Cancer is just a symptom of a disorder in the whole system, not in the breast or the colon or the prostate,” says Dr Leigh Erin Connealy, founder and Medical Director of the Cancer Center for Healing and Center for New Medicine in Irvine, California—one of the largest cancer healing centers in the world. “It’s a disorder of the whole system because the body is a whole system. You can’t just treat cancer. You have to fix what’s creating the perfect storm of cancer in the body.”
Connealy’s approach to treating cancer, applied to more than 65,000 cancer patients she’s treated in the last 35 years, typifies the practices of the best integrative cancer specialists around the world. They take a whole-systems approach to cancer by investigating the full state of each patient’s health and focus on healing the entire person, not simply the tumor.
They explore environmental factors like diet and exposure to toxins, as well as the patient’s emotional and mental state, and they select from a large palette of alternative and conventional treatments they deem best for that individual.
Although a vast number of holistic and integrative approaches to cancer treatment exist, physicians reliably turn to particular methods, most of which have clinical validation. Here is a list of methods to look for when searching for adjunct or alternative treatments to standard of care chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.
Adoptive cellular therapy increases the number and/or effectiveness of immune cells through laboratory engineering, improving the power of the immune response against cancer.1 This type of therapy encompasses:
Anti-angiogenic therapy stops new blood cells from forming, thus restricting tumor growth.2
Artesunate is an antiparasitic drug that was originally developed to treat malaria and has been found to have antitumor effects. Artesunate (administered via IV) causes cancer cell death (apoptosis) by reacting with iron particles in the lysosomes of cancer cells—tiny spherical structures within the cells that contain enzymes. The resultant free radicals destroy cancer cells’ mitochondria (their energy production centers).3
Autologous adoptive immunotherapy (AAIT) uses genetically engineered T cells to facilitate tumor recognition, enhance T cell activation, induce tumor-specific cytotoxicity, and/or augment immune memory.4
Autologous vaccine therapy treats the patient’s drawn blood in the laboratory to produce antigens that identify cancer along with other compounds that stimulate the immune response against it.5
3-Bromopyruvate (3BP) is an organic compound similar to lactic acid, which blocks the hexokinase-2 enzyme (HK2). HK2 produces glucose in the body, and it also binds to damaged mitochondria in cancer cells, keeping them from producing cellular energy (ATP), thus killing the cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed.6
Cancer vaccines are used to help the body recognize cancer cells and stimulate the immune system, activating T cells to destroy them.7
Cytokine therapy uses proteins called interferons and interleukins to trigger an immune response.8
Dendritic cell therapy. Dendritic cells are the “sentinels” of the immune system, pointing out where any illness or abnormal cells are hiding and showing the immune system how to attack it.9
European mistletoe (Viscum album) has a long history of use as a cancer treatment (see box, page 51). It is an immunoregulator that’s been shown to improve survival time and promote tumor remission.10
Gut flora replacement therapy (GFRT) is the process of implanting beneficial intestinal bacteria and yeasts from probiotic supplements into the gut to improve intestinal performance.
Herbal cancer therapy. Some herbs proven to have anticancer properties are:
High-dose intravenous (IV) vitamin C has been suggested to slow tumor growth, aid in the production of signaling proteins called interferons, and neutralize carcinogenic compounds found in processed foods and linked to gastrointestinal cancers (see box, page 51). Studies show it can improve quality of life, reduce symptom severity and even induce remission in some cases.13
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO). Cancer creates a low-oxygen environment, and HBO has been shown to have tumor-inhibitory effects in certain cancer subtypes.14
Hyperthermia. Localized and whole-body hyperthermia uses heat (between 104°F and 113°F, or 40–45°C) to kill the cancer cells and destroy nearby blood vessels. The higher the temperature and longer the treatment, the greater the effect.15
Immune checkpoint therapy helps T cells mount a longer-lasting response against the cancer.16
Low-dose insulin potentiation therapy. Also known as IPT therapy or IPTLD, low-dose chemotherapy (10 to 25 percent that of normal chemo) is combined with a small amount of glucose to target “sugar-hungry” cancer cells directly.
Metabolic treatment uses a ketogenic dietary approach to starve cancer cells of their sugar and glutamine sources.17
Almost 100 years ago, the German physician, researcher and Nobel Laureate Otto Warburg proposed that the primary cause of cancer is a metabolic dysfunction of the mitochondria. Mitochondria are the cellular powerplants that produce ATP, the energy source all cells rely on to function, and Warburg hypothesized that this dysfunction caused mitochondria to switch from using oxygen for this process (respiration) to using the much less efficient process of fermenting sugar into lactic acid (glycolosis).
Consistent with this theory, elevated glycolysis even in the presence of oxygen has been recognized as the most common biochemical marker of cancer for over 80 years.1
This marked difference between cancer cells and healthy cells became known as the “Warburg Effect.”
Unfortunately, in the mid-twentieth century, Warburg’s theory was replaced by the belief that cancer was strictly a genetically driven disease. For over 70 years, mainstream medicine has relentlessly focused on finding the genetic roots of cancer and the chemical “keys” to switching cancer genes off with pharmaceutical drugs. And yet cancer is still on the rise, and so far no effective treatments using that approach have been found.
However, Warburg’s metabolic theory is now making a comeback. Research in the 1980s revealed that mitochondria in tumor cells are abnormal and have huge amounts of the enzyme hexokinase-2 (HK2) clinging to their outer membrane, synthesizing glucose,2 “immortalizing” the cancer cells and aiding in
their growth.3
Reducing the sugar supply that cancer cells rely upon for metabolism and eliminating HK2 in cancer cells’ mitochondria are now proving to be effective metabolic methods for treating cancer. Adopting a ketogenic diet (a low-carb, high-fat, moderate-protein diet)
is an effective adjunct treatment for
cancer patients.4
The ketogenic diet slows tumor growth, prevents cancer initiation, and increases lifespan.5 It also aids anti-cancer drugs in their action against cancer6 and reduces the inflammation that drives cancer proliferation.7
As far as HK2 is concerned, in 2004, two biochemists at Johns Hopkins University targeted HK2, treating rats with large carcinomas with 3-bromopyruvate (3BP). All advanced cancers in all 19 animals were eradicated without harming surrounding healthy cells, and there was no cancer recurrence.8
These metabolic approaches can be supplemented with other treatments.
“I’ve got several patients who came in with stage 4 cancer, and we’re still working together years later,” says Dr Donese Worden, a naturopathic physician in Scottsdale, Arizona, about the metabolic approach. “For example, I have a prostate cancer patient who did the metabolic therapies, and his tumor shrank dramatically to the point where his doctor decided not to do surgery or chemo.
“Then he got married and traveled to Europe, got all excited and went off his ketogenic diet, eating bread and drinking wine for three weeks. When he came back his cancer markers had risen, and the tumor had grown again. Once he went back on a restricted ketogenic diet, he shrank it again.”
Metronomic chemotherapy. A type of ultra-low-dose chemotherapy (usually 10 to 30 percent of a normal chemo dose) administered in tablet form.18
Monoclonal antibodies. Immune system proteins created in the lab are used to mark the cancer as a target for the immune system to attack.19
Natural killer cell therapy. NK cells recognize and attack cancer cells, but they don’t live long enough or multiply quickly enough to totally wipe them out. This therapy enhances the longevity of a patient’s NK cells by treating them with small signaling proteins called cytokines, with the aim to increase their cancer-fighting capacity.20
Oncotripsy (pulsed ultrasound) involves directing acoustic standing waves to the tumor. These waves burst cancer cells while leaving the healthy surrounding tissues unharmed.21 One effective device used to deliver percussive treatment is the CellSonic VIPP (very intense pressure pulses) device. It delivers hundreds of rapid pressure pulses directed into the body in either a focused or a more diffused manner, negatively impacting the cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone.
Ozone autohemotherapy directs ozone into the bloodstream by extracting blood, exposing it to ozone and then infusing the ozonated blood back into the body via an IV.22
Peptide therapy is a kind of cancer “vaccine.” Peptides are short chains of amino acids that target cancer cell membranes and induce cell death. They can also stimulate the production of tumor-reactive T cells.23
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) involves the use of a light-sensitive substance that can be absorbed by tumor cells. When exposed to light of a specific wavelength, the affected cells become agitated, releasing the protein cytochrome C from their mitochondria, which in turn induces cancer cell death.24
Poly-MVA is a proprietary blend of lipoic acid, palladium, and other vitamins and minerals formulated to restore the mitochondria, support cellular energy production and potentially erode cancer cells. It has anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties.25
Sonodynamic/Photodynamic Therapy (SPDT). PDT (above) can be coupled with low-intensity ultrasound (administered via a skin probe to the affected tumor areas) to achieve an even stronger antitumor effect.24
Going beyond standard of care translates to individualized testing and treatments. No two patients are alike in their biochemistry, their physical conditioning, their lifestyle, their mental, emotional and spiritual condition or their cancer. Just as the list of integrative treatments for cancer is long, so is the list of tests that can precede treatment.
The following list of tests was submitted by Dr Erin Singh, a naturopath in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, who follows a metabolic approach to treating cancer developed by Dr Nasha Winters. She is quick to point out that this list is incomplete and simply hits the main tests often used, depending upon the patient, cancer type and overall clinical situation and history.
Conventional laboratory bloodwork,
all utilizing optimized human ranges, not the “normal” lab ranges taken from the general population, which includes people who are ill:
Non-conventional testing might include:
Comprehensive hormone testing
Alternative scans to avoid DNA-damaging radiation:
Toxicant testing:
Published in The Townsend Letter (www.townsendletter.com), Tuesday, August 10, 2021.
In January 2016, a 50-year-old man consulted with Dr Leigh Erin Connealy for treatment. He had been diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma in June 2014, with surgical removal of lesions on his back and left shin. Twelve lymph nodes were also removed, and one had microscopic metastasis. A PET scan in September 2014 was clear, and no further treatment was recommended.
In December 2016, an abdominal CT scan revealed two lesions in the left lobe of his liver. A contrast-enhanced MRI of the abdomen revealed the same lesions consistent with metastasis to the liver. PHI (prostate health index) and CTC (circulating tumor cell) tests were high, indicating ongoing cancer activity. Connealy started the patient on a three-month protocol of hyperbaric oxygen three times a week, intravenous vitamin C and dichloroacetate sodium (a drug that reduces glucose production) plus pulsed electromagnetic field therapy twice a week, light beam generator and ozone therapy once a week. Also recommended were four supportive oligonucleotide therapy (SOT) treatments—drugs that manipulate gene expression—spaced out several months apart.
The patient also received hyperbaric oxygen therapy three times a week plus PEMF therapy and IV therapies of vitamin C, DCA (a chemical compound similar to combining vinegar and salt), poly-MVA, selenium and artesunate (a compound that is derived from the wormwood plant) twice a week. He also began weekly LDH tests (lactose dehydrogenase, a test for monitoring cancer), hyperthermia treatments twice a week and started taking metformin (an oral diabetes medicine that helps control blood sugar levels) 500 mg twice a day.
A consistent course of holistic treatment was maintained as the lesions continued to steadily shrink. In June 2019, an MRI of the abdomen showed calcification of the liver lesions with no additional lesions and no evidence of metastatic disease. MRI of the pelvis was also negative for metastasis. The patient’s stage 4 melanoma has been in remission since June 2019.
After decades of research, it has been solidly established that ascorbic acid, better known as vitamin C, bolsters the immune system against infectious disease, cancer and other chronic degenerative diseases.1
Vitamin C strengthens a person’s defense system via hydroxylation—a process by which oxygen and hydrogen are bonded to create chemical groups (hydroxyls) that positively impact metabolism and other bodily functions—antioxidant action and the reduction of free radicals and immune system stimulation. In addition, vitamin C also protects against viral diseases.1
“Given its safety, its track record of showing to be synergistic with most all other cancer therapies, traditional and nontraditional, we consider IV vitamin C as sort of the quintessential adjunctive therapy for any cancer patient,” says Lucas Tims, ND, a board-certified naturopathic oncologist and medical director of the Riordan Clinic in Overland Park, Kansas.
To make sure it’s safe, Tims says practitioners at the Riordan Clinics screen patients for a rare condition called G6PD (glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) deficiency, a hereditary condition in which red blood cells break down when the body is exposed to certain substances, including high levels of vitamin C—a situation that could lead to side-effects. They also make sure that patients undergoing IV vitamin C therapy have properly functioning kidneys, as patients with kidney disease are not good candidates.
There are also a few types of chemotherapy agents that IV vitamin C does not combine well with—drugs called proteasome inhibitors (protein complexes that break down other proteins made in the body into peptides) that are used to treat cancers such as multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“Most active cancer patients receive 50 to 100 g two to three times a week, and then a 25 to 50 g once-a-month maintenance dose once they show no evidence of disease,” says Tims.
“Most Western allopathic doctors are hesitant to try vitamin C therapy, even as an adjunct treatment, because of concern that vitamin C, an antioxidant, will interfere with chemo and radiation, which are oxidative therapies,” Tims continues.
“The piece they’re missing—and there is the science out there to substantiate it—is that when you give high doses of vitamin C intravenously, it no longer simply acts as an antioxidant. It also tends to react with iron and copper in the blood, a reaction that creates hydrogen peroxide. And hydrogen peroxide exerts oxidative effects on cancer cells, very similar to the way chemotherapy works.
“Healthy cells have a high-functioning enzyme called catalase that breaks down hydrogen peroxide, whereas the overwhelming majority of cancer cells lack this enzyme. Think of vitamin C as a cancer smart bomb that conveys no harm to your healthy cells. Whereas chemotherapy is more like a grenade, intravenous high-dose vitamin C is like a sniper rifle.”
Native to Europe and western and southern Asia, Viscum album—better known as mistletoe—is a parasitic plant that grows on several species of trees. Unlike vitamin C, mistletoe does not exert any direct anticancer effects. Instead, it enhances the body’s ability to get rid of cancer via the immune system.
Prepared in an extract form, mistletoe is most commonly delivered through a subcutaneous injection in the abdominal fat, which is loaded with certain immune cells that are key to engaging with cancer: macrophages (scavenger cells), T cells (white blood cells that are key players in the adaptive immune response) and natural killer (NK) cells, which respond quickly to pathogens.
The typical dosage for mistletoe is about 20 to 50 mg (although it can go as high as 100 mg). Maintenance can last up to five to 10 years, depending on the case. Only the medicinal form of mistletoe, found in the European species, can be used for treatment.
We’ve gathered together some of the world’s leading alternative practitioners and clinics applying integrative therapies for the treatment of cancer.
UNITED KINGDOM
www.cancure.org/12-links-page/26-etienne-callebout-m-d
Dr Callebout uses numerous herbs, nutritional supplements and enzymes along with a detoxification regime, dietary changes and psychological healing strategies.
Among protocols used are:
Dr Daniel offers holistic health consultations to help people promote their health, wellbeing and quality of life through self-help programs. She also offers an online course, “Discovering the Integrative Healthcare Approach to Cancer.”
Dr Hembry is the Medical Director of Integrated Health Screening Ltd., in Clifton, Bristol. She facilitates specialized RGCC cancer tests that detect the presence of circulating tumor cells and their concentration in the blood.
Dr Kenyon is an integrated medicine physician and medical director of the Dove Clinic. The clinic uses repurposed drugs like promethazine (Phenergan) and tricyclic drugs (antidepressants that increase levels of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and serotonin) like clomipramine to correct the altered biochemistry of cancer cells.
Other therapies include:
The clinic is headed up by Dr Saskia H. Kloppenburg Vieth, who is also a physician at the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine. Her holistic cancer approach addresses all aspects of a person’s life: nutrition, supplements and toxins, their lifestyle (exercise, social support) and their emotional wellbeing.
Some of the therapies offered are:
Under the direction of functional medicine physician and integrative oncology specialist Dr Aryan Tavakkoli, the clinic supports patients with active cancer who are undergoing or have undergone conventional treatment.
Therapies include:
UNITED STATES
www.arizonaadvancedmedicine.com
The center uses low-dose insulin potentiation therapy (IPTLD) and low-dose chemotherapy (10 to 25 percent that of normal chemo) combined with a small amount of glucose to target “sugar-hungry” cancer cells directly.
Other therapies include:
www.atlantaintegrativeand-internalmedicine.com
The clinic’s main focus in cancer treatment is Naturopathic Oncology, enhancing survival and quality of life, and they will work alongside a conventional oncologist.
The following integrative therapies are used at this center:
www.cancercenterforhealing.com
Founded by Dr Leigh Erin Connealy, this is the largest multidisciplinary, integrative cancer center in North America, utilizing cutting-edge technology from around the world in combination with comprehensive testing, advanced treatment, immune-boosting therapies and a focus on identifying and eliminating the root causes of cancer in the individual.
Testing includes but is not limited to:
Envita combines advanced, natural-based therapies and conventional medicine, especially in complex, late-stage cancers. The center has its own compounding pharmacy that creates individualized supplements and medicines to individualize treatment and mitigate the development of multi-drug resistance in cancer cells common with chemotherapy.
Therapies used include:
www.hawaiinaturopathicretreat.com
Run by Dr Maya Nicole Baylac, trained at the Gerson Institute, the center uses the Gerson Therapy, an intense detoxification and nutrition program that strengthens the immune system. It includes Iscador therapy (clinically formulated European mistletoe) in conjunction with other cancer treatments including an intense detoxification program consisting of:
One of the largest cancer centers in the world, MD Anderson is leading research to identify new ways to improve the body’s immune response to cancer. The center uses several immunotherapies as standard treatments for certain cancers, while others are only offered through clinical trials.
Some therapies offered are:
These clinics combine in-depth nutritional lab testing, a comprehensive medical evaluation, and the utilization of a variety of holistic, nontoxic treatments and services to provide a customized, holistic treatment plan.
Treatments offered include:
Dr Worden is an integrative naturopathic physician who treats cancer on an individualized basis that also incorporates the metabolic approach.
A few of the treatments she uses are:
Dr Winters has developed the metabolic terrain approach, which is extremely individualized and relies on the idea that the entire body’s “terrain”—physical, mental, emotional and spiritual—determines the overall health of the person and that with cancer, everything is broken and the patient has to change everything.
Dr Singh follows Dr Nasha Winters’ protocol and philosophy, evaluating when immunotherapy, chemotherapy agents, radiation and off-label drug use will or will not work, and recommending treatments accordingly. She also uses a ketogenic dietary approach.
A few of the treatments recommended and employed are:
MEXICO
Director Dr Gilberto Alvarez has over 37 years of experience treating cancer. He uses a personalized treatment approach to cancer based on a patient’s diagnosis, condition and preferences. Treatments are available as a complement to traditional cancer therapies. Treatments employed include:
Primary cancer treatments offered are:
Main Article
|
References |
|
|
1 |
Front Immunol, 2019; 10: 2250 |
|
2 |
Angiogenesis, 2014; 17: 471–94 |
|
3 |
Semin Cancer Biol, 2017; 46: 65–83; Cancer Lett, 2020; 483: 127–36 |
|
4 |
Cancer Res, 2021; 81: 1940–1 |
|
5 |
Science, 2018; 359: 1355–60 |
|
6 |
J Bioenerg Biomembr, 2012; 44: 1–6 |
|
7 |
Sci Transl Med, 2018; 10: eaan4488 |
|
8 |
J Interferon Cytokine Res, 2019 ; 39: 6–21 |
|
9 |
Life Sci. 2020 Aug 1;254:117580 |
|
10 |
Eur J Med Res, 2003; 8: 109–19 |
|
11 |
Anticancer Res, 2017; 37: 5995–6003 |
|
12 |
J Ethnopharmacol, 2019; 235: 75–87 |
|
13 |
Integr Cancer Ther, 2014; 13: 280–300 |
|
14 |
Target Oncol, 2012; 7: 233–42 |
|
15 |
Natural Doctor News and Reviews, “A promising cancer therapy,” Feb 1, 2014 |
|
16 |
Immunotherapy, 2016; 8: 809–19 |
|
17 |
Curr Med Chem, 2017; 24: 1170–85 |
|
18 |
Eur J Cancer, 2013; 49: 3387–95 |
|
19 |
Anticancer Res, 2017; 37: 5935–9 |
|
20 |
Front Immunol. 2019 Dec 6;10:2836 |
|
21 |
Proc Math Phys Eng Sci, 2020; 476: 20190692 |
|
22 |
J Int Med Res, 1994; 22(3): 131–44 |
|
23 |
J Biomed Sci, 2017; 24: 21 |
|
24 |
Sci Rep, 2020; 10: 21791; Ultrasound Med Biol, 2021; 47: 1032–44 |
|
25 |
J Environ Pathol Toxicol Oncol, 2016; 35: 333–42 |
IV vitamin C therapy
|
References |
|
|
1 |
Subcell Biochem, 1996; 25: 213–31 |
The metabolic approach
|
References |
|
|
1 |
Sci Rep, 2014; 4: 4927 |
|
2 |
J Biol Chem, 1981; 256: 8699−704 |
|
3 |
Semin Cancer Biol, 2009; 19: 17–24 |
|
4 |
Nutrients, 2020; 12: 1473 |
|
5 |
Cancer Res, 2011; 71: 4484–93 |
|
6 |
Nature, 2018; 560: 499–503 |
|
7 |
Lipids, 2016; 51: 703–14 |
|
8 |
Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 2004; 324: 269–75 |
What do you think? Start a conversation over on the... WDDTY Community
Great news! Discounts are available based on your cart total. Check the details below:
