Category Archives: Cancer Treatments and Prevention

Are Many Ovarian Cancers (Especially Post-Menopausal) Driven By Male Hormones???

Cancer Treatments and Prevention

In previous posts we’ve talked about the belief that many ‘female’ cancers are driven by estrogen and its action on estrogen receptors – and we’ve discussed possible treatment options and theories about how different medicines can be used to reduce this effect.

https://thatcrazypharmacist.com/?p=388

https://thatcrazypharmacist.com/?p=329

I still believe that the points made in those previous posts are valid and important information.

But, I think the information that will be in this post is at least as important.

You see, there’s an ovarian cancer patient who’s the friend of a friend… and her tumors have come back and are extemely aggressive. My friend asked my opinion relative to options they might try in combination with what her oncologist had tried to slow down the tumors’ growth.

So, we talked about some options – and they eventually implemented some of the ideas I’ve posted on this website – and there was no effect.

None, Zip, Nada… – and this bears very heavily on my mind because that woman is now in chemotherapy again, and I am quite concerned about her well being – and feel a need to understand what’s going on in case my family member’s tumors come back in a similar way.

So, I started digging again to see if I could figure out why her tumors seemed to be driven by something despite the fact that this patient was on an aromatase inhibitor.

And – in the middle of the night – I read this passage in a book written by Dr Aurel Lupulsecu:

‘Ovarian cancer is estrogen dependent in premenopausal women and becomes more androgen dependent in post menopausal women.’ (Hormones and vitamins in Cancer Treatment, 1990, RC271.H55L87, Page 33)

Although I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, this statement caused me to pause and think about its implications for a very long time.

As far as I can tell, the author is as informed as anyone in this area, having dedicated his career to studying these effects.

So I then got busy checking to see if the literature supported Dr Lupulescu’s claim.

The bottom line of that search for confirmation is that it appears Dr Lupulescu is probably correct.

Representative journal articles include ‘Expression of human estrogen receptor-alpha and -beta, progesterone receptor, and androgen receptor mRNA in normal and malignant ovarian epithelial cells’, Kin-Mang Lau, Samuel C. Mok, and Shuk-Mei Ho. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol 96, May 1999, pp. 5722-5727. (http://www.pnas.org/content/96/10/5722.full.pdf+html) and ‘Androgen Receptors in Ovarian Tumors: Correlation with Oestrogen and Progesterone Receptors in an Immunohistochemicaland Semiquantitative Image Analysis Study’, M.R. Cardillo, E. Petrangeli, N. Aliotta, L. Salvatori, L. Ravenna, C. Chang, and G. Castagna. J. Exp Clin. Cancer Res. 17, 2, 1998: pp 231-237. (https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/george-whipple-lab/documents/chang-papers/CV113.pdf) There are many more… but some are hard to get copies of, and these two mirror the info presented elsewhere pretty well.

Anyway, based on the articles and works written by Dr Lupulescu and others I’ve read I’ve formulated the following theories that might be helpful in the case of ovarian cancers that don’t appear to respond to the use of aromatase inhibitors –

1. To reduce the levels of androgen hormones that might be driving the tumors’ growth I would try adding finasteride to the woman’s regimen at a dose of 5-10mg per day.

2. If adding finasteride to the regimen doesn’t work I’d add a high dose birth control pill that contains both estrogen and progesterone components.

3. If complete reduction of testosterone levels is desired I’d add ketoconazole to the patient’s regimen.

Your physician will understand what I’m talking about…

The point is that post-menopausal ovarian tumors may need to have their androgen sources opposed, reduced or eliminated if you are going to slow down their growth.

I have no idea whether or not these options might help my friend’s friend. She has already been through an extremely aggressive chemotherapy regimen.. and her tumors came back. – quickly and aggressively. Maybe the chemo created a monster that can’t be killed. I hope not.

Remember, I’m a pharmacist – not a physician – and what I have written above is theoretical, not proven. I’m sure somewhere in the universe a physician or researcher has tried what I’ve proposed. I just haven’t been able to find and read the reports yet.

Anyway, I’m providing information that I think might be useful for you and your physician to consider if the list of options is getting pretty small.

And – as always – don’t change your medication regimens without checking things out with your physician.

But, don’t forget that your physician is only human and it never hurts to try to engage them to think about ideas that the drug companies haven’t dropped on their desks.

DCA (Dichloroacetate) – Theories About How It Works To Treat Cancer From The Michelakis Team

Cancer Treatments and Prevention

We’ve talked about the use of dichloroacetate (DCA) for the treatment of various cancers before.

https://thatcrazypharmacist.com/?p=115

In summary, the data that is available from lab experiments, a small clinical trial conducted by a team from the University of  Alberta, and other small trials strongly indicates that DCA can cause dramatically positive effects when used to treat some cancers.

You can find the results of the clinical trial and information about how the dichloroacetate was dosed in this article – http://dca-information.pbworks.com/f/Metabolic%20Modulation%20of%20Glioblastoma%20with%20Dichloroacetate.pdf.

Anyway, I’ve been reading a Springer Science book titled ‘Mitochondria and Cancer’ over the past week or so, and I thought the information contained in one of the chapters would be of interest to you because it quite clearly defines how the Michelakis team thinks DCA works to cut down cancer loads and progression.

The chapter is titled Reversing the Warburg Effect: Metabolic Modulation as a Novel Cancer Therapy, and it is written by Gopinath Sutendra and Evangelos D. Michelakis.

Unfortunately, I cannot provide you with a link to this book – and it is actually quite expensive. However, you might be able to track down a copy of it at a university library somewhere, or the reference librarian at a library near you might be able to get you a pdf copy of this particular chapter.

But, to make the best of the situation I will summarize what the chapter says.

First, it is important to understand that the role inhibition of mitochondrial function plays in the survival of many cancers is known by all.

But, there continues to be a great debate over whether it’s the bottom line cause of cancer progression or the result of the conditions generated by the cancer itself.

In this chapter the authors present the proposal that the mitochondrias’ function has been disabled as the result of an environment that prevented proper function (e.g. a lack of oxygen), and that – for some reason – once the cells’ metabolism has been altered to compensate for the mitochondria’s inactivation, the cells resist turning them back on once the unfavorable conditions have been remedied.

Having the mitochondria disabled causes the membrane surrounding the mitochondria to become more negatively charged than they normally would be, and this prevents the exit of several substances from the mitochondria that are necessary for the induction of apoptosis (programmed cell death) .

By inactivating an enzyme that blocks the flow of a key substance that is required by the mitochondria, DCA works to reestablish the flow – thus enabling the mitochondria to resume proper function.

Apparently, using DCA to unlock the strangle hold that the cancer cell’s metabolism puts on the mitochondria allows the mitochondrial membrane to return to its normal voltage level – with a subsequent release of the substances that normalize the cell’s functions and signal the cell to progress to apoptosis.

The authors note that this phenomenom does not occur in all cancer types, but does appear to be present in most. A list of the types that may not exhibit it is also listed in the article.

As always, I’m a Pharmacist. Talk to your physician before trying any new medication or supplement… and/or changing your medication regimen.

Dr Burzynski’s Antineoplastons… A Treatment Option Cancer Patients Should Know About

Cancer Treatments and Prevention

I have struggled with what to say in this post for several weeks.

I strive to provide information that I think people – especially cancer patients and those who love them – should know about… and to avoid posting info that can’t be backed up with cold, hard data.

But, sometimes the topic is extremely controversial…

This is the case for Dr Burzynski and his antineoplaston based cancer treatments.

To say that extremely large sums of money have been spent to try to keep his treatments away from the public would be an understatement.

I will not speculate as to why this has been the case, or detail who it seems has been spending the money and energy to suppress his therapies.

But, if you’re interested keep reading and check out the links I’ve posted within this post.

I will go on record to say that as far as I can tell – and I have checked the info pretty thoroughly because I was reviewing it as an option for a family member  who has cancer – Dr Burzynski’s therapy is real, works for many patients, is solidly based on scientific evidence and should be considered as an option for any cancer patient.

Especially those who have reached the point where the doctors have told them they can do no more – or by those who anticipate that’s where they’re going to end up. It seems to make sense that the sooner the treatments start – and the less damaged the patients are from other treatment efforts – the more likely they are to work.

But, it is expensive… and it is my understanding that most insurance companies won’t pay for it.

I would like to point out, however, that the cost – when scaled to the need to maintain the research and treatment operations that he has built and to fight off the attacks that have been made against him and his therapies – is probably low compared to what would be charged by the traditional pharmaceutical companies.

Anyway, in summary:

While performing research Dr Burzynski noted that specific peptide substances were missing from the urine of many cancer patients. He researched the possibility that replacing those peptides would work as a treatment for cancer patients. It seems that his beliefs were true, and many cancer patients seem to have definately gained serious benefits from undergoing his treatments. This accomplishment is all the more notable when one considers that only the most hopeless cases have been previously allowed access to Dr Burzynski’s treatments. Powerful organizations have repeatedly tried to have his therapies suppressed, but the evidence in support of the effectiveness of these therapies continues to thwart their efforts. It is my understanding that he is the owner of the patents for the use of these ‘antineoplaston’ peptides, and he maintains a research and treatment center in the Houston, Texas area.

You can find out more information about the Burzynski therapies by taking a look at this website http://www.burzynskimovie.com/, reading Thomas Elias’ book titled ‘The Burzynski Breakthrough’, or by viewing the video located at this web address http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/162978-1.

You can also watch a Question and Answer session with Dr Burzynski and others that was held at the Newport Beach Film Festival at this address http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8m1A7ISEFE.

I guarantee that watching these videos will change your world perspective.

You can buy a copy of the Elias book on Amazon, and other places. You can buy a copy of the movie at Amazon.com, or view it as an Amazon Instant Video download at http://www.amazon.com/Burzynski-Movie-Cancer-Serious-Business/dp/B004LKF01O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1301218912&sr=8-2.

I think you should visit the Burzynski Movie website and check it out a bit, buy a copy of Elias’ book and read it, watch the video from the CSPAN site, AND watch the full movie – either by buying it or downloading it onto your computer from Amazon.com.

And don’t forget to watch the Newport Beach Film Festival interview.

You should also take a look at Dr Burzynski’s websites –  http://www.burzynskiclinic.com/ and http://www.burzynskiresearch.com/ – and contact them asking for the infomation they provide to potential patients relative to the treatments’ availability and trial results.

Then – after gathering as much info as you can – you should decide for yourself whether you believe this is a therapy that might work for you or your loved one.

I can’t afford it for my family member, at least not at this time. But, it is on my list of options.

You will have to decide for yourself.

As always, I have no affiliation with Dr Burzynski (or any other persons affiliated with the movie or the book) – and make no money if you go there or buy, read or view any of the materials you can get to using the links above.

The information I’ve provided is for your consideration, not a recommendation of pursuit of any specific therapeutic path.

Again, I’m a Pharmacist – NOT a physician. I am only providing this information to ensure you have access to new ideas that you can talk over with your physician. Only you and your physician can determine if this is a path you should follow.

Coffee Enemas…. Crazy? Maybe Not.

Cancer Treatments and Prevention, Just Crazy

As we study and learn, it is often humbling to have to admit that we have discarded an idea that we were certain could not be true – only to later come to believe that it might be possible.

This is the case for the possibility that coffee enemas might be useful in cancer treatment regimens.

I know… you’re now convinced that I’ve lost all my marbles.

I assure you, I have not.

A year and a half ago a friend gave me a book that was written by a woman who had achieved breast cancer remission, and who believed with all her heart and soul that coffee enemas were important to her therapy.

I thanked her with a smile, briefly thumbed through its pages, and took it home.

When my wife asked me what I thought of it I told her I thought it was one of the craziest things I’d heard in a long time – a crazy alternative medicine waste of time and energy that had no chance of helping cancer patients.

I was, you see, a very well ‘trained’ pharmacist who quickly rejected ideas that were not in synchronization with the medical status quo.

Anyway, she read the book – and I didn’t read any more than I already had.

But I’ve become a more thoughtful person as time has passed and as I’ve studied the writings of numerous persons who have been famous for non-traditional, non-allopathic or alternative medicine cancer treatments.

So, let’s assume for a minute that we are trying to deliver a medicine instead of an anti-cancer regimen targeted at irritating the gastrointestinal tract or simply delivering caffeine to stimulate bile duct opening or liver immune response.

Perhaps it’s unfair to exclude caffeine from the classification of a medication. So, we’ll include it.

Anyway, let’s also assume that this medication that we’re going to try to deliver is damaged by the acidity that it would encounter as it passed through the stomach – or that it gets destroyed by the liver when it’s absorbed from the intestines and moved through the liver to ultimately reach circulation in the blood system.

If you were to ask a pharmacist how to deliver this medication he would tell you you could deliver it rectally in an enema. In fact, if you weren’t certain what chemical you were trying to deliver – and therefore had to deliver large volumes of the solution to ensure the drug got to the patient’s system in large enough quantites – she/he would undoubtedly tell you that the rectal route would be the preferred route.

The intestines present a huge surface area through which medications can be absorbed.

Add irritation that causes the intestinal tissues to be inflammed and you will often achieve absorbtion of medicinal agents that aren’t normally absorbed very well.

This gets us around the stomach acid problem, but what about liver matabolism issues.

Well, there is only one GI tract location where you can deliver medications without their being immediately metabolized by the liver. That spot is where we place rectal suppositories.

So, I’m going on record as believing that it is possible that coffee enemas may be delivering substances that are found in coffee beans to a cancer patient’s systemic circulation in the most efficient manner. This is not what the folk who recommend them usually claim, but it is my belief.

Or, it could be that the various explanations proposed by Dr Max Gerson and others are correct.

Regardless, the bottom line remains the same. You simply cannot discount the possibility that Coffee Enemas may have positive effects in cancer patients’ treatment regimens.

I know, this is an absolutely crazy statement… but I believe it most accurately reflects the facts as they are known at this time.

Now, don’t go out there and start blindly pumping your intestines full of coffee! Seriously, you could hurt yourself or a loved one.

I propose you should check out the advice of the experts in this area.

I’d take a look at the book titled ‘The Gerson Therapy: The Proven Nutritional Program for Cancer and Other Illnesses’ and the series of videos that start with this one http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-8384134159042346609  to get info relative to how the enemas are supposed to be given to keep the patient safe.

I have no connection with the Gerson program. I make no money if you buy the book or look at the video. I’ve provided this information because I believe it might be useful for you or a loved one.

Remember, talk to your physician before you try coffee enemas or any other ‘medication’ regimen. I’m a Pharmacist – not a Physician, and obviously looney as can be. I’m just telling you what I’ve come to believe, not recommending the use of coffee enemas… But, I will point out that this therapy seems to be integrated into an awful lot of the non-traditional protocols that people swear saved their lives….

Results of Screening of Medicinal Herbs for Tumoricidal Properties

Cancer Treatments and Prevention, Reference Materials

Every once in awhile I run across a journal article that I end up reading and re-reading over and over again.

This is one of those articles –

In Vitro Screening for the Tumoricidal Properties of International Medicinal Herbs. Elizabeth A. Mazzio and Karam F. A. Soliman. Phytother Res. 2009 March ; 385-398. doi:10.1002/ptr.2636.

and you can get a free copy of it at this web address:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2650746/pdf/nihms-86121.pdf

The study appears to have been done very well, and their article provides ranking and tumoricidal concentration data for a vast number of herbal substances that have been reported to be useful for the treatment of cancers.

Although the rankings provide numerous surprises, the convergence of their data with the ingredients of past healer’s elixers is quite interesting….. and, yes… a Boswellia extract is included in their analysis and scored as one of the most potent tumoricidal agents.

As always, don’t run off and start chewing on grass based on what this report says… Talk to your physician, take this report to him or her and discuss the results with her/him. Recruit his/her assistance to help you or help you find someone who is knowledgeable enough to consult with you regarding your particular circumstances and physiological conditions.

I’m a Pharmacist. Pharmacists Pharmacist. Physicians Physician. As it should be.

Frankincense Extracts and Cancer Treatments Revisited

Cancer Treatments and Prevention

Frankincense has been used medicinally for a very long time.

We have discussed its historical value in a previous post. https://thatcrazypharmacist.com/?p=489

We have also discussed reports of the use of Frankincense extracts for the treatment of brain tumors.  https://thatcrazypharmacist.com/?p=481 

Since those postings I have made a concerted effort to study the possibility that Frankincense can be used to treat cancers in general, and brain tumors in particular.

Although I am still not an expert, I think I have learned enough to talk intelligently about the possible mechanisms by which extracts of Boswellia serrata (aka ‘Indian Frankincense’) and Boswellia carterii (aka Boswellia sacra and Boswellia carterii Birdw) might impact cancers and tumors.

To begin with, there are many species other than Boswellia serrata and Boswellia carterii, and each species and subspecies has its own unique set of chemical constituents within its resin. Boswellia serrata and Boswellia carterii seem to have been the most intensely studied, and are the species for which the anti-cancer claims have been made. Their resins’ chemical compositions seem to be similar in nature, although I get the impression that Boswellia carterii’s resin contains higher concentrations of the chemicals of interest relative to cancer treatments than Boswellia serrata’s resin. This observation probably isn’t important if you’re using one of the standardized extracts. But, it probably is important if you’re using unprocessed resin powder.

For those who of you who are interested in studying the differences between the composition of different Boswellia species’ resins, the report found at this link is an extremely comprehensive report of the results of a study of this topic. (  https://ediss.sub.uni-hamburg.de/handle/ediss/984 ) It is a copy of a Dissertation written by Simla Basar. It is extremely well done, and quite comprehensive. It is also a very, very large pdf file – and, yes… I have read it from cover to cover.

In summary:

There are a very large number of compounds found in extracts from these two species of Boswellia.

In Europe the Boswellia carterii species seems to be emphasized – but an extract that I think comes from Boswellia serrata and which is referred to as H15 is reported to be approved as a prescription drug for treating brain tumor edema. Elsewhere, Boswellia serrata seems to be the species that most extract products come from.

The chemical compounds that are proposed most often as the agents behind the Boswellia species’ anticancer effects are the Boswellic Acids. More specifically, the Beta Boswellic Acids. Even more specifically, the one that is most talked about is AKBBA or AKBA (acetyl keto beta boswellic acid).

There are several other significant boswellic acids that exhibit anti-cancer effects, but AKBBA appears to be the most potent boswellic acid in this regard. It also appears to be the least affected by liver metabolism, although it is reported to have lower than expected absorbtion from the gastro-intestinal tract.

The predominant theories relative to the effects of the Boswellic Acids on cancer cells fall into five general categories.

– First, there is no doubt that these substances exert a very powerful effect on the 5-lipoxygenase pathways – causing profound reductions in inflammation and edema formation around brain tumors.

– Second, there seems to be an effect upon cancer cells that approximates that of chemotherapy agents that are known as topoisomerase inhibitors (http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5064823.pdf – US Patent 5,064,823).

– Third, it is also quite evident that these compounds are capable of inhibiting the levels of leukocytic elastase – thus possibly reducing metastasis (http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20100166670.pdf – US Patent 2010/0166670 A1).

– Fourth, it has been reported that AKBBA is capable of inhibiting tumor growth via suppression of angiogenesis (http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/69/14/5893.long).

– Finally, it has been reported that Boswellic Acids can trigger cancer cell apoptosis via a caspase-8 activation pathway (http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/12/2087.full.pdf+html).

There are other extract constituents that have been reported to have anti-cancer effects. (tirucallic acids – OTA, alphaTA, and betaTA) You can read more about these compounds in the dissertation by Aidee Constanza Estrada found at this web address. ( http://vts.uni-ulm.de/docs/2009/6770/vts_6770_9340.pdf ) Again, it’s extremely well done… and a very large pdf file – and, yes… I’ve read this one front to back also.

All of these effects appear to have been demonstrated at doses that are achievable with oral dosing in humans.

It is my belief that there are other compounds that will be discovered as research continues, and that the mechanisms for the current effects will undoubtedly be found to be much more complex than what is currently proposed.

For a good survey of current thinking and new thoughts about the mechanisms you can take a look at this article.

Boswellic Acids: Biological Actions and Molecular Targets. Daniel Poeckel and Oliver Werz. Current Medicinal Chemistry, 2006, 13, 3359-3369. I can’t provide a link to a free copy, as it is one of those articles you must pay for. However, any major university’s research librarians will surely be able to get you a free copy – or perhaps the librarian at a large hospital’s medical library can get one for you.

The bottom line of this analysis is that there does appear to be a significant body of knowledge that supports the reports of positive results when Boswellia serrata or Boswellia carterii extracts are used to treat cancers.

Additionally, I would like to put forth this thought for those who are thinking of using Boswellia Extracts to treat cancerous conditions. Although there is a push to emphasize AKBBA content, it is possible that powerful anti-cancer compounds are being inadvertantly removed from the extracts as the extract manufacturers pursue enrichment of AKBBA content.

More disturbingly, it is also reported that some manufacturers may actually be stripping out the more useful Beta Boswellic Acids, thus marketing a product that would have reduced anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects.

I consider this criminal and believe that the companies that do this should be prosecuted and put out of business.

In the meantime, it is buyer beware.

I have only studied two manufacturers’ products. I strongly believe one of them provides high quality product, and I believe it is probable that the other company’s product is of a high quality… with the constituents cancer patients would be looking for retained within it.

If you’re looking for a good product I’d take a look at the products produced by Sabinsa (http://www.sabinsa.com/) –

(Boswellin http://www.swansonvitamins.com/SWH010/ItemDetail?n=0 and Dr Pai’s Bosmeric SR http://www.bosmeric-sr.com/)

or Avesta’s product –

(http://www.ayurceutics.com/product.cfm?ProductID=4).

You will find the Sabinsa site full of useful data. Dr Pai’s site is also a wealth of information, and may be better organized.

I particularly admire Dr Pai’s product. It’s obviously manufactured by Sabinsa (you can find clinical trial data on his site that lists the Sabinsa product along with his product). It combines enriched AKBBA content in half of the tablet with enhanced bioavailability tumeric extracts and ginger extracts in the other half of the tablet. The curcumin extract absorption data that Sabinsa reports for their formulation is quite impressive. I do not believe that the ginger extracts are as important, as previous research has shown that gingerols do not survive the journey through the liver very well. I am also a bit concerned about the absorbtion of all the boswellic acids… and wonder if the other anti-cancer compounds may have been stripped out in pursuit of concentration of the AKBBA levels. It must be understood that this product is actually targeted at patients with inflammatory disease conditions… and it’s very pricy. I’ve recommended its use in tandem with one of the more conventional products that I’ve listed above when asked for a recommendation. (For example, I am aware of patients who take either two Avesta tablets or four Swanson’s Boswellin 200mg boswellic acid capsules three times a day along with one of Dr Pai’s tablets twice a day – note: the Boswellin capsules seem to upset stomachs at this dose, I’ve suggested taking two capsules every couple of hours up to a total of 12 when asked for a solution to this problem.)

Having said this, I want to emphasize that I have NO affiliations – financial or otherwise – with either of these two companies. I’m just sharing what I have come to believe so far relative to their products.

I have NO way of knowing that my beliefs about these two companies and their products are correct. I have performed NO testing to prove or disprove the content of these products. I do believe that the data at Sabinsa’s website indicates a strong dedication to understanding their product and producing high quality. I have also had communications with people in the Avesta organization whose truthful answers to a couple of tough questions that I’ve asked indicate to me that they’re trying to make a good product. They could have easily lied to me.. I don’t think they did.

Again, talk to your physician before you change your medication regimen or try new medications. These are powerful substances. I’m a pharmacist…. and we all know I’m nuts anyway. I’m providing this information to help you and your physician save your or your loved ones’ lives. Remember, Pharmacists Pharmacist…. Physicians Physician… and Cancer Patients and their loved ones search for a cure every day. It’s important. Good luck.

Is It Possible That Aspirin, NSAIDS and COX2 Inhibitors Can Be Used To Treat Cancers?

Cancer Treatments and Prevention, Just Crazy

The scientific journals are full of articles discussing the use of NSAIDs, COX2 Inhibitors, and Aspirin to kill cancer cells in the lab. There are also many articles talking about the use of these agents for cancer chemoprevention and for people who already have cancer. In fact, several are already cleared by the FDA as treatment options for cancer chemoprevention and for use with traditional treatment regimens.

However, the general consensus of all the journal articles is that these agents aren’t actually useful as cancer treatment and/or suppression agents because you can’t safely get their concentrations high enough in the blood.

I do not believe this is true. In fact, although I am uncertain of the reliability of being able to safely impact tumors that reside on the brain side of the blood-brain barrier, I strongly believe that you can achieve sufficient plasma concentrations.

Although a knowledgeable physician/pharmacist team is needed – it is probable that most patients can safely achieve blood concentrations that should be adequate to impact the growth of several different cancer types.

I explain this belief in the excerpt pasted below. It’s from the protocol you can find at this link: https://thatcrazypharmacist.com/?p=452

NF-Kappa B is one of the pathways that this protocol targets. Many NSAIDs are capable of impacting this pathway, and of inhibiting cancer cell growth and/or inducing apoptosis. But, translation of this property to humans is challenging because it is difficult to safely achieve free plasma concentrations that are sufficient to elicit the desired effect because of drug metabolism, associated toxicities, and plasma protein binding.

Salicylate based NSAIDs (aspirin and salsalate) are pharmacokinetically unique in that their metabolism and plasma protein binding is saturable – thus enabling the generation of significant free plasma levels. It is known that the levels that are safely achievable are sufficient to impact NF-Kappa B as the result of studies into their ability to shut down cellular crosstalk from the NF-Kappa B pathway to insulin receptors.1-7, 63-64

The selective-COX2-inhibitor celecoxib also appears to be capable of impacting NF-Kappa B, but it shares the metabolism and protein binding limitations the NSAIDs have. However, it is capable of impacting this pathway at much lower concentrations than the NSAIDs do. It appears probable that this is the basis for its ability to impact colorectal adenomas and adenomatous polyps at twice daily 400 mG doses.13, 15, 21 Despite an impressive body of evidence supporting its ability to impact cancer growth and propagation it was not chosen as the primary agent for NF- Kappa B impact because of its questionable status relative to cardiovascular events and physicians’ reluctance to use it because of those questions.

Remember – you must ALWAYS have a physician’s support to try these ideas. I’m just a pharmacist – not a physician, and I’m providing information for you to review and discuss with your physician.

New Age Biomed – Dr John Boik

Cancer Treatments and Prevention

In a previous post – in fact, one of the first I made on this site – I talked about a book that provided comprehensive information about natural products and cancer treatments and chemoprevention.

You can find that post at  https://thatcrazypharmacist.com/?p=30 .

Well, John Boik has gone on to get his PhD – and has started a new organization that is focusing on discovering natural product based anti-cancer strategies using sophisticated screening and analysis tools.

You should take a look at his organization’s new site… I think you’ll find it interesting.

http://www.newearthbiomed.org/ 

And, if you can afford it I recommend you drop them a donation.

More Low Dose Naltrexone Info – For Kristal

Cancer Treatments and Prevention, Just Crazy

We’ve talked about Low Dose Naltrexone and its possible usefulness for cancer prevention or treatment.

https://thatcrazypharmacist.com/?p=497 and https://thatcrazypharmacist.com/?p=446 

But, we haven’t really talked very much about its use for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases – e.g. ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), Parkinsons, Crohns Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, etc….

And, there are some who think it might be useful for the treatment of autism.

Additionally, there are several sites that have put a lot of work into trying to get the word out about the usefulness of this medication protocol.

As I’ve continued to research this topic I’ve run across several that I think would be good places for people to look for more information.

So, here are some other links that I think are valuable sources of information.

http://www.ldners.org/

http://www.ldnnow.co.uk/ 

http://www.ldnscience.org/

http://www.ldnaware.org/

http://www.ldnresearchtrust.org/ 

http://glasgowldn2009.com/

The glasgowldn2009.com link is a very good place to go to see video presentations by health care providers and patients who have actually been using LDN for their diseases. It’s extremely well done.. and a site I think all who are asking questions about LDN should visit.

I also think the ldnscience.org site is a good source of information that isn’t as easily or obviously available on the other sites.

But, all the links have information that I think is valuable – or I wouldn’t be listing them here.

There are several books on the market that talk about Low Dose Naltrexone. I’ve only read a couple of them so far. The one that I think is particularly well done is ‘The Promise of Low Dose NaltrexoneTherapy’.

You can buy it online at any of the major bookstores. It’s a little pricey,  but actually worth what they’re asking for it.

If you’re cash strapped you can find an online version of it here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/42236118/The-Promise-Of-Low-Dose-Naltrexone-Therapy-ISBN-0786437154 .

But, if you can afford it I recommend buying it as a reference to show to your Physician, friends and family members… and to support the efforts of those who put so much effort into writing it.

OK, that’s all for now.. have to get to work.

Again, remember that I’m a Pharmacist… NOT a physician. We all have our areas of expertise. I’m providing information that you can take to your Physician to discuss and decide whether it is right for you. I believe in what I’m posting, but I also strongly believe in the fact that Pharmacists Pharmacist, Doctors Doctor, and Patients MUST help their Physicians understand the things that they aren’t aware of.

Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN), Dr Bihari, And The Usefulness Of This Treatment For Autoimmune Diseases And Cancer

Cancer Treatments and Prevention

We talked about Dr Berkson’s use of low dose naltrexone and alpha-lipoic acid to treat autoimmune diseases and some cancers in a previous post, and the credit for integrating the two protocols undoubtedly goes to Dr Berkson. https://thatcrazypharmacist.com/?p=446 

But, I don’t think I did justice to the use of low dose naltrexone by itself for the treatment of cancers and many different maladies and autoimmune disorders – or to the person who is credited with the discovery of the utility of low dose naltrexone – Dr Bernard Bihari, MD.

As far as I can tell, the gold standard web site on this topic is  http://ldninfo.org/ .

I won’t even try to provide the information and links you can find there. In fact, I’m still clicking and reading what is posted there myself.

You can read an interview with Dr Bihari at this web address – http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/gazorpa/interview.html . There is some other useful information at this site.

I’m simply acting as a data integrator and provider in this post. In addition to the sites I’ve provided there are numerous sites discussing the utility of this treatment strategy for specific illnesses. Just do a web search and settle in for some facinating reading.

I am not an expert in any way, but I have developed a strong belief that low dose naltrexone is quite probably a valuable therapy that might work for some autoimmune and cancer patients. At the very least, it’s a treatment that appears to carry very little risk, is easy to try, and is extremely low cost – especially if you can get a pharmacist to teach you how to make your own capsules.

(Don’t try to make the capsules for yourself without some training. Uniformity of capsule content and dose per capsule is critically important for this application. If you screw it up the protocol won’t work. That said, it’s not hard to make the doses, you just need someone to show you how a pharmacist would do it.)

The major side effect that I’ve personally observed is sleep disruption or insomnia. I assure you this side effect is very real for some people.

As always, talk about this option with your Physician and educate him/her using the materials you can get to from this site to convince her/him to help you give it a try. Don’t start a new medicine or change your medication regimen without talking it over with your physician.

I’m a Pharmacist providing you information you might find useful. Your Physician is the person you must rely upon for deciding whether this information is applicable to you or not.

Heck, we all know I’m crazy as a loon!