Positive Health Online

Seeking Cancer Patients Starting Chemotherapy

Ben L Pfeifer MD PhD, Professor and Director of Clinical Research, Department of Oncology Aeskulap Hospital, Brunnen, Switzerland has been using AquaDetox machines as part of their detox protocols with cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. In recent correspondence, he stated that his first impression is that the patients experience less chemotherapy side effects, in particular nausea and vomiting. He states that it is difficult to determine whether they also have a positive effect on the haematopoetic and the immune system side effects of chemotherapy, which would be excellent. In order to determine this, they would have to run a formal study, involving an Oncologist  and have more patients enrolled. Dr Pfeifer’s hospital doesn’t have the funds to launch such a study.

The Agenta Group wish to try and help people who are about to start Chemotherapy. They are able to lend, free of charge, up to 10 Aqua Detox devices to people who are about to start a course of chemotherapy. All they ask in return is a letter to advise how they felt after each treatment. They suggest that it would be better to start a few weeks beforehand to try and detox before having chemo. Please contact

Expert Reader Comment: Dr Alex Concorde BSc (Hons) MBBS (Lond) PhD FIATC FRSM
The Survivor’s Guide to Bird Flu: The Complementary Medical Approach by Jayney Goddard President (CMA)

You recently featured a review of this book in Positive Health, with an emphasis on Homeopathy. I would like to offer a different perspective, focusing on the Immunology, Virology and Pathology involved in a pandemic H5N1 infection.

The Basic Conundrum The first major presupposition of this largely generalist text is that an individual will be better placed to survive Bird Flu with a “healthy immune system”. However it is well known that the key issue in H5N1 infection is that people with a healthy immune system are more likely to die of serious consequences. Consequently we need a more sophisticated proposal.

Anti-virals, Anti-oxidants and Anti-inflammatories There is some confusion as to what benefit individuals following this book’s recommendations for herbs and nutra-ceuticals may be expected to achieve. However there are some major discrepancies.

Firstly, avian flu has a significantly different modus operandii from normal viruses, which is precisely the concern. Consequently, certain herbs and nutra-ceuticals with anti-viral properties may not be effective for H5N1. Some may increase susceptibility.

Secondly, free radicals are a critical requirement for limiting the replication of H5N1. The H5N1 variant currently affecting isolated cases in Asia has restricted transmissibility, hence why it poses a limited threat. However the variant most likely to dominate in a pandemic will probably have greater infectious capability within the upper respiratory tract (URT). If, as this book suggests, we limit free radical production through anti-oxidants, we can expect a very high viral load in the nose and throat, leading to a much greater risk of transmissibility through coughing and sneezing.

Thirdly the inflammatory response, while currently a key concern, is likely to become less relevant in a pandemic because the circulating variant will be biologically down-graded. Hence in a pandemic, the risk of serious H5N1-induced viral pneumonia, and the need or wish to suppress cytokine reactions will diminish. Meanwhile, anti-inflammatory interventions may accelerate and exacerbate pathology, not reduce it. For instance, COX- and NF-kB-mediated inflammation is necessary to eradicate cells that are infected with any form of influenza virus in order to curb replication.

Furthermore, the suggestions may leave individuals dangerously exposed to disease pathology they might have avoided, such as potentially fatal bacterial pneumonia or multi-organ involvement. Similarly, inadequate initial viral clearance can increase the risk of post-pandemic autoimmune complications and the horrendous condition of Encephalitis lethargica, through viral persistence and ongoing immunological imbalances.

Homeopathy Homeopathy is useful for many conditions, and may well have a role in Avian Flu. However in my view, the potential value of Homeopathy as a potential line of attack in Avian Flu is gross over-stated in this book. Here the relatively low mortality rate of people using this approach in Spanish Flu has been juxtaposed, without qualification, against people who were ‘treated conventionally’.

The conventional treatment at that time was aspirin and quinine. Quinine can create serious and potentially fatal glucose and electrolyte imbalances in infectious disease. Aspirin increases haemorrhage, which was the leading cause of death at that time. Furthermore, aspirin’s anti-inflammatory properties have been blamed for multiple superfluous deaths through bacterial pneumonia. Indeed, when all relevant criteria are considered, the average mortality risk of people in the quoted studies who received Homeopathy during Spanish Flu approximates that of people who received no treatment at all.

Conclusion Herbal medicine and nutra-ceuticals may very well play a vital role in a Bird Flu pandemic. However recommendations need to be made with greater consideration for what is likely to be involved immunologically and virologically in a pandemic. In this way, we may achieve the very exact responses which will tip the prognosis in favour of viral eradication, while limiting pathological ‘fall-out’. In my opinion this book, as it stands, is severely lacking in some of its most basic presuppositions, rendering many of the recommendations largely inappropriate, and indeed potentially dangerous.

References

1.    Akaike T. Role of Free Radicals in Viral Pathogenesis and mutation. Rev. Med. Virol. 11: 87-101. 2001.
2.    Brydon EWA et al. Role of Apoptosis and Cytokines in Influenza Virus Morbidity. FEMS Microbiology Reviews. 29: 837-850. 2005.
3.    Ham SN et al. Antioxidants, Cytokines and Influenza Infection in Aged Mice and Elderly Humans. J. Infect. Dis. 182: S74-80. 2000.
4.    Mori I. et al. Virus-Induced Neuronal Apoptosis as Pathological and Protective Responses of the Host. Rev. Med. Virol. 14: 209-216. 2004.
5.    Oxford JS. Influenza A Pandemics of the 20th Century with Special Reference to 1918: Virology, Pathology and Epidemiology. Rev. Med. Virol. 10: 119-133. 2000.
6.    Reeth K. Cytokines in the Pathogenesis of Influenza. Vet. Microbiol. 74: 109-116. 2000.
7.    Garcia-Sastre A. et al. The Role of Interferon in Influenza Virus Tissue Tropism. J. Virol. 8550-8558. 1998.
8.    Scholtissek C. Molecular Biological Background of the Species and Organs Specificity of Influenza A Viruses. A. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 25: 47-56. 1986.
9.    Shaw M et al. Molecular Changes Associated with the Transmission of Avian Influenza A H5N1 and H9N2 Viruses to Humans. J. Med. Virol. 66: 107-114. 2002.
10.    Shinya K et al. Influenza Virus Receptors in the Human Airway. Nature. 440: 435-436. 2006.
11.    van Riel D et al. H5N1 Virus Attachment to Lower Respiratory Tract. Science Express. 23 March Article 1125548. 2006.
12.    Subbarao K et al. Molecular Aspects of Avian Influenza (H5N1) Viruses Isolated from Humans. Rev. Med. Virol. 10: 337-348. 2000.
13.    Xiao-Song H et al. T-cell Dependent Production of IFN-Y by NK Cells in Response to Influenza A Virus. J Clin. Inv. 114: 1812-1819. 2004.


Dr Concorde is a Medical Doctor with a PhD in Virology, Pathology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics who has researched, worked with and studied viruses, their Pathological impact and their effect on the immune system for over 20 years. She has significant doctoral-level expertise on the molecular basis for both virulent and persistent viral infections. Dr Concorde may be contacted via service@the-concorde-initiative.com; www.the-concorde-initiative.com

Carrots and Cancer

by Ralph Cole
I was treated for cancer last year. In February 2005 I found 2 large lumps on my neck that biopsies showed to be lymph nodes infected with squamous skin cancer cells. I dragged my feet on mainstream treatment while I tried to get rid of them on my own with supplements and dietary changes. The main dietary changes I made were to eliminate sugar, which I knew I had overdone, and to juice vegetables, mainly carrots, which I had read online could have good results. At the suggestion of one of my DVD customers who recovered from cancer after making dietary changes, she had learned from the Gerson Institute, I tried to juice and drink two to three lbs. of carrots everyday. I also added some oranges and apples, but later I heard that oranges negate carrots to some degree and vice versa, and that apples have a lot of sugar, and eventually dropped them.

The initial results were encouraging. It seemed that my tumours were decreasing in mass for awhile, although the changes were small and gradual, and it was hard to be certain. By the time the doctors at County General wanted me to decide whether or not I was going to proceed with their treatments, they had also found a third tumour in my throat, which a biopsy showed was also malignant. They persuaded me that the cancer might metastisize further and in less accessible areas if I didn’t proceed rapidly. The Radiologist said I had a 30% chance of 5-year survival if I proceeded with radiation and chemo (at my request they skipped the surgery that they originally had suggested), and an “essentially zero percent” chance of 5-year survival if I didn’t get (mainstream) treatment. With several young children, I decided to proceed with their treatment to “play it safe”.

Without going into the details, the treatment and its side effects are all they say it is and much more. I lost almost 50 lbs. in 6 weeks, and came away with a lung infection that caused them to keep filling up with foam that was very hard to get rid of, and a stomach tube through my nose for several weeks afterwards because I couldn’t swallow or drink anything without choking. To be honest, however, it was nice to lose the weight, although not nearly worth the agony that the chemo puts you through. Anyway, the tumours were fluctuated down and then up during treatment; afterward, they subsided and disappeared over the following 2 to 3 months. Although I continued juicing 2 to 3 lbs. of carrots almost everyday, there was no way to know whether it or the radiation and chemo treatments were responsible.

What happened next, however, appeared to be much less ambiguous. I had been warned by the chemo doctors (one in particular, that I also happened to run into at the post office), that recurrences were common and that I needed to keep checking in with them. To avoid this possibility, I never quit trying to juice 2-3 lbs. of carrots every day, and managed to do so about 5 days a week on average. So it was a little surprising and disappointing when I noticed lumps forming under the skin on my upper chest about 2 months after the earlier tumours had disappeared. I kept up the juicing and added hot water bottles and heating pads, because I had heard that heat can cause tumours to dissipate when they are close to the skin. This seemed to help at first, but only slightly. I also started adding green ‘superfood’ powder (dried leafy vegetables and seaweed) to the carrot juice. All in all, it was hard to tell that any of it was having any effect. The lumps fluctuated in size, but wouldn’t leave.

After about 4 months of this, and when I was coming to a point of frustration with their intractability and apparent slight growth, I showed the lumps (there were now 10 of them in a small area about 3 inches below my left shoulder) to an RN at my church. I guess I had slipped into a degree of complacency because I was startled by the sharpness of her response. She said “Ralph, you better get those biopsied!” Well, I had read somewhere along the way that biopsies can spread tumours, so my anxiety level went up instantly, and my first response was to resolve to get more serious about my juicing to try to avoid getting more biopsies if I could.

I immediately increased my juicing to 5 lbs. of carrots a day, which yields about a quart and a third, which I juiced into a 2 lb. yogurt container (I drink some through a straw while still juicing so it doesn’t overflow). By Thursday I thought I could see some improvement, but I wasn’t sure. By the following Sunday I was sure. My RN friend wasn’t at church that day. By the following Sunday I was astounded by the change. When I saw her I said “Give me your hand.” She did, and I placed it on the bumps. She said “Wow! What’d you do?” The lumps seemed to me to have gone down by over half, and her response indicated that it wasn’t my imagination. In short, 9 of the 10 lumps completely disappeared over a 6 week period, and the last one, which had started out the largest, disappeared entirely by the end of the 8th week.

Four months later, I am still juicing 5 lbs. of carrots every day I can, which is usually five or six times a week. I had been warned that carrot juice has a lot of sugar and that high quantities of it can cause you to turn orange. So far neither has been a problem. I think that I had a slight colour change at first, but now when I ask people they don’t see any. As for the sugar, I can’t explain it. I do believe that sugar can cause tumours to grow, but the dramatic disappearance of my 10 lumps suggests that either something else in the carrots offsets the sugar, or that unrefined sugar is not a problem. All I know is that going from juicing 2-3 lbs. to juicing 5 lbs. of carrots a day, and drinking the juice immediately, had an immediate impact on the 10 lumps on my chest that continued until they were gone. I should also mention that the last 10 lumps were small to begin with, each similar to the size and shape of a short grain of rice under the skin, which is probably why the changes were easily visible.

I know that one person’s experience doesn’t prove anything. Neither would I suggest that what worked for me would necessarily work for anyone else. But several people have asked me to share my experience with cancer, and last weekend, I heard that one of my former volunteers has it, so to avoid possible regrets later, I felt I needed to share my experience with my friends before it is too late for it to be of potential value to them.

Comments re Carrots and Cancer

by Dr Gerson Machado PhD
I have trained on the Gerson Therapy at the Gerson Institute in San Diego CA, as well as my wife who is an MD PhD, who had further practical training also at their clinic in Tijuana MX. The Gerson Therapy has well established and proven protocols [www.gerson.org] to tackle deficiency and toxicity in many degenerative diseases, notably some types of cancer. Like any method, it does not work 100% of the time with 100% of the conditions or all people, but since it has evolved over 60+ years, it is wise to see what is offered synergistically in the protocols rather than experimenting with just components of it like carrot juicing.

I only mention this because although this has worked for you, which is great, others may benefit further from the full protocol while also avoiding thinking that all one needs doing is keep increasing the quantity of carrots one juices in case it does not work (worse still with non-organic carrots where one could be concentrating pesticides etc). While there is a possibility that this could still be the case for some people, one should consider that others may have such a weakened system and compromised liver that could not take more of the juices without detoxing support from the coffee enemas; this is very serious, particularly if tumours dissolve too quickly bringing toxicity levels up.

The protocol will normally combine counselling, supplementation, hot baths, greens and carrot+apple juicing (all organic) and the all important coffee enemas for helping the liver in the detox process (typically for each 3 pints (1.5 litres) of alternated greens + apple/ carrot juices there is one coffee enema). The shrinking of tumours (even large ones) on those that benefit from the full Gerson protocol is normally very fast (2-3 weeks), but they should change lifestyle and diet accordingly to keep their health afterwards – this can ensure long term healing. Some of the subjects described in Dr Gerson’s original book of 1959 are alive today!