The Integrated Investigation and Treatment for those with Cancer
“I try to offer an individualised approach to cancer, looking at the best options which will optimise outcome and improve quality of life. I am not an oncologist but work with Complementary or natural approaches in combination with conventional cancer treatments as offered by oncologists. This is now referred to as Integrated or Integrative care. If you have chosen not to use conventional options I will discuss that choice with you and ensure you have clarity about your decision. We will cover what you think your options are and ensure you are not taking unnecessary risks. I will help in any way I can to optimise your body’s immune system, remove toxins and ensure optimum nutritional status”. Dr Rajendra Sharma.
Initial Consultation
Patients can make a 60 minute appointment but I recommend 90 minutes as there is a lot to cover. I send out a questionnaire, which I request is completed and returned to me prior to attending the appointment.
There are 2 levels of treatment:
1) Supportive/complementary treatment
I help devise a naturopathic approach that the patient undertakes for themselves and is geared towards dealing with the side effects of surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. This includes life-style and dietary modification, establishing correct levels of exercise and designing a regime of nutritional and immune-boosting supplements.
2) Proactive Therapy
Some patients may chose to go beyond complementary support by using any of the much publicised specific treatments that offer possible anti-cancer activity. These include Vitamin C therapy, CV247, Avemar, Artesunate and Iscador (Mistletoe) injections amongst many others. Patients may have read about intravenous infusions and wish to consider such treatment. This is best done whilst patients are not undergoing chemotherapy. Others come to this when they feel no progress is being made with mainstream treatments. I always recommend your oncologist is aware and has no objections to such treatment.
Chemosensitivity testing
I recommend and offer Chemosensitivity testing from the Research Genetic Cancer Centre in Greece (www.rgcc-genlab.com). This is a blood test that explores which medication or natural extracts may be the most helpful for an individual. It tests the individuals cancer cells for response to complementary as well as mainstream treatments. The aim is to produce guidance for discussion with their oncologist about which treatments may be most beneficial for them.
Monitoring and Follow up
Conventional assessments from scans and blood tests will provide information but I also recommend additional tests to help monitor progress. These tests include monitoring for circulating tumour cells in the bloodstream. These are established tests also from RGCC and are moving into mainstream practice for monitoring purposes.
Depending on what treatment is undertaken it is appropriate to undergo a review from time to time. This can be done in person or by telephone. Tests can be organized locally, so it isn’t always the case that a long journey is needed to see me. If I am prescribing medication on an on-going basis, a consultation in person every 3 months or so is best.
Some Facts
There are thousands of reports of the spontaneous regression of cancer. Many are associated with Complementary treatments and many of these have scientific validation but are not in common or conventional use because adequate trials have not been undertaken - most frequently due to financial and political considerations (1, 2).
There are a myriad of claims and much anecdotal evidence supporting Complementary and Alternative medical (CAM) care. I have reviewed much of the literature on this and on environmental and nutritional therapy supporting the body through cancer therapy, and I have put together an ever evolving regime and various protocols. There are an increasing number of theoretical CAM treatments for supporting those with cancer and my intention is to steer people towards those that have evidence of efficacy in human studies in particular.
Areas of Consideration
Setting up a protocol to support the journey with cancer must be based on knowledge of the individual patient. Orthodox medicine tends to offer treatment based on statistical analysis but unfortunately overall the benefits, despite constant research and evolution of orthodox medicine, have not much improved in a majority of cancers over the last 30 years (20).
I believe one has to consider six areas:
- Establishing and removing the cause of cancer
- The use of orthodox techniques and medical care
- Complementary Medicine - supporting cancer therapy
- Assessment and activation of the detoxification systems
- Assessment and activation of the immune system
- Nutritional assessment and dietetic therapy
- Psychological and healing techniques
- Anti-cancer therapy tests
1. Establishing and removing the cause of cancer
Many cancers have a clear cause, such as lung cancer and its association with smoking; bowel cancer with low fibre diets and obesity, and over exposure to sunlight with melanoma. DNA found in the nucleus of cells and also in the energy producing respiratory parts of cells known as mitochondria, is involved in cell division and we are now seeing that many cancers have contaminants attached to it. These are known as “epi-genetic” factors which along with radiation cause damage. Toxins such as environmental pollutants also damage cell walls and receptors and these cause alteration of replication of cells. Immune suppression by viruses and deficiencies and both physical and psychological stress factors must also be considered.
Establishing underlying potential cause of cancer requires:
- A full consultation including medical history and appropriate physical examination to establish correct lifestyle thereby removing environmental causes of tumour
- Removing components that might weaken the immune system is a prerequisite of treatment. Causes can range from environmental toxins through dietetic and nutrition inadequacies to stress and psychological factors. All, once identified, may help treatment choice (3).
- Exploration of genetic immune status: ImmunoGenomics Profile
- Blood tests looking for chemicals, pollutants and toxic metals known to cause cancer
- Blood tests looking at anti-cancer immune dysfunction
2. The use of orthodox techniques and medical care
Orthodox medicine has considerable success in the treatment of some cancers and should not be discounted in a Holistic treatment course. The surgeon’s knife can be curative and chemotherapy and radiation treatments are improving constantly but the "side effects" of these treatments continue to be a problem and orthodox treatments are often toxic to the system. Full and frank discussion to decide whether the cure is worse than the disease is a prerequisite. Complementary treatments to prepare the body for the aforementioned procedures, treatments to speed healing after surgical and radiation therapy (9,10) and therapies to protect the body from the toxic affects of orthodox treatments are all essential in Holistic care.
I recommend that 3 questions are asked:
- What happens if I do not follow a conventional course of treatment?
- What happens if I do and specifically what are the 2, 5 and 10 year survival rates?
- How will I feel through the treatment and what are the longer term side effects?
Most hospitals are unwilling to allow complementary medical care to run alongside orthodox treatment. I will endeavour to connect with the oncologist in charge of your case and in some cases treatment may be allowed. Home care by top qualified cancer nurses who would be able to administer both orthodox and complementary care can be organised
I am fully supportive of effective Orthodox treatments where appropriate and would not condone the cessation of established treatments. My protocols are intended as a support to such therapies.
3. Complementary Medicine - supporting cancer therapy
If a conventional program contains surgery, chemotherapy or radiation then complementary therapy can be considered to run along side to reduce side effects and possibly enhance effects. It is not possible to utilise all of the myriad of complementary or alternative options simply because there are so many, so programme design needs to be based on as much scientific evidence as is available. One site reviews published papers and summarises them - www.vitasearch.com
This has allowed me to design first line protocols that can be adjusted depending on the individual and the therapy. These include the following:
Operation Protocol
Milkthistle – to stimulate the liver to remove anaesthetic
Body Bio – essential fatty acids to reduce risk of anaesthetics effecting cell membranes (25)
Homeopathic remedies such as Nux vomica, Arnica, Traumeel and Belladonna
Vitamin C, Zinc, Argenine, Rutin – To speed up healing
Herbal creams to repair wounds
Serrapeptase – silk worm product to reduce excessive scarring
Chemotherapy adjunct protocol
| Milk thistle | (liver support and enhancement of some chemotherapy) |
| N-Acetyl Cysteine | (liver support) |
| Pre and probiotics | (bowel flora support) |
| Glutamine | (repair of bowel wall) |
| S-adenosyl methionine | (liver support) |
| L Glutathione | (repair of bowel wall) |
| High absorbancy antioxidants | (protection of hair follicles) |
| Shitake mushroom | (enhances some forms of chemotherapy) |
| Vit B3 | (protects hair follicles) |
| Astragalas | (reduces toxic effects of chemo) |
| Arabinoxilan | (Rice bran extract shown to reduce side effects of chemo) (26) |
Radiotherapy Adjunct Protocol
Protection of cells from radiation and possible enhancement of effects on cancer cells
Vit E, C, K other antioxidants
Amino acid L-Cysteine
Broad spectrum multivitamin/minerals
Blue Green Algae to absorb toxins
Soy Isoflavones
Probiotics to protect bowel flora and enhance immunity
4. Assessment and activation of the detoxification systems
Cancer might occur when the body is unable to eliminate toxins efficiently. Having an effective detoxification system may be the reason why many smokers do not get cancer and most people who eat barbequed foods also do not get cancers.
Much of our ability is genetic but we now know we can influence our genes and ‘up-regulate’ detoxification through nutrition, exercise and de-stressing the body. (30)
It is important to consider avoiding toxins and removing any from the system.
Recommended tests
-
Genomic detoxification capability and influences: Here is a sample report showing how clear advise is given on how to specifically increase your own
personal ability to detoxify. http://www.gdx.net/core/sample-reports/Detoxi-Genomics-Sample-Report.pdf
- Hepatic detoxification profile: This test tells us if you are detoxifying efficiently (www.regeneruslabs.com)
5. Assessment and activation of the immune systems
Cancer is known to form when the body’s immune system fails. All of us have cancer cells in the body most of the time, we make up to 100,000 a day, but for the majority of us our immune system destroys them (31).
I strongly recommend reviewing an emerging therapy called GcMAF Immunotherapy which I think all cases should consider and I would cover in any consultation. http://immunocentre.eu/what-is-gcmafgoleic/
I also suggest considering an investigation known as The Full Tumour Immunity Profile which investigates levels of Natural Killer cells and anti-cancer T-cell as well as their activation.
Recommended tests
- Tumour Immunity – Full Profile L4M Laboratory – NK and T-Cell Modulators: The status of the anti-cancer immune system (http://www.lab4more-online.de/analyse-a-therapieprogramm/onkologie.html)
6. Nutritional assessment and dietetic therapy
There is evidence that diet can prevent or inhibit cancer growth but there is only scanty evidence that diet alone can be a cure (22). However, cancer may be created by carcinogenic compounds found increasingly in our food. Nitrosamines from burnt food is a common example. There is a direct correlation with low fibre and high sugar diets having a detrimental if not a causative effect whilst those with diets high in vegetables and roughage have statistically less chance of developing cancer. The methods by which food is processed and stored are also being brought into question and are thought to be a possible cause of cancer (24).
One site states these as the main causes of cancer
- Too much sugar (Cancer Res. 2011 Jul 1;71(13):4484-93. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-10-3973).
- Poor nutrition lacking in amino acids and trace metals (Anticancer Res. 2000 May-Jun;20(3B):1969-75. Postepy Hig Med Dosw (Online).2012 Aug 6;66:549-53.)
- Lack of vitamin D3 (Br J Biomed Sci.2013;70(4):161-72.)
- Lack of oxygen and exercise (Ann N Y Acad Sci.2011 Jul;1229:176-83. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06105.x.)
- Severe shock stress (Psychiatr Hung.2012;27(4):277-85.)
Specific therapies such as these can be considered:
The Ketogenic Diet (29)
http://www.canceractive.com/cancer-active-page-link.aspx?n=3117
The Gerson Therapy
http://www.canceractive.com/cancer-active-page-link.aspx?n=496
The Plaskett Therapy(23)
http://www.canceractive.com/cancer-active-page-link.aspx?n=495
All these can be discussed and considered by Nutritionists working with me.
I am currently very interested in the work of a Dr Heinrich Kremer. He has established a theory for treatment based on dysfunctional mitochondria, small components within cells that provide the cell with energy, being involved with cancer (and other chronic diseases). This is called Cell Symbiosis Therapy (CST) (27). I frequently suggest consultation with Dr Gil Crowther, a UK specialist in this field, and I work with her on optimising diet and nutritional programs including the use of intravenous nutritional supportive therapy as designed within CST (28).
Free radicals are highly reactive compounds formed by environmental pollutants, including smoke (especially tobacco smoke), ozone and even compounds produced by the normal metabolism in the body. Obesity, lack of exercise and stress may contribute to free radical production. These attack cell membranes and DNA and impair the transportation of oxygen, water and nutrients around the body. They also impact the efficient removal of waste matter from the cells, subjecting the system to further stress.
The presence of some antioxidants is thought to be vital in the prevention and reduction in activity of cancer. Antioxidants prevent the formation of and neutralise these reactive free radials before they can damage our tissues. They are also believed to slow down aspects of the aging process, and research shows that people who consume higher amounts of antioxidants have greater longevity. (21)
Testing for these and other micronutrients needed to maintain immune system and detoxification systems is of considerable help. Nutritional evaluation guides doctors or nutritionists towards optimising dietetic changes and supplemental requirements. Tests such as this one can take out the guess work.
- Micronutrient nutritional analysis (http://regeneruslabs.com/pub/nutritionaltests)
7. Psychological and healing techniques
Considerable evidence from scientific research into Psycho-Neuro-Immunology has, over the last twenty years, come to prominence in the treatment of many conditions (4). The ability of the psyche to influence the nervous system to produce hormones and neurotransmitters that influence the immune system is clearly illustrated. The use of anti-stress techniques, counselling, hypnotherapy, visualisation and meditation techniques all have a place in the treatment of malignant disease.
The use of group therapy has been shown to be beneficial in removing the stress of cancer and has actually shown to double the life expectancy in terminal cancers (7). Healing techniques have been documented as being effective both as a cure and in relieving pain and discomfort (17). Healing energy may now be provided not only by hands-on therapists but by Bioresonance computers, magnetic devices and other energy-channelling mechanisms
8. Anti-cancer therapy tests
Research is taking place all over the world into assessing the best natural treatments to be considered alongside conventional therapies (8).
The technique of growing cancer cells isolated from biopsy or blood samples (oncoquick) in laboratories is a developing technique known as Enrichment and Culture. Once a colony of an individual patient’s cancer has been cultivated that specific tumour cell-line can be tested against 40 or more orthodox drugs and similar numbers of natural compounds. Such information helps guide oncologists towards treatments most likely to be effective.
The test I recommended, as mentioned earlier, is:
- The Research Genetic Cancer Centre - Chemotherapy and Natural extract Cancer Test. (www.rgcc-genlab.com)
Research over the last few years has been able to suggest specific treatments which may be more beneficial than others. Such tests can illustrate the potential benefits, albeit in the laboratory, of over 40 natural compounds including widely publicised ones. Those that I have most frequently found as likely to benefit patients according to tests conducted by RGCC are Avemar , Quercetin (6), Super Artemisinin, C-statin (12), Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) (10), Vitamin D3, Curcumin, Mistletoe, Amygdalin- (Vit. B17), Naltrexone and Resveratrol.
Ongoing research on some compounds, regardless of individualised testing, is quite extensive and encouraging such as Avemar(14)
In Conclusion
Cancer is a condition best treated with professional expertise. Guidance towards the needs of an individual and testing for specific treatments against a particular cancer cell-line is an optimum approach. Such prescribing can only be offered by an Oncologist although ‘patient choice’ as demanded by recent governments, allows for open discussion of what a patient wants. Establishing a clear understanding of individual nutritional deficiencies and needs as well as toxic levels and detoxification ability allows for the design of the most suitable therapies and general health regimes.
REFERENCES
- Section of Medical Oncology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.http://europepmc.org/search?page=1&query=ISSN:%220258-851X%22 In Vivo (Athens, Greece) 1998, 12(6):571-578
- The Spontaneous Regression of Cancer: A review of cases from 1900 to 1987 Acta oncology 1990, Vol. 29, No. 5 , Pages 545-550 http://informahealthcare.com/action/doSearch?action=runSearch&type=advanced&result=true&prevSearch=%2Bauthorsfield%3A%28Challis%2C+G.+B.%29 G. B. Challis and http://informahealthcare.com/action/doSearch?action=runSearch&type=advanced&result=true&prevSearch=%2Bauthorsfield%3A%28Stam%2C+H.+J.%29 H. J. Stam
- Choices in Healing by Michael Lerner. MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-12180-8.
- The Handbook of Complementary Medicine by Stephen Fulder. Coronet Books. ISBN 0-340-49484-0.
- The Cancer Research Society, Arlesheim, Switzerland. (www.cancertutor.com/cancer/polymva).
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=quercetin%20cancer
- www.healthcreation.co.uk
- www.lab4more.de / www.rgcc-genlab.com
- Sunday Times, 22.11.92
- www.knowledgeofhealth.com, www.gordonresearch.com, www.medpagetoday.com
- Alternative medicine expanding medical horizons, ISBN 0-16-045479-4 page 227-270
- www.aidan-az.com
- The Cancer Hand Book, What Doctors Don’t Tell you, address above.
- www.avemar.com/avemar.php
- Proof! Winter 1996/7. Volume 1, no.2. Available from What Doctors Don’t Tell You.
- Please contact the British Society for Allergy, Nutritional and Environmental Medicine.
- Advances 9 (4): 4 (1993)
- Edward Goldsmith - Various articles, The Economist.
- The Bristol Cancer Centre.
- New England Journal of Medicine (8 May 1986; 314:1226-1232)
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 53, 373S-379S, Copyright © 1991 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc
- European Journal of Cancer Volume 37, Issue 8 , Pages 948-965, May 2001
- www.canceractive.com/cancer-active-page-link.aspx?n=495
- http://www.organicauthority.com/health/8-bad-food-habits-that-may-lead-to-cancer.html
- http://www.lipidrescue.org/
- http://www.theprofesional.com/article/2013/vol-20-no-1/003%20Prof-1978.pdf
- http://www.cst-academy.co.uk/an-introduction.html
- http://www.ummafrapp.de/krebs/Kremer/kremer_the_secret_of_cancer.html
Heinrich Kremer MD: The Silent Revolution in Cancer and AIDS Medicine - http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/03/10/ketogenic-diet.aspx
