CHIPSA’s 2019 Year-In-Review: Another Year Towards Beating Cancer
2019 was a groundbreaking year in our treatment of cancer at CHIPSA Hospital.
Our unique and cutting-edge protocols all begin with a very simple idea: consensus is not science. So we drop our pride, let go of what other people believe is the “best” way to treat cancer, and we open ourselves to all possibilities. This includes considering both natural and conventional medications to treat what is now considered incurable stage 4 cancer.
We use an approach that’s different than most other hospitals. A battle between medical communities exists today: “alternative” vs. “conventional” medicine. But we’ve learned through our years of experience that fighting over who is “right” is a futile task. Meanwhile, millions of people continue to die of cancer every year.
So we don’t believe in black-and-white, either/or, this treatment or that treatment. We believe in collaboration, integration, and possibility.
Our open mindedness has certainly rewarded us throughout the years, especially in 2019. Take a look at the accomplishments we’ve made.
2019 Year-In-Review: How Did We Get Here?
We reopened the doors of our hospital in 2015 after being closed for two years. Many of the hospital’s original staff, some of whom worked with the legendary Charlotte Gerson, stayed on with us to continue our foundational work. But we also introduced a brand new group of renowned doctors and scientists who are committed to growing with the newest scientific developments in cancer treatment. Our foundational Gerson method is still the backbone to all of our treatments at CHIPSA, but we knew if we were going to make strides, we needed to think even bigger. We have seen phenomenal healing in patients who use natural therapies alone, but we know that doesn’t work every time. Simply put, we wanted to do more.
2017 was another great year for us. We welcomed an award-winning oncologist from MD Anderson. Although most integrative hospitals in Mexico would shy away from doing this, we felt it was time to do something different. The decision aligned with our commitment to consider all the possibilities of cancer treatments for our patients. The oncologist was familiar with alternative methods of healing, especially using lower-doses of chemotherapy mixed with insulin. Having witnessed for 30 years the deterioration that comes from high-doses of chemotherapy, he too was ready to try something new.
Our research also thrived that year, leading us to acquire Apatone as a supplement available to patients. Apatone is a combination with the amazing potential to increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy without toxic side effects. In some studies, it has shown to increase the potency of chemotherapy by over 600%. A Phase 1 FDA trial in 2006 showed great promise, but lack of funds kept it from going through the ‘billion dollar’ FDA clinical trial process for market approval.
16 months of hard work and research allowed us to get Apatone approved by Mexican-based distributor UnoMedica. Since late December 2017, Apatone has been available to patients all over the world who want to use it as a supplement with or without chemotherapy.
2017 really showed us just how fortunate we are to be in Mexico. Although many people are hesitant to travel here, we believe in its true potential. One of our goals from the start has been to build bridges between our hospital and top hospitals around the world. Hiring a U.S. oncologist and offering Apatone to those in the U.S. were both ways that we began to achieve that goal. But these accolades are small compared to our big vision. We aim to align our hospital in Mexico with some of the top scientists in the world, fast tracking research and embodying the very meaning of translational medicine.
2019 – More Treatments Available to Patients
We started off 2019 by celebrating the completion of our ValloVax trial. We were able to treat 250 patients at no cost to them.
This trial showed us yet another advantage of being in Mexico. In the United States, it would have cost around 25+ million dollars, but we were able to do it at cost, which was approximately $750,000.
We were so successful with the ValloVax trial that we ended up connecting with another company and their cancer treatment device that received breakthrough status by the FDA. CHIPSA became the first to host the pre-clinical trial of Immunopheresis, and that work is now being pursued in Europe and Israel. We were able to offer our stage 4 triple negative breast cancer patients participation in the free trial throughout 2019.
Our scientific advisory board is made up of world-class scientists who keep up with the most current groundbreaking immunotherapy research. As a result, we have learned a lot this year about how our own treatments can work well with cutting-edge therapies. One very popular treatment is called CPG. Multiple ongoing trials with CPG influenced us to change one of our own treatments, Coley’s toxins, and make a new formula with a focus on CPG.
Our Personalized Cellular Therapy Program
Our new Coley’s CPG is made of the strongest stimulator of the innate immune system that we have seen. We have taken data and experience from our 22 years of experience with Coley’s fluid, and currently have the best balance of ingredients to maximize tumor cell death and increase the immune response.
2019 also saw the launch of our new dendritic cell therapy, DC-Max! In 2011, Provenge was approved by the U.S. FDA. This was the first dendritic cell therapy to make it through the FDA process. But the treatment is very pricey in the United States, costing around $94,000 for 3 doses. Fortunately, at CHIPSA, we can offer it to our patients for a fraction of the cost.
Scientists mature these dendritic cells and re-infuse them into the patient. This process, in conjunction with a danger signal in the cancer cell, provides a great opportunity for the dendritic cell to present the tumor antigen to the t-cell and get a lasting remission.
Another cell therapy we added to the regimen last year is a whole tumor cell therapy called TL-Max. This drug is made from the patient’s individual tumor. This style of lysed therapy is undergoing multiple FDA trials and is showing promise. A small piece of a patient’s tumor is taken out along with a blood draw. The laboratory then takes the material and trains the immune system through the blood work to recognize the tumor antigen. This is made into a drug that allows the immune system to recognize the tumor antigen, thus attacking the cancer cells in the body. We expect a similar technology to be approved in the US in approximately 10 years.
VG-5000 builds upon the work of the acclaimed Russian immunologist Dr. Valentine Govallo. Author of 294 scientific papers and 19 scientific books, Dr. Govallo had over 40 years of experience in clinical immunology. His drug was derived from full-term donated placentas, which are normally thrown away after birth. He noticed that the immune system didn’t attack a placenta as it was being formed and later hypothesized that it would have the same defense mechanisms as a tumor.
In the 1970s, he treated 35 patients with various solid tumor carcinomas (lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal, melanoma) and reported a 65% 10-year survival rate. Later generations of the therapy were made and used in different parts of the world, and recently, other companies have made similar therapies and defended mechanisms of action. VG-5000 stands for what is the 5th generation and most scientifically studied version of his treatment.
Another field of study that’s thriving right now in the United States is natural killer cell products. While we are several years away from approval in the United States, we took the technology being studied and turned it into a proprietary product that can support the patient’s immune system into destroying cancer cells. This product is called NK-Max!
Natural Killer (NK) cells are the immune system’s first defense against disease and infection. NK cells have an amazing ability to seek out and destroy cancer cells. Our goal is to maximize the effects of the NK Cell therapy by using it in combination with our whole body approach.
We take a small blood draw and use the patient’s own NK cells in the lab. Once these cells are trained and expanded, we give them back to the patient with a large army of NK cells ready to fight cancer. Our personalized NK cell therapy is designed to produce a powerful and consistent immune response against cancer.
We have also added a AP-Max peptide therapy to our protocol. This drug takes two weeks to make and is made from the patient’s blood. Peptides are added and the immune system is primed to create the best possible immune response to the therapy.
Finally, we have added a little-known FDA-approved immune stimulator called GM-CSF. This differs from G-CSF, as studies show G-CSF tolerates dendritic cells and GM-CSF does not. GMCSF is very difficult to get in the United States, and most oncologists are not familiar with the science, so it is rarely used.
Integrative Oncology: Combining Foundational with Cutting-Edge
A lot of what we do at CHIPSA is based on the idea of the “danger model,” a concept proposed by Polly Matzinger as a way of explaining how cancer interacts with the immune system. The immune effector response lasts 10-14 days. Once cancer is formed, it can no longer be seen by the immune system unless there is a signal. From Matzinger’s model, we know that treatment modalities suggesting the clearing of cancer without a danger signal are not accurate. This is why we use two cytotoxic agents, IPT and Apatone. This combination creates a danger signal that alerts the immune system to the formation of cancer.
This concept influences the treatments we use and when we use them. Our immune-stimulating therapies, which are unique to our hospital, help to cause the danger signal that Matzinger discusses. Coley’s CPG, DC-MAX, and AP-Max are used to enhance the antigen-presenting cells (dendritic cells.) When the antigen-presenting cell presents the last tumor antigen to the cytotoxic T cell, patients have the opportunity for a lasting remission due to the memory of the T cell.
Everything we do at CHIPSA is bolstered by our foundational treatments, which include the renowned Gerson method. Combining these cutting-edge immunotherapy protocols with our tried-and-true nutritional regimen has shown the very best results. In 2019, we enhanced our Gerson diet to offer even more immune support. We added more nutritionists to our team to start studying how much of the Gerson therapy patients can do. This study has allowed us to make adjustments and personalize the therapy for each patient. We believe diet and detox is an integral part of our therapy, and many people use Gerson therapy as a standalone treatment. While we are the original Gerson hospital, we don’t look at the therapy as a standalone for cancer treatment. Instead, we view it as an amazing adjunct diet for cancer patients that supports the immune system and floods the body with phytochemicals and nutrients.
All in all, 2019 has been a productive and inspiring year. Our knowledge is gaining traction and momentum everyday, and we will take every bit of our experience to bring the best treatments we can to our patients.
We have a lot of exciting advancements coming in 2020 and we look forward to sharing them soon.
Sincerely,
