This ad has been crashing in on Gumshoe beach in massive waves over the last week, so I thought it might be time to take a gander. It’s for the Xcelerated Profits report at Mt. Vernon Research — the last time I saw a similar ad it was from Karim Rahemtulla for this same report, but it seems that we now have Marc Lichtenfeld to thank for this ad.
It’s all about a cancer killer, which, as most folks who dabble in biotech will tell you, is where a lot of the money is — blockbusters like Genentech’s Avastin and revolutionary devices like Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci robot are huge moneymakers because of their ability to help fight cancer in one way or another.
The ad does really get your attention, because there are copious quotes from both patients and doctors — stories of patients who had treatments that took just minutes, or a few hours, and saw tremendous results, and endorsements from a variety of oncologists. So it seems real.
And it is a real, accepted product — just to “tease” you a bit myself (and I also own shares of this one). Here’s a bit more about the company, just to get your mouth watering …
“Now, as Americans seek alternatives to traditional cancer treatment – others like Bruce [Jenkins -- he was one of the patients teased at the top of the ad] are discovering this amazing cancer blaster.
“It’s not surgery… It’s not chemotherapy… It’s not a drug…
“It’s a breakthrough treatment that the FDA has approved to destroy cancer anywhere on the body… and it can even blast away tumors that were once considered inoperable.
“But here’s the exciting part…
“So far, this technology has remained in limited use. Chances are, your own doctor hasn’t had access.
“But finally, the company behind the device has introduced an improvement that promises to make this technology absolutely essential to every single cancer-treatment center in the world.
“Just days ago, in fact, hundreds of doctors from around the world convened at a medical conference in South Florida – just to get a closer look at this life-saving device.
“Even the most skeptical among them were calling it ‘groundbreaking.’ Dr. Henry Jacobs – Head of Oncology at a major Oklahoma hospital – said this cancer blaster “exceeded my highest expectations.”
“You see, the perfected version of the technology can actually destroy cancer cells in as little as 16 minutes flat. And quietly, behind the scenes, this technology is about to go ‘mainstream.’”
OK, so that 16 minutes is actually a time that they claimed for treatment of the first brain cancer patient by this device in Tulsa, Oklahoma last Summer (you can see that press release here).
And I won’t leave you hanging any further — this cancer-fighting machine is the Cyberknife, and it’s made and sold by Accuray, the company being teased here.
That medical conference in South Florida, by the way, was the Cyberknife Users Meeting in Hollywood, FL — here’s the company’s press release about the meeting.
Accuray has gotten a fair amount of attention from investors and from investment newsletters, in part because of the spectacular success of the “kind of similar” robotic medicine company Intuitive Surgical. I’ve owned shares of both companies in the past, but currently hold only Accuray shares, and at a signficant loss. Intuitive Surgical makes the da Vinci, which is a surgical robot that allows for minimally invasive, more precise (many argue) laparascopic-like surgery through small incisions. Accuray makes the CyberKnife, which is a robotically-controlled radiation machine that offers extremely precise, motion-tracking radiation treatment for various tumors.
One of the major links between the two companies, aside from the fact that they’re both makers of medical robots, broadly defined, is that prostate cancer, the biggest market for da Vinci surgeries, is also a possible huge market for CyberKnife radiosurgery, so they may end up being in direct competition.
CyberKnife is primarily used for a few different cancers right now, particularly those where the surrounding tissue is very sensitive or where surgery is either very risky or impossible — their big markets so far seem to be prostate cancer, brain cancer, and lung cancer. And while brain tumors have been a traditional target of what they call radiosurgery (very precise application of radiation), that was in part because brain tumors don’t move as much as others, and the skull can be immobilized nicely to make sure the aim of the devise is precise enough. The CyberKnife’s claim to fame is that it doesn’t need the tumor to be immobilized, it targets the tumor extremely precisely and uses a robotic arm to follow the movement of the tumor and make sure the right dosage is applied at the right place. That’s part of what seems to make it appealing for lung cancer, for example, since if you keep the lungs from moving for too long the cancer becomes a moot point.
And they compete not just with chemotherapy and other treatments, and with surgery (whether robotic or traditional), but also with other radiation-delivery devices. There are several companies offering innovation in radiosurgery (including Varian Medical, to name one publicly traded competitor), though they may or may not be as promising — and it does appear that the CyberKnife, at least according to the company, is by far the most widely used radiosurgery device, at least for extracranial tumors (that is, any tumors except those in the brain). Clearly there’s huge potential for better treatments in lung cancer and prostate cancer, since those are very high volume cancers that affect huge numbers of people, so if this treatment catches on as “mainstream” perhaps it will bring big bucks for Accuray.
But as I’ve said, I own shares in this one and I’m probably quite biased — it’s not a sure thing, as could be clearly shown by a look at the stock chart (steadily down from $30 or so when they made their IPO two years ago to the current price around $5). And the newsletters have touted it just as breathlessly as they do today in the $20s and in the teens, so there may not be any rush or any magic to the current price point. I’m no expert on the clinical development of the CyberKnife, though it appears that it’s still gaining usage in various different cancers, but one of the main problems with the machine, during these extremely trying financial times, is its massive cost. Even the da Vinci is selling at a bit less volume than we might expect thanks to fact that some hospitals aren’t able to raise the money to buy these showpiece machines, and the CyberKnife is much less mainstream (so far) and several times more expensive.
Analysts keep predicting that the company is on the verge of selling enough systems to become steadily profitable, and the company has been unable to break over that level of sales just yet — they are consistently on the verge of profitability, earning a couple cents or losing a couple cents each quarter, and they have plenty of cash still left from their IPO and no long term debt, so they don’t seem to be in any kind of distress … but they do certainly need to ramp up sales in the coming years. The expectation is that once they’re able to push sales a a bit higher, their profitability could grow very quickly as the big fixed costs of designing and manufacturing these expensive machines are absorbed by a bigger sales number. Currently the forward PE ratio is at about 31, and analysts expect the company to grow at least 30% a year … but with lumpy sales figures that could easily be pushed way up or down by just a few CyberKnife sales it’s notoriously difficult to make those estimates — a year and a half ago they were predicting forward earnings of 60 cents and a forward PE of 20, but the 60 cents didn’t appear as scheduled.
So … I still like the long term potential and am willing to leave my bet laying on the table for this speculative stock, but I have no idea what’s going to happen in the coming months, or if the current price represents a bargain. They currently have a big backlog of orders, close to $600 million, and only about 25% of that backlog represents “contingent” orders (which, as I understand it, means something like “the buyer has to raise the money first”) — and about half of that backlog represents potential recurring, high margin services (training, maintenance, attachments, etc.), and the installed base of systems — which is the real key to underlying growth and future profitability — does continue to grow, though growth has tailed off slightly in recent quarters. There are about 150 CyberKnife systems currently in use around the world.
Do your own research on this one of course, as always — and let us know what you think.
Oh, and if you’ve ever subscribed to one of the Mt. Vernon newsletters, including Xcelerated Profits Report, click here to share your opinion on the reviews site. Thanks!
Looking to learn? There are plenty of good trading courses out there, but for traders just starting out, they’re a bit pricey. Here’s an alternative — and an “on the house” preview!
by asafp on November 20, 2009 at 8:29 pm
by bmalek on November 20, 2009 at 6:38 pm
by Will on November 20, 2009 at 4:14 pm
by Darrell on November 20, 2009 at 9:06 am
by asafp on November 20, 2009 at 8:00 am
Interesting tip and analysis, thank you. What about the prospects of this company in the context of Obama’s health reform?
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StockGumshoe Reply:
April 24th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
It’s very hard to tell what “health reform” might do to any product or treatment — I think the pharmaceutical companies are probably more at risk from any potential cost-control initiatives than device makers like ARAY, but that’s just a guess.
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Charlie Davis Reply:
May 29th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I hope the poison pill manufactures suffer.
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medical scientists Reply:
June 5th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
We think internal radiation with IsoRay’s cesium-131 is more safe and better for treatment of prostate cancer.
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This is a 3 for 5 technicals positive in the Average Healthcare sector. There is HUGE resistance at $7.00. You may want to play this with a Buy Stop at $7.25 GTC. Dec. ‘09 $7.50 calls are going for $0.80 – read the disclosure, etc.
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I had CyberKnife treatment for prostrate cancer in May 2008. CyberKnife was selected over surgical primarily to avoid the chance of infection. Treatment consisted of four CyberKnife sessions lasting approximately 2 1/2 hours each on four contiguous days. Side effects were minor and disappeared within 2 1/2 weeks. I have been very pleased with the results and look forward to my annual follow-up next month.
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StockGumshoe Reply:
April 24th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Glad to hear it, Everett — good luck with your follow-up.
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SageNot Reply:
April 24th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Me too Everett, I constantly have high PSA readings since the late ’80’s, but was biopsied a few years ago & so far, no cancer!
Are you in my end of the country (Melbourne, Fla)? The HMO’s & PPO’s are not happy with the hospital cost structure that makes every hospital attendee (or patient) pay for these exorbitant devices. Why they just don’t have cancer clinics that don’t come with all the baggage that most hospitals carry is beyond me. It works with Cath Labs, I’ve been in Cath Labs twice, both times were completely successful & tons cheaper than any “for-profit” hospital.
Glad to hear that this treatment worked for you though, prostate cancer bedevils us guys as we age.
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Everett Miller Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
I live in California. I was treated at CyberKnife Centers of San Diego. Everything was done as an outpatient at CyberKnife Centers facilites, with the exception of an MRI. The MRI was performed at a local hospital. The staff was very professional. I am on medicare and did not have a problem. However, last fall medicare held hearings on continued approval of CyberKnife. I don’t know the outcome.
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adamnb Reply:
June 11th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
What did the treatment cost?
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Oh, Oh not ARAY again! Travis look at this 2yr view & pls tell me when, if ever, ARAY has had an uptrend? I lost a few bucks thinking that the device actually kills cancer cells, it doesn’t, it removes what the device detects, & there is history now about recurrances or failed removals. It’s too expensive for most small, to medium sized hospitals to inventory. Certainly here in central, east Florida, try finding one of these devices when you need one.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ta?s=ARAY&t=2y&l=on&z=m&q=l&p=m50,m200&a=m26-12-9&c=
It’s main competitor has a huge advantage over ARAY too!
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ta?s=ISRG&t=2y&l=on&z=m&q=l&p=&a=&c=aray
Then look at the ARAY income stmt., balance sheet, sales reports, & no wonder they still haven’t turned a profit. Can Obama’s universal health plan revive a treatment device such as ARAY? NO Comment!
And here I was looking forward to a nice, comfortable w/e, ……… sigh!
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StockGumshoe Reply:
April 24th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Can’t argue about the trend, certainly — it’s been straight down. I’m not a doctor, but the point of radiation is to destroy cancer cells and prevent them from growing, no? How would radiation remove a tumor?
I’m sure cancer recurs in some cases, I have no idea how ARAY’s current numbers compare to other radiation treatments or to chemo or surgery or other treatments for specific cancers, if there are wiser or more doctor-ly folks than me about perhaps they can opine as well.
As I said, this remains speculative for me and I realize I might lose the money — we’ll see. The potential rewards are good, but it’s really the jump from “kind of experimental/insurance companies are leery” to “mainstream, big volume work and patient awareness” that creates more demand for machines in a competitive marketplace.
They are certainly expensive, it’s not unlike the da Vinci in that the model for expansion could possibly have patient demand forcing hospitals to buy before they can justify the cost, most early buyers of the da Vinci also had a hard time justifying the cost and saw their machines sitting idle much of the time before patient and doctor awareness slowly built into real demand.
We’ll see … and you can still have a restful weekend, don’t mind me!
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spreadtrader Reply:
April 27th, 2009 at 6:33 am
Actually, the weekly (long term) candle chart looks rather promising. It’s right at the break point of the trend line. It posted a double bottom in mid-March and the candle formation that week was bullish (engulfing candle). It really needs to hold a weekly close above 6.50. Overhead, there is a gap at 7.25 – 7.30, so resistance through the 6.50 – 7.50 area could be stout. Once it is through there the stock is headed to 15.65 longer term.
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ISRG wasn’t adopted immediately and prospects looked bleak for years. The shares I was allocated in the IPO did nothing for several years and I sold prematurely.
I’ll be more patient with ARAY. (I currently hold ARAY shares and have no plans to sell.)
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I was just sending an assessment to a prostate cancer patient, noting that “…Dr. Eisenberger at Johns Hopkins has estimated that, using current data, prostate cancer will relapse in about … 1 of every 2 men after radiation.” [American Prostate Society Quarterly News, Spring, 2007, page 2]. This issue also documents (publically) the case of Charles Myers, M.D., a very prominent leading prostate specialist, who upon getting prostate cancer [PSA of 20 and a Gleason score of 7] beats the disease with just hormones and diet. Unspoken of course is the fact that for untold other men, he may have recommended surgery, chemo, and radiation until it happened to him. Then — radiation for me? — no way. So my point is, the care approach is beginning to turn ever so slightly away from radiation (and chemo and surgery as well). The long-term trend is slightly moving toward more watchful waiting. It should be an avalanche, but let’s be thankful for some movement. So I advised this client to forget the surgery, chemo, and for the purposes of this investment question, the radiation. Finally there is what is called the “Klotz standards for postponing or completely avoiding surgery AND radiation. It is these kinds of standards that the Obama Plan would possibly advance. In short, this stock should be played in my opinion for the technicals — the charting moves — but not for the fundamentals. Just some input.
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ponce Reply:
April 25th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
I am not surprised about Dr. Charles Myers case. Oncologists were surveyed if they would submit to chemo and radiation if they get cancer. More than 70 % won’t. They would go to Germany or other countries for alternative treatment. The reason USA doctors recommend chemo, surgery and radiation is because those are the only treatment that FDA allows. They could get prison terms or removal of their license if they practice alternative cures. Oncologist are not dumb to trust these old 50 year old technology. But their hands are tied by the FDA. FDA is not interested in natural cures. There is no money in it for the big Pharma. There are effective natural treatment for cancers. A good read is a book by Bill Henderson Cancer-Free now in its 3rd edition. There are other good reports by Cancer Defeated publisher. One good report is by Dr. Morton Walker. Another report is about German clinics having more than a dozen natural cures for cancers.
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I used to own ARAY 2000 shares on the advice and hyperbole of Xlerated profits and lost 75% when their earnings were very disappointing and the stock sold out from $10 to almost $3. I did not know about the cost of the machines.
Now there is a better drug coming up for cancers. DNDN impregnates the dendritic cells of a persons own immune system and is found to be 100% safe and can kill cancer cells all over the body. A far better approach with two treatments at a $40K-$50K.Much cheaper.
I own DNDN shares. Sold ARAY.
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I would not buy into these technologies that help care cancer in a big way. When it comes to treatments, one is only allowed to help increase “survival” rate; that is, to extend a patient’s life for several years. To make a cancer completely gone and never return is a no-no. Any drug that can do this will never be approved.
Consider reading about cancer curing discoveries of decades past, like the Rife Technology and others.
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i have had a pat of a lung removed using the davinci machine
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I bought ARAY shares in March 2008 at about $9. I sold it for tax deduction @ $5.50. Long term it has potential but right now hospitals are having tight credit issues. Cyberknife at $5M a pop has cost advantage over other radiation makers. The installation at Loma Linda Hospital in Riverside, California is very expensive using I suppose full pledge linear accelerator. ARAY has a smaller version they call LinAcc that allows them to make the Cknife less expensive.
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Oh by the way the Vernon guys tried to confuse us by calling it Photon Beam hoping Gumshoe won’t find the company. NICE TRY eh? Photon Beam is less desirable because it penetrates beyond the target tumor. Now they are using Proton Beam which they can target depth more precisely. hehehe!
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matthew hirschhorn Reply:
April 26th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
right you are –photon and proton are not the same thing.
i own stock in many medical cos. and sometimes i am wrong and lose money.
in this debate i claim expertise from personal experience as a patient.
when I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer I wanted the accuray because it was only 4 or 5 visits.
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I subscribe to Xcelerated Profits report and will probably NOT renew, primarily because the focus seems to be on the medical profession and drugs specifically.
The HYPE is palpable and while Accuray may or may not ever make a profit I have no interest in the medical professions cut, burn or poison cancer approaches when there are MANY natural therapies that work without side effects.
For the record, I am 71 years old, have a HUGE organic garden, still work 14-16 hrs a day, play hockey, raised 5 healthy children and have never taken a drug or vaccinated any of my children for anything and have never been to a medical doctor.
I took full responsibility for my own health and that of my family by EDUCATING myself on nutrition and acting responsibly and if everyone did so we could CLOSE 9 out of 10 of our hospitals because they are filled with people with what are called “lifestyle diseases” meaning they are fully preventable.
In actual fact the FASTEST growing category of diseases are called IATROGENIC, meaning “doctor caused” and I highly recommend a recently published book by a Canadian politician no less (Terence Young) who lost a young daughter due to innocently taking a lethal drug prescribed by their doctor.
The book is appropriately titled: “Death by Prescription” and you will be astounded how often this happens and is simply hushed up and never reaches the main stream press.
Just remember that EVERY drug is by definition a POISON, unnatural to the human body and ALL have side effects, ALTERING normal bodily functions!
There is nothing “scientific” about them, results are random and can not be predetermined with precision, in fact very few drugs survive beyond 10 years in the market as their REAL effects become known even though they passed FDA tests.
Some drugs MAY have a place in EMERGENCIES, one of the few things the medical profession has some expertise in, but the answer to chronic diseases is to alter the offending diet and lifestyle, not relying on some chemical to mask the symptoms, which is essentially all that drugs do!
[Reply]
matthew hirschhorn Reply:
April 26th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
but could not bhet them then because “too experimental”
So I went to MDAnderson in Houston rather than let local blood suckers give nme obsolete treatment and got Proton which stops more quickly but required 38 treatments 1500 miles from home (S Fl.)
They are similar not identical approaches to the same problem maximizing exposure to cancerous tissue sparing normal tissue. That machine is $140 million.
Neither is final answer but both arte just as good and best widely available now.
Denderon will take a while to develop as an alternative I own that and accuray, so what will you do now?
For now the choice is still surgery or radiation–immunotherapy is next big thing–then there will be something new etc..you have to choose what is best available when you need it–and different people will respond differently
all are very helpful life saving treatments, but none are most suitable for every patient.
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ponce Reply:
April 28th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Myron, more power to you! I am 69 y/o and never had hospital care. I go for natural cures. However, I am taking one drug Nifediac because my hypertension is very stubborn. My doctor switched me to at least 5 others but none works. Daily walk and supplements like L-Arginine, L-Citrulline, fish oil, Pythostrols, Resveratrol, Seanol helps but not enough to get the BP to 120. My next try will be Nattokinase. I hope to find one that will take me off drug. And if I ever get cancer, I will go to Germany for natural treatment. German Oncologist have several natural treatment. I will even avoid Cyberknife or that Varian device. I want my manhood intact, heh heh heh!
[Reply]
Medical Researcher Reply:
June 5th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
ponce — some free advice. The nattokinase is good for you since it is an anti-clotting supplement [better than aspirin], but it will not affect your blood pressure. Hypertension is a symptom, not a disease. As we teach our medical students here before they go on to become pharmaceutical pimps, it is likely your problem is an imbalance of minerals. So increase your magnesium to 400 mg per day [you can take a supplement for this], increase your potassium to at least 3400 mg per day [must be done by diet], and just watch your salt. Finally there is no way on God’s green earth you should be targeting 120 for your blood pressure at your age. If you stay under 130, that would be perfectly fine. As for Cyberknife, I advise all my prostate patients to just do watchful waiting, plus diet, plus the right supplements, so obviously this is not going to sell Cyberknife … and this would be the direction that an Obama Plan would go. Hope this helps.
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ponce Reply:
June 8th, 2009 at 6:05 am
Medical Researcher, thanks again. I started 500mg Mag and 5×99mg potassium. Perhaps by coincidence I develop rashes. Walk-in to a doctor and was advised to take Zertek? cause she taught it was allergy. It did not help so I made appointment with my regular doc. She once treated me for eczema so maybe that is again causing what appears to be rashes. I will start again the Mag and potassium but will try the transdermal as suggested by Sagenot below.
Still Alive! Reply:
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:59 pm
What does “watchful waiting” get for you? My doctor in Virginia told me the same thing. Then, my surgeon at Johns Hopkins told me that if I had waited for two more months, he would not have been able to save me. That was nine years ago and I am “Still Alive.”
I would be wary of any technology that does not discriminate between malignant and normal cells. The ARAY does not discriminate, it merely mitigates exposure to normal cells by spatially varying the beam with a fine focus on the area of cancer. This still requires damaging of normal cells at the surrounding margin to destroy the malignancy.
The ultimate technologies will be biological or chemical that harness the power of the immune system or focus only on malignant cell mechanisms that are not present in normal cells. There are thousands of on-going clinical trials focused on these types of solutions and any one of these can be a breakout that would seriously diminish the market for ARAY’s technology. IMHO, the technical obsolescence risk for such a very expensive machine is just too high.
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ponce Reply:
April 28th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
I agree with your statement that Cyberknife merely mitigates exposure to normal cells. Even for prostate cancer I will not allow blasting my prostate. I want to keep my manhood, heh heh heh. I will try natural cures first. But do not count on FDA approved ones, there is none. Except for aggressive type, prostate cancer is a slow progressing one. As been said the Japanese get prostate cancers also but they die of something else natural.
There are already natural cancer cures that do that but FDA ignores them because they do not come out of big Pharma labs. Rather they are harvested from rain forest. There are published scientific research about Graviola or GraviolaMax. Big Pharma is not interested in these kind of natural cures because it is not patentable and therefore no money for them. I do not expect big Pharma to come up with cost effective magic bullet for cancer because they look at the opposite direction. Billions of dollars are already spent on cancer research but until now all they have is chemo, surgery and radiation in 50 some years. We adults may all be dead in another 50 years.
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Ponce,
You want to wean yourself off the Nifediac. This calcium channel blocker is likely uneeded. Shooting for 120 blood pressure makes sense if you are 20, not 69. You would want to get to about 135 or below. Take 400 mg of magnesium daily, 3500 mg of potassium [you may need a prescription to get this since diet alone will be hard ], and reduce your sodium to low(er) levels. This should do the trick. I have a lot of patients for whom this was quite sufficient. A lack of balance among these minerals is the usual problem, not a calcium channel blocker deficiency.
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ponce Reply:
April 29th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
Medical Researcher, Thanks for the advice. Yes, I will try any supplement to get off Nifediac. What is funny about my BP is that it is up when I am at rest like waking up in the morning and goes down when I move around. Seems opposite?
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ARAY could have turned a profit over several quarters if the greedy management wasn’t taking $.04 per share in stock options every quarter.
Great product – terrible management.
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http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ta?s=ARAY&t=5y&l=on&z=m&q=l&p=m50,m200&a=m26-12-9,r14,ss&c=
Evidently, the words “cancer killer” help these guys sell more subscriptions. However, they gave me this reco over 2 yrs. ago near $20.+ & charts don’t lie, so far this device is a money loser, despite the hype!
In a better market it’s a slim maybe!
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Ponce and anyone with any health problem!!
This is turning into an alternative medical class. GREAT! I am 77 and study and practice alternate therapies daily. My BP 121/81. For lowering blood pressure magnesium IS VERY important. Oral supplements may help but there is another way. Briefly, a blood test may show normal magnesium (mg). However the intracellular level may be so low that oral mg does not raise it. Another Mg is magnesium oil (very concentrated mg) applied to the skin. Google for it and “Transdermal Magnesium Therapy” book by Marcus Sircus. http://www.magnesiumforlife.com. Also lots of free info and newsletter. Mg is important for every body function – brain, organs, over 300 enzymes, every disease etc. etc. The book is truly fascinating. “Ancient Minerals” brand is recommended. And relatively cheap. Everyone needs it!! Try it you will get results.
PS: Cyberknife sounds a fascinating bit of scientific wizardry but NOT on my prostate cancer!!
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ponce Reply:
June 8th, 2009 at 6:16 am
Sagenot, thanks! It nice to know other people who practice alternative cures. I will try your suggestion. Wow! 121/81 at age 77? My Mom was like that unfortunately cancer got her at age 93. My father in-law never went to a doctor and lived up to 103. Hmmm. whats up with me? LOL.
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There’s also another technology that’s up and coming… Proton therapy. I actually interviewed with this company once, and it sounds facinating. The amount of damage done to surrounding tissue is much less than any photon treatment. But it does require a cyclotron.
The company is called IBA, and their web site is:
http://www.iba-worldwide.com
It’s a Belgian company, and I don’t know if it’s on any US exchanges or not. Can anyone find out which exchange(s) this stock is on? Thanks!
-Richard
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Mart (the Netherlands) Reply:
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Hi, stockticker IBA or IBAB traded at the Euronext (Brussels Belgium)
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Medical Researcher, I started reading this for the stock info, then became quite interested when the comments about magnesium came up- I’m a long time chronic migraine sufferer who tried magnesium citrate supplements for headache relief. While I initially did see an improvement at 800mg, I eventually (after 1 month) started having muscle spasms and cramping- which is a known side effect of magnesium OVERDOSE. I had to back off and now at 600 mg am no longer getting the relief I needed. Can you comment on the overdose potential with these transdermal supplements?
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Actually….I don’t think this tease is intended to be Accuray…
I believe it’s intended company is:
Varian Medical Systems (VAR)
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ponce Reply:
August 1st, 2009 at 12:13 am
VAR is too big and its share is too expensive for this tease. Their equipment costs much more than $5M.
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I think Varian is a few steps behind Accuray in proton therapy technology.
Varian’s website has this disclaimer:
“The proton therapy device technology described here has not been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for clinical use and is in development.”
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I also lost a lot of money on Aray. But that is not why I am writing this. It is, however a question for anyone out there. I am looking for some help for the nausea related to kemo. If anyone can help please answer here. Thank you very much.
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elliot lengel Reply:
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:35 pm
There is the one tried and true substance for nausea induced by chemo — Pot
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Lilli Bollinger Reply:
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Thanks, but it is not legal where I live.
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Ingrid Reply:
October 8th, 2009 at 11:40 am
This was an article that I read. Maybe this can help Lilli. Certainly would not hurt to try! Cancer patients may be able to reduce the toxic side effects of chemotherapy without spending a penny on absurdly expensive drugs like Procrit.
Researchers at the University of Southern California believe that a two day fast before chemotherapy may set in motion a protective reaction in healthy cells, guarding them from chemo side effects.
Valter D. Longo, a USC associate professor of biological sciences, explained to HealthDay News that anti-aging research has revealed that certain stressors activate a protective “shield mode” in healthy cells. One of those stressors is starvation. Longo and his colleagues believe that healthy cells may be protected when chemo is given while those cells are in shield mode.
So far, the USC team has conducted three tiers of study: first on yeast, then on human cells in a lab, and most recently on mice.
In the mouse study, animals were injected with brain cancer cells. Some of the mice ate a normal diet, while others were given no food for 48 hours prior to receiving a high dose of the chemo drug etoposide. Within 10 days, all of the normal-diet mice displayed toxic side effects and nearly half of them died. Only one of the mice in the 48-hour fasting group died, and none of the mice in this group displayed toxic side effects.
After treatment, normal-diet mice lost an average of 20 percent of their body weight, while most of the mice in the 48-hour fasting group regained their lost weight within four days.
Longo and his colleagues are now planning a human trial. I’ll keep an eye out for their further research and let you know as soon as it’s published.
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
destry Reply:
July 26th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Lilli,
“google”, “managing nausia from chemo”.
I didn’t remember my wife having any nausia from 12 years of chemo, and stem-cell replacement…
Some types of chemo treatments don’t induce nausia…There are also medications to take….
I think you’ll find your answer, on those web sites…Ask your Oncologist about them. Anything I can help you with; It will be my pleasure…
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Lilli Reply:
July 28th, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Thank you very much. I will try that.
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Darrell Reply:
October 8th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Lilli, my wife used ginger ale, ginger snaps, anything ginger, which is a natural treatment for neusea, works. PM me if your chemo doesn’t work, please. GOD BLESS !!
Brandon Soileau Reply:
August 10th, 2009 at 11:41 am
Which company invented this product? Any help greatly appreciated
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