EDTA is a remarkable arterial cleansing agent with the ability to effectively remove the plaque, cholesterol, and toxic heavy metals that congest, restrict, and impede blood flow and oxygen throughout the 75,000 miles of blood vessels within the body.

Another benefit, and perhaps the most important for cancer patients, is that EDTA binds with and removes from the body the excessive free radicals that many experts attribute to the development and progression of cancer.

Free radicals and cancer

Free radicals are the highly unstable chemicals that attack, penetrate, and damage vital cell structures. Most stable chemical compounds in the body possess a pair of electrons. Sometimes, one member of the electron pair gets stripped away. The resulting compound is called a free radical.

When a free radical is created, it travels through the body looking for another compound to steal an electron from. When it finds an electron to steal, it breaks up the stable compound and results in releasing another free radical, and so on. This process can do tremendous damage to the delicate machinery of your cells.

Free radicals lead to nutritional imbalances, aging, vitamin deficiencies, and oxygen deficits. [1] According to the National Cancer Institute, one of the underlying causes of cancer is excessive free radical damage in your cells that harms your DNA and results in some cells mutating into cancerous cells.

Chelation therapy has the ability to bind with the free radicals and excrete them through the process of urination.  It also removes transition elements, such as iron, which accelerate free radical pathology, including cancer.

By eliminating excessive free radicals and their proliferation, you can restore the body’s natural vitamin and mineral levels thus allowing the body’s cells to repair themselves, and assisting our body in healing.

Heavy metals and cancer

Heavy metals are defined as metallic elements that have a relatively high density compared to water.  Studies have demonstrated human exposure has risen dramatically as a result of an exponential increase of their use in several industrial, agricultural, domestic and technological applications. [2]

Reported sources of heavy metals in the environment include geogenic, industrial, agricultural, pharmaceutical, domestic effluents, and atmospheric sources. [3]

We begin accumulating heavy metals from our toxic world before birth. The developing fetus is subject to about 70 percent of the mother’s heavy metals released into her blood to start off with. [4] Then we add to that toxic-metal-laden vaccines, processed foods, toxic air and water, metal laced salves and ointments, and of course, dental amalgams and other medical implants.

Heavy metals that are immunosuppressant and can actually cause cancer are: mercury, lead, cadmium, aluminum, arsenic, and uranium.  They are classified as human carcinogens (known or probable) according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.  These deadly and silent invaders cause suppression and/or deregulation of the immune system, leading to a 10-fold increase in cancer mortality. [5-7]

Chelation therapy and oxygen

Another key benefit of Chelation therapy is the resulting increase in oxygenation to the cells. Healthy cells are aerobic, meaning that they function properly in the presence of sufficient oxygen. Healthy cells metabolize (burn) oxygen and glucose (blood sugar) to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the energy “currency” of the cells.

Cancer cells on the other hand are anaerobic, meaning they function without oxygen. In the absence of oxygen the cell reverts to a primitive nutritional program to sustain itself, converting glucose, by fermentation. The lactic acid produced by fermentation lowers the cell pH (acid/alkaline balance) and destroys the ability of DNA and RNA to control cell division … the cancer cells begin to multiply unchecked.

Dr. Otto Warburg emphasized that you can’t make a cell ferment unless a lack of oxygen is involved. In 1955, two American scientists, R.A. Malmgren and C.C. Flanigan, confirmed Warburg’s findings. They found that oxygen deficiency is always present when cancer develops.

What Warburg found, however, is you can reverse fermentation simply by adding oxygen. When you flood the cancer cell with oxygen, you can regain apoptosis, their programmable cell death. If you put enough oxygen into a cancer cell it will turn on the Krebs Cycle (the mitochondria) and this reignites the program for cell death. [9]

Is Chelation therapy safe?

Chelation therapy, using EDTA, has been approved by the FDA as a safe and effective treatment for heavy metal poisoning for more than four decades. Utopia Wellness has administered more than 80,000 Chelation therapies without incident.

The most common side effect of chelation therapy is a burning sensation at the site where the EDTA is injected into the vein. This can be easily alleviated by adjusting the rate of infusion or applying a warm compress.

Rarely, side effects can include fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting. More serious side effects are extremely rare but could include a sudden drop in blood pressure; abnormally low blood levels of calcium; and kidney damage. Utopia’s trained and experienced practitioners monitor patients closely and provide proper supplementation to avoid these incidents.

The post Chelation Therapy appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

DCA is available in several forms including topical cream, oral liquid, oral capsules, and via intravenous.

The history of DCA

In 2007 at the University of Alberta, DCA, a simple molecule, was found to kill off cancer cells in breast, brain and lung cancers in rats, while not harming healthy cells. [1] It was observed that DCA would turn on natural apoptosis (cell death) in the cancerous cells of lab rats. It was also observed that DCA blocked the process by which glucose is used by cancer cells, thus removing their energy source and starving them. Notably, it did not block the use of glucose by healthy cells. Researchers worldwide have confirmed the University of Alberta’s findings.

Studies with human subjects were first published in 2010, confirming DCA to be effective for treating glioblastoma (a type of brain cancer). [2]

DCA research is ongoing and can be followed here.

What types of cancer

There is evidence that DCA is effective for many types of cancer cells. Based on both lab studies and human studies along with case reports, the types of cancer studied thus far include brain, breast, cervical, colon, lung, lymphoma, ovarian, prostate, uterine, and cancer of an unknown primary source.

It has also been found to boost the effectiveness of radiation. [3]

Side effects of DCA

Mild to moderate side effects include gastrointestinal issues, mood changes, sedation, confusion, memory issues, hand tremors, and reversible neuropathy (when caught early). A small percentage of patients experience mild liver toxicity. It is usually recommended that patients who experience moderate levels of one or more side effects be taken off DCA as a precaution. The majority of side effects have been observed to resolve within days, save for neuropathy which can take several weeks to reverse.

Contraindications

There has been some evidence that DCA potentially interacts with hallucinogenic drugs including cannabinoids, benzodiazepines, and other central nervous system drugs, particularly when the patient is already experiencing a level of neurological side effects.

There has also been some evidence that high levels of caffeine can inhibit the effectiveness of DCA.

Where can I get DCA?

In the US, Canada and most of Europe, DCA is prescribed by a doctor. It is discouraged to obtain DCA from any other means, as some types of DCA are not suitable for human consumption.

The future

No one owns the rights to DCA. The research done so far has been funded largely by a generous public. Further studies are in the works, and results look very promising.

The post DCA (dichloroacetate sodium) treatment for cancer appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

The Gerson therapy is reported to have helped many cancer patients restore health. However, there is currently no scientific evidence to support these claims. The benefits are anecdotal and only documented in case reports (small-scale observational studies).

Dr. Gerson believed that cancer was a metabolic disease caused by the accumulation of toxins in the body, which damage healthy cells, impair organ function, and lead to metabolic dysfunction. The Gerson therapy uses intensive detoxification methods that are reputed to remove waste, regenerate the liver, activate the immune system, restore the body’s vital defenses and balance enzyme, mineral, and hormone systems [1].

The protocol is based on the philosophy that the body has an extraordinary ability to heal itself under the right conditions. The Gerson therapy consists of three main parts: diet, supplements, and detoxification support [2].

Diet

The specialized diet is plant-based and organic. It is naturally high in vitamins, minerals, enzymes, micro-nutrients and extremely low in sodium, fats and proteins. Fresh pressed juices provide high-quality nutrition and are a staple of the diet. By juicing, a typical patient will consume the nutrients and enzymes from up to 15 pounds of fresh produce per day. In addition to the Gerson juices, patients also have 3 plant-based meals per day [1].

Supplements

The regimen includes specific vitamins and minerals such as potassium solution, Lugol’s iodine, pancreatic enzymes, B vitamins, vitamin A, C, and niacin, flaxseed oil, and pepsin. The therapy previously included raw calf liver juice injections, which Gerson believed offered support and regeneration to the liver, but this is no longer used as it was made illegal by the FDA in 1989 due to bacterial contamination risks [3].

Detox

Regular coffee enemas (4+/day) are the final component of the protocol. Coffee enemas are believed to dilate the bile ducts in the liver, allowing the liver to release waste products more quickly into the intestine and support the elimination of toxins from the body [3]. 

There is currently no scientific research on the specific components of this treatment regimen, therefore safety and efficacy of the protocol is unknown. 

Historical Perspective

Dr. Max Gerson developed the Gerson therapy in the 1920s and 30s in Germany. He first devised the therapy to help manage his own debilitating migraines, but eventually his approach would become a treatment for serious degenerative diseases, and most famously, cancer [1].

His inspiration for developing the Gerson therapy came from his study of the history of medicine and respect for Paracelsus who proposed that diet should be the cornerstone of medical treatment [3]. One of Dr. Gerson’s early patients who followed his “migraine diet” discovered that it had resolved his skin tuberculosis. Under the supervision of famed thoracic surgeon Ferdinand Sauerbruch, Gerson set up a skin tuberculosis treatment program at the Munich University Hospital [1].

Dr. Gerson carried out a successful clinical trial in which 446 out of 450 skin tuberculosis patients treated with the Gerson diet recovered completely [1]. His most famous patient was perhaps the wife of Albert Schweitzer, a Nobel Peace Prize winning philosopher, humanitarian and physician. Dr. Gerson is said to have cured her of lung tuberculosis [3]. The respect and praise he received from Schweitzer brought the therapy into the limelight and garnered the attention of the medical community [3].

Dr. Gerson went on to experiment with his diet and successfully applied it to many other conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, kidney failure, and eventually cancer. In 1938, Dr. Gerson started a medical practice in New York City, USA where he claims to have successfully treated hundreds of cancer patients [1].

Initially, Dr. Gerson did not believe that his diet would work as a cancer treatment in its own right, but rather as a supportive dietary approach. However, in 1958, after treating cancer patients with his regimen for over 15 years, he published his complete theory, including the results of 50 case studies [8]. He declared that his protocol was an “effective treatment for cancer, even in advanced cases” [5].

Nevertheless, there was controversy surrounding the efficacy of the Gerson therapy throughout Dr. Gerson’s life. Articles from the Journal of the American Medical Association came to the conclusion that the therapy was of no value [9] [10]. The National Cancer Institute cast a shadow of doubt over Dr. Gerson’s case studies stating that basic criteria for demonstrating clinical benefit were not met [11].

Dr. Gerson passed away in 1959 without leaving a systematic way of offering his treatment. However, his daughter Charlotte Gerson Straus continued to give lectures about the Gerson therapy and went on to set up the Gerson Institute in 1979. To this date The Gerson Institute maintains licensing programs so treatment facilities can offer the Gerson therapy to patients [3].

Research 

There is currently no peer-reviewed scientific research on the Gerson therapy. To date there have not been any animal or human studies carried out on the approach. Clinical trials would be required in order to ascertain if the Gerson therapy could be recommended for cancer patients.

However, there are case studies published by Dr. Gerson himself and also from the Gerson Institute, which document positive results and report that patients have completely healed while undergoing the therapy.

Dr. Gerson’s own published research paper from 1978 states that 30 years of experimentation has led to an effective holistic cancer therapy, which has successfully treated many cases of advanced cancer [5].

In 1995 The Gerson Research Organization published an analysis of survival rates of melanoma patients treated with the Gerson approach. The results showed considerably higher 5-year survival rates compared to averages reported in the scientific literature. For stage III patients the 5-year survival rate was 71% compared with standard rates of 27% to 42%. The 5-year survival rate for stage IV patients was 39% compared with 6% in the published literature [3] [6].

A case study from 2007 on six people with aggressive forms of metastatic cancer showed (despite the presence of some confounding variables) that the patients benefited both physically and psychologically from the Gerson therapy. They survived longer than expected and had an improved quality of life [7].

Given that no controlled studies on the use of the Gerson therapy in cancer patients have been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, there is not sufficient scientific evidence to support claims that the therapy is an effective cancer treatment. Further research is still needed [3].

Potential Applications

The Gerson therapy has been applied for patients with many different cancer types, including advanced cases of metastatic cancer. However, The Gerson Institute states that brain cancer and pancreatic cancer after chemotherapy do not respond well to the therapy. The Gerson Institute claims that the therapy has achieved good results with the following cancer types:

• Melanoma
• Lymphoma
• Breast cancer
• Ovarian cancer

There is not currently any published scientific research on the Gerson therapy to be able to outline any scientifically validated benefits for cancer patients or determine any potential therapeutic applications for the diet. However, from case reports and studies published by Dr. Max Gerson and The Gerson Institute, the potential benefits of the regime are listed below.

• Eliminate toxins from the body
• Provide high levels of nutrients and antioxidants
• Improve organ function (especially liver and kidney)
• Boost the immune system
• Support mental and physical wellbeing
• Remove excess sodium from the body
• Restore damaged cells to a healthy normal state
• Heal damaged tissues
• Support the natural healing of a diseased system
• Help to restore healthy metabolic function
• Increase survival rates
• Improve quality of life

How the therapy is believed to work:

The Gerson therapy’s all-encompassing holistic approach sets it apart from most other cancer treatment methods. It aims to restore the body’s incredible innate ability to heal itself, rather than treating the symptoms of any specific disease [1]. It is rooted in the belief that cancer is a disease of the entire organism. Dr. Gerson believed that the manifestation of a tumor is merely a symptom of a systemic imbalance in a diseased body [3].

Dr. Gerson believed that cancer was caused by a combination of damaging factors, notably the accumulation of toxins, which in turn results in the breakdown of the entire metabolic system. The goal of the Gerson therapy is to restore normal metabolic function and keep the metabolism in balance [3].

Dr. Gerson discovered that cancer patients often presented with severely degenerated organs, especially the liver. He attributed this to an increase in toxic materials, such as tumor breakdown products, which needed to be cleared from the body via the liver. Dr. Gerson’s regimen therefore focuses heavily on supporting liver detoxification and restoring optimal liver function.

An integral part of the therapy is an abundance of potassium in the diet and tight restrictions on sodium. Gerson studied early cancer cell biology and realized that healthy cells had a high ratio of potassium to sodium, while diseased cells had a low ratio of potassium to sodium [3]. When patients began the diet they excreted large amounts of sodium in their urine and the cells in the patients’ bodies, which had initially been bloated, began to shrink as the fluid was released. Dr. Gerson came to the conclusion that the diet was correcting tissue damage caused by excess sodium [3].

This hypothesis was later echoed by the findings of laboratory studies carried out by Gilbert Ling on the function of sodium and potassium in living cells [4]. According to Ling’s research using frog muscle cells, the proteins of a cell are able to exist in two different configurational states: either healthy or damaged. In a healthy cell the proteins have a normal structure and a strong affinity for potassium rather than sodium [4]. However, in a damaged cell the protein structure is altered. Proteins lose their affinity for potassium and their ability to structure water. The result is that potassium leaves the cell and is replaced by sodium. The cell then swells up with water [4].

Studies by Ling have shown that high potassium and low sodium environments can restore damaged cell proteins to their normal healthy state. This is believed to be the mechanism of action by which damaged tissues are repaired when a patient follows the Gerson regimen [4]. However, this hypothesis on the mechanism of action of the Gerson therapy is not backed up by any clinical research in humans to confirm if it is accurate or not.

Risks and Side Effects

Patients may report benefits from the Gerson therapy, but there are potential risks and some reported side-effects. The cases reported where patients have experienced side-effects are mainly related to highly frequent or contaminated coffee enemas, which can cause:

• Dehydration
• Electrolyte imbalances
• Infections
• Heart and lung problems
• Mineral imbalances
• Constipation or diarrhea
• Loss of appetite
• Abdominal cramps
• Aching, fever and sweating
• Dizziness and weakness

There have been a handful of cases where quite severe adverse effects have been reported, but these cases are rare. It is always advised to speak to your doctor before starting any new dietary regime.

FAQs

What is the Gerson therapy?

The Gerson therapy is a regimen developed by Dr. Max Gerson, which consists of three main parts: diet, supplements, and detoxification support. It is based on the principle that the human body can heal itself when toxins are removed from the system.

Is the Gerson therapy effective for cancer?

There is currently not enough scientific evidence to determine if the Gerson therapy is beneficial for cancer patients. There have been cases reported of the therapy helping cancer patients in terms of increased survival rates and improved quality of life. However, there is a lack of scientific evidence and clinical data to know if the therapy is safe or effective.

How long do patients normally follow the Gerson therapy?

18 months is the recommended duration stated in Dr. Gerson’s book. In more recent times, patients at The Gerson Institute often follow the protocol for 2 to 3 years depending on the stage and type of cancer. For other diseases aside from cancer, the duration of the protocol can be shorter. For advanced cancer cases patients are often reported to be on the diet for 3 to 5 years.

References

[1] The Gerson Institute. How it Works. https://gerson.org/how-it-works/

[2] National Cancer Institute. Gerson Therapy (PDQ®) – Patient Version. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/gerson-pdq

[3] National Library of Medicine. Gerson Therapy (PDQ®) – Health Professional Version. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK66029/

[4] Freeman W. Cope, M.D. A medical application of the Ling Association-Induction Hypothesis: the high potassium, low sodium diet of the Gerson cancer therapy. Gerson Research Organization. September 8, 1978. http://gerson-research.org/research/medical-application-ling-association-induction-hypothesis-high-potassium-low-sodium-diet-gerson-cancer-therapy/

[5] Gerson M. The cure of advanced cancer by diet therapy: a summary of 30 years of clinical experimentation. Physiol Chem Phys. 1978;10(5):449-64. PMID: 751079. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/751079/

[6] Hildenbrand GL, Hildenbrand LC, Bradford K, Cavin SW. Five-year survival rates of melanoma patients treated by diet therapy after the manner of Gerson: a retrospective review. Altern Ther Health Med. 1995 Sep;1(4):29-37. PMID: 9359807. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9359807/

[7] Molassiotis A, Peat P. Surviving against all odds: analysis of 6 case studies of patients with cancer who followed the Gerson therapy. Integr Cancer Ther. 2007 Mar;6(1):80-8. doi: 10.1177/1534735406298258. PMID: 17351030. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17351030/

[8] Gerson M: A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases and The Cure of Advanced Cancer by Diet Therapy. The Gerson Institute, 2002.

[9] Gerson's cancer treatment. JAMA 132 (11): 645-6, 1946.

[10] CANCER and the need for facts. J Am Med Assoc. 1949 Jan 8;139(2):93-8. PMID: 18101918. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18101918/

[11] US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment: Unconventional Cancer Treatments. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1990. OTA-H-405.

Top Five Facts about Gerson Therapy

1. Gerson Therapy is suggested to be a metabolic therapy, using a special diet, plus supplements and a coffee enema, to fight cancer.
2. The Gerson diet is naturally high in vitamins, minerals, enzymes, micro-nutrients, and extremely low in sodium, fats, and proteins.
3. The Gerson diet is more than just what to eat and what not to eat, it is when the foods are eaten, how often they are eaten, how they are prepared, how not to prepare them, what to cook them in, how to package them, and more.
4. One of the main benefits of the Gerson Therapy is its theorized rapid elevation of the pH, or alkalinity, of the body.
5. Dr. Gerson’s research suggested that degenerative and chronic diseases are caused by toxicity and nutritional deficiency.

The Gerson Therapy was one of the first natural cancer therapeutics and has been used by patients for more than 80 years. Rooted in an organic, plant-based diet, raw juices, coffee enemas, and natural supplements, the Gerson Therapy is said to restore the body’s ability to heal itself.

The Gerson diet is naturally high in vitamins, minerals, enzymes, micro-nutrients, and extremely low in sodium, fats, and proteins. A typical daily diet for a Gerson patient on the full therapy regimen features glasses of fresh, raw carrot-apple and green-leaf juices prepared hourly from fresh, organic fruits and vegetables; plant-based meals, freshly prepared from organically grown fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; and fresh fruit and vegetables available at all hours for snacking, in addition to the regular diet. [1]

Generally, a meal will include salad, cooked vegetables, baked potatoes, Hippocrates soup, and juice.

The Gerson Institute, a non-profit organization in San Diego, is dedicated to providing education and training in the Gerson Therapy. The institute provides referrals to licensed clinics, practitioners, and home set-up trainers. There are two licensed Gerson clinics: the Gerson Clinic in Mexico and the Gerson Health Centre in Hungary.

The Gerson Institute, a non-profit organization in San Diego, is dedicated to providing education and training in the Gerson Therapy. The institute provides referrals to licensed clinics, practitioners, and home set-up trainers. There are two licensed Gerson clinics: the Gerson Clinic in Mexico and the Gerson Health Centre in Hungary.

The Gerson diet is extremely detailed. It is not just the foods that are included and excluded; it is when the foods are eaten, how often they are eaten, how they are prepared, how not to prepare them, what to cook them in, how to package them, etc.

About Dr. Max Gerson

Dr. Max Gerson was born in Wongrowitz, Germany, in 1881. He attended the universities of Breslau, Wuerzburg, Berlin, and Freiburg, and graduated in 1909.

With Germany in the grip of Adolph Hitler's Nazi regime, Dr. Gerson left the country for Vienna in 1933. He also lived for a short time in France and England. Arriving in the United States in 1936, Dr. Gerson was licensed to practice in the state of New York in '38 and became a U.S. citizen in 1942.

In 1946, Dr. Gerson appeared before the Pepper-Neely Congressional Subcommittee, during hearings on a bill to fund cancer treatment research:

Case history of 10 cancer patients clinical observations theoretical considerations and summary

In 1958, after 30 years of clinical experimentation, Dr. Gerson published A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases to detail his theories, treatment, and results.

Dr. Gerson's research included soil issues, the electricity of cells, how cancer cells ferment glucose, oxidizing enzymes, sodium/potassium balance, connective tissue, and other technical issues related to cancer. His treatment and approach were a “whole body” approach.

He was focused on treating the liver. Several chapters of his book deal with various aspects of the organ. Dr. Gerson saw a parallel between the deterioration of the liver and the growth and progression of cancer. Because of his concern for liver problems, he did not favor fasting.

Dr. Gerson was also interested in the potassium group of minerals versus the sodium group. He favored the potassium group for treating cancer and his diet forbids adding salt to foods. The ratio of potassium to sodium was something he emphasized several times.

Howard Straus, the grandson of Dr. Gerson, chronicles the trailblazer’s life and development of his therapy in Dr. Max Gerson: Healing the Hopeless. The biography discusses the development of Dr. Gerson’s dietary therapy and the struggles he faced in challenging orthodox medicine with a nutritional protocol.

Even in the 1950s, Dr. Gerson was aware of the importance of organic foods. He felt that general farming practices left the plants — such as carrots — without enough nutrients, and that damage was done to foods by the way they were processed and packaged.

“Stay close to nature and her eternal laws will protect you.”

— Dr. Max Gerson

Dr. Gerson emigrated to the United States in 1936 and passed the medical board examination. Ten years later, he was front and center on Capitol Hill. Dr. Gerson appeared before the Subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the U.S. Senate.

He addressed the Pepper-Neely subcommittee on behalf of S. 1875, a bill ostentatiously set forth to “authorize and request the President to undertake to mobilize at some convenient place in the United States an adequate number of the world’s outstanding experts, and coordinate and utilize their services in a supreme endeavor to discover a means of curing and preventing cancer.”

Dr. Gerson began his testimony with a recap of his background and his credentials — a member of the AMA, Medical Society of New York State, and Medical Society of New York County — and then addressed his approach to treating patients.

“The dietetic treatment, which has for many years been known as the ‘Gerson diet,’ was developed first to relieve my own severe migraine condition,” Dr. Gerson said. “Then it was successfully applied to patients with allergic conditions such as asthma as well as diseases of the intestinal tract and the liver pancreas apparatus. By chance, a patient with lupus vulgaris [skin tuberculosis] was cured following the use of the diet. After this success, the dietetic treatment was used in all other kinds of tuberculosis — bones, kidneys, eyes, lungs, and so forth.”

Dr. Gerson added that his first cancer patient (bile ducts) was treated in 1928 with success. Seven favorable cases followed out of 12 and remained free of symptoms up to 7½ years.

During testimony Dr. Gerson noted that his diet protocol is condensed into three components:

• The elimination of toxins and poisons and returning of the displaced “extracellular” Na-group, connected with toxins, poisons, edema, destructive inflammation, from the tissues, tumors, and organs where it does not belong, into the serum and tissues where it belongs — gall bladder with bile ducts. connective tissue, thyroid, stomach mucosa, kidney medulla, tumors, and so forth.
• Bringing back the lost “intracellular” K-group combined with vitamins, enzymes, ferments, sugar, and so forth, into the tissues and organs where it belongs — liver, muscles. heart, brain, kidney cortex, and so forth. On this basis, iodine, ineffective before, is made effective, continuously added in new amounts.
• Restoring the differentiation, tonus, tension, oxidation, and so forth, by activated iodine, where there were before growing tumors and metastases with de-differentiation, loss of tension, oxidation, loss of resistance, and healing power.

“The great number of chronic diseases which responded to the dietetic treatment showed clearly that the human body lost part of its resistance and healing power, as He left the way of natural nutrition for generations,” Dr. Gerson surmised.

Dr. Max Gerson’s testimony to the Pepper-Neely Subcommittee

Today, the National Cancer Institute contends Gerson Therapy is “advocated by its supporters as a method of treating cancer patients based on changes in diet and nutrient intake. An organic vegetarian diet plus nutritional and biological supplements, pancreatic enzymes, and coffee or other types of enemas are the main features of the Gerson therapy. The regimen is intended to “detoxify” the body while building up the immune system and raising the level of potassium in cells.” [2]

The NCI also notes, “the regimen is empirically based on observations made by Max Gerson, M.D., in his clinical practice and on his knowledge of research in cell biology at the time (1930s–1950s). No results of laboratory or animal studies are reported in the scientific literature contained in the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online database. Few clinical studies of the Gerson therapy are found in the medical literature.”

But that is only part of the story …

“I see in him one of the most eminent geniuses in the history of medicine.”

— Dr. Albert Schweitzer

Maybe it was a coincidence

While speaking to the Pepper-Neely subcommittee in 1946, Dr. Gerson contended, “The fundamental damage starts with the use of artificial fertilizer for vegetables and fruits as well as for fodder. Thus the chemically transformed vegetarian and meat nourishment, increasing through generations, transforms the organs and functions of the human body in the wrong direction.”

Conversely, Dr. Charles Thomas was named to Monsanto’s board of directors in 1942 and became a vice president the next year. By 1947 he was executive vice president. Dr. Thomas became president in 1950 and was named the chairman of the board in ‘60. He retired in 1970. It was this 30-year stretch of growth for Monsanto that laid the groundwork for today’s leading biotech behemoth.

• History of Monsanto: What’s past is prologue

Consider this: Between the pharmaceutical industry — buoyed by the Flexner Report and backed by the deep pockets of John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie — and the agri-biotech industry — led by Monsanto — it’s not hard to surmise Dr. Gerson’s opinions were stomping on some mighty big toes. He even wrote in A Cancer Therapy, “Our modern agriculture decreased potassium and iodine in our nutrition, precisely the minerals essential for prevention of cancer.”

During the 1920s, Raymond Gram Swing migrated to radio, a burgeoning platform for journalists. After covering the 1932 presidential election, he was offered a job at CBS. Swing turned down the job and it was given to Edward R. Murrow. During the early 1950s, the now-legendary Murrow hired Swing to write news copy for him.

When the Congressional Subcommittee concluded it’s work on July 2, 1946, Sen. Pepper recognized Raymond Gram Swing, “one of our distinguished radio commentators in this country.” Swing said, “I think this bill is one of the most encouraging expressions of intelligent democracy. I hope that it gets the full approval of Congress. It has an inspired work to do, and I want to say in particular that before I came here today I have seen some of the cancer patients of Dr. Gerson, and I believe that research along these lines is so necessary and so hopeful that I am delighted that you, Senator, have had the heart and the courage to bring the doctor here, and some of his patients; and I thank you for it.”

The next day, Swing addressed the Pepper-Neely hearing on his ABC radio broadcast:

“Let me first say that I well appreciate that one of the basic virtues of the modem medical profession is its conservatism. For without the most scrupulous conservatism in the statement and application of medical knowledge, there can be no confidence in the integrity of medical science. But for the very reason that the practice of medicine must be conservative, medical science must be bold and unceasingly challenging. Otherwise, medical science will not progress as it can and must, and will lose its integrity.

“A bill is before Congress, the Pepper-Neely bill, to appropriate a hundred million dollars for cancer research under Federal control. It proposes that the government go in for cancer research with something like the zeal and bigness with which it went for the release of atomic energy, turning the job over to the scientists with resources generous enough to solve the problem.

“This alone would make a good theme for a broadcast, just as an example of the use a great democracy can make of its intelligence and wealth. But the subject has been made peculiarly gripping by unprecedented happenings yesterday before the subcommittee which is holding hearings on this bill, and of which Senator Pepper is chairman.

“He invited as a witness a refugee scientist, now a resident of New York, Dr. Max Gerson, and Dr. Gerson placed on the stand, in quick succession, five patients. They were chosen to represent the principle prevailing types of cancer, and in each instance, they showed that the Gerson treatment had demonstrated what is conservatively called ‘favorable effect on the course of the disease.’ That in itself is remarkable, but it is all the more so because Dr. Gerson’s treatment consists mainly of a diet which he has evolved after a lifetime of research and experimentation. To say that Dr. Gerson has been curing cancer by a dietary treatment is medically impermissible, for the reason that there must be five years without [a] recurrence before such a statement is allowed. Dr. Gerson has cured tuberculosis and other illnesses with his diet, but he has only been working on cancer for four and a half years.

“Let me say right away that I am not discussing this Gerson diet as a cancer cure-all. It has produced remarkable results. It also has the failures in its records, which anything as yet unperfected is bound to show. It is not something that offers release from the most rigorous and conservative medical observance in its acceptance and application. Whenever something new and promising comes up in medicine, the temptation of the outsider and even some physicians is to run to glowing superlatives and expect too much from it. But anything that offers even a possibility of treating successfully at least some of the four hundred thousand existing cancer cases in this country is stirring news, no matter how conservatively it is formulated.

“There would be no Pepper-Neely bill to appropriate a hundred million dollars for cancer research if the existing research were coping with the need.”

Less than two weeks later, Swing was out of a job. Politics — not the kind on Capitol Hill but the even seedier corporate greed of pay-for-play politics — were his undoing.

According to Dr. Gerson’s daughter, Charlotte, “The executive directors of pharmaceutical companies producing cytotoxic agents for cancer treatment — members of the PMA [Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association] — threatened to cancel all radio advertising contracts for their drugs sold over the counter, an annual loss in revenue for ABC amounting to tens of millions of dollars.” [3]

It begs the question: What happened to the Senate’s 277-page Pepper-Neely anticancer bill of 1946 (Document No. 89471)? Augustus E. Giegengack, the Public Printer as head of the then-Government Printing Office, boxed up and stored the paperwork. No copies of the report were distributed to the press. Few medical journals have even attempted to follow up on Dr. Gerson’s testimony. Document No. 89471 now resides in the bowels of the Government Publishing Office with little hope of seeing the light of day.

Dr. Gerson died on March 8, 1959. “My father, aged 78, was in perfectly good health when, from one day to the next, he felt awful. They tested his blood and found a high level of arsenic,” Charlotte Gerson said. The family did not notify the police. “We had our suspicions,” she said, “but knew from experience that justice would not be done.”

“While writing the story of Gerson, I couldn’t help feeling it was too shocking to believe.”

— S.J. Haught

Like father, like daughter

When Dr. Gerson died in 1959, Charlotte vowed his work would not die with him. She has continued Dr. Gerson’s work through the Gerson Clinic in Mexico and the Gerson Health Centre in Hungary. In 1977 she founded the Gerson Institute with Norman Fritz, president of the Cancer Control Society. The Gerson Institute established treatment centers and trained holistic physicians, nurses, and kitchen help in the facets of Dr. Gerson’s treatment.

Dr. Gerson’s research showed that degenerative and chronic diseases are caused by toxicity and nutritional deficiency. Toxicity is accumulated from the pollution in the food, water, air and numerous chemical substances absorbed from your environment. Deficiency is the result of a diet that consists of artificially raised, chemically treated, processed and flavored foods. After a lifetime of chemical accumulation and low nutritional support, your body’s defenses break down and the result is the manifestation of “chronic” disease.

According to the Gerson Institute, toxicity results from the “better living through chemistry” philosophy of our modern world, where …

• Bug killer, weed killer, and chemical fertilizers are sprayed onto the plants we eat.
• Pollution is pumped into the air we breathe.
• Chemicals of all kinds are dumped into our oceans, lakes and water supplies.
• People are fed hazardous Fluoride waste under the pretense of being good for their teeth.
• Farm animals are given growth hormones so they produce a greater profit and antibiotics so they can survive their harsh lives.
• Pre-made Industrial foods are filled with chemicals that enhance taste so that you will buy more and turn off the “I’m full” switch in your brain so that you will eat more.
• Preserve and extend shelf life so their “merchandise” will survive longer on the shelf.
• Drugs are given for every ill, pain and strain.
• Soaps, shampoos, deodorants and almost all personal hygiene and cosmetic products contain degreasers, alcohols, parabens, fragrances, stabilizers, solvents and numerous other chemicals.

Nutritional deficiency comes from eating nutritionally depleted, genetically engineered, pesticide laden, salted and sugared foods, loaded with preservatives, dyes, artificial flavors, sweeteners, and thousands of chemicals.

The process of restoring your natural defenses and rebooting your immune system is simple:

• Drink flavorful organic juices throughout each day. The prescribed Gerson juices, made from organic fruits and vegetables, bathe your 100 trillion living cells in a constant stream of health-giving vitamins, minerals, nutrients, and enzymes.
• Follow an organic plant-based diet, with lots of raw and cooked foods. This floods your body with more vitamins, minerals, nutrients along with the critical health promoting enzymes necessary to repair your body.
• Detoxify your body at the cellular level using a powerful natural process that flushes chemicals and toxins from the liver.
• Prevent depletion of your organs and interruption of critical biological processes by eliminating industrial foods with chemicals, preservatives, dyes and additives, animal protein, alcohol, smoking, drugs, sugars, salts, fats, oils, dairy products, fluoride, chlorine.
• Eliminate further poisoning of your body by removing the sources of chemicals and toxins in your environment such as household cleaners, fabric softeners, non-organic soaps and shampoos, perfumes and deodorants, and air fresheners.

One of the claimed benefits of the Gerson Therapy is its rapid elevation of the pH, or alkalinity, of the body. Cancer is theorized to not survive an alkaline environment, and the proteolytic (protein-digesting) pancreatic enzymes that normally keep cancer in check are reactivated in an alkaline environment. Additionally, the red blood cells that supply every one of our cells lose their ability to carry oxygen at low pH (acidic) values. When the vegan diet raises the pH of the blood stream, disease processes become disabled while the body’s immune system, deactivated by an acidic environment, begins to become active again, attacking the disease-causing organisms. [4]

In April 2007, Alex Molassiotis, Ph.D., of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, wrote, “A considerable number of patients with cancer have used or are using the Gerson Therapy, an alleged anticancer metabolic diet. However, there is almost no scientific support for this regimen. Hence, the present case review study of six patients with metastatic cancer who used the Gerson Therapy aims at critically evaluating each case to derive some valid interpretations of its potential effect.

“All six cases had a cancer diagnosis with poor prognosis. Despite the presence of some confounding variables, it seems that the Gerson regimen has supported patients to some extent both physically and psychologically. More scientific attention needs to be directed to this area so that patients can practice safe and appropriate therapies that are based on evidence rather than anecdotes.

“Although the effectiveness of the Gerson regimen has not been rigorously proved, equally it has not been disproved either. … A definitive trial on the efficacy of the Gerson regimen is long overdue. Information from such a trial would be of great value as it would assist patients to make informed decisions, protect their safety, and add to the patients’ choices in improving their survival chances and quality of life in their fight against cancer.”

Surviving against all odds: Analysis of 6 case studies of patients with cancer who followed the Gerson Therapy

The National Cancer Institute notes that in 1990, a study of a diet regimen similar to the Gerson Therapy was done in Austria. The patients received standard treatment along with the special diet. The authors of the study reported that the diet appeared to help patients live longer than usual and have fewer side effects. The authors said it needed further study. In 1995, the Gerson Research Organization did a retrospective study of their melanoma patients who were treated with the Gerson Therapy. The study reported that patients who had Stage III or Stage IV melanoma lived longer than usual for patients with these stages of melanoma.

And yet, there have been no clinical trials that support the findings of these studies. Clearly, this begs the question: Why? The short answer: Drug companies are not interested in medicines that cannot be patented — and nature cannot be patented.

However, there have been curricular suggestions for U.S. medical schools, including:

• Teach holistically — Students should be required to take courses in nutrition, exercise, stress management, and sleep hygiene.
• Test for nutritional knowledge — Med schools should consider competency examinations that cover factual knowledge and students’ ability to give sound advice on nutrition and wellness. These classes can operate as prerequisites for professional certification.
• Use teaching kitchens as laboratories — Can combining anatomy with culinary lessons actually teach students about the dietary impact of foods? This question has been the impetus for medical schools across the country that are taking students from the classroom to the kitchen for a taste of experiential learning.

If they get busy now, they only have about a century of work to catch up on Dr. Gerson …

“They have more money, they lobbied more, and got the law passed in their favor.”

— Dr. Richard Schulze

To Gerson or not to Gerson

What are the Gerson Therapy merits? Keeping in mind that choosing a dietary and lifestyle protocol is highly specific to your situation, the Gerson Therapy may — or may not! — be right for you.

From the time you are diagnosed with cancer, you have a myriad of options. Your oncologist will explore these with you, and you may seek a natural-minded physician on top of that counsel. The location of cancer and stage will influence treatment options no matter who you go to. Other lifestyle factors like accessibility to natural healthcare professionals, budget, and how much assistance you’ll have will play into it as well.

Background also factors into your cancer treatment options. Certain things, like stopping smokeless tobacco when you have mouth cancer, are obvious. But it can go further than that. If you’ve got stomach cancer, dietary needs may be different than that for bone cancer.

As you learn about and weigh protocol options, Gerson included, know that your options are not limited to your neighbor’s or friend’s options. Consider the evidence for and against it, and weigh what will be best for your situation.

Dr. Gerson developed his protocol on the premise that nutrient deficiency and toxic overload combined to create chronic and severe diseases, cancer included. These factors have only increased through the years, with both toxin exposure and cancer increasing in prevalence substantially since he began his studies.

In response, the Gerson protocol begins by completely eliminating sodium — a nutrient we have consumed in excess for years in processed, packaged, and canned foods — and bombards the body with organic fruits and vegetables, usually juiced, to the tune of 15-20 pounds every day. Supplements also are added.

Toxicity is a bit more challenging, as environmental pollutants are essentially impossible to completely eliminate. Rather than relying on avoidance only, Dr. Gerson hypothesized that the liver — our body’s main detoxification organ — could be supported. His method utilizes a coffee enema, intended to stimulate the liver to expel toxins into the intestines and feces to be eliminated.

Little has changed in the Gerson protocol through the years, with practitioners and patients claiming great success in strict adherence. This, of course, requires a great deal of support from those around the patient, as well as a financial commitment. As with any protocol, it is intended to be observed without modifications or combination with another dietary regimen.

With more than 50 years of application, Gerson’s website claims successful treatment of more than 50 severe illnesses. Dr. Gerson was not comfortable implementing his remedy until he had some solid experiential evidence, so their long track record of success has buoyed Gerson practitioners.

Formal evidence, however, is not as clear. A 2010 review in Oncology details the Gerson protocol, notes claims of 70-90 percent success rates, but also notes that formal case reviews have found little to no scientific basis for Gerson therapy success. One of the studies reviewed had analyzed patients with pancreatic cancer. Some chose a protocol very similar to Gerson, and some chose chemotherapy — with chemotherapy patients actually faring better. [5]

The commitment involved in adherence to the Gerson protocol is intense — but most alternate remedies will be difficult. If you choose to amend your diet and supplements to pursue Dr. Gerson’s remedy, be sure you have a strong network of support around you, preferably with a trained holistic cancer practitioner. They can help you monitor your progress, keep you accountable, and advise you along the way.

Cancer protocol is as varied as the individuals they treat, and this could be the remedy that you need while your neighbor or friend needs something else. Working with a holistic professional can help you determine the path that’s right for you.

The post The Gerson Therapy for Cancer appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

The lymphatic system is considered part of the body’s circulatory system, and it serves several functions, the most important of which is the transport of immune system cells. The lymphatic system not only carries white blood cells throughout the body but is also responsible for training these immune cells so that they can properly recognize invaders and successfully fight them.

Dr. Jonathan Stegall — founder of the Center for Advanced Medicine, one of Cancer Tutor's verified clinics — practices integrative oncology, which involves combining the best of modern medicine with natural therapies.

• Center for Advanced Medicine
• Dr. Stegall on Cancer Tutor

Unfortunately, the fluid inside the lymphatic system — known as lymph — can become congested. One of the most common reasons for this “clogging” of the lymphatic system is cancer. A classic example is a breast cancer patient who has had lymph nodes removed as part of the surgery. The remaining lymphatic network can become overwhelmed, which causes a backup of lymphatic fluid. The fluid can become so backed up that visible swelling of the arm occurs. This is known as lymphedema.

Lymph nodes do not have to be missing for lymphedema to occur. Sometimes, a tumor can be so large that it disrupts the flow of lymph fluid and causes lymphedema. Infection, inflammation and anatomical abnormalities can also result in the proper flow of lymphatic fluid to be compromised.

One excellent way to get the lymphatic system moving properly again is through Lymph Drainage Therapy (LDT), which is a gentle, non-invasive treatment used to stimulate the functions the lymphatic system.

History of Lymph Drainage Therapy

Frederic Millard, a Canadian physician, is credited with creating the term “lymphatic drainage” in 1922. [1]

However, lymph drainage therapy as we know it today was first used in the 1930s by Drs. Emil and Estrid Vodder, a husband and wife team in France. [2] Since that time, Dr. Bruno Chikly, a French physician, has expanded our knowledge of how Lymph Drainage Therapy can improve the function of the lymphatic system. [3]

According to Dr. Chikly, Lymph Drainage Therapy has several key effects in the body:

• Activated circulation of the lymph, capillaries, veins, interstitial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, and synovial fluid.
• Removal of toxins
• Drainage of proteins, which is helpful in addressing edema
• Evacuation of fats
• Improved functioning of the nervous system
• Stimulation of the immune system

Enhanced immune system function is perhaps the most important benefit of lymph drainage therapy when it comes to cancer treatment.

A Lymph Drainage Therapy session

Lymph drainage was originally performed by a massage therapist, using only the hands. While this was effective, it was also labor-intensive. A more recent development and one which I highly recommend is to achieve lymph drainage through the use of specialized equipment made specifically for this purpose. In the hands of an experienced technician, it offers superior results.

In my office, my lymph drainage therapist uses a device which utilizes light and sound in order to stimulate the proper flow of lymphatic fluid. With the patient lying comfortably on the exam table, each of the body’s major lymphatic areas is stimulated by the device. More attention can and should be given to those areas where significant lymph blockages are present. Without exception, patients state that the treatment session is very relaxing. I typically have patients do two treatment sessions per week, with each session lasting approximately one hour.

Because Lymph Drainage Therapy is detoxifying the body, it is very important to stay well hydrated. We always encourage our patients to drink extra water on treatment days.

The beauty of Lymph Drainage Therapy is that it stimulates body in a natural way so that the immune system function is appropriately stimulated. The keyword here is appropriate, because we want to enhance immune function so that it can do its job, but not to the point of over-stimulating it. Many patients believe that the higher the immune system activity, the better. This is not true, as the immune system can be overactive to the point that it is reacting to stimuli which are not harmful. This is arguably just as bad, if not worse, than an underactive immune system. With cancer, achieving this delicate balance is essential.

Conclusion

Lymph drainage therapy is a very valuable treatment for cancer because it addresses the known immune system dysregulation we see in patients with cancer. By properly stimulating the immune system, and also providing detoxification in the process, we can achieve an outstanding complement to other treatments within a protocol. In my office, I have found Lymph Drainage Therapy to be both safe and effective.

The post Lymph Drainage Therapy (LDT) appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

By killing cancer cells and damaging proteins and structures within cells, hyperthermia may shrink tumors. [1]

Localized hyperthermia treatment is a cancer treatment method with a simple basic principle: If a temperature elevation to 104ºF can be maintained for one hour within a cancer tumor, the cancer cells will be destroyed. [2]

Primary malignant tumors have poor blood circulation which makes them more sensitive to temperature changes. In localized hyperthermia heat is applied to a small area, such as a tumor, using different techniques which deliver energy to heat the tumor. These various types of energy may include microwave, radiofrequency, and ultrasound. Depending on the tumor location, there are several approaches to local hyperthermia:

According to the National Cancer Institute (National Institutes of Health), hyperthermia — a procedure in which body tissue is exposed to high temperatures (up to 113ºF) — is under investigation to assess its effectiveness in the treatment of cancer.

Scientists think heat may help shrink tumors by damaging cells or depriving them of substances they need to live. They are studying local, regional, and whole-body hyperthermia, using external and internal heating devices.

In conventional approaches, hyperthermia is almost always used with other forms of therapy (radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and biological therapy) to try to increase their effectiveness.

This is dissimilar to the approach used at Hope4Cancer, where hyperthermia is combined with non-toxic alternative treatments to provide a safe and effective approach against cancer.

It is known that heating areas of the body that contain cancer or heating the tumor itself, may help kill cancer cells. This treatment exposes the body tissue to high temperatures, between 104º-113ºF (40°-45°C), without harming surrounding healthy tissue. The normal body temperature is 98.6 ºF (37°C).

Most normal tissues are not damaged during hyperthermia if the temperature remains under 111°F. However, due to regional differences in tissue characteristics, higher temperatures may occur in various spots. This can result in burns, blisters, discomfort, or pain. [2]

Many clinical trials are being conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of hyperthermia. Some trials continue to research hyperthermia in combination with other therapies for the treatment of different cancers. Other studies focus on improving hyperthermia techniques.

The post Hyperthermia (Thermotherapy) appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

Although severe or prolonged hypoxia is deleterious, adaptation to the hypoxic microenvironment has allowed cancer cells to survive and proliferate in this hostile environment. Tumor hypoxia develops due to the structural and functional abnormalities of the tumor vasculature since cancer growth often overrides the ability of the cancer vasculature to adapt to the increasing oxygen demand.

Traditionally, hypoxia was thought of as a factor limiting cancer growth by reducing the ability of cells to divide. However, more recently, hypoxia has proven to be a causative factor in many pathophysiological events, including cancer progression.

Hyperbaric oxygen has been usggested to overcome hypoxia. HBO is based on the administration of 100 percent oxygen at higher than normal atmospheric pressure. HBO treatment enhances the amount of dissolved oxygen in the plasma, thereby increasing O₂ tissue delivery independent of hemoglobin.

“Hypoxia is a critical hallmark of solid tumors and involves enhanced cell survival, angiogenesis, glycolytic metabolism, and metastasis. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment has for centuries been used to improve or cure disorders involving hypoxia and ischemia, by enhancing the amount of dissolved oxygen in the plasma and thereby increasing O₂ delivery to the tissue,” the study states.

Until recently, HBO studies have focused on whether enhanced oxygen acts as a promoter of cancer or not.

“As oxygen is believed to be required for all the major processes of wound healing, one feared that the effects of HBO would be applicable to cancer tissue as well and promote cancer growth. Furthermore, one also feared that exposing patients who had been treated for cancer, to HBO, would lead to recurrence,” the study states.

“Nevertheless, two systematic reviews on HBO and cancer have concluded that the use of HBO in patients with malignancies is considered safe. To supplement the previous reviews, we have summarized the work performed on HBO and cancer in the period 2004-2012. Based on the present as well as previous reviews, there is no evidence indicating that HBO neither acts as a stimulator of tumor growth nor as an enhancer of recurrence.

“On the other hand, there is evidence that implies that HBO might have tumor-inhibitory effects in certain cancer subtypes, and we thus strongly believe that we need to expand our knowledge on the effect and the mechanisms behind tumor oxygenation.

“HBO therapy is today accepted and routinely used for many disorders, related to both ischemia and/or hypoxia. HBO is considered safe and complications are rare using today’s standard treatment protocols.”

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Low dose naltrexone, referred to as LDN, is given as a capsule in the 3 mg to 4.5 mg range for cancer, as opposed to the 50 mg dose given for addiction. [1]

Low dose naltrexone might exert its effects on tumor growth through a mix of three possible mechanisms:

• By inducing increases of metenkephalin (an endorphin produced in large amounts in the adrenal medulla) and beta-endorphin in the blood stream;
• By inducing an increase in the number and density of opiate receptors on the tumor cell membranes, thereby making them more responsive to the growth-inhibiting effects of the already-present levels of endorphins, which induce apoptosis (cell death) in the cancer cells; and
• By increasing the natural killer (NK) cell numbers and NK cell activity and lymphocyte activated CD8 numbers, which are quite responsive to increased levels of endorphins. [2]

LDN works by increasing endorphins, which are the “feel good” peptides that are produced during activities such as exercise. Endorphins are responsible for the runner’s high, and in addition to improving well-being, they also improve immune system function.

The mechanism of action of low dose naltrexone seems to be its effect on something known as opioid growth factor (OGF), which promotes the growth of cancer cells. OGF seems to be present in high amounts in all cancerous cells — much higher than in normal cells. One study looked at 31 human cancer cell types, representing 90 percent of all human cancer in the world, and all 31 cell types showed a high level of OGF. Low dose naltrexone’s ability to inhibit OGF should result in a slowing of the growth of tumor cells.

Research by others — on neuropeptide receptors expressed by various human tumors — has found opioid receptors in many types of cancer:

• Brain tumors (both astrocytoma and glioblastoma)
• Breast cancer
• Endometrial cancer
• Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
• Myeloid leukemia
• Lung cancer (both small cell and non-small cell)
• Neuroblastoma and others

These findings suggest the possibility for a beneficial LDN effect in a wide variety of common cancers.

Another promising effect of LDN’s effect on OGF is that it may inhibit the formation of new blood vessels, known as angiogenesis. We know that cancer cells recruit new blood vessels, which is essential for cancer to survive and spread. One study on lab mice found that LDN reduced the number of new blood vessels formed as well as the total length of blood vessels.

“Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) may well be the most important therapeutic breakthrough in over fifty years. It provides a new, safe and inexpensive method of medical treatment by mobilizing the natural defenses of one’s own immune system. LDN substantially reduces health care costs and improves treatment of a wide array of diseases. Unfortunately, because naltrexone has been without patent protection for many years, no pharmaceutical company will bear the expense of the large clinical trials necessary for FDA approval of LDN’s new special uses. It is now up to public institutions to seize the opportunity that LDN offers.” [3]
— Dr. David Gluck

The post Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

PDT involves the use of photosensitive agents (photosensitizers), which are drugs that are activated by certain wavelengths of laser light and kill cancer cells. PDT has been widely used in clinical settings for many years, but is only effective for surface level tumors due to the limited penetrability of visible light [1]. 

SDT is a more recent development in cancer care, which is thought to overcome the disadvantages of PDT [1]. It involves the use of sonosensitive agents (sonosensitizers), which are drugs that are activated by certain ultrasound frequencies to target cancer cells. SDT provides many advantages such as deeper tissue penetration, high precision and fewer side-effects [2]. It gives the ability to target deep-seated solid tumors and eradicate them in a non-invasive and site-directed manner [3].

In sono-photodynamic therapy, the combined use of ultrasound and laser light can make cancer treatment more effective [4]. SPDT has been shown in small scale studies to improve treatment outcomes in cancer patients with  various cancer types, and may provide benefits even for advanced metastatic (widespread) cancers that are resistant to chemotherapy [5]. Many other cancer treatment approaches, such as chemotherapy and radiation, cause systemic toxicity, suppress immunity, or can only be used infrequently. SPDT provides a promising alternative clinical approach that is non-invasive, non-toxic, can be applied frequently without causing harm and often improves immune function. It has also been shown in experimental studies with limited patient numbers to have synergistic effects that may enhance the efficacy of standard of care treatments [6].

Overall, SPDT is an emerging strategy that shows great potential as an adjunct therapy, or for inoperable tumors and late-stage cases that have not responded well to conventional treatment.

Historical Perspective

The knowledge of the powerful healing effects of sunlight date back to antiquity. Many ancient cultures worshiped the sun and utilized light as a therapy for different diseases [16].  Records of phototherapy, classically referred to as heliotherapy, date back thousands of years to the ancient civilizations of Egypt, China, Greece, India and Rome [16].

Phototherapy disappeared for centuries, only to be rediscovered in the West at the start of the 20^th Century in Germany by Arnold Rikli, Oscar Raab, Niels Finsen and Herman von Tappeiner [17]. These early pioneers discovered the tumor-localizing ability of compounds called porphyrins and their toxic effects on tumor tissues when combined with light [18].  This led to the development of modern-day photodynamic therapy (PDT).

Although PDT was first discovered over a hundred years ago, it only became a focus of mainstream cancer research in the 1970s. Thomas J. Dougherty, PhD successfully treated cancer with PDT in preclinical models in 1975 at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York [19]. In 1978 he conducted the first of a series of clinical studies in humans, which confirmed the efficacy and safety of the method [20]. In 1980 Dougherty and his team performed PDT on early-stage bronchial squamous cell carcinoma and achieved a complete cure [20]. Since then the treatment attracted major attention and Dougherty’s clinical data eventually led to FDA approval of the procedure in 1995 [21].

In the late 1980s it was reported that a variety of photosensitizing agents administered in conjunction with ultrasound also had anti-cancer effects [13]. In 1990, Shin-ichiro Umemura, PhD et al. introduced the concept of sonodynamic therapy to target cancer cells in mice with ultrasonically activated sensitizing agents [22]. From that point onwards, SDT developed into the promising non-invasive cancer therapy that it is today [13]. Sono-photodynamic therapy as a synergistic combination of PDT and SDT is a novel therapeutic modality with research only beginning to emerge in the last decade or two.

Research

Photodynamic therapy has been applied widely in clinical settings for many years. Research confirms that PDT induces cell death by apoptosis and necrosis, increases oxidative stress, alters cancer cell death signaling pathways, increases cytotoxicity and damages DNA in tumor cells [12].

The scientific literature shows that SDT disrupts tumor growth, induces cell death, and elicits an immune response [13]. The treatment can be effectively combined with targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Given its minimally invasive nature, synergistic effects, safety and efficacy, it could be a powerful tool in the future for treating previously incurable cancers [13].

A 2017 review of the literature on SDT states that recent studies have shown that SDT can selectively target cancer cells and has the potential to treat solid tumors, leukemia, atherosclerosis, remove proliferative scars, and kill pathogenic microorganisms [14].

SPDT treatment has been shown in a 2017 case study (small-scale patient reports) carried out over 4 years to result in a significant drop in circulating tumor cells in 17 patients with various cancer types and stages. Results indicate that SPDT could be an effective and well-tolerated treatment for a wide variety of primary and metastatic tumors, including those that have become resistant to chemotherapy [5]. Another case study on SPDT reported significant partial or complete responses in all 3 patients treated with advanced refractory (treatment-resistant) breast cancer [9].

A small 2017 study on SPDT treatment in 12 patients with advanced metastatic breast cancer showed a 75% response rate and concluded that the treatment had no significant side-effects and may significantly increase the efficacy of chemotherapy in advanced refractory cases [6]. Preliminary data from another study on 3 patients with advanced refractory esophageal and gastric cancers suggests that SPDT may dramatically enhance the efficacy of standard of care treatments without toxic side-effects [15].

Researchers agree that SPDT shows promise as a new systemic strategy in cancer care and as an adjunct therapy[6].  It merits further investigation as a therapeutic tool for advanced metastatic cancers of various types, which have become resistant to first line treatment approaches [5].

Potential Applications

SPDT has been shown to be safe and effective. It is a beneficial non-invasive and non-toxic therapy that has potential application as an adjunct treatment for most cancer types and stages of disease. It has a wide range of clinically-supported benefits. Studies show it can be as effective as surgery or radiation in certain cases.

Sono-photodynamic therapy has been used in combination with other therapies to treat a range of cancer types, including but not limited to the following:

• Bone Cancer
• Brain Cancer
• Breast Cancer
• Cervical Cancer
• Colon Cancer
• Esophageal Cancer
• Head and Neck Cancers
• Leiomyosarcoma
• Leukemia
• Liver Cancer
• Lung Cancer
• Lymphoma
• Melanoma
• Ovarian Cancer
• Pancreatic Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Rectal Cancer
• Stomach Cancer
• Thyroid Cancer
• Urinary Bladder Cancer
• Uterine Cancer
• Vaginal Cancer

Potential benefits of SPDT include:

• No long-term side effects when administered correctly
• Non-invasive compared to surgery
• Non-toxic compared to conventional treatments
• Can be repeated frequently at same location (unlike radiation)
• Can be targeted precisely
• Little or no scarring
• Synergistic effects with standard of care treatments
• Normalized or improved tumor markers
• Reduced circulating tumor cells
• Selectively kills cancer cells
• Inhibits tumor growth
• Reduction or elimination of solid tumors and blood cancers
• Highly synergistic with low-dose and high-dose chemotherapy
• Suitable for early-stage and advanced metastatic cancer
• Promising solution for treatment-resistant or otherwise incurable cancers
• Pain reduction
• Improved quality of life
• Longer survival rates
• Palliative benefits

Mechanism of Action Explained:

Photodynamic therapy requires the combination of three components: a photosensitive drug, laser light and molecular oxygen. In PDT the patient is administered a photosensitizer (molecule activated by light), which is preferentially absorbed by cancer cells. When irradiated with a specific wavelength of laser light, the photosensitizer absorbs the light energy and activates [7]. When activated, it generates cytotoxic oxygen free radicals, known as reactive oxygen species (ROS), which in turn damage DNA and induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) of cancerous cells without damaging healthy cells [8]. Light at specific wavelengths can be targeted to a tumor site or systemically to treat a large area of the body.

Sonodynamic therapy also requires the combination of three components: a sonosensitive drug, low-intensity ultrasound and molecular oxygen. In SDT the patient is administered a sonosensitizer (molecule activated by sound), which is then almost exclusively uptaken by cancer cells. When exposed to ultrasound waves of a specific frequency, the sonosensitizer activates and releases a cascade of endogenous cytotoxic agents, such as ROS, which damage DNA and induce apoptosis in cancer cells, selectively destroying the tumor cells from inside [6].

The advantage of ultrasound is that it penetrates more deeply than light, which means it is more effective for the treatment of deep-rooted tumors than PDT [6]. The successful application of PDT has been limited to superficial cancers such as skin, head, neck, mouth, throat or breast, because of the limited penetration of laser light into tumor tissues [9]. SDT was developed as a complementary or alternative therapy to PDT in order to resolve shortfalls of the treatment. Ultrasound allows for non-invasive targeted treatment of deeper tumor sites throughout the body, which is not possible with photodynamic therapy [5].

Certain sensitizers have both photodynamic and sonodynamic effects, which means they are activated by both light and sound [10].  In sono-photodynamic therapy for cancer, PDT and SDT are combined with a carefully selected sensitizing drug that is activated by both light and sound frequencies. This results in powerful synergistic effects. Research has demonstrated that SPDT generates much greater cytotoxicity in cancer cells than either SDT or PDT alone and that ROS are significantly increased with the combined therapy [6].

SPDT can be targeted locally or administered systemically to treat cancers throughout the whole body. The therapy may also damage blood vessels in tumors, cutting off the blood supply and therefore inhibiting tumor growth [11].  It may also have a systemic anti-cancer effect and trigger the immune system to attack cancerous cells throughout the body [11].

Risks and side-effects

In general, sono-photodynamic therapy has been shown to be safe in terms of serious adverse effects and relatively harmless even with frequent applications [23]. Damage to healthy cells generally remains limited as the sensitizing agents are preferentially absorbed by cancer cells. There are no serious risks or long-term side-effects commonly associated with the treatment, but there can be some short-term side-effects with photodynamic therapy and photosensitizers.

While damage to normal cells is limited, PDT can occasionally cause issues at the targeted site of treatment such as:

• Burns
• Swelling
• Redness or itching
• Pain
• Scarring

Other side effects may include:

• Cough
• Breathing difficulties
• Trouble swallowing
• Stomach pain

Certain photosensitizers, such as porfimer sodium, are known to make the skin and eyes sensitive to light for about 6 weeks. During this time patients are advised to avoid direct sunlight and stay inside as much as possible [11].

Occasionally PDT treatments can alter immune function, either stimulating or weakening the immune system for a certain period of time. In extremely rare cases, PDT has been known to cause skin cancer at the site where treatment was given. This is believed to only happen if the immune system was suppressed by the treatment [24].

The majority of reported side effects improve soon after the treatment is finished, and overall, SPDT is considered to be a well-tolerated and low-toxicity therapy compared to other conventional treatments [11].

FAQs

1. How does SPDT work?

SPDT is a new technology that uses full body and targeted ultrasound combined with specific wavelengths of light. Before treatment, you take a drug that selectively accumulates in cancer cells. The drug activates when exposed to specific frequencies and wavelengths of sound and light, which in turn kills cancer cells without damaging healthy cells.

2. How is SPDT administered?

In SPDT the drug can be taken by mouth, applied directly on the skin or injected depending on the location of the cancer. After 24 to 72 hours the drug will have left all healthy cells and will remain only in the cancer cells. Treatment with light and ultrasound can then begin.

3. Is SPDT safe and effective?

In general, sono-photodynamic therapy has been shown to be safe and effective for a range of cancer types. The treatment is well tolerated in most cases without major side effects. Any adverse effects are normally superficial and resolve soon after the completion of treatment.

References

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[2] Pan X, Wang H, Wang S, Sun X, Wang L, Wang W, Shen H, Liu H. Sonodynamic therapy (SDT): a novel strategy for cancer nanotheranostics. Sci China Life Sci. 2018 Apr;61(4):415-426. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29666990/

[3] Wan GY, Liu Y, Chen BW, Liu YY, Wang YS, Zhang N. Recent advances of sonodynamic therapy in cancer treatment. Cancer Biol Med. 2016 Sep;13(3):325-338. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5069838/

[4] Sadanala KC, Chaturvedi PK, Seo YM, Kim JM, Jo YS, Lee YK, Ahn WS. Sono-photodynamic combination therapy: a review on sensitizers. Anticancer Res. 2014 Sep;34(9):4657-64. https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/34/9/4657/

[5] Kenyon JN. Outcome measures following Sono and Photodynamic Therapy – A Case Series. Journal of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis. 2021 Mar;5(1):23-29. https://doi.org/10.29245/2578-2967/2021/1.1195

[6] Zhang W, Li K, Lu J, Peng Z, Wang X et al. (2017) Sonodynamic and Photodynamic Therapy in Breast Cancer – A Pilot Study. Int J Complement Alt Med 9(5): 00313. DOI: 10.15406/ijcam.2017.09.00313

[7] Sivasubramanian M, Chuang YC, Lo LW. Evolution of Nanoparticle-Mediated Photodynamic Therapy: From Superficial to Deep-Seated Cancers. Molecules. 2019 Jan 31;24(3):520. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30709030/

[8] Henderson BW, Dougherty TJ. How does photodynamic therapy work? Photochem Photobiol. 1992 Jan;55(1):145-57. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1603846/

[9] Wang X, Zhang W, Xu Z, Luo Y, Mitchell D, Moss RW. Sonodynamic and photodynamic therapy in advanced breast carcinoma: a report of 3 cases. Integr Cancer Ther. 2009 Sep;8(3):283-7. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1534735409343693

[10] Zheng, Yilin & Jinxiang, Ye & Li, Ziying & Chen, Haijun & Gao, Yu. (2020). Recent progress in sono-photodynamic cancer therapy: From developed new sensitizers to nanotechnology-based efficacy enhancing strategies. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B. 11. 10.1016/j.apsb.2020.12.016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsb.2020.12.016

[11] Photodynamic Therapy to Treat Cancer. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/photodynamic-therapy

[12] Senapathy GJ, George BP, Abrahamse H. Exploring the Role of Phytochemicals as Potent Natural Photosensitizers in Photodynamic Therapy. Anticancer Agents Med Chem. 2020;20(15):1831-1844. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32619181/

[13] Yamaguchi T, Kitahara S, Kusuda K, Okamoto J, Horise Y, Masamune K, Muragaki Y. Current Landscape of Sonodynamic Therapy for Treating Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2021 Dec 8;13(24):6184. https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13246184

[14] Rengeng L, Qianyu Z, Yuehong L, Zhongzhong P, Libo L. Sonodynamic therapy, a treatment developing from photodynamic therapy. Photodiagnosis Photodyn Ther. 2017 Sep;19:159-166. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28606724/

[15] Lucy Qing Li, Xiaohuai Wang, Iris Wenyin Zhang, and Douglas Mitchell. Primary clinical use of the sono-photo-dynamic therapy for advanced esophagocadiac and gastric adenocarcinoma. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2014 32:15. https://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/jco.2014.32.15_suppl.e15024

[16] Mahmoud H. Abdel-kader, CHAPTER 1:The Journey of PDT Throughout History: PDT from Pharos to Present , in Photodynamic Medicine: From Bench to Clinic, 2016, pp. 1-21 DOI: 10.1039/9781782626824-00001

[17] Daniell MD, Hill JS. A history of photodynamic therapy. Aust N Z J Surg. 1991 May;61(5):340-8. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2025186/

[18] Ackroyd, Roger & Kelty, Clive & Brown, Nicola & Reed, Malcolm. (2007). The History of Photodetection and Photodynamic Therapy. Photochemistry and Photobiology. 74. 656 – 669. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229731546_The_History_of_Photodetection_and_Photodynamic_Therapy

[19] Dougherty, T.J. (2007). A Personal History of Photodynamic Therapy. In: Schlag, P.M., Stein, U., Eggermont, A.M.M. (eds) Regional Cancer Therapy. Cancer Drug Discovery and Development. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-59745-225-0_9

[20] Kato H. [History of photodynamic therapy–past, present and future]. Gan To Kagaku Ryoho. 1996 Jan;23(1):8-15. Japanese. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8546474/

[21] Kessel D. Photodynamic Therapy: A Brief History. J Clin Med. 2019 Oct 2;8(10):1581. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6832404/

[22] Umemura S, Yumita N, Nishigaki R, Umemura K. Mechanism of cell damage by ultrasound in combination with hematoporphyrin. Jpn J Cancer Res. 1990 Sep;81(9):962-6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2172198/

[23] Miyoshi N, Kundu SK, Tuziuti T, Yasui K, Shimada I, Ito Y. Combination of Sonodynamic and Photodynamic Therapy against Cancer Would Be Effective through Using a Regulated Size of Nanoparticles. Nanosci Nanoeng. 2016 Feb;4(1):1-11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4827930/[24] The American Cancer Society medical and editorial content team. Getting Photodynamic Therapy. American Cancer Society. Last Revised: November 19, 2021. https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/treatment-types/radiation/photodynamic-therapy.html

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment that uses a drug, called a photosensitizer or photosensitizing agent, and a particular type of light. When photosensitizers are exposed to a specific wavelength of light, it is theorized they produce a form of oxygen that kills nearby cells. [1]

Each photosensitizer is activated by light of a specific wavelength. This wavelength determines how far the light can travel into the body . Therefore, doctors use specific photosensitizers and wavelengths of light to treat various areas of the body with PDT.

In addition to potentially killing cancer cells, PDT appears to shrink or destroy tumors in two other ways. The photosensitizer may cause damage to the blood vessels in the tumor, thereby preventing cancer from receiving necessary nutrients. PDT may also activate the immune system to attack the tumor cells.

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) and Sono-Dynamic Therapy (SDT) have been innovatively combined into the Sono-Photo Dynamic Therapy (SPDT) method. The possibility that SPDT may help even the most advanced cancers, SPDT could provide a powerful and non-toxic method to destroy aberrant cancer cells. [2]

Sono-Photo Dynamic Therapy combines two therapies suggested to destroy cancer cells. SPDT involves getting an agent into the whole body, (originally by injection, now orally), which adheres to cancer cells, so that when light and now, sound, of the correct frequency is applied, the agent “explodes” into free radical oxygen, essentially killing the cancer cells which cannot survive in oxygen. It is suggested to be followed up by cleansing of toxins from the body, especially including all of the just killed cancer cells.

In this treatment, a patient ingests an oral, non-toxic, photosensitive dietary supplement called SP-Activate (SP-A). SP-A preferentially absorbs into cancer cells. At precise sound (sono) and light (photo) frequencies, SP-Activate produces a high energy molecule that induces free radical oxygen, destroying the cancer cell. The sound and light frequencies are directed locally at a tumor site, or systemically (treating a large area of the body).

It is important to note that the origin of the cancer must still be dealt with.

SPDT is recently approved in the U.S., UK, and has been adopted by the Chinese Government. Experimental projects have recently been published in Toronto, Canada, and other countries.

Sono-Photo Dynamic Therapy has been used in combination with other therapies to treat a number of cancers, including but not limited to the following: [2]

• Bone Cancer
• Brain Cancer
• Breast Cancer
• Cervical Cancer
• Colon Cancer
• Esophageal Cancer
• Head and Neck Cancers
• Leiomyosarcoma
• Leukemia
• Liver Cancer
• Lung Cancer
• Lymphoma
• Melanoma
• Ovarian Cancer
• Pancreatic Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• Rectal Cancer
• Stomach Cancer
• Thyroid Cancer
• Urinary Bladder Cancer
• Uterine Cancer
• Vaginal Cancer

Research continues on ways to increase PDT effectiveness and expand it to other cancers. Clinical trials are under way to evaluate the use of PDT for cancers of the brain, skin, prostate, cervix, and peritoneal cavity. Other studies are focused on the development of more powerful and targeted photosensitizers that are activated by light which can penetrate tissue and treat deep or large tumors. Researchers are also working toward ways to improve equipment and the delivery of the activating light.

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A much more modern version of the sauna idea is the electric light near infrared lamp sauna. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg is credited with its invention about 100 years ago.

Theory: Near infra-red light is an antioxidant nutrient, activates cells, supports metabolic processes, and assists in the removal of chemical toxins and heavy metals through the sweat glands.  It also increases oxygenation and enhances the immune system while reducing the radiation burden in the body by removing radioactive particles resident in the tissues. Near infrared is also helpful for wound healing and cellular regeneration. [1, 2]

The sauna near infrared heat penetrates into the body stimulating the sweating process without the feelings of suffocation and discomfort that are common in high-temperature dry and steam heat saunas.  The following effects are theorized:

•  The sauna creates a “fever” reaction that kills potentially dangerous viruses and bacteria and increases the number of white blood cells in the body, strengthening the immune system.
•  Help excrete toxins from the body including cadmium, lead, zinc, nickel, sodium, sulfuric acid, and mercury.
•  Stimulates dilation of blood vessels, especially the peripheral ones, which helps enhance blood flow deep in the tissues, providing pain relief besides enhanced nutrition.

The heat from near infrared is also said to help kill other types of abnormal cells.  Tumors, for example, tolerate heat poorly.  Raising body temperature hastens their death.  Though not a conventional method, hyperthermia is a well-researched therapy for cancer.  Heat also disables or kills cells mutated by radiation or damaged by other toxins. [1]

According to the National Cancer institute, hyperthermia (also called thermal therapy or thermotherapy) is a type of cancer treatment in which body tissue is exposed to high temperatures. Research has shown that high temperatures can damage and kill cancer cells, usually with minimal injury to normal tissues. Many studies have shown a significant reduction in tumor size when hyperthermia is combined with other treatments. [3]

Near infra-red heat is considered to be more impactful than the higher energy far infrared radiation devices that are available in the market.

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According to one study, considerable work over the past decade has shown how psychological processes can impact pathways implicated in cancer progression. Furthermore, immune system dysregulation may have major implications for fatigue and depressive symptoms among cancer survivors. [1]

In the article, Psychoneuroimmunology and cancer: fact or fiction? by Kiecolt-Glaser JK1 and Glaser R., they state:

“There is substantial evidence from both healthy populations as well as individuals with cancer linking psychological stress with immune downregulation. This discussion highlights natural killer (NK) cells, because of the role that they may play in malignant disease. In addition, distress or depression is also associated with two important processes for carcinogenesis: poorer repair of damaged DNA, and alterations in apoptosis. Conversely, the possibility that psychological interventions may enhance immune function and survival among cancer patients clearly merits further exploration, as does the evidence suggesting that social support may be a key psychological mediator. These studies and others suggest that psychological or behavioral factors may influence the incidence or progression of cancer through psychosocial influences on immune function and other physiological pathways.” [2]

Psychological stress has been found to be the main contributor in affecting immune response. This is explored in an article in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Psychologic Stress, Immunity, and Cancer by Sheldon Cohen and Bruce S. Rabin. They explore five areas that stress can affect cancer patients:

• Psychologic stress can alter immune function.
• The immune system plays a role in regulating tumor growth.
• Immune changes under stress are of the type that would influence tumor growth and metastasis.
• Immune changes under stress are of the magnitude that would influence tumor growth and metastasis.
• Stress-reduction interventions will influence the progression of the disease. [3]

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