I was a pre-med student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying cancer and doing bench research at the McArdle Labs for Cancer Research. There, we explored oncoviruses, viruses which carry oncogenes, or genes that can be a causative factor in the development of cancer. I learned of the available cancer treatments, and was immediately dissatisfied with them. I thought that chemotherapy and radiation were barbaric, as they destroyed the immune system.

    Although the only legal cancer treatments in America today are surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, I have since learned of other safe and efficacious non-toxic and natural treatments for cancer. I would like to share some of this information and resources with you. It seems to me that in a free and democratic country such as ours, that there is both an ethical obligation, and a human right to choose the medicine that we want to, or don’t want to, put into our own body.

    Let’s begin with some basic information about cancer cells. Cancer cells differ from healthy cells in several distinct ways. What we know about cancer cells is that they are heat sensitive, obligate anaerobes (grow only without oxygen), and feed on sugar and glutamate (glutamate is found in MSG, and hydrolyzed soy protein). Most people with cancer have chronic inflammation. We also know that chemotherapy and radiation do not kill cancer stem cells, and that this is why cancer remains in the body even after chemotherapy or radiation.

    With this understanding and using these basic principles, other cancer treatments have been developed and are used around the world. These include: Hyperthermia and near infrared sauna (this treatment involves heating the body and selectively kills cancer cells as cancer cells are heat sensitive while healthy cells are not), Ozone Therapy and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (this treatment involves infusing oxygen into the body and selectively kills cancer cells as cancer cells cannot grow in oxygen while healthy cells do),  Pulsed Electro-Magnetic Field (PEMF) Therapy (this is FDA approved and selectively targets cancer cells based on cell voltage) , Fasting (cancer cells can’t survive without food, and they die, while healthy cells can survive without food), Diet/Nutrition, and Natural Supplements. The dietary/nutritional approach commonly involves detoxification (removing toxins), sensible dietary changes and flooding the body with readily absorbable nutrients. There are specific nutrients that turn on cancer suppressor genes and turn off cancer promoter genes. There are nutrients which decrease inflammation in the body and increase cellular ATP (energy) production. 

    Many of the natural supplements used in integrative cancer care act by boosting or optimizing the immune response, (available upon request), although some are evidenced to directly kill cancer cells. We know that the constituent, curcumin, in the plant medicine, Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), kills cancer stem cells. Hemp Oil (THC and CBD) kills cancer cells. The topical cream, Curaderm (from the plant, Solanum linnaeanum) can be effective for non-melanoma skin cancer (90% of skin cancers).

    Clinics which utilize dietary and nutritional approaches in cancer treatment include: the Gerson Institute, the Northern Baja Gerson Center, the Jimenez Hope Clinic, and the Hoxsy Biomedical Center.

    Other resources to know about in the United States are: the MD Anderson Center with Integrative Cancer Care, Moshe Frenkel MD and Integrative Oncology Consultants, Veronique Desaulniers DC, the Center for Advanced Medicine, the Center for Medicine, Nalina Chilkov OMD, Kokolulu Farm and Cancer Retreats, and the Burzynski Clinic. The Burzynski clinic treats terminal brain cancers, including children’s brain tumors, with anti-neoplaston therapy.

     Resources in Europe include: Robert Gorter MD, PhD and the Medical Center in Cologne Germany, the Centro Medico in Hilu, Spain, and the Dr. Rath Research Institute.

    There is no scientific reason not to legalize these other cancer treatments in America, it is solely political. In America today, our pharmaceutical industry (BigPharma) determines our government’s rules and regulations in medicine and healthcare. Many see this as a vested interest and abuse of power. 

    I am thankful for all of what we now know, and for all of the choices that we have. Clearly chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery can be useful treatments in cancer care. Certainly hyperthermia, hyperbaric oxygen, pulsed electromagnetic field, nutrition, and natural supplements can be useful as well. For truly integrative cancer care, we can also address the emotional and spiritual needs of cancer patients. Many find relief from counseling, mind-body techniques (meditation, stress reduction, imagery) and spirituality (prayer) based on a personalized treatment program. I am thankful to live in a free country and exercise free will. May we, as people, community, and country, do no harm, and try to do some good.