© Associated PressCertain types of seaweed yield fucoidan, an extract that garnered much interest in the last decade because it causes leukaemia cells to undergo apoptosis (programmed celldeath) and also blocks cancer spread (metastasis) by preventing adhesion of tumour cells to the extracellular matrix.
The overall success (or failure) rate with chemotherapy is summed up in a landmark study published in 2004.
Three oncologists co-authored a large-scale review of all studies done on the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments in Australia and the US.
They studied the number of cancer patients who survived more than five years following diagnosis and treatment and found that overall, chemotherapy contributed just over 2% to improved survival in the cancer patients.
The authors strongly questioned the continued use of chemotherapy [Clinical Oncology (2004)16:549-560].
Since evidence-based medicine shows that the success rate with chemotherapy is so poor, any nutritional or non-conventional (ie. not yet generally accepted by mainstream medical practice) or complementary therapies that can give 2% or better success rates should be considered, especially if they are safer and less expensive.
However, no matter how poor chemotherapy results are, these are backed by adequate scientific studies, while the others are not. That is why chemotherapy is so widely prescribed despite the outcomes. It is the best among the "proven" therapies.
Patients opting for the other therapies should be clearly told about this. Proponents of nutritional, non-conventional, and complementary therapies should not be giving patients false hope. But it is not wrong to give them some hope, especially after conventional therapy has failed, and they have nothing to lose by trying other methods.
Moreover, many of these other methods do have recorded success cases. While such documented cases do not qualify as scientific studies, they give us hope to try on those patients who refuse conventional therapy (for whatever reason), and for those in whom conventional therapy had failed.
© The Star, MalaysiaResearch has found that sea cucumber extracts block the growth of several human cancer cells, including pancreatic cancer, in animal tests.
In Fighting Cancer: The Holistic Way I had explained all the components of the holistic approach to dealing with cancer, including the anti-cancer diet, and the most relevant nutrients.
In Nutritional Therapy for Cancer, I had mentioned about some of the nutritional therapies being used (agaricus, arabinoxylan compound, beta-glucan, TBL-12 marine extract, high-dose probiotic paste, Transfer Factor, laetrile B17, etc).
Today I will describe several more that may be useful as cancer nutritional support and/or therapy. Some are backed by scientific studies, while others are based on case reports or observations and experience of those who have used them for cancer patients.
Raw whole-food supplements
I had previously written about how a Korean doctor, who gave his patients a nutritional supplement (a combination of 30 raw grains, veggies, legumes, etc, in powder form) to help them cope with their cancer, especially if they undergo chemotherapy, discovered to his surprise that some of the patients who refused chemotherapy recovered from their cancer.
Whole food supplements provide a comprehensive range of nutrients from a wide variety of whole-foods, which not only provide nourishment, but also cleanse the bowels, and detox the body. And if the patient is lucky, among the many thousands of nutrients, there may exist the "magic bullet" that can defeat the cancer. This may explain why some patients recovered after taking the supplements.
Immune-modulators
I had previously written about the arabinoxylan compound (extracted from rice-bran), which has anti-cancer effects by increasing NK (natural killer) cells and other immune cell activity and improving immune signal transmitter production in them.
Another immune-modulator is the mushroom-derived polysaccharide peptide (PSP). Clinical studies show that PSP (along with chemotherapy and radiotherapy) enhances the immune system and improved survival in patients with cancers of the oesophagus, stomach, lung, and liver. PSP also reduces the side effects of both cancer chemotherapy and radiotherapy such as pain, liver dysfunction, and blood toxicity (Linderquist U, Niedermeyer TH : The pharmacological potential of mushrooms. Evidence Based Complement. Alter. Med. 2(3), 285-299, 2005).
Arabinoxylan has been banned from being marketed as an anti-cancer "drug" treatment by the US FDA since there is yet sufficient evidence to prove its effectiveness against cancer.
Healing from the sea
Fucoidan is a seaweed extract that has garnered much interest in the last decade because it causes leukaemia cells to undergo apoptosis (programmed cell-death) and also blocks cancer spread (metastasis) by preventing adhesion of tumour cells to the extracellular matrix.
Although it is popular as nutritional cancer therapy in Japan, most of the scientific studies are "in vitro" (in the lab), and "in vivo" (live animal models) studies on humans are still lacking.
The studies show that fucoidan has antitumour and antiangiogenic (prevents new blood vessel formation) effects. It stimulates natural killer cells and regulates cellular proliferation. It also has neuroprotective, radioprotective (protects against harmful effects of radiation), anti-ulcer, and anti-clotting properties.
With so many benefits, it is no wonder that the people in the regions of Japan where fucoidan-rich seaweed is consumed enjoy longer lives and lower incidence of cancer when compared to other parts of Japan. Japanese scientists have discovered that fucoidan enhances health, slows down ageing, and prevents many diseases.
There are several other seaweed-based supplements that have shown benefits when given to people with chronic diseases, from stroke to cancers.
Among the research findings is that sea cucumber extracts block the growth of several cancer cells, including pancreatic cancer, in animal tests.
Caution for cancer patients
Patients have to listen to their oncologists and weigh the pros-and-cons of treatment. Even my own family members have gone through chemotherapy.
When they seek adjuvant (additional) or alternative/complementary therapy, they also have to weigh the pros-and-cons.
So if you are a cancer patient looking for alternatives, you should do a lot of research yourself and decide what is best for you. There are many cancer support and cancer education groups that can help you decide. Most importantly, you must trust the health professional taking care of you.
I end with a quote that also expresses my belief, as far as defeating cancer is concerned:
"I look upon cancer in the same way that I look upon heart disease, arthritis, high blood pressure, or even obesity, for that matter, in that by dramatically strengthening the body's immune system through diet, nutritional supplements, and exercise, the body can rid itself of the cancer, just as it does in other degenerative diseases. Consequently, I wouldn't have chemotherapy and radiation because I'm not interested in therapies that cripple the immune system, and, in my opinion, virtually ensure failure for the majority of cancer patients." - Dr Julian Whitaker.While we have yet to identify the nutritional or safe complementary therapies that can consistently defeat cancer, we will find them if we first look in the right direction, and not bark up the wrong trees, like we have done for decades!
Dr Amir Farid Isahak is a medical specialist who practises holistic, aesthetic and anti-ageing medicine. He is a qigong master and founder of SuperQigong. For further information, e-mail starhealth@thestar.com.my. The views expressed are those of the writer and readers are advised to always consult expert advice before undertaking any changes to their lifestyles. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
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