Alternative Cancer Treatment Successes?

[daysaregifts]

Has some version (including integrative) of alternative medicine "cured" someone you know of cancer? Would love any info on it. Feel free to PM me if you'd rather. Thanks!

[Sara in AZ]

My father in law had prostate cancer ten years ago. To my knowledge he didn't do anything for it aside from taking a ton of saw palmetto and some kind of chelation. I don't know how the chelation was related to the cancer, though, because isn't that cleaning your blood? And he probably took a ton of other herbs as well. I know for sure he didn't do anything surgical or chemo or radiation. And his PSA numbers went way down to normal, I guess. No one ever talked about it again....until this summer when he had a heart attack due to a kidney blockage that was due to......enlarged prostate that was 85% cancerous. He's in radiation now. I'm not making a statement one way or the other, just telling his experience.

[Cassy]

I don't know all the details, although I could find out more if necessary, but DH has a man working for him who was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer around five years ago. He refused chemo and went on an extreme diet which from what I remember involved eating vast quantities of vegetables. He went on sick leave, and most people didn't expect him to survive the year. Six months ago he started doing consultancy work for DH and just recently has started back pretty much full time. It has been quite miraculous. Whether or not he is completely 'cured', I don't know, but he has survived and thrived far, far longer than anyone ever imagined. He is in his late forties, I think.

 

As I said, I can quiz DH a bit more closely later today if you'd like any more details.

 

Best wishes

 

Cassy

[IsabelC]

I have heard of both people who followed alternative paths and became healthy, and people who didn't, but none of these were people close to me where I knew the full details.

 

Personally my preference would probably be to do the mainstream medical thing (as far as I felt comfortable with) and follow the super healthy diet etc at the same time, as I'd imagine that the vast quantities of vegetables would get the body in a better state to tolerate the chemo/radio.

[Negin]

A friend of a friend was diagnosed with stage 2 or maybe it was 3 ovarian cancer. She went mostly natural - raw foods mostly, plant-based diet. She's now cancer free. She refused chemo or any regular treatments. She used to eat lots of sugar before her diagnosis and had a very strong sweet tooth. As far as I know, she doesn't touch the stuff anymore.

 

Another friend of a friend was diagnosed with pancreatic. I don't know what stage. But most of us do know that pancreatic is pretty much the absolute worst. His friends and loved ones tried juicing etc. I think he also went through chemo. Sadly, he succumbed to the disease and died. But again, don't know the stage and it was pancreatic.

 

I don't know what I would do, if, God forbid, I were diagnosed. I'm always into natural and alternative. I would probably take an integrative approach - depending on the stage and type of cancer, of course.

 

And, as some of you may know, the author of The Anti Cancer Book, one of my all-time favorite health books, recently died of brain cancer. He did manage to live for much longer than expected, so that's good. He took an integrative approach. By living longer than expected, he provided a wonderful gift for so many - his book and website. I love his book.

 

Hate, hate, hate cancer ... :(

 

If you need other book recommendations, I have some I can suggest.

[EthiopianFood]

A friend of my aunt did a full raw diet, refused all other treatments, and survived. I can't remember which kind of cancer, but she said they had given her six months to live. She is apparently in full remission now.

[Halftime Hope]

My db who is only forty-one this year was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma three years ago, a large abdominal mass. He and his wife decided to try alternative treatments, including a radical dietary change, mostly raw, I believe. They worked that and a number of alternative things for nine months or so, and in the last three months of that, the tumor grew just slightly. They didn't feel it was prudent to risk not doing chemo at that point, so they added chemo to the treatments. His body responded very well, and the PET scans keep coming back showing no activity at the site of the tumor.

 

We think his body was in really great shape to tolerate the chemo after all that good nutrition and supplementation, but the alternative treatments didn't seem to be enough to overcome the cancer on its own. (Maybe with more time?) Since he is a young dad and husband, they did not want to risk any more waiting, so they chose the chemo. I'm thrilled they've had such good results.

[JumpyTheFrog]

I would google low carb diets. I've heard that many types of cancer cells can only use glucose for fuel (some can use either glucose or ketones). Keeping glucose levels low would help starve out these types of cancer.

 

There's even a type of chemo treatment where the person receives insulin before the chemo, to lower glucose levels and weaken the cancer. I can't remember the name of this treatment, but I think they only need to use 10% of the normal dose of chemo, so it would have fewer side effects.

[Trivium Pursuit]

 

There's even a type of chemo treatment where the person receives insulin before the chemo, to lower glucose levels and weaken the cancer. I can't remember the name of this treatment, but I think they only need to use 10% of the normal dose of chemo, so it would have fewer side effects.

 

The above refers to insulin potentiation therapy (IPT).

[Sandy in Indy]

A Cancer Battle Plan details the success of a woman who was basically sent home to die from breast cancer. She'd tried all the medical treatments with no success. The alternative treatment had her cancer free in five weeks. My bf's dh recently used this nutritional plan when he had a cancer scare...and is now cancer free.

[FaithManor]

One of my piano professors had aggressive breast cancer in 1984 and was given 6 months to live. The MD's here would not try anything. Just go home to die.

 

She went to Tijuana, Mexico for Laytril (sp???) therapy as well as diet and exercise therapy. She was given some oral chemo (not high doses) to weaken the tumor (which had attached to her sternum) before the experimental drug and then high doses of vitamins and minerals intravenously while being on their mostly vegetarian diet (I think she had some fish because they wanted their patients to keep their omega oil counts up). The diet was heavy in raw veggies and fruits, but also included legumes, nuts, etc. unprocessed and the only sweetener allowed were small amounts of honey because of its immune boosting/anti-viral qualities. No caffeine was allowed but some herbal teas were given and before they started the whole thing she was on a five day juice only fast to give her liver a break and a colon cleanse. The doctors there, (at that time all American M.D's who were laughed at by their colleagues for looking at more natural cures for cancer) believed that liver and colon health are integral to cancer recovery.

 

She was in Mexico for six weeks. She came home and was on vitamin/mineral and herb therapy as well as restricted diet for another six months. It's been 27 years and she is very healthy...all scans clean. She and I are still close and she doesn't think about cancer. It was a blip in her life.

 

I know another woman who went there for breast cancer. It did put it in remission for five years, but then it came back. It was found very, very early and she had oral chemo done. After the chemo she did the liver, colon cleanse again, one year of a mostly raw diet plus the vitamins and minerals. She's been in remission every since. That's been 19 years.

 

I don't really know very much about the hospital that does this therapy, it's licensing, costs, etc. Maybe it could be found online.

 

Faith

[celticmom]

I have used Sunspot ES to remove some very suspicious moles without scarring.

[foxbridgeacademy]

About 16 years ago my then FIL was diagnosed with lung cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes(couldn't operate). They gave him 10-12 months to live. He started drinking Esiac Tea and taking sharks cartilage powders immediately.

After about 2 months they started him on a short chemo (6weeks) then a short radiation treatment(6 weeks). The Drs told him that the short length of treatment would most likely stall the growth but not shrink it. He went back after the 12 weeks and the tumors were 30% smaller. His Dr. couldn't explain it. Ex- FIL continued to drink the tea only. At the 1 year mark from diagnosis he was completly cancer free. He has since gone through a bout of prostate cancer where they removed it, he drank the tea again, NO chemo/radiation. He is extremly healthy still.

 

We heard about the tea from a friend whose MIL had brain cancer and only expected to live 3-6 months. She lasted 1 1/2 years, even retaining her personality/faculties far longer then any of the Drs thought she would.

Six plus years ago my mother found out she had skin cancer that had spread to her lymphatic system. The Dr's removed 28 nodes and told her that was all they could do. No treatment, life expectancy 1 year. If she made it past the year then expect reoccurance in 3-5 years. She drank the tea for 6 months has been cancer free with no reoccurance.

 

There are some things to be concerned about, 1 is fraud, another is issues with kidneys.

The tea should not be hugely expensive, you could grow the herbs, or buy them and then make the tea yourself. I do not suggest buying drink already made as you have no control over stength/actual content.

 

PM me if you have any questions on how to tell the real herbs from fake or about the brewing process.

[dangermom]

never mind. :001_smile:

Edited October 20, 2011 by dangermom

[Laurie4b]

My father in law had prostate cancer ten years ago. To my knowledge he didn't do anything for it aside from taking a ton of saw palmetto and some kind of chelation. I don't know how the chelation was related to the cancer, though, because isn't that cleaning your blood? And he probably took a ton of other herbs as well. I know for sure he didn't do anything surgical or chemo or radiation. And his PSA numbers went way down to normal, I guess. No one ever talked about it again....until this summer when he had a heart attack due to a kidney blockage that was due to......enlarged prostate that was 85% cancerous. He's in radiation now. I'm not making a statement one way or the other, just telling his experience.

 

A lot of prostate cancer is very slow growing and nonaggressive, so that's hard to tell whether it just took its normal course or not. I know an older man (80s) diagnosed several years ago who just opted to do nothing. he's still got the cancer, but it hasn't affected him.

[Parker Martin]

I would go the mainstream medical route while eating no carbs at all and taking certain supplements. (Curcumin especially.)

 

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/curcumin/AN01741

 

I would also try to eat a 1:1 ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fats to fight inflammation.

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909

 

I think of the mainstream route as having the heavy hitters while the alternative treatments might be helpful in supporting roles.

 

ETA: Actually I would eat some carbs in order to eat berries, but they would be minimal.

Edited October 20, 2011 by Parker Martin

[leeannpal]

The father of a good friend was diagnosed with colon cancer. He did some traditional treatments but also saw alternative medicine specialists. I know he was on a special diet and was taking supplements. He has now been in remission for several years. I do know he lost a good bit of weight during his treatments.

[goldberry]

BIL was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma (very aggressive and already in the lymph nodes). Odds were not very good at all.

 

He did the traditional therapy involving removing the lymph nodes and interferon. However, he also went on a very strict diet, not sure what all the parameters were, but mostly organic, whole foods.

 

Cancer free for 7 years now! He still sticks with the diet (most of the time, probably not quite as strictly) and takes VERY good care of his body, exercise, etc.

[daysaregifts]

Thanks so much for all the responses so far. Thanks also for being courteous about it. I have read some alternative cancer books that cite cases where people have had tremendous success, but I am just so glad to hear of real, live people that you know that have had success.

[Scarymelon]

I previously worked as an oncology nurse and had many patients that tried alternative therapies before traditional treatment. I have seen far more people that had very bad outcomes because they pursued naturopathic medicine first and delayed medical treatment. I did see one patient, a young woman, who had a horrible form of lymphoma, and traditional treatment was failing her. SHe happened to come from a very wealthy family and she had very succesful treatment with an oncologist who was treating aggresive cancers with more alternative treatments (diet, enemas, etc.). I do not know the long term prognosis, but she was one patient who had good outcomes with alternative treatment. I think the best option would be to have an oncologist who was very open to alteranative treatments and would give you an honest assessment for what medical treatment can or cannot do for you and what the consequences if natural treatments did not work. The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance is a great resource for this type of care.

[Little Nyssa]

A friend with uterine cancer went to Cuba for treatment with a medicine made from the blue scorpion. I was very skeptical about this, but a doctor friend advised me to mind my own business, saying "do not take away her hope." She went and stayed there for a couple of months, and when she came back she was cured, but I lost track of her a few years later so I don't know if it was a permanent cure or not.

[Laurie4b]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/44988348 This is a link that mentions Steve Jobs' alternate approach. He had a very rare form of pancreatic cancer which is actually curable, whereas most pancreatic cancer kills in a very short amount of time. The delay in seeking mainstream medical treatment may have cost him his life.

 

For those who advocate combining alternative with traditional medicine, a caution is to check with the oncologist before using any alternative treatment, however benign it sounds. There are many supplements (and this is coming out more and more) that actually harm treatment, either because they interfere with the specific chemo or because, as we are finding out increasingly, vitamins, etc. taken out of their natural context of the complexity of food, can be harmful.

 

There was a study with lung cancer patients some years ago in which the experimental group in a clinical trial was receiving supplemental beta carotene, which the researchers thought would be helpful to the treatment (based on the fact that people who ate beta carotene from food sources did better); the control group received a placebo. They had to stop the trial because of the significantly higher rate of death in the group taking beta carotene supplements. This was the first story that I heard like that. There have since been more. There was a recent study, not directly related to cancer, but one of the nurses longitudinal studies, that showed a correlation between taking any kind of supplements (including vitamin pills) except calcium, and earlier death.

[Negin]

I have a friend whose mother has been in remission from bre@st cancer for for more than 20 years. She has fought her cancer mainly by balancing her body’s pH, although she did/does do other stuff (which I don't know much about). Because of her condition, she tests her pH every single day – sometimes a few times a day. This is how she gets to gauge how she’s doing and knows if she’s off-track. If I had cancer or was considered to be high-risk, this is what I would try to do.

For others, my friend recommends, testing your pH once a week or so.

I have heard and read that the single most important measurement of your health is your pH.

When our systems are acidic for too long, serious illness, including cancer, can result. That's the most serious - an acidic environment can lead to any malady ranging from the common cold, acne, you name it - all the way up to cancer.

Cancer (as well as most diseases) thrive in acid environments and cannot live in an environment that’s alkaline.

pH is so important, and there’s an easy way to check your pH, and if needed, an easy way to correct it.

Basically, in a nutshell, too much sugar, fat, and protein can make you overly acidic. You can counter excess acidity by eating greens – nothing is more effective at neutralizing the excess acid and restoring your body’s slightly alkaline pH.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

The documentary "Forks over Knives" talked about this very thing. You can view it on Netflix instant play :)

 

If I remember correctly, this lady with advanced cancer saw an oncologist that put her on an all natural diet and got her healthy with all natural stuff and she survived it.

 

I do believe in holistic approaches, however, I think they work best in people who are semi-healthy to begin with. I would imagine that most of the "tried the all natural path and still died/did worse" stories have to do with people who spent their entire lives eating unhealthily, smoking, drinking, not exercising, etc. and then when it came time to pay the piper they were wanting a quick and easy "get out of jail free card".

 

That's why it makes me cringe when people blow off eating healthily and call those of us who make it important, "elitist", by saying something stupid like, "We all gotta die of something, right??"

 

If you are the one with cancer, I'm sorry. :grouphug: I hope you are able to overcome it, there IS hope :) Take care of yourself, spare no expense. If you are Christian, don't underestimate the power of prayer, and if not, don't underestimate the power of positive thinking :)

[Farrar]

When I worked briefly as a paper pusher in college one summer in a hospital, they'd had one kid who mysteriously went into remission from a brain tumor and they had no idea how or why, though the family, iirc, credited prayer. It was their "miracle" story.

 

I think you can't rely on that though. Or on untested treatments, though they can be worth trying. Hugs to you or whoever you know who has cancer.

[MrsJewelsRae]

A friend of ours was diagnosed with brain cancer years ago when we were all about 20. He wasn't expected to live after the doctors did everything they could for him. His parents took him to some natural doctor as a last resort and IIRC he was on high doses of calcium...maybe choral calcium? When he went back to the doctor a while later the doctor said it was a miracle, the cancer was gone. I'm sure there are more details than that, but what I do know is that at one point we were all praying for him not to die, and today he is happily married with 2 children 10 yrs later.