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Being diagnosed with late stage thymic carcinoma at 26 (and while I was pregnant too!) , I know what it’s like to wish for a cure to the Big C. And I mean a total cure, where the spectre of a relapse does not hang like a cloud above my head. While chemotherapy and radiotherapy has its benefits- these treatment options did me good, after all- they aren’t foolproof and put much toll on the individual and his or her family. Clearly, much medical research is still needed to find a better, more effective alternative.

When news of stem cells and their potential use in the field of regenerative and cancer medicine became widespread recently, I was excited. Here was a scientific breakthrough which “attacks” cancer or any other disease for that matter at its most basic: the cell. The problem is, harvesting these stem cells from the umbilical cord of newborns, or the blood of adults, poses not only ethical questions but involves physical risks as well.

However, it seems that an easier way of getting these precious stem cells have been found. Well, for us women, at least. Cryo-Cell, a Florida-based cord blood bank has developed a non-invasive method of harvesting these stem cells from a woman’s menstrual fluid. In a press release on July 07, 2008: 01:28 PM EST entitled “Taking Control: Future Therapies for a Host of Serious Diseases May Be Found in Women’s Menstrual Blood”, the company explains:

“OLDSMAR, Fla., July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — With today’s hectic lifestyle, where most women are juggling careers, family, relationships, and a host of activities, the idea of possibly facing a serious illness in the future is not something that readily comes to mind — especially when a woman is in the prime of her life. But what most women don’t know, is that the key to treating a number of possibly life-threatening diseases that she, a parent, a sibling or even her children may face in later years, such as osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, may be found within her own body — in vital stem cells, which can now be harvested from her own menstrual blood.Now, thanks to the revolutionary research and technology of C’elle, a service dedicated to providing women with a safe and easy method of collecting and preserving stem cells found in her menstrual fluid each month, even the busiest woman can take control of her future, right in the privacy of her own home. With C’elle’s non-invasive collection process, menstrual cells are processed and cryo-preserved (stored at a very low temperature) for potential cellular therapies that may be used in the future. These self-renewing cells one day may even be used for sports medicine or cosmeceutical treatments, such as anti-aging therapies.“C’elle enables and empowers a woman to take control of her future health, and possibly of those genetically closest to her, in a fast, painless and stress free way,” said Michelle Kay, Marketing and Sales Manager for C’elle. “We live in exciting times, as science and technology are discovering how extremely valuable menstrual blood stem cells really are, and the enormous treatment potential they represent for future therapies. C’elle’s ongoing research is supporting these promising findings.”

While the company acknowledges that they are still in the preliminary stages of the research and that it could still take some time before it could be used for therapy, they’ve found out this early that stem cells from the menstrual fluid are “highly prolific and multipotent (able to differentiate into other cell types)”.

For those like me who have been stricken with the Big C; for others, too, who know what it’s like to live with a debilitating condition and wish to spare their children (if at all possible) from the crippling effects of chronic illness and disease, this piece of news certainly opens new medical frontiers. I hope that this will ultimately be the answer in our quest for a better quality of life.     

Click on Celle Client Testimonial to learn more about this company and stem cells.

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