References for the lecture:
Using nutrients to improve conventional cancer treatments – what to consider when facing opposition from your oncologist.
Issues with chemotherapy
“Some chemotherapy agents actually cause cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has identified 20 single chemo agents or regimens which cause cancer in humans, and about 50 more which are suspect. For example, one study showed that survivors of ovarian cancer treated with chemotherapy have a 100 times higher incidence of leukemia.”
Chemotherapy can also promote:
• resistance of tumours to treatment
• occurrence of metastasis
• suppress the immune system
• damage the vascular system
The FDA defines a “response” in cancer as a reduction by 50 percent or more in all measurable tumours for 28 days or more.
Disease-free survival refers to an increase in time that the patient is free of cancer before a relapse occurs.
You need to understand that response rates do not often correlate with increased survival or improved quality of life.
Nicholas Calvino, D.C. Integrative Medicine for Colon Cancer.
Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol. 20, No. 4, 2005
http://orthomolecular.org/library/jom/2005/pdf/2005-v20n04-p262.pdf
Would doctors take chemotherapy?
“Among oncologists/hematologists, 64.5% said that they would take chemotherapy, as did 67% of nurses. The two non-medical administrators both voted no. In the other category, which included a mix of radiation oncologists and other types of physicians, 33% said that they would take chemotherapy.”
Take away…
A large percentage of doctors would not do the treatments they recommend.
Would Oncologists Want Chemotherapy If They Had Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer?
March 01, 1998 | Lung Cancer
By Thomas J. Smith, MD, Christopher E. Desch, MD, and Mark R. Somerfield, PhD
Support for vitamin C and other antioxidants and cancer
Roles of Vitamin C in cancer
•enhancing the immune system
•formation of collagen which is necessary for ‘walling off’ tumours
•preventing metastasis by keeping the ground substance around tumours intact
•preventing viruses that can cause cancer
•correcting a vitamin C deficiency which is often seen in cancer patients
•speeding up wound healing in cancer patients after surgery
•enhancing the effectiveness of some chemotherapy drugs
•reducing the toxicity of some chemotherapy
•preventing free radical damage
•neutralizing some carcinogens
Patrick Holford. The Truth About Vitamin C and Cancer. 5 Jan 2010
https://www.patrickholford.com/advice/the-truth-about-vitamin-c-and-cancer
Vitamin C kills cancer cells
“While vitamin C improves the health of normal cells, it increases the oxidative stress inside malignant cells. This is because all cancer cells accumulate iron and hydrogen peroxide, and the vitamin C can generate highly reactive hydroxyl radicals via the Fenton reaction that can kill the cell when it is sufficiently activated.”
Dr. Thomas Levy . Vitamin C better than chemotherapy. August 19, 2013
http://www.peakenergy.com/articles/nh20130819/Vitamin-C-better-than-chemotherapy/
Efficacy of vitamin C with cancer
First studies with vitamin C and cancer patients – carried out by Linus Pauling and Dr Ewan Cameron.
10 grams vitamin C daily
8 years later:
• 13% of 100 vitamin C-treated patients survived
• 100% of 1000 non-vitamin C-treated patients had died
“Dr Murata and Dr Morishige of Saga University in Japan showed that cancer patients on 5–30g of vitamin C lived six times longer than those on 4g or less, while those suffering from cancer of the uterus lived 15 times longer on vitamin C therapy. This was also confirmed by the late Dr Abram Hoffer in Canada, who found that patients on high doses of vitamin C survived, on average, ten times longer.”
Patrick Holford. The Truth About Vitamin C and Cancer. 5 Jan 2010
https://www.patrickholford.com/advice/the-truth-about-vitamin-c-and-cancer
Improved treatment when nutrients are used concurrently with chemotherapy
“Recent studies, however, have provided increasing evidence that treatment is tolerated better-with an increase in patient compliance and a lower rate of treatment discontinuations-when micronutrients, such as selenium, are added as appropriate to the patient's medication.”
Nutrients. 2016 Mar 12;8(3). pii: E163. doi: 10.3390/nu8030163.
Micronutrients in Oncological Intervention.
Gröber U, Holzhauer P, Kisters K, Holick MF, Adamietz IA.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26985904
Note: the final sentence or the abstract states that nutrition advice should “be communicated by the phsysician”. Ensure the physician you work with is qualified to give nutrition recommendations because training is often inadequate – as stated in this research article:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430660/
Nutrients do not interfere with treatments, decrease side effects and protect normal tissue
“Since the 1970s, 280 peer-reviewed in vitro and in vivo studies, including 50 human studies involving 8,521 patients, 5,081 of whom were given nutrients, have consistently shown that [nutrients] do not interfere with therapeutic modalities for cancer. Furthermore, non-prescription antioxidants and other nutrients enhance the killing of therapeutic modalities for cancer, decrease their side effects, and protect normal tissue. In 15 human studies, 3,738 patients who took non-prescription antioxidants and other nutrients actually had increased survival.”
Note: The article cites MANY supporting studies
Antioxidants and Other Nutrients With Chemotherapy, Radiation Therapy. Alternative Therapies, Mar/Apr 2007, VOL. 13, NO. 2.
http://www.drsimone.com/SimoneVitWithChemo.pdf
There are no clinical series which show that patients given vitamin C and chemotherapy fare worse than those not given this vitamin. On the contrary, all the published series show just the opposite.
Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D. High Doses of Antioxidants Including Vitamin C
Do Not Decrease the Efficacy of Chemotherapy.
http://www.doctoryourself.com/chemo.html
Useful tools
Half-life approach to avoiding potential interference of nutrients and chemotherapy…
Editorial. Using nutrients with conventional cancer treatment. Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. Vol 25 Num 4 – 2010. Jonathan Prousky.
Note: recent issue – not currently available online. (Hardcopy only)
Comprehensive summary of supporting research
Integrative Oncology for Clinicians and Cancer Patients
Michael B Schachter MD, CNS
International Journal of Integrative Medicine vol.2 no.1
http://www.mbschachter.com/IntegrativeOncologyISIMJournal.pdf
Dr Lemmo’s article to give to oncologists who oppose use of antioxidants with chemotherapy
Many medications used in conjunction with radiation and chemotherapy have antioxidant effects – yet oncologists only advise against taking natural antioxidants (such as vitamin C).
Handout to give to oncologist
http://www.lemmo.com/Antioxidants-along-with-Chemotherapy-Radiation-October-2014.pdf
Original published article:
Pubmed abstract.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25220632
Full article.
http://www.pyatthealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Antioxidants-Chemo.pdf
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