Dr. Shawn’s Blog

Blog #11 Using Supplements to Save Your Life-Part 2

March 3, 2011 on 7:29 am | In General Posts |

As I mentioned last week (and will do so each time I post an ongoing addition to the topic of using supplements) as a reminder about the EXTREME IMPORTANCE of using supplements if you have cancer (or want to limit your chances of developing cancer,) and as a disclaimer:

“No matter how much surgery you do to cut out cancer, or how much radiation you use to burn out cancer, or how much chemotherapy you use to poison cancer, if the patient’s immune system is not functioning properly, that patient will die from cancer.”

That statement, made by world-famous cancer expert Dr. Russell Blaylock in my book, The Natural Vet’s Guide to Preventing and Treating Cancer in Dogs, really says it all.

After surgery cuts out most of the cancer, and chemotherapy kills most of the cancer, and radiation burns most of the cancer, what’s left to do destroy any remaining cancer cells? Absolutely nothing! Unless the patient continues therapy, using a combination of proper diet, mind-body medicine, and nutritional supplements, any cancer cells that have survived conventional therapy will, at some point, continue to grow, spread, and ultimately kill the patient.

Unfortunately, unless you are familiar with naturopathic medicine or are lucky enough to work with a naturopathic doctor, your conventional doctors will not tell you any of this. Despite the fact that Sandy has visited several outstanding conventional doctors, not one of them, NOT ONE, has ever talked about the use of diet or supplements to kill cancer or boost her immune system.

The sad news is that so many cancer patients will ultimately die after surviving conventional therapies because nothing is done to prevent the recurrence of cancer. Ever since Sandy’s diagnosis, it seems that not a day goes by that I don’t discover that someone else I know has been diagnosed with cancer (usually breast cancer.) Yet not one of these patients is doing anything “natural” to support her immune system or continue the fight against cancer once conventional therapies have finished. How sad and tragic to know that many people will needlessly die out of ignorance once their cancer returns.

The most important reason I’m writing these blogs is to educate current and future cancer patients about all of their options. Just because your conventional doctors don’t know about these options or don’t agree with these options doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider them.
The questions are very simple: what are you doing now to make your conventional therapies more effective and reduce their side effects, and what will you do once your conventional therapies stop to prevent your cancer from coming back?

In this blog and the ones to follow, I will share with you the supplements that I have put together (with help from several naturopathic doctors) to help Sandy maximize the benefits from our conventional therapies, reduce their side effects, and remain cancer-free the rest of her life. While there are no guarantees, we believe this is a better approach than simply doing nothing and waiting to see what happens (in most cases, “what happens” is that the cancer returns and kills the patient.)

In my own veterinary practice, while I can never offer guarantees to my patients, I tell them that based upon my years of using natural therapies to help pets with cancer, I expect my patients to live one and a half to two times longer than their conventional doctors expect them to live IF they will use properly prescribed natural therapies.
Please note that I am NOT saying that the supplements we have chosen for Sandy are appropriate for you if you have cancer. You MUST work with your naturopathic doctors to find the right treatments for you, similar to working with your conventional doctors to find the right conventional therapies for you.

I’m also NOT saying that these supplements will guarantee that Sandy will never have cancer or any other illness again. I do know that using supplements to help her immune system stay strong enough to fight cancer is much better than doing nothing excepting waiting to see what happens in the future.

And since there are many out there (especially doctors!) who are skeptical about the effectiveness of natural supplements, I have included a description of why each supplement was chosen to help Sandy win the war against her cancer based upon volumes of research.

Sandy’s supplement regimen (which changes depending upon her circumstances and as new research becomes available):

Curcumin (Turmeric)

Curcumin significantly lowers the expression of the MDR1 gene, thus inhibiting the P-glycoprotein pump which can increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Curcumin is a potent antioxidant that is best known for its use during radiation therapy where it increases the effectiveness of radiation as well as reduces side effects of radiation therapy. Curcumin (like the drug tamoxifen) also blocks access of estrogen to cells and protects against chemicals that mimic estrogen (like estrogen, estrogen-mimicking chemicals promote the growth of breast cancer.) In a study on human breast cancer cells, curcumin reversed growth caused by 17b-estradiol by 98%. The toxic chemical DDT’s growth-enhancing effects on breast cancer were blocked about 75% by curcumin.

Curcumin also inhibits multiple kinase enzymes that are necessary for cancer cell growth and spread. Curcumin known for its anti-inflammatory action, inhibits cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase (LOX), two enzymes that promote inflammation. Inflammation plays significant and diverse roles in the initiation and promotion of cancer.
Curcumin arrests the growth of cancer cells in the G2 stage and induces apoptosis (death) of cancer cells. EGCG in green tea arrests cancer cell growth at the G1 phase. Combining EGCG with curcumin increases the odds of killing more cells.
Curcumin blocks AP-1, thereby decreasing angiogenesis (new blood vessel growth needed for tumors to grow and spread.)
Curcumin’s effects are a dose dependent response, and a standardized product is essential. The recommended dose is four 900-mg capsules 3 times per day, preferably with food.

Sandy is taking a specialized type of curcumin called Super BioCurcumin by Life Extension. This product allows a lower dose to be taken (fewer capsules per day) yet achieves the same bioavailability as “regular” curcumin.

Quercetin

Quercetin, another powerful antioxidant, suppresses cell proliferation, promotes programmed cell death (apoptosis,)and protects DNA. Quercetin, especially when combined with curcumin (another antioxidant with anti-inflammatory and tumor-blocking potential,) minimizes damage in tissues exposed to radiation (mammography) while increasing the cancer killing ability of radiation (such as radiation received with breast cancer radiation treatment.)

Resveratrol

Resveratrol exhibits many anti-cancer properties, including suppression of tumor growth by increasing or decreasing the production of various enzymes and molecules that regulate cellular reproduction and blood supply to the tumor. Through these mechanisms, resveratrol may enhance the anti-cancer effects of chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation. With its potent antioxidant capabilities, resveratrol may even protect healthy tissues from damage induced by chemotherapy.