Cancer... a clock waiting to stop, a bomb waiting to explode, and a loss waiting to happen. We've all lost someone to cancer: a relative, a loved one, a friend, or even an acquaintance. Decades of research, trials, and theories have brought new heights to a road for a cure - but nothing was worth bringing hope.

That... now remains in the past. 

Speaking to Al Mayadeen English, Professor Philip Salem, president of Salem Oncology Center and honorary director of cancer research at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center in Houston, Texas, gave insight on his journey in cancer medicine research and how that has led to a treatment being dubbed a "legendary" road to curing cancer. 

Having graduated from the American University of Beirut, Dr. Salem moved to the US to embark on the journey of his research fellowship in New York City before moving to Houston. He climbed up the ladder in studying cancer and its treatments until he reached a moment of "Eureka" - curing cancer with not one therapy, but three, combined. 

The ICTriplex, developed by Dr. Salem, is a process that merges three treatment therapies into one: Immunotherapy, Chemotherapy, and Targeted therapy.

The first patient to undergo the ICTriplex was a young man who was told he had no choice but to go back home and prepare for death. As a result, the patient attempted to commit suicide. His friend, however, brought him as a last hope to Dr. Salem’s clinic. As he was treated in what Dr. Salem referred to as “the best cancer center in the world," after receiving the ICTriplex treatment, he lived for five extra years and responded with a complete remission (reduction of the disease).

It is an established fact that medicine is never flawless, yet from those flaws, discoveries are born and solutions are found. 

With that being said, two major mistakes were realized as being committed in the past in the realm of cancer treatment:

• Viewing all cancer cells in patients as being the same, which was proven false, as some cells respond to chemotherapy, some to immunotherapy, and some do not respond to either.
• Treating patients as if they are their diseases or cancers, which was proven counterproductive as patients are humans, and their cancers are not who they become.

From those mistakes, Dr. Salem was able to concoct the theory of providing hope to those who have lost hope. 

“When a doctor reaches a dead end, a wall, we open a window in that wall so the patient can look through that window for hope, not death."

Hope beyond borders

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According to data provided by Dr. Salem, 60 patients received ICTriplex with 88% of them having responded although they had been told they had no hope. 52% achieved complete remission, while 36% achieved partial remission – seeing a decrease in over 50% of disease volume.

Asked whether the treatment has proven successful in all cancers or certain types, Dr. Salem confirmed that although lung cancer proved to be the most responsive – 75% of lung cancer patients succeeded with complete remission – other cancer types including that of the liver, breast or pancreas can prove successful as well.

For example, 3 patients with squamous cell cancer, a common skin cancer, were treated with ICTriplex, and 2 of the 3 achieved complete remission. 52% of patients suffering from pancreatic cancer and 4 out 5 patients suffering from primary liver cancer showed complete remission.

The materials and drugs needed for the ICTriplex are FDA-approved in the US, which means that the treatment system can transcend the borders of Texas into other states, but it may or may not be applicable in countries around the world depending on the availability and quality of the drugs required for the treatment to be effective.

As of now, 2 patients are being treated with ICTriplex in Paris, France, and 3 are being treated in Lebanon. However, Dr. Salem says a major issue exists for the case in Lebanon; either the drugs are not available, or if they are, they are at risk of being fake or placebos.

Lebanon has been mired in a staggering economic crisis for more than five years now, with over three-quarters of the people living in poverty, amid a deepening medicine shortage. According to Amnesty International last year, cancer patients are forced to "import" their own drugs to continue treatment in hospitals, while others are using less medicine to save money, which has brought serious health complications.

Read more: 10,000 cancer patients in Gaza lack life-saving treatment

'They don't teach you love in textbooks'

To mark the 50th anniversary of being involved in cancer research, Dr. Salem wrote a book titled “Defeating Cancer: Knowledge Alone is Not Enough." He explains that for a cure to become a cure, it must also include compassion and love. It is also crucial to teach the patient the reason why they need to persist in fighting the cancer.

“Perseverance is probably the key to success," he says.

Love, he continues, is not something you learn or acquire in a classroom at medical school. Love is “learned from patients more than it is from textbooks." This further proves that communication is yet another building block to the top of the cure.

Diagnosis of cancer brings a heavy emotional, mental, psychological, and physical package that is too heavy for the patient to carry alone. It is more than extraordinary how the psychological and mental well-being of a patient can impact the effectivity of the immune system, which, in turn, determines the effectivity of the treatment. 

Factors such as stress, depression, isolation, worry, and unhappiness contribute quite a lot to the trajectory of recovery or treatment, to say the least. Thus, a huge chunk of the cure lies in raising the morale and lifting the spirits of the patient, giving them hope for a new outlook in life and for having the energy and will to beat the cancer. 

Dr. Salem explains that it is pivotal to show the same compassion and love to the patient's family, as they too suffer from the emotional baggage of preparing for the possible loss of their loved one. Doctors, unfortunately, don’t have or take the time to talk and actively listen to their patients as they are often buried in paperwork for insurance and administrative reasons.

They often see patients as “potential enemies in courts," as per Dr. Salem, who added that this is why doctors don’t do their best for the patient’s cure and often put in all their effort to protect themselves instead. This matter is mostly evident in the United States, as the American judicial system makes it ultra-easy to file a lawsuit - especially when it comes to doctors other than family practitioners who can be sued for malpractice and bad ethics. 

Equal opportunities for treatment, recovery, and new life

Cancer patients, around the world, deserve equal opportunities for treatment, recovery, and a new life, worry-free. Part of a patient's road to recovery lies in the compassion, sympathy, and love they receive from their doctors and surroundings. 

Medicine is a human right and a right to life, as is fighting for those deprived of it.