A well-informed cancer patient is an empowered patient. But the
barrage of often-conflicting information sourced from the Internet can be
overwhelming, and deciding which to believe can be paralyzing.
ON THE CONTRARY, CYBER INFORMATION HAS OPENED THE DOORS THAT WERE
PREVIOUSLY CONFINED TO THE MEDICAL & SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AND HAS NOW ALLOWED
THE PRINCIPAL STAKEHOLDERS TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN SEEKING THE TRUTH!
PARALYZING FOR THE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR CANCER INDUSTRY BUT EMPOWERING FOR THE
GENERAL PUBLIC!
Green tea, malunggay oil, vitamin C, guyabano and even red wine are
believed to have properties that can cure cancer. How true are the claims?
“I am telling you right now, guyabano is not an anti-cancer
fruit,” said Dr. Ellie May Villegas, the feisty, petite vice president of the
Philippine Society of Medical Oncology (PSMO).
IT MAY NOT BE A TRULY ANTI-CANCER FRUIT BUT IF IT EVEN ACTS AS A
PLACEBO IN ADDRESSING NON-CANCEROUS SYMPTOMS, THEN WHY NOT? FURTHERMORE, IT CAN
DO NO HARM.
“We rely only on evidence. Guyabano is not proven to kill cancer
cells, and yet it is marketed as 10 times more potent than Adriamycin, a
commonly used drug in chemotherapy. Adriamycin is a very potent anti-cancer
drug. Why do you associate it with a fruit? They don’t even know what they’re
saying.”
NOT TO SPEAK IN FAVOR OF GUYABANO BUT INSTEAD OF SHOOTING IT DOWN,
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH MUST BE DONE TO INVESTIGATE WHATEVER CURATIVE OR PREVENTIVE
BENEFITS WHATEVER FRUIT OR HERB HAVE, NO MATTER HOW MINIMAL.
BUT THEN, WHO WOULD FUND THE RESEARCH ON FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND HERBS WHEN
THESE ARE WIDELY ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC WHILE DRUGS ARE NOT!
Confusion
In a press conference sponsored by PSMO called “Dietary
Supplements in Cancer Treatment: Investigating the Claims,” Villegas said
guyabano, also called Brazilian pawpaw, is confused with the pawpaw tree
Asimina triloba (Annonaceae), known as the North American pawpaw.
The Asimina triloba fruit, which in no way resembles the guyabano,
contains the natural compounds acetogenins that are proven to help regulate
various types of cancers.
“When the North American pawpaw is taken with chemotherapy,
patients and physicians noticed an above average amount of tumor shrinkage
after the first treatment than normally expected with chemotherapy alone,” she
said.
PSMO PRESIDENT Dr. Felycette Gay
Lapus
Villegas was expressing concern over networking companies that
profit from making bogus claims about natural cures.
CONCERN MUST NOT BE ON PROFITS OF NETWORKING COMPANIES BUT ON THE
BENEFITS OF ANY SUPPLEMENT. TRUE THAT A LOT OF EXAGERATION IS DONE TO SELL
THESE SUPPLEMENTS BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT BUSINESS AND MARKETING IS ALL ABOUT!
EVEN SODA IS BEING ADVERTISED TO HAVE VITAMIN C!
IT MATTERS NOT IF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY RAKES UP BILLIONS OF
PROFITS FOR AS LONG AS THEIR DRUGS CAN CURE CANCER!
PSMO believes in the multidisciplinary approach: surgery,
radiation, chemotherapy and, when proven safe and effective, dietary
supplements to complement the treatment.
“With the proliferation of scientifically unsupported alternative
cancer treatments, PSMO has established that there is a need to educate the
public on how to address the cancer problem. We put together a position paper
to help guide fellow oncologists, doctors and patients in making correct choices,”
said PSMO president Dr. Felycette Gay Lapus.
THE NEED IS TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ON THE CAUSES OF BREAST CANCER
AND NOT ON SURGERY, CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIATION. THE MEDICAL APPROACH IS NOT
NECESSARILY THE CORRECT CHOICE. WHAT MATTERS MOST IS THE PATIENT’S FULLY INFORMED
DECISION AND NOT THE DOCTOR'S. THIS IS THE REASON FOR THE PROLIFERATION OF
WHATEVER ANTI-CANCER SUPPLEMENTS – BECAUSE PEOPLE DO NOT WANT TO GET CANCER AND
FOR THOSE AFFLICTED WITH CANCER, THE FEAR OF MEDICAL APPROACHES HAVE BEEN
MOUNTING DUE TO THE FAILURE OF MEDICAL SCIENCE TO CURE CANCER.
Scientific evidence
In a PowerPoint presentation, Villegas said commonly used
supplements not supported by high-level scientific evidence include homeopathic
products, high doses of oral multivitamin supplements, vitamin C + collagen,
high doses of oral vitamin C, oral stem cell enhancers/fibroblast growth factor
enhancers, ozone therapy (IV), and heavy metal chelation therapy that removes
heavy metal toxins supposed to cause cancer.
“Randomized controlled trials in advanced cancer patients taking
10 grams per day of oral vitamin C did not demonstrate any significant
benefits. These can, in fact, interfere with the action of chemotherapy and
radiation therapy. That’s why we always advise our patients to tell us what
they’re taking,” Villegas said.
ON THE OTHER HAND, CHEMO AND RADIATION RENDERS NATURAL SUPPLEMENTS
USELESS! IN FACT, TO APPEASE PATIENTS IN COMPLYING WITH TOXIC AND INVASIVE
TREATMENTS, SUPPLEMENTS ARE BEING ALLOWED AS SUPPOSED COMPLIMENTARY MEASURES.
BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT CONVENTIONAL AND NON-CONVENTIONAL APPROACHES CANNOT EXIST ALONSIDE EACH OTHER.
Villegas said that metabolic therapies such as nutritional
therapies, Gerson Regimen, Kelley Therapy, Gonzalez Regimen, Contreras Therapy
and Manner Therapy—also known as detoxification/cleansing regimens—do not work.
They can even cause nutritional deficiencies, she said, while some
entail potentially toxic doses of supplements or agents. Coffee enemas, for
instance, can cause sepsis, dangerous electrolyte deficiencies, and even death.
“The colon or large intestine is there for the stool to pass
through. Why do you have to clean an organ that is supposed to be dirty? It is
supposed to facilitate the removal of toxins via the stool. The American Cancer
Society strongly urges cancer patients not to seek treatment with metabolic
therapies. No published evidence supports their claims,” she said.
UNFORTUNATELY, VILLEGAS IS HIGHLY UNINFORMED AND MISEDUCATED. HAD
SHE ATTENDED THE WORLD CONFERENCES ON BREAST CANCER IN CANADA SINCE 1997, SHE
WOULD HAVE NOT HAVE STOOD HER GROUND. IN FACT, THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY IS A
VERY POOR AND BIASED SOURCE OF INFORMATION.
Lactic acidosis
Commonly used supplements supported by very limited scientific
evidence, but not enough to suggest use, include transfer factor, malunggay
oil, intravenous hydrogen peroxide, mangosteen extract pills, guyabano extract
pills and resveratrol/grapeseed extract (provided they are not used with
Tamoxifen).
AGAIN, THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCES WHICH ARE NOW
SLOWLY BUT SURELY ENTERING MEDICAL JOURNAL IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE. THE
BREAST CANCER DRUG, AVASTIN CARRIED SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE WHEN IT WAS RELEASED
TO THE MARKET, ONLY TO BE PULLED OUT BY THE US FDA BECAUSE IT WAS LATER FOUND
TO BE INEFFECTIVE!
“We cannot promote malunggay oil to be used as an anticancer agent
because this has never been used on humans. What you can eat in a diet, eat it.
Do not put it in a capsule or tea,” she said.
HUH? AND THE FOOD CAPSULES TAKEN BY ASTRONAUTS IN SPACE IS NOT
NUTRITIOUS? HELLO, THERE IS SUCH A THING AS FOOD TECHNOLOGY!
Severe lactic acidosis was reported with mangosteen juice daily
for 12 months, and patients eventually died not from their cancers, but from
the lactic acidosis from mangosteen, Villegas said. Mangosteen may also
interfere with certain chemotherapy drugs, and must be used with caution by
diabetics due to its high sugar content.
AGAIN, VEGETABLE AND FRUIT JUICES ARE EVALUATED ON HOW THEY INTERFERE
WITH DRUGS! SO WHY ARE NATURAL FOODS VIEWED FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF CHEMO? BUT
OF COURSE, DIABETIC CASES HAVE RESTRICTED FOOD INTAKES – AND SO ALSO DO
HYPERTENSION, OBESITY, PREGNANCY AND ALL OTHER HEALTH CONDITIONS!
Resveratrol, which can be found in red wine, is also consumed as a
dietary supplement for its purported antioxidant and anti-inflammatory
properties.
“Because resveratrol exhibits estrogen-like properties and
activates transcription by both the estrogen and androgen receptors that lead
to stimulation of cancer cell proliferation, patients with hormone-sensitive
cancer should use it with caution,” she said.
ALL SUPPLEMENTS JUST LIKE DRUGS ARE TAKEN FOR THEIR RESPECTIVE INDICATIONS
AND ACTIONS. THIS IS THE REASON WHY THERE CAN BE NO ONE SUPPLEMENT FOR ALL
INDICATIONS AND AILMENTS.
It may also protect against chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity,
although more studies are needed to confirm its effect on humans, Villegas
said.
“I caution breast cancer patients taking Tamoxifen not to take
these supplements with resveratrol or grapeseed,” she said.
DO NOT TAKE TAMOXIFEN IN THE VERY FIRST PLACE! TAMOXIFEN CAN EVEN
LEAD TO SECONDARY CANCERS!
Scientifically supported
Among the commonly used supplements supported by high-level
scientific evidence are CoQ10 (decreases cardiotoxicity in Anthracycline
chemotherapy); R-alpha lipolic acid (decreases neuropathy); American ginseng,
rhodiola, ashwanga (decreases fatigue); calcium citrate/carbonate (bone
support); ferrous sulphate (anemia support); vitamin B12 (anemia support for
gastropathy and post-gastric resection in patients with B12 deficiency); whey
protein/L-glutamine and branched chain amino acids (protein support for
patients undergoing surgery); and polyglycoplex (viscuous fiber for patients
needing weight loss and modulation of body mass index).
As for omega-3 fatty acids, although studies on their role in
cancer prevention are inconclusive, Villegas said, they may reduce colon cancer
risk, improve immune response in patients with colorectal cancer, and are
associated with reduced occurrence of renal cell carcinoma in women.
Fish oil supplementation may reduce the risk of breast cancer, she
said, although high-blood concentration of omega-3 is associated with increased
risk of prostate cancer.
Other commonly used supplements supported by high-level scientific
evidence include vitamin D, beta glucans, bio-available curcumin, green tea,
pomegranate, acetogenin molecules and bio-available silymarin phytosome.
SO NOW THERE ARE SUPPLEMENTS THAT ARE SCIENTIFICALLY SUPPORTED? OH
WELL, LET THE PUBLIC WAIT AND SUFFER UNTIL SCIENCE COMES TO THE PUBLIC’S RESCUE
WAITING FOR SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGHS IN CANCER CURE. BUT WHEN YOU HAVE CANCER, YOU
CAN NOT WAIT! ONE WILL HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT ROUTE TO TAKE.
Safe, efficacious
“We’re not saying no to supplements. We just want to direct
patients to those which work and how to safely combine them in a complementary
fashion with chemotherapy drugs in a safe and efficacious manner,” said Dr.
Omid Etemadi, a board-certified integrative medicine doctor who trained at the
National Cancer Institute in the US.
Etemadi said no supplement has been shown to cure cancer on its
own.
YES, NO SUPPLEMENT CAN CURE ON ITS OWN. AS A MATTER OF FACT, CANCER
HAS NO CURE. ONE THING FOR SURE THOUGH, CHEMOTHERAPY WILL MAKE MATTERS WORSE. AND BY THE WAY, TRAINING
IN THE US NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE DOES NOT MAKE ONE A GURU.
“There are anecdotal reports, case reports that patients have been
cured through very significant lifestyle changes, but these are very rare—more
the exception than the rule. More than 99.9 percent of them will not benefit
from diet and supplement alone,” he said.
I BEG TO STRONGLY DISAGREE!
He said surgery may cure stage 1 cancer, while surgery or
radiation with chemotherapy or targeted therapy may cure stage 2.
IN MANY INSTANCES, STAGE 1 CANCER CAN DO EVEN WITHOUT SURGERY AND
WILL EVEN BE AGGRAVATED WITH RADIATION AND CHEMO.
“For stage 3 and 4, we prolong the lives of patients if we use
standard care. The cancer doesn’t completely regress, but it doesn’t grow
anymore.”
PROLONG LIFE? MORE OF EITHER HASTEN DEATH OR PROLONG UNDUE SUFFERING.
“Dietary supplements may help reduce the side effects of standard
care, may help survival rate and prevent cancer recurrence. But I would not
recommend that patients use them alone,” said Etemadi.
SURGERY, CHEMOTHERAPY AND
RADIATION WILL NOT HELP SURVIVAL RATES NOR PREVENT RECURRENCE.
Read more: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/133877/guyabano-and-supplements-alone-wont-beat-cancer-doctors-say#ixzz2jC2v5v00
