Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Wellness in the War on Cancer

Modern Science has made tremendous progress with Cancer.
We have made progress in creating cancer and in killing cancer, in researching cancer, in finding cancer early and hopefully in preventing cancer.
We are even beginning to think about Wellness in the War on Cancer.

We are very experienced with Cancer, all kinds of cancers, even though there hardly ever was a case of Cancer a few hundred years ago; we now have all kinds of experience with cancer.

When traditional medicine was being practiced extensively and exclusively, when traditional medicine was at it’s wisdom peak, people simply weren’t getting all that many cancers. So a traditional cure for cancer wasn’t developed way back then because there was no need to treat a disease that wasn’t around, that hadn’t arrived or occurred.

Cancer is a modern disease and we rely upon a modern cure. We have made great progress with our War on Cancer adapting the science of war, its techniques, its strategies, and its weapons as part and parcel of modern medicine. Chemical weapons similar to those banned by the Geneva Convention are used in modern medicine. We call that chemotherapy. Chemical poisons given with skill and compassion. Radiation is radiation, nuclear weapons applied with skill and compassion. Surgery removes what they can with skill and compassion. Skill developed on basic medical science and scientific clinical studies and the development of protocols.

In the War on Cancer the battlefield is your own precious human body. The cancer is the enemy and the collateral damage, that’s all your, your own precious human body.

The difference being that war is done with meanness out of aversion, hatred of an enemy and fear; whereas medicine is done with compassion out of aversion, hatred for a disease and fear. Every type of cancer has its own protocol.

Even the survivors are asking where is the Wellness in the War on Cancer?

Particularly for the survivors of cancer, the cancer is gone but they still are not 100% better. Just as soon as you stop the poison your body starts healing, but its injured and poisoned. The burn from the radiation burns for days but when the fire is out your body starts healing, but its been injured. Same is true for surgery.

Where is the wellness, where is the rehab?

Wellness can take many forms. Usually people will think of Diet and Exercise. Others will add psychological methods, yoga or meditation. Mostly everyone becomes more spiritual—whatever spiritual tradition they may embrace even if it is none. Western people look to Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture, herbs, yoga and meditation; Easter people look to Western medical science. The NIH, US government National Institute of Health, has begun to investigate Alternative and Complementary Medicine. Drug Companies are investigating non-toxic immune therapies and the FDA is cooperating.

To date, many people have claimed but nobody has proclaimed any magic bullet for Cancer.

I’m not that foolish to claim anything but I would like to share a few thoughts on possibilities and strategies and what modern science finds even before these finding may find themselves in a protocol or clinical study. It takes 10 to 15 years for basic science to get into the text books, longer to get into a study, clinical study and even longer to get into a protocol.

Disclaimer: The information is provided for educational purposes only not to replace your doctor's recommendations. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases or medical problems. Statements are not intended to replace your doctor's recommendations. Nutritional benefits may vary from one person to another.

Natural Cancer Wellness is an attempt to minimize the negative and maximize the positive, to protect the life of the body while promoting the elimination of cancer.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Ascorbate Oxidative Therapy

Ascorbate Oxidative Therapy
Vitamin C used to selectively kill cancer cells.
Almost a Magic Bullet for Cancer Care


Ascorbate Oxidative Therapy is the use of buffered Vitamin C intravenously in large gram doses to induce a free radical attack that can selectively kill human cancer cells Normal human cells can withstand this free radical assault but human cancer cells cannot!

The U.S. National Institute of Health reported that Pharmacologic ascorbic acid concentrations selectively kill cancer cells: Action as a pro-drug to deliver hydrogen peroxide to tissues. Qi Chen, Michael Graham Espey, Murali C. Krishna, James B. Mitchell, Christopher P. Corpe, Garry R. Buettner, Emily Shacter, and Mark Levine state that:

Taken together, these data indicate that ascorbate at concentrations achieved only by i.v. administration may be a pro-drug for formation of H2O2, and that blood can be a delivery system of the pro-drug to tissues. These findings give plausibility to i.v. ascorbic acid in cancer treatment, and have unexpected implications for treatment of infections where H2O2 may be beneficial.



http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/102/38/13604
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/102/38/13604


Clinical Studies have gathered that buffered Vitamin C when administered intravenously in large doses can act as to selectively burn out human cancer cells. At serum concentration in excess of 350 to 400 mg/dl Vitamin C acts to selectively kill cancer cells.

Ascorbate Oxidative Therapy is able to selectively kill cancer cells because cancer cells are generally deficient in the enzyme catalase. Catalase is an enzyme used to catalyze the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen. Cancer cells being relatively deficient in this enzyme easily suffer from free radical assault; whereas, normal human cells are relatively safe and are even enhanced by this Vitamin C therapy.

This provides an excellent stand alone nutritional chemotherapy for some cancer patients and a health building and restoring wellness adjunct for other cancer patients.

Vitamin C has been a very controversial nutrient. When something is controversial that means that there is good science on both sides of the issue. I don’t know why reasonable and intelligent people would ignore good science.

The medical hoax against Vitamin C included the high risk of developing kidney stones. This has never been documented clinically even in studies involving patients who were medically stone formers. Granted the use of even small amounts of Vitamin C changes the blood and kidney chemistry but this may be a sign of restored vitality and wellness. On the other hand, if we haven’t seen kidney stone development clinically along with the use of Vitamin C then pretty much we can conclude that it is NOT a big risk.

Vitamin C is generally known as an anti-oxidant. However, in larger quantities and in higher concentrations Vitamin C has a mass action effect that results in the generation of peroxide free radicals.

When the serum concentration of Vitamin C surpasses 350 to 400 mg per dl free radicals begin to destroy the catalase deficient cancer cells.

Meanwhile instead of untoward side effects, Normal human cells are enhanced and revitalized by this therapy. It helps purify the blood, super oxygenates the blood even reversing carbon monoxide binding to hemoglobin, improve circulation to the tissues, and detoxify the liver and kidneys, powers up the bacteria killing ability of immune cells and more.

Patients need a full medical workup before undertaking this therapy. About 1% of the population cannot use high dose Vitamin C due to a genetic congenital enzyme deficiency involving Glucose 6-Phospahate Dehydrogenase (G6PD). This needs to be checked with laboratory testing prior to using even oral Vitamin C. Persons deficient in Glucose 6-Phospahate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) would die from fatal reaction to the Vitamin C. Ten grams of Vitamin C given orally has been shown to be lethal to 1% of cancer patients. Check the G6PD levels before considering or beginning any therapy.

This needs to be done under a physician’s care and supervision. But don’t expect it from an Oncologist. Not yet, as it’s not part of their clinical protocols. A clinical protocol for this therapy can be found at http://brightspot.org/cresearch/intravenousc2.shtml

Warning: Vitamin C can be Deadly

Sad but True! It has been reported that Vitamin C can be deadly, even if only taken by mouth, if you are genetically deficient in Glucose 6 Phosphate Dehydrogenase.

Hemolysis can occur in patients with a red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. Make absolute sure that your blood is tested for G6PD levels before taking even a few grams of Vitamin C.

In clinical research using 10 grams of Vitamin C by mouth daily in divided doses about 80% of Cancer patients noted definite benefit, however, 1% of patients bled to death from systemic hemorrhage and extensive tumor necrosis. Be careful!

Although there had been concern expressed in the literature about the possibility of getting Kidney stones from taking Vitamin C, this problem has never been demonstrated to actually occur or actually found to actually be a problem. Vitamin C supplementation even at a few grams a day will increase the blood serum levels and kidney excretion of oxalate, but this has never caused a kidney stone even in patients that are known to be “stone formers”. The fear of developing kidney stones from Vitamin C is probably not based upon real problems.

Bleeding to death, that is a real concern. Get a test for red cell glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency!

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Disclaimer:

Disclaimer: The information is provided for educational purposes only not to replace your doctor's recommendations. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. The information contained herein is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases or medical problems. It is not intended to replace your doctor's recommendations. Nutritional benefits may vary from one person to another.

Natural Cancer Wellness is an attempt to minimize the negative and maximize the positive, to protect the life of the body while promoting the elimination of cancer.

Introductions and On Surviving Oncology

I never was afraid of the cancer--
but I was always afraid of the chemotherapy.


Just after coming back from Seattle having just attended a Death and Dying CE for health care providers hosted by Nalandabodhi.org, I was feeling a bit nauseous. I thought that I must have gotten sick in Seattle; so I said to myself, “I better go see a doctor.” Then I thought, “I’m a doctor. And those herbs work really well for nausea. I should go get some herbs.”

I started feeling better as soon as I took my first drink of the herbs. A couple of days later, I felt pretty much A-OK. Later that night, while palpating my abdomen, I felt the edge of my spleen. “Wow, I not supposed to be able to feel that! My spleen is swollen. Maybe I got hepatitis or something in Seattle. I better go see a real doctor.”

An abdominal Ultrasound, MRI, CT scan and needle biopsy later, I was diagnosed with Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma [DLBCL]. I probably had that cancer for over 5 years living behind my gut. I thought that this fat stomach was just part of my precious human body.

I am a Naturopathic Physician and a Licensed Acupuncturists, basically a scientist and Naturalist, an American Natural Health Doctor with a twist of Oriental Medicine. After all is said and done, the herbs don’t think if they are Asian, European or American; they are just herbs doing their thing.

I had treated a few cancer patients during my practice with pretty good results. They all did well. Some did quite well.

Freaking out like anyone else, my first response was research. Next, consultations. Then, make my own plan. The result, Natural Cancer Wellness.


What is Natural Cancer Wellness?

As we all know orthodox cancer treatments are pretty rough. It’s a War on Cancer. This War is not fought in a foreign country; the battlefield is your own body. It’s a chemical war using poisoning and burning, a nuclear war irradiating and burning, a surgical war cutting or burning. The battlefield is your own precious human body.

Natural Cancer Wellness is an attempt to minimize the negative and maximize the positive, to protect the life of the body while promoting the elimination of cancer.

The best compliment came as from my oncologist who after 5 cycles of chemo said one day,


“I don’t think that all that stuff you are doing has been helping to get rid of your cancer but I am surprised that you managed to stay out of the hospital while taking my treatments.”

Even though I wasn’t feeling all that good, staying out of a hospital bed was definitely better.

Being healthier, having a higher quality of life, during cancer treatment is very controversial. No one wants to interfere with the potential to eliminate the cancer. However, some healthy therapies have been shown to both increase the effectiveness of the War on Cancer while improving the quality of life and, when the time comes, the transition to the after life.


Currently new strategies in cancer care are seeking to induce normal cell death, Apoptosis, at a normal cell's rate.

Previously and currently cancer is understood to be a genetic disease and the War uses strategies to attack the nucleus and disrupt cell division cycles.

When we look at cancer as being a disease based in part on faulty apoptosis, faulty membrane dynamics, we concentrate on returning cells back to a normal rate of apoptosis. By using healthy therapies to return cells back to a normal rate of apoptosis, normal cells may not be adversely affected. The goal is to develop therapies that promote health while selectively targeting cancer cells.

Fish oils, flax seed oils and the like help promote normal cell membrane dynamics reducing cholesterol, heart disease, inflammation, arthritis, and cancer. This coupled with the knowledge that the final common pathway for normal apoptosis requires and involves a molecule of phosphatidyl serine flipping from inside the cell membrane to outside and since generally both fish oils and lecithin are deficient in the modern diets, essential fatty acids and phosphatidyl serine might be among the key factors in inducing [through their lack], reducing [through their presence] and eliminating cancer [restoring apoptosis].
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Urology/ProstateCancer/tb/5831

In the War on Cancer ideally we want a drug that will selectively kill cancer cells while promoting the health of the body. We have found that method for many cancer patients by using Radically High Doses of buffered and mineralized Vitamin C Intravenously, Ascorbate Oxidative Therapy. In foods Vitamin C is known as an antioxidant but when introduced in super high concentrations intravenously Vitamin C will release free radicals in the blood and in the fluids between the cells. Working similar to radiation therapy, at 400 mg/dl or better the breakdown of Vitamin C releases free radicals that selectively kill cancer cells while leaving human cells unharmed for 99% of the population.

We are doing better in the War on Cancer and we will be doing even better still. The need is there; the demand is there; the science is there; and soon the therapies, Natural Cancer Wellness, will be there for you too!