New Treatment Destroys Kidney Tumors Without Side Effects

SARASOTA, Fla., July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Elliot Hatton was on a cruise celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary when he noticed blood in his urine.  He mentioned it to his wife, but since it didn't happen again, he ignored it.  Two months later, his urine turned rust colored, and the veins around his testicles were swollen.  His physician ordered tests, and Elliot was one of the 61,000 Americans diagnosed with kidney cancer annually.  And according to TMD Limited, a medical tourism company, Hatton joined an even larger group  - he became one of half a million US citizens who go out of the country each year for medical treatment.

At 55, Hatton had several risk factors: he was a smoker, overweight and  had high blood pressure.  Other risk factors include a family history of kidney cancer and the Von-Hipbel-Lindau (VHL) Syndrome, a hereditary disease affecting the VHL gene.  Men are diagnosed with kidney cancer twice as often as women, usually after age 50.

In addition to bloody urine, other symptoms include anemia, pain or a lump or mass in the side, back or abdomen, unexplained weight loss, fever and persistent exhaustion.  In some cases there are no symptoms.

Kidneys are the size of a fist.  Urine collects in the hollow space in the middle of each kidney, then passes from the pelvis into the bladder through a long tube called the ureter, then leaves the body through a short tube called the urethra.  Kidneys also make substances to help control blood pressure and to make red blood cells.

When normal cell growth goes awry, and damaged cells don't die off the way they should, the buildup of extra cells form a tumor.  In renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer), tumors can form is the very small tubes in the kidney that filter blood and remove waste products, or in the center of the kidney, where urine collects.  Pieces of the tumors can break off and spread through the lymph vessels to the lymph nodes, or through blood vessels to the lungs, bone or liver.

Twenty-five percent of kidney cancers are diagnosed when they are already advanced. According to the American Cancer Society, only 8% of stage IV kidney cancer patients survive 5 years post diagnosis.  In 2010, there were 13,120 deaths in the US from this cancer.

Hatton's doctor ordered blood and urine tests, CT, MRI and ultrasounds, and a biopsy.  His oncologist recommended standard treatment for a large tumor on the kidney – surgery to remove the kidney, radiation and oral chemotherapy.  Hatton knew that one kidney could take over the work of both kidneys, but if the cancer came back in the other kidney, he was facing dialysis or a kidney transplant.   Not happy with these choices and fighting depression and exhaustion, he sought guidance from his minister.

"That talk changed my life," Hatton said.  His minister told him about a friend in Arizona who had gone to Mexico for a new treatment called SonoPhoto Dynamic Therapy.   For over 20 years, hospitals in the US and Europe have used the older version of this therapy, Photo Dynamic Therapy – this version uses a chemotherapy agent as a sensitizer, so it has side effects.  SonoPhoto Dynamic Therapy is a newer and more aggressive form of this treatment.  It is painless, non-invasive and has no side effects.  

During SonoPhoto Dynamic Therapy, patients are given a natural chlorophyll substance under the tongue, where it is quickly absorbed by all the cells.  Within 24 hours, normal cells wash out the chlorophyll, but for some reason, cancer cells cannot expel it, so it stays in only the cancer cells.  Then sound and light frequencies are pulsed through the body.  When the frequencies hit chlorophyll, it causes photosynthesis, which is a chemical reaction that explodes free radical oxygen right into the cancer cells and kills them.

Dr. Antonio Jimenez is the world's leading expert in SonoPhoto Dynamic Therapy, which is also used in China, England, Australia and the EU.  While the therapy is not yet recognized in the USA, in the 25 countries of the EU, with a population of 370 million, every registered and licensed physician is allowed to use this sensitizer system under highly defined guidelines.  Jimenez is the medical director of Hope4Cancer Institute in Baja California, just 10 miles inside the Mexican border from San Diego.

"We find SonoPhoto Dynamic Therapy works in heavy, deep tumors such as ovarian, endometrial, colon and kidney, as well as prostate, lung, breast and bone cancers," Jimenez explained.  "When used in conjunction with hyperthermia, we see a dramatic reduction in tumor size during the first two weeks of treatment."

"I was thrilled to have another option," Hatton said.  "I did some research, and found Dr. Tony and Hope4Cancer Institute in Baja that uses SonoPhoto as well as local and whole body hyperthermia, and many other natural therapies.  It sounded too good to be true – so I flew down there to meet with the medical team, tour the clinic and speak to some of the patients.   I never left.  I was so impressed with what I saw that I just checked in.  I only had to stay 2 weeks – and I did an extensive home program for several more months, but did not have to stop working.  My cancer is in remission and I feel great.  I've had to make some lifestyle changes, and they put me on an organic diet so I've lost weight and I quit smoking.  They taught me how to take care of myself.  And I fully expect to go on another cruise for my 50th wedding anniversary."

Hatton says his oncologist tried to discourage him from getting treatment in Mexico.  "But he didn't know anything about these treatments – I didn't understand how he could dismiss them, just because he did not learn about them in a US medical school.  And when he saw my new test results, you know what he said?  'Spontaneous remission!' and walked out of the room."

Marla Manhart is a health care writer and patient advocate.  She can be reached at: [email protected]

SOURCE TMD Limited