contribute in some way to the fight against this disease.

Oncology Esthetics

A cancer diagnosis is life changing. As one navigates through surgical intervention, chemotherapy/biotherapy and radiation therapy, shifts in physical and emotional health occur.
Side effects from cancer treatment touch all aspects of the patient's life, including emotional and psychosocial issues, body-image issues, work-related and financial issues. Many patients find themselves overwhelmed and they can benefit greatly from supportive care.
Cancer treatments can lead to numerous skin related side effects. Therapy Oncology Esthetics can provide relief, easing symptoms and skin reactions, improving skin and overall health and restoring a sense of well-being. Complimentary therapies such as esthetics are not typically incorporated into standard patient care in most doctor's offices, hospital or cancer centres. Certified Oncology Estheticians can complete the circle of care that is provided to patients.
Oncology Estheticians' services compliment conventional cancer treatments. The purpose is not to treat the cancer itself but to treat the person as a whole. Complementary therapies help a person cope with cancer, its treatment or side effects and to feel better.

Managing the side effects of Chemotherapy
Mouth and throat

The goal of chemotherapy is to destroy cancer cells. Traditional chemotherapies work by killing cells that divide rapidly. As they wipe out fast-growing cancer cells, though, they can also damage fast-growing healthy cells.
Damage to blood cells, for example, leads to side effects such as anemia, fatigue, and infections. Chemotherapy can also damage the cells that line the mucous membranes found throughout the body, including those inside the mouth, throat, and stomach. This leads to mouth sores, diarrhea, or other problems with the digestive system. And damage to cells at hair roots, or hair follicles, leads to hair loss.
Take these steps:

Brush your teeth and tongue after each meal and before you go to bed. Use a very soft toothbrush or cotton swabs.
Use toothpaste or gel that has fluoride in it.

Every 3 hours during the day, mix together:
●1 cup warm water,
●1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and
●1/8 teaspoon salt.

Take small sips and swish them around in your mouth. Then rinse with plain water.

Keep your mouth and lips moist.
Use a lip balm.
Sip water or suck ice chips.
Try drinking through a straw.

Eat soft, bland foods.
Choose foods that are soft, wet, and easy to swallow. When your mouth is sore, try cooked cereals, mashed potatoes, and scrambled eggs.
Soften food with gravy, sauce, or other liquids.
Let food cool down if hot food hurts your mouth.

Don’t have things that can make your mouth hurt.
●Don’t drink orange, lemon, tomato, or grapefruit juice.
●Don’t drink alcohol, such as beer or wine.
●Don’t eat crunchy or spicy foods.
●Don’t have foods or drinks that have sugar in them, such as candy & soft drinks.
●Don’t smoke ci******es or use other to***co products.

SOURSOP...For all you that would like to taste this magical fruit. I finally found it in NO FRILLS (YONGE & 16TH) in Richmond Hill

Fruit that is powerful enough to kill Cancer
Soursop: Nature’s Cancer Killer that we never knew about. Besides being a cancer remedy, Graviola is a broad spectrum antimicrobial agent for both bacterial and fungal infections, is effective against internal parasites and worms, lowers high blood pressure and is used for depression, stress and nervous disorders.
Deep within the Amazon Rainforest, this tree grows wild and could literally revolutionize what you, your doctor, and the rest of the world thinks about cancer treatment and chances of survival.
Research shows that with extracts from this miraculous Soursop tree it now may be possible to:
• Attack cancer safely and effectively with an all-natural therapy that does not cause extreme nausea, weight loss and hair loss
• Protect your immune system and avoid deadly infections
• Feel stronger and healthier throughout the course of the treatment
• Boost your energy and improve your outlook on life
The source of this information is just as stunning: It comes from one of America’s largest drug manufacturers, the fruit of over 20 laboratory tests conducted since the 1970′s. What those tests revealed was nothing short of mind numbing…Extracts from the tree were shown to:
• Effectively target and kill malignant cells in 12 types of cancer, including colon, breast, prostate, lung and pancreatic cancer.
• The tree compounds proved to be up to 10,000 times stronger in slowing the growth of cancer cells than Adriamycin, a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug!
• What’s more, unlike chemotherapy, the compound extracted from the Graviola tree selectively hunts down and kills only cancer cells. It does not harm healthy cells!
Graviola, known scientifically as Annona muricata, is a tree that grows in the rain forests of sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. Folk medicine practitioners in those areas have long used extracts from the Graviola’s bark, leaves and twigs to treat their patients. Laboratory and animal studies indicate Graviola has a wide array of medicinal properties, but it has not yet been tested extensively in humans. Consult your doctor before self-treating with graviola or any other herbal remedy.
What It Is
Also known as Brazilian paw paw, guanabana and soursop, graviola is a relatively small evergreen tree that reaches a maximum height of 16 to 19 feet upon maturity. The tree bears an 8- to 12-inch-long spiny, green fruit that takes on a yellowish cast as it ripens. People living in the areas of graviola cultivation usually eat the fruit fresh after first discarding its spiny outer layer. The active ingredients in graviola are chemicals called acetogenins, which have shown an impressive variety of medicinal properties in laboratory testing. Specifically, graviola extracts have displayed antiparasitic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antirheumatic and cytotoxic properties, according to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Graviola also appears to have some usefulness as a painkiller.
Cancer will affect nearly 1 in 3 people at some stage in their life. With such a high rise in cancer rates, and very few treatment options (most of which leave you feeling incredibly ill and disable you for months, or even years), it is no wonder that a majority of cancer patients are turning to alternative medicine to help cure them of the disease. Nature is full of natural treatments, not just for cancer, but for many illnesses, such as the Soursop, which has been found to be 10,000 times stronger than chemotherapy at attacking and killing cancer.

Why have we not been aware of this natural medical treatment for cancer?
The main reason is because pharmaceutical companies are presently reproducing several annonaceous acetogenins in the laboratory. Since you cannot patent natural chemicals, these companies are trying to re-create the chemical structure in order to make synthetic acetogenin that can be patented and marketed to its full potential. There is no money to be made for pharmaceutical companies when it comes to Mother Nature and her promising medicinal plants. Until this plant’s active ingredient can be patented in such a way that money can be made from it, these companies will not support or fund clinical studies that will help support and prove to a further extent, this plant’s miraculous effects against disease and illness. Nature is the cure, we are aware that this plant is powerful, so why not use it as a prevention and a cure, when it is available in full abundance? We don’t need a drug made from the plant, all we need is the plant itself (and I assure you that this drug will likely be FAR more expensive when it is developed, than the fruit itself).
The soursop, a fruit of the flowering, evergreen Graviola tree (Scientific name: Annona muricata) is native to Mexico, Cuba, Central American, the Caribbean and northern South America. The fruit, roots, leaves and bark are all used in natural treatments, however, the active ingredient, Acetogenin, is most concentrated in the leaves of the plant. The fruit itself is very large and has a subacid sweetish pulp that can be eaten as whole or can be concentrated down to a fruit juice (the main way this fruit is consumed).
What diseases is this fruit effective against?
The Soursop leaf and bark have been shown to regulate blood sugar and cure diabetes. This has led to discoveries of the fruit’s effectiveness of disorders of the endocrine system: liver, kidney, thyroid, pancreas, o***y, prostate, intestines, gall bladder and appendix. It has also been shown to fight lung & breast cancer as well as brain tumours. It has been proven effective as an anti-spasmodic and eliminates dust mites that cause asthma and bronchial diseases. The leaf tea itself can cure liver issues, and improves pancreas functioning, while effectively de-worming children, and curing malaria. Lastly, it has been shown to raise immune defence in chemotherapy patients as well as HIV (AIDS) patients.
Why is this Soursop fruit so powerful?
In 1976, the anti-cancer activity of graviola leaves was first noted by the National Cancer Institute, stating that “The NCI, or the National Cancer Institute did some research on the guanabana cancer cure [sic] and came up with some interesting results. The study…showed that the leaves and stems of the plant were incredibly efficient at destroying certain cancerous cells in the body.” This study was not publicly released, however, subsequent research on graviola conducted at Purdue University has proven promising results.
Much of Purdue’s research focused on the anti-tumour properties of annonaceous acetogenins. Oberlies, Chang, and McLaughlin (1) found that tumour cells that are resistant to chemotherapy treatment, or, multi-drug resistant (MDR) cells, were effectively destroyed by acetogenins. MDR cells develop resistance to all chemotherapy treatments, leaving the patient at a dead end. MDR cells require incredible amounts of cellular energy (Adenosine triphosphate; ATP) in order to rid themselves of these chemotherapeutic drugs. This made MDR cancer cells prime targets for acetogenins that were found to effectively block ATP transfer into these cells, inhibiting their function in a way that eventually leads to cell death.
It is important to note as well, that researchers who have explored the mechanisms used by graviola are only specific to cancerous cells, and not healthy cells. Why? Because cancer cells have a consistently higher level of cellular activity, and thus produce a much higher level of ATP, and is better recognized and targeted by the acetogenin molecules. This is of benefit to the user since chemotherapy targets BOTH normal (such as stomach and hair cells) and cancerous cells, causing the often devastating side effects of nausea, weight loss, hair loss, and overall low quality of life for cancer patients. Graviola only targets cancerous cells, thus our other cells are left untouched.
One study conducted at the Catholic University of South Korea and published in the Journal of Natural Products stated that graviola was 10,000 times more effective against cancer than the popular chemotherapy drug, Adriamycin. A second study from South Korea showed that graviola had no negative activity on healthy cells (unlike the devastating effects Adriamycin has on the body), as we saw previously.
Is Graviola Safe?
Naturopath Leslie Taylor (2) acknowledges that alkaloids are highest in the seeds and roots of graviola and because of this, have shown neurotoxic effects in tests. She recommends, instead, using the leaves and pulp of the fruit when trying to treat certain illnesses (which is beneficial considering the leaves contain the highest concentration of acetogenins). Pregnant women should not consume large amounts of this fruit or the leaves, barks or seeds, as the fetus produces large amounts of ATP, thus acetogenins could attack the developing fetus.
Main Sources:
(1) Oberlies, N., Chang, C., & McLaughlin, J. (1997). Structure-activity relationships of diverse Annonaceous acetogenins against multidrug resistant human mammary adenocarcinoma (MCF-7/Adr) cells. Journal of Medical Chemistry, 17, 84-90.
(2) Taylor, L. (2005). The Healing Power of Rainforest Herbs. Square One Publishers
Additional sources via:
- http://www.graviola.org/
- http://www.cancernetwork.com/display/article/10165/1298303
- http://www.graviolaleaves.com/
- http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/69245.cfm
- http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400299/graviola-a-worthwhile-botanical-against-cancer
-http://www.rain-tree.com/reports/hsi_200510.pdf

What is Oncology Esthetics?

Oncology Esthetics expands the practice of cosmetic medical treatments to serve people with or recovering from cancer. Living with cancer means facing many changes, including changes to the health and vitality of your skin.

At Hope Cancer Wellness Centre, Spa & Boutique, we employ certified training in Advanced Oncology Esthetics to develop specialized skin care treatments for anyone currently undergoing or recovering from Cancer treatment.

In addition we offer custom formulations which are tailored to address the unique skin concerns that can arise with a cancer diagnosis, assisting in protecting the skin barrier before, during, and after cancer treatments such as chemo and other drug therapies. All of our formulations are designed to work in partnership with ailing skin structures to deliver calming and soothing ingredients to assist in the maintenance of your skin health.

Who can benefit from Oncology Esthetic treatments?

Cancer patients are not alone in facing health challenges that impact their skin.

While first developed to ensure better dermal treatment options for those with cancer, the underlying principles and skin soothing techniques of Oncology Esthetics can also be applied to the benefit of people suffering from a wide range of other conditions and disorders.

Health compromising conditions such as diabetes, neuropathy, autoimmune disorders, sensory impairments, hormone changes, advanced age, and many more can all result in a myriad of unwanted skin changes including extreme sensitivities and hyper-reactive skin.

Oncology Esthetics provides unique solutions for these sufferers, leading to relief of dry skin symptoms, better protected skin, and a healthier skin appearance. Our specialized skin care treatments are performed by a Qualified Dermal Therapist in a private and serene environment, designed to invoke calm and aid in relaxation.

I wear my Daffodil for the loss of my loved ones. Who are you wearing it for?

On Daffodil month Canadians wear a daffodil pin throughout the month of April to show their support for the thousands of people who are living with cancer and to remember those who have lost their precious life. April 27th is the actual Daffodil day. On this important day we encourage Canadians to do something special for those living with cancer or to contribute in some way to the fight against this disease.

What is Leukemia (Blood Cancer)?
Leukemia is cancer of the white blood cells and the cells from which they develop. The word cancer refers to diseases in which certain cells in the body become abnormal and grow unchecked. In this case, the abnormal cells are white blood cells and their precursors. Leukemia cells do not function normally and cannot do what normal white blood cells do, such as fight infections. In addition to the abnormal cells in the blood, other, normal elements such as platelets and red cells may be decreased, leading to anemia and clotting problems.
The most common types of leukemia are:
Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia – The cancer begins in immature lymphocytic blood cells and progresses very quickly. This is the most common type of leukemia in young children. It also occurs in adults, especially those over age 65. This cancer is sometimes called acute lymphoblastic leukemia or acute lymphoid anemia.
Acute Myelogenous Leukemia – The cancer begins in immature granulocytic blood cells and progresses very quickly. This type occurs in both adults and children. Other names include acute myelocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, acute granulocytic leukemia, or acute nonlymphocytic leukemia.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) – This cancer, also known as chronic lymphoid leukemia, begins in more mature lymphocytic blood cells and progresses gradually, often taking years to develop to the stage that the patient has symptoms other than a change in the number of white cells in his blood count. This type most often occurs in adults over age 55. It sometimes occurs in younger adults, but rarely occurs in children.
Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia – The cancer begins in more mature granulocytic blood cells and progresses gradually, sometimes taking years to develop to the stage that the patient develops symptoms. This occurs mainly in adults, but may occur in a very small number of children. Sometimes called chronic myeloid leukemia or chronic granulocytic leukemia.
Erythroleukemia – This is a cancer of the cells that produce red cells and is extremely uncommon. Erythroleukemia may also be called di Gugliemo’s syndrome, after the physician who first described it.
The cause of leukemia is unknown, but research shows that certain risk factors are associated with the disease, and the risk factors will vary with the type of leukemia