NEW HOPE FOR CANCER PATIENTS

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https://www.newsmax.com/scotfaulkner/photobiomodulation-pbm-cancer-oral-mucositis/2019/08/15/id/928715/

A new era of cancer treatment just dawned, giving hope to America's 15.5 million cancer survivors, and the estimated 1.8 million who will be diagnosed with cancer this year.

On June 22, 2019, the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) recommended the use of Photobiomodulation (PBM) as the standard of care for preventing and treating the side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. 

The tragic challenge of fighting cancer is that the treatments severely damage the patient’s body.  Chemotherapy, radiotherapy and stem cell transplants can cause inflammation and the formation of ulcers inside the mouth.  The painful sores make it painful to eat.  In severe cases, known as oral mucositis (OM), patients can no longer swallow food.

OM occurs in close to 40 percent of patients receiving chemotherapy and nearly 80 percent of patients receiving radiation therapy, according to the Centers for Disease Control. 

OM can disrupt cancer therapy.  The pain is excruciating.  A feeding tube is usually required, sometimes cancer therapy is suspended so the patient can recover.  Under these circumstances, the cancer treatment may be less effective, and patients can become depressed and demoralized by these multiple shocks to their system.  Quality of life is significantly diminished.

Photobiomodulation (PBM) is a light therapy treatment that helps fortify the oral tissues, reducing pain and inflammation and promoting repair. It works by improving energy production in cells by stimulating their mitochondria, which can absorb this light and use it to increase energy (ATP) production and reduce the free radicals (ROS) that cause inflammation and cell death. Under these circumstances, tissues heal and become more resilient. Energized mitochondria repair cells and restore them to being fully functioning. The patient’s side effects disappear. PBM use, as part of the preparation for chemotherapy, prevents the side effects from occurring in the first place.

This medical breakthrough led to MASCC recommending PBM as the standard of care for all cancer patients who develop OM or are at risk of developing OM.

PBM was discovered in 1967.  It remained mostly in research laboratories in until the 21^st Century. Now researchers at major medical schools and pioneering hospitals, are exploring the clinical applications of PBM for the brain, heart, eye, spinal cord, neuropathic pain and hard to heal wounds.  They recognize that the 32 trillion cells in the human body are the battleground for how the body remains healthy in the face of disease, injury, and aging.

Oncologists at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), and other cancer centers, started to treat patients with PBM and are documenting the excellent results.  UPMC has treated over 850 cancer patients with PBM, significantly diminishing the side effects of cancer therapies.  Preventing OM eliminates treatment interruption, leading to a substantial increase in “progress free” cancer survivability.  Lessening side effects meant shorter hospital stays, less readmissions, and reducing overall cost of care.

PBM's success and safety recently led St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to start using it on their pediatric cancer patients. 

In 2018, Britain’s National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) adopted PBM as their standard of care for preventing OM.  Health plans in other countries have followed, building momentum for MASCC’s recommendation at their international meeting. 

“This a major milestone for the field and we are confident it will set a clear path for several exciting clinical applications for Photobiomodulation therapy from concussions and wound healing to exciting new work with regenerative medicine and stem cells,” said Dr. Praveen Arany, President of the World Association for Photobiomodulation Therapy.

Arany is one of the leaders of the movement to establish PBM as a mainstream treatment.  Four thousand published research papers, featured in major medical journals like the Lancet, and over seven hundred Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) are building the case for broader applications of PBM.  Clinical evidence is proving PBM Therapy is effective for musculoskeletal, neuropathic, and traumatic pain.  

The National Library of Medicine (NML) has recognized the legitimacy of PBM’s role in fortifying cells by accepting Photobiomodulation (PBM) as an official Medical Subject Heading.  The NLM catalogue contains more than 6,000 articles on the medicinal effects of light on cells and helping the body’s ability to defend itself and regenerate.

“PBM Therapy is more than just a form of pain relief, it actually helps patients heal”, explained James Carroll, CEO of THOR Photomedicine, a PBM device manufacturer.

The MASCC recommendation is an historic milestone and a major turning point in making Photobiomodulation the future of medicine.  Healthcare professionals and their patients are looking forward to updating other standards of care as PBM moves into the medical mainstream.

ENDING OPIOID USE

Published on Newsmax.

Those suffering from America’s opioid crisis recently received two major messages of hope.

On October 24, President Donald Trump signed the Opioid Crisis Response Act (OCRA) into law. Dozens of bills designed to address the diverse aspects of the opioid crisis were consolidated into one strategic and integrated approach. OCRA received overwhelming bi-partisan support in both Chambers.

HR6, which is now Public Law 115-271, broke new ground in being the first legislation to mandate aggressive development and adoption of alternative pain treatments that include “innovative medical technologies for pain management”.

On October 11, Congress held its first ever briefing on ending opioid use through “innovative medical technologies for pain management”.

Photobiomodulation (PBM) was the featured technology.

James Carroll (CEO, THOR Photomedicine), Professor Praveen Arany (New York University at Buffalo), Annette Quinn RN (Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh (UPMC) Cancer Center) introduced the science and promise of PBM Therapy to a capacity crowd of senior policy officials from House and Senate offices, the Executive Branch, and leading think tanks. Nineteen science and medical organizations sponsored this historic gathering.

PBM Therapy delivers a beam of light, which when applied to the body at the right wavelength (red to near infra-red), intensity and time, reverses the disease process of a growing number of medical conditions. It works by delivering light to the hundreds of mitochondria that exist in every one our body’s 37 trillion cells. This provides an energy boost that helps the cells repair and operate at peak performance.

There are already 500 clinical trials and 4,000 laboratory studies that show PBM Therapy’s effectiveness, without any documented side-effects. "PBM Therapy is commonly used in Australia, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, and most European nations. The national health programs in many of these countries cover PBM treatments.”

The United States has been slow to embrace PBM Therapy. American Veterinarians and athletes have used it for years to treat pain. The urgency of the opioid crisis, and the new mandate for pain treatment alternatives, may finally bring this proven approach to those who need it.

The study mandated by the newly signed Opioid Crisis Response Act (OCRA) will be led by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). This is important, as Medicare and Medicaid can dramatically reduce health costs when patients use PBM Therapy. Quicker recovery time, no side effects, shorter hospital stays, and reduced return visits have cut costs by nearly fifty percent in the United Kingdom. PBM use would substantially reduce costs to both patients and private health insurance companies.

The next steps for PBM Therapy adoption are mandated in the OCRA law, including research grants to fund further basic science experiments, therapeutic dose, and large multi-center clinical trials. OCRA also funds “regional centers of excellence” to develop curriculum and train the next generation of healthcare professionals in non-opioid pain treatments.

Harvard University’s Medical School is discovering that PBM reverses Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, treats depression and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Boston University is working with the Veterans Administration on depression, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and PTSD. University of Pittsburgh’s Medical Center and New York University’s Medical College are proving that PBM Therapy reverses and even prevents the side effects of cancer radiotherapy, especially oral mucositis.

Shepherd University will be the first nursing school in America to formally include PBM Therapy in their curriculum. Shepherd is leading the way on revolutionizing medical protocols for the betterment of patients and their loved ones. Hopefully, other schools will join the PBM Therapy movement.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has spent over a year determining how to expand its PBM Therapy approval. This includes establishing a dedicated PBM Product Code, and officially recognizing PBM treatments are curative, not just temporary relief. It is time for the FDA to move forward.

After years of tragedy and death, the battle to rid America of opioid use disorder is starting to turn the tide. This promise of hope will become a reality only when PBM Therapy receives the funding, acceptance, and adoption it deserves.