Stem cells

Stem cells have been a highly debated issue for many years now - and not just due to the fetal stem cell issue - because of the possiblity of cancer stem cells. They have been lauded as the next best thing since sliced bread in the fight against cancer and other diseases. But what if there were cancer stem cells which were resistant to treatment and regrew tumor cells? This is the latest theory meaning that even aftrer treaqtment they will regrow.

 

So maybe the thoughts on cancer treatment need to focus not on the tumor but on the cancer stem cells to prevent regrowth? This would be a whole new area of focus in cancer research and treatment. Hmmm... More studies (of course) will be needed (we need to keep the researchers busy) but we need to realize that this also shows us that with all the progress we have made in treating cancer, we still have a long way to go.

I wouldn't try this

I think the whole concept of stem cells and stem cell transplants is pretty cool and could open the door to many medical advances. However, I would not try with Governor Perry did. He went had back surgery in July and a very controversial stem cell transplant. He had fat cells taken from his body by liposuction and they were put back into his spine and blood stream.

The controversy is that stem cells are done with other cells - not fat cells. It is not known if fat cells will turn into a good kind of cells or cause a blood clot or turn into cancer cells. In addition the cells were grown in a petri dish where their sterility could have been compromised.

There are additional concerns because he is a powerful and influential person. Will his risky behavior influence others to have similar risky behaviors? I mean this goes back to the 'if all your friends jumped off a cliff would you' argument that you had with your parents at one time in your life.

My opinion is that I would prefer to have medical procedures that are proven and safe. He did this because he has a bad back. Um, I have a bad back and I'm not rushing to try anything like this anytime soon. I only have one spine and one blood stream. If either one of those was compromised, that would be a VERY bad thing. He may be a risk taker, but I am not. (I am not getting into the political discussion if he was president would he be a risk taker that could jeopardize the country.)

Stem cells

Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment (a novel event) and had to wait a few minutes to see the doctor so I grabbed a copy of A Woman's Health magazine (since I left my book on the check in desk and didn't realize it for a while).

I found the magazine relatively interesting and a couple article caught my eye - especially one on the uses of stem cells. I didn't realize you could use stem cells for much else than a few kinds of cancer but evidently you can. This is interesting. Maybe they will be able to cure all kinds of ailments with stem cells in the future. And they don't have to use the controversial embryonic cells, they can get them from adults.

Just a little interesting advance on something that has been known for a while.

That's all I have to say today. Other than the doctor was the surgeon who had sent me to PT and for injections on my left knee this spring. I told him my right knee, that he operated on 10 years ago has not been feeling that great. He wants to see me in three months to see how it is and maybe we'll talk x-rays, injections, etc then. Oh, joy.

The riddle of the cancer relapse

Cancer relapse or the 'Cancer Sleeper Cell' are oh-so-reassuring (NOT!). I read this article and paid attention to it - through all five pages. So they are now trying to figure out if cancer has its own stem cells. But they haven't quite figured it out yet. They are trying. They have been working in this area since at least 1974 - so in 36+ years they still aren't sure.

On one level its quite interesting and almost exciting that they are looking at cancer down at the cell level to see which ones are stem cells - capable of regenerating themselves. They are this deep into cancer biology that they are looking at it cell by cell, detail by detail. They can define different kinds of cells and know which ones they should treat differently.

On the other hand, its been more than 36 years so this must be quite a conundrum if it is yet to be resolved. Why is it so complicated? I don't know. They, meaning the researchers, don't know. Yet. Even going back to the ancient Greeks, they aren't sure. Is cancer what the Greeks called 'black bile'? Or is its secret hidden in the idea of a cancer stem cell?

All of this adds up to the cancer relapse riddle. Why do some relapse or recur and others not? Did the combination of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy get rid of every cancer cell in my body? They aren't sure. Just because a tumor has disappeared visually, that we can detect, we don't know if it had stem cells that could lead to recurrence. And there is no time limit on recurrence. What if they go dormant for years and then return.

Thyroid cancer is a relatively slow growing cancer. So if there are thyroid cancer stem cells, and they grow slowly, how long will it take them to be detectable. It is my understanding that current medical technology such as a CT, MRI, ultrasound, or Xray can only detect down to approximately half a centimeter. In a pathology lab, after that something is removed from your body - whether by biopsy or surgery, they can see into the cell but they have to have found it before they can take it out.

How fast do things grow? I had a breast MRI and they indicated a 'suspicious area' that they wanted another look at in six months. At the six month mark, it was a 0.7 cm tumor (benign that time).

Well, we can't run off for tests monthly and have to assume the best - if necessary, go read Candide and learn about the 'best of all possible worlds' and get some optimism. The cancer relapse is still a riddle and we have to live with it.