Don’t be defined by your diagnosis. Find your calm and regain control. NuCalm helps the mind and body to fight back.

Targeting Cancer in the Human Body

The signs and symptoms of cancer can greatly vary within the body, depending on the type of cancer and the stage. But regardless of type and stage, a depletion of the body’s resources results in some common mental and physical stressors. Read More There are also numerous factors that can increase the progression of cancer. It is important to understand all of the secondary effects and effectors within the body to look for potential areas to target for prevention and treatment.

When a person learns they have cancer, often they become stressed, fearful and confused; they just can’t relax. The body’s resulting stress response allows the cancer to take over, even accelerate, the patient’s depreciation. The field of psychoneuroimmunology is now looking at alternative ways to target cancer, in an individualistic and holistic manner, with a bigger focus on mental and emotional factors. NuCalm can help alleviate some of the psychological and physiological effects of cancer and improve quality of life by, predictably and rapidly, putting the brakes on the stress response, giving them peace of mind, clarity, balance and improved sleep quality.

Added Stress is Like a Second Diagnosis

A vicious cycle forms as a cancer diagnosis leads to psychological stress in the patient. Stress can interfere with healing behaviors. Difficulty sleeping and unhealthy coping mechanisms can worsen the condition. This in turn causes more stress. Read More

Chronic stress or toxic stress occurs when the body is in sympathetic nervous system (SNS) dominance for too long with an overactive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. An overworked SNS and HPA axis cause sustained high levels of epinephrine and cortisol even after an acute stress response ends. These hormones can significantly affect the tumor’s local environment and studies have demonstrated that chronically high levels may lead to cancer growth and spread.

Norepinephrine and epinephrine instigate a cascade of consequences in the development and persistence of cancer such as angiogenesis (blood vessel growth in the tumor) as well as tumor cell migration and proliferation.

Chronic amounts of glucocorticoids in the body, like cortisol, inhibit chemotherapy’s positive tumor-killing effects by “turning on” the tumor cells’ survival genes.

Over the long-term, stress hormones also work to suppress the immune response. Our immune systems should play a vital role in fighting off the disease alongside the prescribed treatments, but when poorly functioning, it is little surprise that cancer progresses or recurs, or other illnesses develop.

Luckily, Stress is Now Easier to Manage

NuCalm is the world’s only patented, clinically proven neuroscience technology to manage stress without drugs or side effects. NuCalm is a reset button that dramatically lowers the stress response and allows the body’s natural healing processes to thrive. Read More

NuCalm is designed to treat stress. It acts directly on the stress-responding systems embedded in the center of the brain including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
The HPA axis is supposed to turn off after a stressful experience, but cannot do so in chronic stress. NuCalm resets this feedback loop by inhibiting the activity in this region with GABA supplementation (the inhibitory neurotransmitter) and cranial electrical stimulation (responsible for facilitating the absorption of GABA). Greater inhibitory activity is linked to less stress and anxiety, as it brings about a state of calm and relaxation.

NuCalm allows not only the patient but also families and friends of the patient to deal with their stress head-on. Alleviating chronic stress is essential for the patient’s immune function and recovery. Alleviating stress in the patient’s support network is equally important because research shows that patients with better social support are less likely to regress in their disease.

NuCalm relieves patients of their stress and gives them the opportunity to focus on their health and recovery.

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) Dysfunction

There is an unfavorable two-way relationship between cancer and the autonomic nervous system. As cancer grows, the ANS becomes more imbalanced. As the ANS is more imbalanced, it may actually be supporting the tumor’s development. Read More

The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) is adversely affected by cancer and by cancer treatments. These consequences are often under-evaluated by physicians during checkups and likely worsen a patient’s quality of life.

Primary ANS tumors are located in ANS structures like the adrenal medulla, or the sympathetic or parasympathetic nerves. One clinical symptom of these types of tumors, caused by the oversecretion of norepinephrine and/or epinephrine, may be severe sustained or episodic hypertension.

Non-primary ANS tumors are not located in the ANS structures but still indirectly contribute to autonomic dysfunction. Tumors in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) can over-excite the brain causing seizures. Tumors affecting the peripheral nervous system or organs outside of the nervous system entirely may be associated with a variety of autonomic syndromes which affect the autonomic regulation of the cardiorespiratory, digestive and immune systems.

Finally, autonomic nerves can interact with cancerous cells as a malignant tumor grows and develops its own blood vasculature. Studies have shown that increased neurotransmitter and hormone release from ANS cells into cancer cells can actually favor the unhindered growth and development of malignant tumors.

Maintain ANS Balance with NuCalm

The body needs ANS balance to have a good shot at fighting cancer. NuCalm suspends the body into parasympathetic dominance allowing the ANS to shift away from a stressed, overly excited, sympathetic state and giving the body the opportunity for rest and recovery. Read More

NuCalm is a patented neurotechnology that restores autonomic nervous system (ANS) balance. It has the potential to alleviate some of the effects that stress, chronic inflammation and cancer have on the ANS. NuCalm can affect the ANS in two ways: it entrains the brainwaves to frequency ranges associated with catecholamine production and it increases overall brain inhibition allowing the parasympathetic nervous system to prosper.

A low heart rate variability (HRV) (little changes in heartbeat frequencies) can be indicative of an imbalance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic components of the ANS. HRV analysis can show which arm of the ANS is dominant. In Dr. Hranicky’s cancer patients, it was evident that the sympathetic nervous system was in control. However, after only 5 min of NuCalm these patients showed on average a 92% decrease in sympathetic power. The ratio of the sympathetic versus the parasympathetic also decreased, suggesting that the body entered a state of parasympathetic dominance.

When the body is parasympathetically dominant, it has the opportunity to combat some of the ANS dysfunction brought on by cancer. Using NuCalm as a supplemental treatment may be highly beneficial in helping reduce certain ANS symptoms of cancer and benefits cancer patients on multiple fronts.

Sleep Disturbances

Cancer itself and treatment side effects, as well as stress, ANS dysfunction, and inflammation, can gravely disrupt a patient’s sleep. This lowers quality of life and worsens immune function – neither of which are helpful when battling cancer. Read More

Review studies have confirmed that there are high rates (25-59%) of sleep disturbances in cancer patients, yet despite this prevalence, they are not properly being addressed. Chronic stress, particularly with its high cortisol and epinephrine levels, leads to an overactive HPA axis, ANS dysfunction, and an excess of inflammatory proteins, all of which affect circadian rhythms and the sleep-wake cycle.

Insomnia syndrome may be the most common sleep disturbance in cancer patients and is classified by the inability to fall asleep at night, restless and non-restorative sleep, daytime fatigue, and overall cognitive impairment. Additionally, one of cancer treatments’ biggest side effect is fatigue. Patients generally have a lower quality of life because of this.

Not only is sleep disruption a consequence of cancer but it may actually propel the disease forward. Immune system function is highly dependent on restful sleep. Research has shown that disrupted circadian rhythms can negatively affect the immune and inflammatory response which may actually enable the progression of cancer.

Current sleep therapies for cancer patients include behavioral therapy, exercise therapy or pharmacotherapy. However, studies testing the efficacy of these therapies showed that all were minimally successful in treating the sleep disturbances in cancer patients.

Get the Sleep You Need

NuCalm works wonders on a patient’s sleep quality and their recovery process. In a chemical and electrical manner, NuCalm improves sleep by resetting the ANS and circadian rhythms. One session of NuCalm provides the restorative benefits of two hours of sleep. Read More

NuCalm gets your brain chemically and electrically ready for sleep or for the equivalent restorative purpose of it. The NuCalm Biosignal Processing Disc decreases neural excitation and allows inhibition to take over. The neuroacoustic software brings your brainwaves down to the verge of sleep and wakefulness.

Research at Harvard Medical School showed that 45 min of NuCalm is equivalent to 2 hours of sleep. This efficient sleep-like meditation gives the body the chance to heal, by rebooting its immune system and rest, by resetting its circadian rhythms. The immune system and sleep-wake cycle are negatively affected in cancer patients suffering from insomnia syndrome. None of the current sleep therapies focus on treating the root causes of the sleep disturbances in cancer patients like sympathetic dominance, chronic inflammation or the homeostatic perturbations (changes to internal balance), but NuCalm does. NuCalm gives patients the opportunity to rest in a more efficient manner to help smooth their recovery.

The Effects of Cancer Treatments

Cancer treatments, although necessary for defeating cancer, often cause many adverse side effects. Chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery can negatively impact the autonomic nervous system possibly leading to hair loss, fatigue, nausea, and autonomic dysfunctions. Read More

Surgery and radiation target a cancerous tumor directly. Surgery removes a tumor, whereas radiation destroys it with high energy. Chemotherapy targets cancer cells that may have metastasized throughout the body. Chemotherapy includes a variety of drugs that can destroy, shrink or control cancer.

The negative side effects of chemotherapy are better known but surgery or radiation therapy may induce an autonomic syndrome originating at the target site of cancer and its treatment, as well as side effects of fatigue and skin changes.

Since chemo works all throughout the body, it will likely affect healthy cells in parallel to cancerous ones. The cells most likely affected are:

– Blood forming cells; accounting for the bruising, bleeding, and low cell oxygenation

– Hair follicle cells; inducing hair loss

– Digestive or reproductive cells; damaging peripheral nerves responsible for gland or organ function and causing side effects of nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, and changes to appetite or libido

Many chemotherapy drugs can also lead to increased heart rate and decreased heart rate variability, both signs of an imbalanced autonomic nervous system. As less oxygen is delivered to the brain patients may experience cognitive issues, fatigue, or “chemo brain”. All cancer treatments are given with the weighted consideration of benefit versus harm. However, it may be worth investigating adjunctive and complementary treatments aimed at alleviating these negative side effects.

A Forced Time Out

In resetting the autonomic nervous system, NuCalm may alleviate some of the adverse side effects brought on by cancer treatments. But not only that, it gives patients a much needed escape from their disease and difficult recovery process. Read More

NuCalm gives cancer patients a forced time out. It gracefully suspends the body into a restful and restorative state. Here, the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is in full swing to overcome the autonomic imbalances brought on by chemo, radiation or surgery.

NuCalm can effectively manage the stress response and reduce vagus nerve overstimulation, thus remediating nausea, chemo fog, and improving sleep quality. Deep relaxation, coupled with newfound emotional safety, interrupts the patient’s negative stress response, making way for a new, healthier response. It allows for recuperation and a reboot of the system that can provide resiliency and regeneration.

The PNS is referred to as the “rest and digest” branch of our autonomic nervous system. It gives cells within our digestive and reproductive systems the chance to reboot and reset both electrically and chemically. It may help reduce the side effects of nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite or libido.

During NuCalm, diaphragmatic breathing occurs in which respiration is reduced to one breath every ten seconds. With this type of breathing heart rate lowers and oxygen delivery is optimized. This can help counteract the cognitive side effects of cancer treatments and alleviate “chemo brain” and fatigue.

Many cancer patients are using NuCalm to not only control the side effects of their treatments, but also to relieve their anxiety about their diagnosis and their treatment. Gail Zeemer, who was gifted a NuCalm system to help her manage the stress of cancer recovery, remarks: “NuCalm has been an important part of my journey to wellness. It allows me to fully rest, recover and heal after difficult treatments. More importantly, it allows me precious time during the day to give my mind and body a break. When I use NuCalm, it’s the ONLY time I don’t think about cancer.”

The Effect of Chronic Inflammation

Research has demonstrated that chronic inflammation may increase one’s risk of developing cancer, and contribute to the growth, spread, and immunity of cancer. Chronic inflammation is linked to chronic stress and ANS dysfunction, and together these present a dangerous combination for patients. Read More

Inflammation is the immune system’s response to tissue damage brought on by infection, injury or irritation. It is essential to our body’s primary defense and if all goes smoothly will aid in fixing the problem. However, if inflammation persists for a longer-than-normal period, the inflammatory cells negatively impact the affected region. Chronic inflammation is related chronic stress and ANS dysfunction and in these conditions the body does not function at its best. Research has shown that chronic inflammation increases the risk of cancer development and progression.

Inflammatory cells produce very reactive species of oxygen and nitrogen that, during neighboring cell division, can interact with and possibly mutate DNA. Any cell with damaged DNA has the potential to develop into cancer if not properly repaired. Even as a tumor develops, certain tumor-released inflammatory proteins may disrupt or inhibit DNA repair, thereby furthering mutations.

Chronic inflammation may also lead to angiogenesis (growth of blood vessels) and metastasis (spread of cancer cells). Think of it like this: As times passes the inflammatory cells linger around no longer accomplishing anything (chronic inflammation) so they get hijacked by a tumor. The tumor then uses their growth factors to grow, to spread out its cells, to build its own blood vessels, and to prevent itself from being killed by cancer treatments. If a tumor is inflammatory in nature then it can also release signals to recruit more inflammatory cells to hijack them too. Although the mechanisms of this are still being studied, it is understood that this positive feedback loop is difficult to escape but could be a target for cancer intervention.

Let NuCalm Help You Heal

NuCalm can interfere with the negative cascade of reactions that chronic inflammation produces in cancer. The meditative and restorative state that NuCalm induces, optimizes oxygen delivery and boosts immune system function to help cancer patients through their recovery. Read More

NuCalm’s neuroacoustic software suspends the brain and the body into a meditative and restorative state. The brainwaves can be entrained to the theta frequency range, which is associated with light REM sleep, meditation, and deep restoration. This state gives the body the opportunity to heal and here, diaphragmatic breathing dominates. This type of breathing allows for maximum diffusion of oxygen into the circulatory system, thus, increasing the amount of oxygenated red blood cells being delivered to vital organs. This more efficient circulation may help clear up some of the inflammatory response. Additionally, NuCalm decreases the stress response, thereby, preventing chronic inflammation from developing or sustaining, in the first place.

NuCalm can interfere with the negative cascade of reactions that chronic inflammation produces cancer. NuCalm is another method that Dr. Hranicky describes as an important addition to the CCWP, as its use can help heal cancer patients, on some level, who are struggling with the depletion of their body’s resources.

Caregiving: A Rewarding But Stressful Role

Caregivers provide immensely valuable practical, physical and emotional support to cancer patients. However, the immense responsibility, taxing hours and emotional turmoil often leads to the development of chronic stress and possibly burnout, which benefits neither the caregiver or patient. Read More

Caregivers play an incredibly important role in a cancer patient’s battle with cancer. Often the caregiver is a family member or close friend to the patient. They too deal with many emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, guilt, and stress concerning the patient’s cancer diagnosis and consequent treatment.

Caregiver tasks range from household support to personal hygiene to prescription drug administration and consume on average 24 hours a week (but the time devoted to caregiving is greater with patient age and illness severity). The average duration of a caregiver’s role is four years, which is a long period heavily devoted to providing around-the-clock care.

For the length of time spent caregiving, along with the tremendous responsibility and emotional turmoil, caregiver burnout is quite common. This is referred to as the physical, mental and emotional exhaustion developed from providing care. Symptoms of caregiver burnout include disruptions to sleep and appetite, reduced immune system function, and scattered emotions and cognitive performance. It puts the caregiver at risk for developing other mood disorders and manifests in many physical problems within the body. This burnout is neither healthy for the caregiver nor the patient. A stressed, vulnerable and exhausted caregiver is unlikely to be able to provide adequate care to the patient and the patient may begin to feel neglected or burdensome, leading to added stress which interferes with their recovery process.

Take Care of Yourself
So You Can Take Care of Those You Love

A caregiver must prioritize their health and well-being in order to provide good care to their loved ones. NuCalm can prevent caregiver burnout. As it does for patients, NuCalm gives caregivers that much-needed break. Read More

As a caregiver, taking care of yourself isn’t a luxury – it is a necessity. It’s a long ride as a caregiver and top emotional and physical health are important for both the caregiver and the patient.

There are numerous simple ways to prevent caregiver burnout.

– Maintaining a social life and prioritizing activities which bring joy
– Sharing the responsibility of care among family and friends/asking for professional care help
– Exercising regularly and eating healthy
– Sleeping enough and taking breaks
– Practicing mindfulness and feeling empowered

NuCalm can help with the last two points in particular. NuCalm gives caregivers that much needed rest. It suspends the body into a restorative state that is on the verge of sleep, which can provide all the benefits of sleep and reset the sleep-wake cycle to encourage better nighttime sleep quality. NuCalm has also been compared to a deep meditation. While immersed in the NuCalm experience, and on the cusp of the alpha/theta brainwaves, feelings of self-reflection, gratefulness, empowerment, and focus are able to replace negative emotions and memories.

Resources

Dr. Janet Hranicky’s testimonial…

Janet Hranicky, Ph.D., an internationally renowned expert on the connection between psychoneuroimmunology and cancer, has added the patented NuCalm technology to her arsenal to help patients better cope with, and even fight, cancer. Read More Over the past 30 years, Dr. Hranicky, has taught thousands of cancer patients how to cope and trained thousands of healthcare professionals in innovative therapies.

“I incorporated NuCalm in the Comprehensive Cancer Wellness Program because of its proven ability to remediate stress at the midbrain level without drugs or psychotherapeutic intervention. There is extensive research in the literature that shows a strong correlation between stress, psychological factors, and cancer. Evidence exists linking an individual’s stress response to, not only the development and course of cancer, but also to their response to treatment. The more we can help people down-regulate stress physiology, the more we can help up-regulate the immune system and other healing mechanisms.

I focus a lot on cognitive behavioral interventions – helping people think healthier, to have healthier emotional responses, to have healthier, richer, more meaningful experiences and awareness to the things in their life so that they’re not upsetting themselves in the ways that they previously used to. My experiences have shown that people can only ‘think themselves well’ so much, before they encounter a roadblock, because what really becomes important is neural coherence in the brain.

The preliminary results of our NuCalm research study are indicating a definite impact on strengthening the parasympathetic nervous system and down-regulating stress physiology, as evidenced by pre and post testing of patient Heart Rate Variability (HRV). NuCalm relaxes the body within minutes, creating a state of deep relaxation which allows the old limbic area of the brain to experience a state of perceived safety and comfort. This feeling of safety and comfort triggers a parasympathetic response and the chemical changes physiologically connected with it. When the old brain is calm and feels safe, the frontal cortex can experience synchronicity and flow throughout the entire organism and allow the person to go into a state of deep relaxation – perhaps, deeper than they might have gone for a long, long time. That state, we know, is a healing state. Going into and having periods of deep, restorative rest and relaxation is hugely important for getting better, getting well, and for creating optimal health and wellness. For most patients, there has been a chronic stress physiology involved with cancer, both before the diagnosis and, then, for sure, secondary to having a diagnosis. The NuCalm state of deep relaxation allows for recuperation and a reboot of the system that can provide the resiliency necessary to come back to where regeneration can occur. Regeneration occurs when we can bring down the stress physiology because the immune system, the hormonal system, and all of the healing mechanisms will begin to buoy back up and begin to self-regulate again. NuCalm can create regular states of deep relaxation and comfort to attain the coherency in the brain necessary for regulating balance and homeostasis for health. This state of relaxation and comfort is pivotal to the work I do in psychoneuroimmunology in cancer.

The addition of NuCalm brings a 21st century technology and a whole new dimension of help. Over three decades, I have used a range of techniques and therapies to help patients manage stress, but none has provided consistently predictable and reliable outcomes –until now. NuCalm has a profound impact on people’s lives, mine included.”

– Dr. Janet Hranicky

Barbara Valentine Case Study

Dr. Jacki Campisi’s patient testimonial…

NuCalm is being used today to help manage stress for cancer patients and their families. Here is the story of Jackie and Greg that continues to inspire us all. Read More

“NuCalm seemed too good to be true… that I could do this easy 4-step process and become relaxed within minutes, and better yet, achieve the theta healing state. I called my husband, Greg to come attend the next demonstration and experience this for himself. We were both blown away by the experience of NuCalm and left the demonstration feeling relaxed, clear headed, and filled with positive energy.

Greg and I were dealing with intense life changes, and NuCalm couldn’t have come at a better time. Six years earlier, a stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis turned our lives upside down. I was forced to close my optometric practice of 25 years, and Greg shut down his business in order to care for me. At the same time, the housing bubble burst, and we lost our investment properties, our home, and our health insurance. We persevered, and I recovered only to be confronted a few years later by a diagnosis of stage 4 metastatic cancer to the spine. The pain and the cancer required me to have 7 vertebrae fused with 17 inch Harrington rods, down both sides of my back, in a 9 hour surgery. This, of course, labeled me disabled, terminally ill, and I was given 6 months to get my affairs in order. Our children were about to enter high school and college. Greg decided to move us south to Florida where, at least, I would be safe from falling on ice.

One month after purchasing our NuCalm system, I learned that the rods in my spine were both severed after just being inserted 9 months earlier. How could this be? How will I endure another 9-hour surgery and recovery? Fear and panic consumed me immediately! I began feeling instant unbearable pain, where there was none prior to seeing the X-ray. I used my NuCalm, right there in the doctor’s office, and it completely relaxed me and reset me, emotionally and physically. I regained my composure and was then able to ask appropriate questions, rather than blurting out emotions. We decided that the surgical correction could wait until there were complications. I’ll never forget the overwhelming feeling of being “broken,” and how NuCalm helped me cope – immediately.

One week later, my mother suffered a stroke. I used NuCalm to, not only handle my own concerns, but I also NuCalmed my mother in the hospital during her recovery. She recovered in record time to the amazement of everyone. The people who observed her recovery started asking how we were managing all of this. It’s simple really… stress negatively impacts healing and recovery, and NuCalm lowers stress.

Greg and I now live in the present moment and respond to life’s twists, rather than reacting to them with useless drama and emotion. A ‘6 months to live’ diagnosis turned into 2 years of living life in the present and enjoying each day. NuCalm has helped me manage stress, avoid unhealthy food choices, avoid a second spinal surgery, and stay alive. I believe this is the secret to our success and wellness. Without NuCalm, the anxiety of living with a terminal illness, an unstable spine, and loss of financial freedom, would have been too much to process. When our lives seemed to be in pieces, NuCalm brought us peace, comfort, and clarity.”

– Dr. Jackie Campisi

What is cancer?

The malignant tumor is the cancerous one; the unfair opponent to our human biological system; the most feared disease by society. The term cancer actually describes a collection of separate diseases originating in different areas of the body but all characterized by that malignant tumor – the mutated, uncontrolled, and unrestricted mass of cells. Read More

The human body is comprised of trillions of cells all built from the codes, or genes, in our unique genome or DNA sequence. The development and growth of cells are tightly regulated by the instructions embedded in one’s DNA. However, it is possible that these instructions can get mixed up due to mutations or random changes to the sequence caused by external or innate factors. If certain mutations affect the genes related to the regulation of cell growth, development, or DNA repair, cells may begin to grow uncontrollably without suppression or correction. This forms an invasive mass of mutated cells referred to as a tumor and this could develop anywhere in the body. A tumor could be benign or malignant; the difference being that benign cells cannot spread anywhere in the body to potentially form further tumors but malignant cells can. The malignant tumor is the cancerous one; the unfair opponent to our human biological system; the most feared disease by society. The term cancer actually describes a collection of separate diseases originating in different areas of the body but all characterized by that malignant tumor – the mutated, uncontrolled, and unrestricted mass of cells.

Cancer is a very complex disease that has always devastated the human population. Everyone has likely been affected by the disease in some way or another, as it is the second leading cause of death after heart disease, and will be diagnosed in approximately 38.4% of men and women at some point in their lives. It is, however, evident that cancer research, screening, and treatment have come a long way; there has been a greater than 26% decrease in the cancer mortality rate in the US since the 1990s. Nevertheless, this disease is a tremendous burden on society and such a diagnosis can alter the lives of cancer patients and their families forever.

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