Block Center - anyone experience?

Twinmom77

I'm wondering if anyone has heard of or has been to the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment?  I read a really interesting article about the place and it doesn't seem like a scam, but I'm having trouble finding info about it on the BBB website and when I search for it on all the various 'find a certified clinic' websites, it doesn't come up.  They have what seems like a legitimate website www.blockmd.com and Dr. Block just wrote a book, so I'd assume he's legit??

Any help would be appreciated!

Anonymous

You can read about Dr. Block in a book called "An Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide to Cancer" by Burton Goldberg.  My holistic physician told me about the book.     

orange1

I read up on him extensively after the owner of my gym suggested that I see him (Dr. Block works out at my gym in Evanston.  Based on what I read, he seems totally legit.  Plus he seems to practice what he preaches - saw him in a tai chi class once (I don't usually attend tai chi, but tried it once while undergoing chemo when I couldn't handle more strenuous exersize).  I didn't see him personally because I already had an onc.

orange1

I checked him out pretty thoroughly because he was recommended to me.  I didn't end up using him, but he seems legit to me.  He combines chemo with many holistic therapies in what seems like a smart way.

dlb823

Twinmom ~  I think he's very integrative legit.  I purchased his book, which is excellent, after a gal here I have a lot of respect for mentioned him.  I think she's actually gone to him.  I'll PM her for you and hope she can give you more information.   Deanna

vivre

I found out about the block center, after I finished treatments, but wish I had found it before. I would have definitely considered it. Dr. Block has done a lot of seminars and seems to be very highly respected. He believes that one should build up the body with nutrition both before and during treatments. I got a free info packet from him just for my own information, and I think he has a wonderful program. I would go there first if I ever had a recurrance.

Natada

I am traveling to Chicago for an appointment at the Block Center August 24.  (I live in Virginia).  The Block Center accepts Blue Cross/Blue shield.I was just diagnosed with stage 4, after 10.5 years. I have read a lot about the clinic over the last 10 years.  During my day there I will see a nutritionist, Oncologist, GP, and a Physical Therapist.  I also get see a cooking demo.  I recently read Dr. Block's book, Life Over Cancer and highly recommend it.  I will post again after my visit.

Twinmom77

Natada - yes, please do post about the visit.  I was supposed to go July 28, but ended up starting treatment here at home and decided to see a Naturopath here also.  But I'd still like to hear about it when you have the time!

Natada

O.K.

katsOK

I too have read the book by Dr. Block and hope to go there after I finish my chemo in my hometown.  I would like to have additional information on diet, exercise etc .  I am trying to follow the advise in the book but am unclear about some of it.  I found the book in the middle of my chemo and really plan on using the Block method as a second opinion.   Plan to stay with my oncologist where I live but incorporate his advise to change my terain.  Not an easy diet to follow I have been doing so for the past three weeks and find it difficult but do-able.  

Natada

I am hoping that they really zoom in on the breast program and will let you know in a few weeks about my time there. The book discusses all types of cancer I know that they do blood work that is different from the normal blood work that I normally get, it is called the Block Terrain test. have you read the book Anti-Cancer A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber?  It is also excellent and has a bar chart that actually shows which foods inhibit breast cancer  the best (as done in test tubes)  Surprisingly  the foods are different for the different types of cancer.  Top of the list for breast is garlic, I take a supplement.

Natada

katsOK

I read the book ANti-cancer on a Kindle and could not view the charts, but I have ordered it so will look at the charts of the foods that inhibit bc.  How long did it take for you to get an appointment at the Block center?.   I have my last chemo here in Oklahoma City of the 18th of August and will need the three weeks or more to recover before I would want to travel.  So can not go before sometime in middle to late Sept.  Please let me know what you think of the program and if it can be managed from another city.  I can not go up there for everything nor do I think they expect you to do so.  I am really interested in what they have to say about it.  You are the first person I have contacted that is going or has gone.  Are you using an oncologist in virginia also or just going to go to  Chicago?  I am not sure how to coordinate between the two places.  But since I have done the surgery , radiation, and chemo just doing the terrain part will be with the Block center.   I totoally fit his descripation of a breast cancer patient who needs to follow his diet plan and lose weight.  Obese with diabetes type 2 according to him have a much greated chance of having a recurrance.  So along with following the diet I have got to lose weight also.  I have not been doing the exercises yet, the chemo had done a number on me this month and just not up to it.  I will start when I feel better.  I do do the heart rate thing some but not with any  consistancy.  PM message me when you get back so I will not miss it.  kathleen

Natada

I called 2 weeks ago and got the appointment on August 24th..  Today someone called and told me what the insurance would cover, they are in my network. Everyone is so nice and courteous. They realize that I will be treated by an onc in DC at the Lombardi Cancer Center.  Although I was diagnosed with stage 4 in June, (after 10.5 years) my treatment plan is currently uncertain.  The recurrence was in my left ovary, and scans do not show any other tumors.  I opted to have both ovaries and uterus removed when a so-called "cyst" grew over 2 months.   The tumor is being restained by my current onc, and another group to make sure it is not ovarian cancer.  I think Dr. Block also has his own supplements formulated that  you can order from them.  I am not sure what type of follow-up they will recommend.  The person I spoke to on the phone said that many patients come to learn the plan and return home for their oncology care.  I will be sure to let you know about my experience.

Rabbit_fan

Hello everyone - I also have an appt. at the Block Center coming up on early October.  I am stage 1 and have just finished my treatment (yay!!).  So I'll post in October and can let people know what it's like for someone looking for remission support. 

 The main reason I want to go there is because they do a lot of blood testing to find out what type of supplements you need.  I want to take any supplements that will help me, but without the testing it seems so hit and miss.

If you wanted to go to a lot of work you could probably pick through his book and figure out a lot of the things to test for and have a local doctor do it.  I considered that really briefly, but then you have to find a cooperative local doctor.  I figured why not go right to the source, especially since it's driving distance for me.

weesa

Hey Kat43, I am reading the Anti Cancer book on my kindle also. If you use the "magnifying glass" option on your kindle it will make all the graphs and charts larger. No need to buy it in book form! It's a marvelous book, hope my suggestion helps you get more out of it.

Twinmom77

Just wondered how people's visits to Block went?

Rabbit_fan

My visit went pretty well.  Everyone there was very, very supportive, sympathetic and really wonderful to deal with.  They gave me lots of advice on lifestyle changes and nutrition.

They can have molecular testing done on the tumor sample to further fine-tune what you can do to combat your particular disease.  So if you want the full gamut of cutting edge testing they sound like a good place to go.  It can be expensive, though, since most of it would probably not be covered by insurance. 

They talked about the idea that critics say emphasizing lifestyle, diet, supplements etc. can give people false hope, but you also don't want to leave people with false hopelessness.

I already had Dr. Block's book that includes information about their nutrition recommendations, so a lot of what the dietitian told me I knew from the book, but I learned some new things from him as well.  The dietitian gave me a list of recommended supplements, which they say will be fine tuned once my blood work is back.

Then I also had an evaluation by a physical therapist. 

They drew 14! vials of blood for testing.  I don't have that information back yet - they said it can take up to a month to get all of the results back.  I don't know yet what all they're testing for, but I plan to ask for a copy of all of the results.  They recommended retesting every 3 months.

I've been having some mild swelling in my upper arm that hasn't yet been called lymphedema, and he mentioned an electrical stimulation type of treatment for that that he thinks can help resolve it, so I'm keeping that in mind if it gets worse.

The only disappointment was that several of the supplements are their own formulation and are quite expensive, so I'm still trying to decide what to do on that.  When I called and said I couldn't afford everything that was recommended, they were still very helpful and had the doctor prioritize the list for me.

The supplements recommended for me were:

1st priority:

their own omega 3 supplement, which they said was used in a trial at MD Anderson with good results (can't remember the specifics).  It has a higher amount of EPA than DHA and they say that EPA is the main cancer fighter in the omega 3.

Curcumin

their own multi vitamin

their own Reishi mushroom supplement

2nd priority:

Vitamin D

I3C

their own antioxidant supplment

Resveratrol

3rd priority:

Calcium D-Glucarate

Cherry Concentrate

They sell all of the supplements, and the antioxidant and reishi are the most expensive.  On the other things the prices seemed similar to what you can find online.

They said that if you take a multivitamin, you want one that doesn't have copper or iron, because they are believed to promote cancer, and you should also stay away from too much B1 and B2 for the same reason.  So no more nutritional yeast for me because it's chock full of B1 and B2.   

My experience there was really good and I got a ton of great advice.  I just wish their supplements were more affordable.

I edited this to remove reference to the specific doctor I saw, because there has been uproar lately on BCO about specifying physician names.

Rabbit_fan

I was just re-reading this thread and noticed that some of the questions were just on whether Block Center is legit or not.  I picked up a brochure while I was there and here is part of what it says for Dr. Block's bio:

He is a member of the National Cancer Institute's PDQ Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Editorial Board in Bethesda, MD, and Director of Integrative Medical Education at the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois, Chicago.  Dr. Block is also Editor-In-Chief of Integrative Cancer Therapies, a peer reviewed medical journal.  He has personally trained all of the Bock Center physicians in the Block program.