CANCER

cancer management, nutritional therapy and supportive cancer care and disclaimer concerning scope of practice

the "war on cancer" has been lost!

what is cancer?

cancer therapies

endocrine and reproductive cancer

cancer, a disease of lifestyle

nutritional factors associated with decreased cancer risk

essential factors in a healthy diet

Cancer management, nutritional therapy and supportive cancer care and disclaimer concerning scope of practice

Please read the following important legal information before proceeding further.

The Richards Family Health Center offers supportive (adjunctive) care for patients with malignant disease.

We wish to emphasize that supportive care given here is not offered as a primary treatment for cancer. It is not intended to replace standard medical care of surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy. It is the conventional medical view that untreated cancer is a progressive disease which, in the great majority of instances, ends in death.

The patient coming to our clinic for supportive care should be aware that conventional medical therapies are highly effective in bringing cure and/or prolonged remissions for certain types and stages of malignancies. Some examples are:

Non-melanomatous skin cancers: In their early stages, the cure rates approach 100%.

Stage I (localized) breast cancer: Surgery and/or radiation brings cure rates of approximately 90%.

Hodgkins disease: In early or limited disease the cure rates approach 90%. With more advanced stages the cure rates are somewhat reduced, but still favorable for cure or remission.

Seminoma (testicular cell cancer): This form of cancer is highly curable with chemotherapy. Even in disseminated disease the cure rate is over 50%.

Since a nutritional deficiency may or may not be associated with a specific disease, or it may be the cause of the disease, or it may occur as a result of that disease, it is important for you to understand fully that our sole concern in your case will be your nutritional program and your ability to metabolize and utilize the nutrients you consume.

We will not diagnose, treat or cure any specific disease and the nutritional recommendations we make based on laboratory tests, physical examination, clinical findings, history and symptoms, do not constitute treatment for any disease or affliction real or imagined by you. In addition, we specifically do not treat the disease of cancer. If you desire treatment for malignancy (cancer), you should place yourself at the disposal of another doctor who employs the only recognized cancer treatment procedures in the United States which consist of- surgery, chemotherapy, high energy radiation and/or hormone therapy.

For all patients with malignant disease coming to our clinic for supportive care, we urge them to continue with regular, ongoing visits to an appropriate medical specialist (surgeon, radiologist, and/or oncologist). For those patients with potentially curable malignancy (curable by conventional means), such visits are required as a condition for acceptance for our care.

In the nutritional management of a case, we routinely prescribe numerous vitamins, minerals, and enzymes and we do not want you to have any misconceptions about their use in this clinic. In the event that any vitamin, mineral, food or physical therapy device is prescribed or administered in your case, we want you to understand explicitly that its purpose will be for:

1. The improvement of your overall nutritional status
2. To improve your metabolism
3. For improvement of the sense of well-being
4. To improve appetite
5. For gain or reduction in weight
6. For possible remission or reduction of pain where present.

However, you must understand that you may not receive any of these benefits because they do not occur predictably with every patient - and in some cases they may not occur at all.

We want you to understand that our viewpoint concerning NUTRITION and the need for certain nutrients is not necessarily shared by the American Medical Association, the Food and Drug Administration and the American Cancer Society, or other similar agency or organization.

Does this apply to you? Is so, see our information on Consultations.

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The "War on Cancer" Has Been Lost!

Despite a $10 million/year, 30-year investment in fighting cancer by the U.S. Government, the mortality from cancer is higher than ever. (NEJM, Bailer & Smith, 1986, 314:1226-1232)

An American woman's odds of developing breast cancer in 1960 were 1:17; in 1984, they were 1:11; now, the odds are 1:9. The Kellogg Report, Beasley & Swift, 1989, p.341

Dr. Hardin Jones, professor of Medical Physics at the University of California, after studying cancer statistics for the previous 33 years, concluded: 'my studies have proven conclusively that untreated cancer victims live up to four times longer than treated individuals.' Ibid., p. 341

Despite an all-out war on cancer over the past 20 years, people are developing malignancies at a higher rate than ever before - even after accounting for smoking and the fact that people are living longer. These increased rates appear highest in the youngest group analyzed - "baby boomers" born between 1948 and 1957. Science News, Vol. 145, p. 102.

WHAT IS GOING ON??

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What is Cancer?

In the broadest sense, it is a series of genetic errors almost always caused by damages from outside the organism (risk factors or carcinogens)

Progressive genetic damage results in the "switching on" of cancerous growth. This is a multi-stage process that can be reversed, as well as advanced, by external factors

There are plenty of carcinogens in our food supply:
> Aflatoxin on peanuts
> Char broiled or fried meats
> Nitrites in certain vegetables (which are converted to nitrosamines in the body)
> Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (found in smoked, pickled and salt-cured foods)
> Fried foods (especially those fried in polyunsaturated or partially hydrogenated oil)
> Partially hydrogenated oils ("trans" forms of fatty acids contribute to the carcinogenic effect of fat) "trans" forms compose 17% of processed vegetable oils and 58% of vegetable shortening
> Polyunsaturated oills When polyunsaturated oils comprise more than 1096 of your caloric intake, cancer risk rises
> Sugar (tumor cells are obligate glucose metabolizers)
> Alcohol (a co-carcinogen that amplifies the effects of tobacco smoke)
> Smokeless tobacco
> Chlorine In tap water reacts with organic waste to form trihalomethanes ( potent carclnogens)
> Fluoride in toothpaste, mouthwash and drinking water

Sources: Nutritional influences on Illness, Melvyn R. Werbach,M.D. 1987 The Kellogg Report, The Impact of Nutrition, Environment - Lifestyle on the Health of Americans, The Institute of Health Policy & Practice, The Bard College Center, Joseph D. Beasley, M.D. and Jerry J. Swift, M.A., 1989.

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Cancer Therapies

STAGE I: Carcinoma in situ. The cells are all contained within the original location

STAGE II: Cancer cells have traveled to adjacent lymph nodes

STAGE III: The cancer has begun invading adjacent tissues

STAGE IV: The cancer has spread to distant site(s) in the body with "daughter" tumors arising in tissues unrelated to the original location

Recognized Cancer Therapies
High energy radiation
Chemotherapy
Hormone therapy

Unconventional (Alternative) Therapies
Immunotherapy (orthomolecular nutrition, bovine serum, auto-sera, etc.);
Metabolic therapy;
Kelly treatment;
Krebiozen;
Hoxey;
Gerson; and,
Psychological therapy (psychoneuroimmunology).

Effectiveness & Side Effects of Conventional Therapy

> Surgery
The most valuable of all the orthodox forms of treatment; Best utilized in Stages I and II, with some value in Stage III; and Little value in Stage IV disease.

Significant advances in surgery have occurred in the last 40 years: New surgical techniques; Improved pain relief; Antibiotics that improve treatment of post-surgical infection; Better and safer blood supply; and Superior follow-up care (specifically, intensive care).

Surgical removal of malignant disease is most beneficial in cancer of: Breast, stomach, small intestine, colon, bladder, uterus, kidney, testicle, ovary, brain, bone & muscle

Recommendation: GET THE WEEDS OUT OF THE GARDEN SO THE METOBOLIC THERAPY WILL HAVE TIME TO SUCCEED.

> Chemotherapy
Very popular, least effective of the major forms of orthodox treatment. 3 categories of agents: Alkylating Agents - a chemical attachment of a molecule to part of the DNA strand which interferes with cell division; Anti Metabolites - blocking the cellular metabolic process; Mitotic Inhibitors - prevents the chromosomes from duplicating themselves; eventually the colony of cancer cells dies. ALL CHEMOTHERARPEUTIC AGENTS ARE SYSTEMIC POISONS

Side effects include: Bone marrow depression, resulting in death from infection, massive hemorrhage of severe anemia; Gastrointestinal complaints, including vomiting, nausea and malabsorption; Skin reactions; Hair loss; and Suppression of the immune system that is needed to destroy the tumor.

> Hormone Therapy
Used only with hormone-dependent cancers: lymphatic system, breast and prostate. Therefore, have limited applicability

Side effects include: Feminization in men and masculinization in women; and immunosuppression

> Radiation
Second most effective of orthodox treatments. Destroys dividing cancer cells and increases scarring in the area irradiated. Scar tissue is believed to resist further malignant invasion.
Most effective on rapidly growing tumors which are very primitive. Not effective in colon and stomach cancer since it would destroy the lining of the digestive tract and the person would starve to death.

Side effects include: Extreme fatigue; Nausea and vomiting; Bone marrow suppression; Hair loss; and Permanent scarring of area. SECONDARY TUMORS WHICH RESULT FROM RADIATION THERAPY ARE RESISTANT TO ALL FORMS OF THERAPY. THEREFORE, LOWEST POSSIBLE EFFECTIVE DOSE IS CRUCIAL.

Radiation produces free radicals, which are believed to be the mechanism of cancer production. Some authorities prohibit the use of anti-oxidant vitamin supplementation while undergoing radiation. Other clinicians feel that anti-oxidant therapy lessens the systemic side effects and improves outcomes for patients undergoing radiotherapy.

Unconventional Cancer Therapies (i.e. unaccepted in US)
> Laetrile
Laetrile is an artificial compound patented in 1958 by Krebs & Krebs. Amygdalin is a more complex, but similar substance and is found naturally in the seeds of rosaceae (almonds, apricot pits) and a little in the seeds of most fruits (including apples!). Since the active ingredient is believed to be cyanide, dosages need to be monitored by a periodic urinary thiocyanate test to prevent overdose.

Laetrile acts upon cancer cells selectively, since they lack the enzyme to neutralize the free cyanide which is released when laetrile is metabolized. Normal cells have this enzyme in abundance! Also, laetrile metabolism releases benzaldehyde which, in the acid intracellular pH of the cancer cell, destroys the lipid coating of the cell membrane. As a result, the cancer cells breaks apart. Normal cells maintain an intracellular pH greater than 7.4 and benzaldehyde is normally metabolized and excreted under those conditions.

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> Psychoneuroimmunology
O. Carl Simonton, MD, a radiologist, was treating cancer patients in the mid-1970s at an Air Force hospital. He began experimenting with otherwise terminal patients with psychological therapy, including biofeedback and visualization. The process focused on desensitization, addressing fears, adding flexibility to rigid thinking and releasing anger and resentment. In their advanced cancer patients, an outcome study showed that patients using these techniques doubled their survival times. For example, breast cancer patients with an average 16-month survival time under conventional treatment averaged 31 months with Dr. Simonton's techniques. The Carl Simonton Clinic is in Palos Verdes, California. For best results, these techniques should be combined with metabolic types of therapy.

> Coley's mixed toxins
At the turn of the century, a surgeon named William B. Coley discovered that cancer patients who developed a severe infection went into remission. He worked with advanced cancer patients (56% were inoperable, terminal cases). He innoculated them with strep cultures and achieved a 47% recovery, with survival times between 5 and 80 years. (International Cancer Conference, London, 1978)

> Burton's immunotherapy
Lawrence Burton, Ph.D. in microbiology, doing research on mice discovered a tumor antigen that would stimulate the immune system to produce tumor antibodies. He developed a method of producing a serum from the patient's own blood that contained these antibodies (auto-sera). Unfortunately, at last report Dr. Burton's clinic in the Bahamas was being forced to shut down due to U.S. pressure on the government there.

> Krebiozen
Andrerw Ivy, M.D., formulated a substance from horse serum which was produced by the horses after injection with actinomyces bovis. The FDR claimed the substance was fraudulent and banned the use of Krebiozen in the early 60s. It is believed that the substance acted as an immunostimulant.

> Gerson therapy
Max Gerson, MD, practiced in New York in the 1930's and 1940's. He established a dietary regime involving the juice of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as raw liver extract and detoxifying coffee enemas. His work, too, was outlawed in the US. The clinic he established in Mexico still exists and was being operated by his wife at last report. The high potassium content of the fresh fruit juices alters intracellular pH in the cancer cell, killing it.

> Metabolic therapy
This is a combination of many of the non-conventional programs and includes:
Identifying and eliminating environmental poisons; Correcting vitamin and mineral deficiencies; Addressing functional digestive problems; Utilizing a diet that is non-toxic and immune stimulating; Reinforcing the immune system through nutrients, herbs and diet; Use of proteolytic animal and vegetable enzymes to seek out and destroy the cancer cell; Detoxifying the body from cancer by-products; and, Emphasizes a positive mental attitude towards overcoming cancer.

Does this apply to you? Is so, see our information n Consultations.

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Endocrine and Reproductive Cancer

I heard the most amazing news release recently. Did you know there is a 10-year Federal plan for improving the health of America by the year 2000? A key element of the plan is "preventative" health care. In reporting on the success of the program at the 5-year mark, "preventative" programs are considered a success because more people are being screened at an earlier age for more diseases! Excuse me? When did "prevention" become defined as "early detection"?

[see longevity/optimum wellness]

The truth is America is facing the prospect of cancer becoming the number 1 killer by the turn of the century, outstripping cardiovascular disease, which is currently number 1. The three leading causes of death in America (when you include peripheral vascular disease, which is number 3) are diseases of lifestyle, and our health care system offers little or no lifestyle counseling, focusing instead on early detection.

I don't know about you, but this kind of doublespeak strains my brain. One of the conundrums we face in health care is that the average person thinks the words being used mean one thing, when in fact they have been redefined to fit the medical model. "Prevention" is a good example. "Healthcare" is another. What is currently called health care is, in actuality, "disease and trauma care." True health care - i.e., making sure your body is functioning well and your metabolism is optimal to avert the development of disease - is redefined as "maintenance care," and accordingly is deemed unnecessary and unreimbursable by insurance carriers. Think about it - it makes my head spin, when it isn't making me too angry to reason.

I'd like to focus on the prevention (in the truest sense of the word) of endocrine and reproductive cancers - breast, uterus and prostate. There is some interesting data available in the foreign research literature that hasn't received much attention in the US.

The current thinking in American medical circles is that these cancers can be related to fat intake. After all, the American diet is 40% fat (on average); and America has the among the highest rate of these cancers in the world. Furthermore, fat calories are empty calories which are otherwise devoid of nutrients. However, fat content is less important than the way in which fat interacts with other dietary factors. A study done in 1984 and submitted to the American medical journals, but which was never published until 1989, showed that breast cancer risk correlates to the following factors: an increased intake of fish oils (omega 3 oils) decreases cancer risk, while an increased intake of vegetable oil (omega 6 oils) increases the risk. Omega 6 oils are the "polyunsaturated," cholesterol-free vegetable oils which are advertised so heavily, despite the fad that they increase cancer risk. An increase in dietary fiber also decreases the risk of breast cancer.

Further information concerning the connection of good gastrointestinal health and hormone balance appeared in the Journal of Steroid Biochemistry (Vol. 13) published in Great Britain. The research discovered that pathogenic bacteria promote the production of toxic estrogens in women and that "good" bacteria (i.e., normal gut inhabitants) promote estrogen balance within the blood stream. Therefore, having your bowel cultured and normalizing your digestive tract can actually decrease your risk of breast cancer.

Dr. Aldercreutz (a Belgian) has published over 250 articles in the last 20 years on the Western diet and hormonal factors. His research shows breast cancer is almost unknown in countries where the diet is rich in isoflavones, regardless of the fat level. Isoflavones are found in soy products; however, the glycoside linkages in soy products are unabsorbable by the human being. They must be metabolized by the normal bacterial inhabitants of the human digestive tract to become absorbable. Once absorbed, they act as hormone modulators, reducing levels that are too high, raising levels that are too low, and having no effect when levels are normal. In effect, they keep the hormone levels in a steady state, without extremes. Other researchers have determined that the higher the highs and the lower the lows, the greater the risk of reproductive cancer. So, these substances help our body regulate the very hormones we produce into a safe, steady-state level. Again, a healthy intestinal tract with the proper bacterial inhabitants is essential.

Another important, and over-looked, factor in protecting women against breast cancer is to assess a woman's estrogen status. The proportions of the different types of estrogen in the body is a good predictor of breast cancer risk. First of all, the body produces 3 different types of estrogen: E3 is estriol; E2 is estradiol and El is estrone. The body detoxifies E2 and El in the liver, converting them to E3. When the 24-hour urinary excretion of [E3 ]/[E2 + El] is less than 0.8, the risk of breast cancer increases. When it is greater than 1.0, the risk decreases. The reason is that the body is effectively detoxifying E2 and El, which have the greatest carcinogenic effect. Interestingly, the prescription product Premarintm is E2 and Estrace (also a prescription) is El. The Physician's Desk Reference contains clear warnings about the carcinogenicity of these compounds. Furthermore, Premarin is conjugated, making it almost impossible for the liver to detoxify. Natural plant-based estrogens (phytoestrogens) are E3, but are dismissed by the medical profession as ineffective because they are not "long-acting," i.e., more carcinogenic. I have found, however, that the phytoestrogens do handle menopausal symptoms (such as hot flashes, insomnia and vaginal dryness) quite well.

The key source of phytoestrogens is soy products. You can regulate your hormone production by your choice of diet. However, be certain that you choose high quality soy products. Textured vegetable protein (the most common form of soy) is useless. Soy protein isolate (the most expensive) is best. Several of the detoxification products we use at the RFHC contain soy protein isolate (Ultra-Meal and Ultra Sustain). Also, good quality tofu and tempeh are advantageous. In addition, women now have choice in the type of estrogen used for post-menopausal symptoms. There are some very effective, naturopathic transdermal creams available which contain only E3, estriol, and are derived primarily from soy products. At RFHC, we have routinely and successfully used these products for over a year now. The results have been excellent.

In February of 1995, the National Cancer Institute finally recommended soy products (phytoestrogens) to help regulate the female cycle and to protect against breast cancer. Have you read any headlines containing that information lately?

However, it is not just women who benefit from intake of soy products. Researchers have tracked levels of Prostatic Specific Antigen (PSA, a prostate cancer tumor marker) and soy intake in men. The finding was that the greater the soy intake, the lower the levels of PSA. It was found that isoflavones block the conversion of testosterone into its toxic metabolite. Furthermore, isoflavones were shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells in culture.

Does this apply to you? Is so, see our information on Consultations.

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Cancer, A Disease of Lifestyle

The Global 2000 Report to the President, states that "envlronmental (l.e., exogenous non genetic) factors contribute 80 to 90% of the present cancer cases.

RISK FACTORS	% OF ALL CANCERS	SITES
Diet	35-50%	colon, breast, uterus, ovary
Tobacco	18-30%	lung, esophagus, bladder, kidney & pancreas
Asbestos and other exposures	3-18%	lung, other sites
Alcohol	1-15%	stomach, larynx, liver
Infection (e.g.chronic papilloma virus)	1-15%	cervix, prostate
Sexual development, hormones and practice	1-13%	breast, uterus, ovary, cervlx, testis
Pollution	3-5%	lung, bladder, rectum
Medicines & radiation	1-4%	breast, uterus, ovary, thyroid, bone, lung, blood
Natural radiation	1-3%	breast, thyroid, lung, bone, blood
Consumer products	1-2%	possibly all sites

Nutritional Factors Associated with Decreased Cancer Risk

> Low Fat Diet
> Low Cholesterol Diet
> High Fiber Diet
> Vegetarian Diet (Plenty of fruits and vegetables)

Avoid:
Obesity
Alcohol
Smoked, Pickled and Salt Cured Foods
Fried Foods
Sugar
Partially Hydrogenated Oils
Excessive Amounts of Polyunsaturated Oils

Specific Nutrients Associated with Decreased Cancer Risk:
Beta Carotine
Folic Acid
Pyridoxine Vitamin B6
Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Vitamin B 12
Vitamin E
Calcium
Phosphorus
Vitamin D
Iodine
Magnesium
Selenium
Zinc
Garlic
Onion
Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Phytosterols (Cholesterol Analogs Found in Plants) (Not for Diabetics)
Omega 6 Fatty Acids

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Essential Factors in a Healthy Diet

> Whole Unprocessed Foods - High Fiber
Paleolithic diet contained 5 times the amount of fiber we consume; most of it was in the form of fiber from fruits and vegetables, both soluble and insoluble. These fibers have been shown to nourish beneficial bacteria in our intestinal tract - e.g., protecting against reproductive cancer.

Today, in the US most of the fiber consumed is insoluble fiber (bran) from grains. Their action in intestinal tract is irritating.

> Good quality protein - lean meat, fish and fowl
Paleolithic diet included game animals that ran free and were range fed; the meat contained large quantities of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. The meat was very lean, containing only 21% fat, maximum. Also, no dairy products or isolated oils were consumed with it.

Today, US domestic animals are grain-fed and raised on feedlots or in factories with no exercise. The meat contains too much fat and high quantities of inflammatory fatty acids.

> Balanced Fat Consumption
Paleolithic Diet verses US Diet
Hi cholesterol intake approx. _ the cholesterol
Omega 6: Omega 3 = 2:1 Omega 6: Omega 3 = 11:1

NO FAT DIETS ARE NOT THE ANSWER! These diets call for simply substituting more sugar and carbohydrates for oils. Americans already consume 100 lbs of sugar/year.

> Decrease Sugar Consumption
In addition, the single greatest risk factor for cancer mortality is sugar consumption.
Dental Caries (3rd molar)
Paleolithlc man 2%
l000 A.D. 10%
1900 A.D. 70%

> Seasonal Fruits and Vegetables
In Paleolithic times, man ate what was gathered. Food was freshly picked with all nutrient value intact.

Today, in the supermarket, the best you can hope for is that the fruits and vegetables are less than a week old. In some cases, they are actually taken from cold storage and placed on the racks. Food imported from foreign countries has been picked in a very immature state and shipped long distances.

THE BOTTOM LINE ABOUT DIET
Eat a diet rich in raw fruits and vegetables (preferably organic), whole unrefined grains, nuts and seeds. Use meat as a supplement, and make certain it is either raised organically or range-free. Take supplemental vitamins and minerals, as needed. Your individual needs are best determined by blood tests so that your program can be customized to your biochemical individuality.

[Contact RFHC for a copy of the Cave Man Diet]

Does this apply to you? Is so, see our information on Consultations.

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