General
This is my own personal plan, worked out with the
help of a number of doctors and natural health practitioners.
It is here to provide an idea of what a simple complementary treatment
plan might look like. All patients are different, and anyone wanting
to adopt a complementary treatment plan for cancer or any other
illness should consult a suitably qualified practitioner. Please
read our disclaimer.
My personal background to this plan is a good wholefood vegetarian
diet, high in vegetables, together with daily exercise, and a
largely stress-free lifestyle. I drink decaffeinated green or regular tea throughout
the day, sometimes with lemongrass, as my usual drink.
The plan has gone through various modifications,
and what follows is the status in January 2007. For a few months after surgery and at the start
of chemotherapy, I took 1/2 bottle (8 fl oz) of CellQuest in the mid-afternoon,
with added honey to make it more palatable. Ideally, the dose
is 1 bottle per day, but I found it too unpalatable to take twice
a day. They say that some people like the flavour, so try it for
yourself. I stopped taking the CellQuest in January 2006. I found
it too distasteful. I don't know whether it was beneficial or
not. For about nine months after surgery, I also took
FruitForce
and Salvestrol
Gold from Nature's
Defence.
Since June 2006, in response to a slight rise above normal of
a blood antigen marker (CEA), which may have indicated cancer
cell activity despite a negative colonsocopy and negative PET
and CT scans, I have eliminated dairy products almost entirely,
and have reduced sugar intake – already low, and omitting all refined sugar and
carbohydrates – to a minimum. For three months following the increased
CEA levels, I took Carctol
and PawPaw
Cell Reg, followed by two months on ImuPlus.
In case it is of interest to anyone, my CEA level
rose from 1.8 the day after surgery (August 2005) to 3.1 at the
end of chemotherapy six months later (February 2006). It then
rose to 4.2 in May, and 5.6 in June. After that, it oscillated
between 4.3 and 5.1 until August, then fell to around 4.0 by October,
finally falling to 2.85 in November. A gastroenterologist told
me that in his experience, the CEA level often rises after the
end of chemotherapy, and there's nothing to worry about. The half-life
clearance period of CEA from the blood is matter of days, so the
highest that the CEA could have been before surgery is around
4.0. Hardly above normal (levels can rise to 100 or more when produced by
a tumour). Since not all colon cancers produce CEA, I suspect
that mine is one that does not, and that my oncologist is just
being ultra-cautious.
Before Breakfast
5 mls of an extract of a blend of Trametes versicolor,
shiitake, maitake, cordyceps and reishi mushrooms, in equal proportions.
1 ml of this extract is derived from 1 gm of dried extract.
Some research indicates that the useful polysaccharides in
the mushrooms are better absorbed when followed about ½ hour later
by vitamin C. I therefore try to remember to take the extract
about ½ hour before a meal (which includes a vitamin C supplement),
but usually forget! Since the mushroom extracts are preserved
in organic vodka, I prepare the mushroom extract first thing in
the morning by putting the required dose for the day into 175
mls of warm water. I leave this in a warm place for some time,
so that the alcohol can evaporate off, and then drink a third
of the mix ½ hour before each of my three meals. Having followed
this regime for a year, I now alternate between the above five-mushroom
mix for one month, followed by a pure maitake mix for a month.
A juice consisting of about ½ litre of organic
carrot and apple juice (5:1) with juiced ginger root (about 1½
inches), flaxseed oil (a good dollop), a cold-pressed oil high
in omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids (a good dollop), 1 rounded teaspoon
of wheatgrass powder, and 1 rounded teaspoon of spirulina.
Sometimes, I add a dollop of Aloe vera
juice (from Higher Nature). Note that since chemotherapy can cause
loose bowels, you may want to omit this.
I also add a heavy sprinkle of ground black pepper
(5 to 15 mg) to the juice, to aid absorption of the beta-carotene
and other vitamins. I also add the flaxseed and omega oils, the
spirulina and the wheatgrass powder. I usually end up with one
glass of carrot and apple juice, and another with all the other
things added.
Before changing to a concentrated turmeric extract, I also used to juice fresh turmeric root (about
4 inches or 50 gms). I juiced the bitter root first, along with an
apple and a carrot, to help extract the curcumin as well as improve
the flavour, and kept this separate from the main juice. It is
known that black pepper significantly improves curcumin absorption.
With Breakfast
2 x Higher
Nature True Food Vitamin C, each containing 250mg vitamin
C and 100mg citrus bioflavinoids (part of the vitamin C complex),
as well as beta glucans, glutathione, choline, inositol, B vitamins,
amino acids and other phytonutrients found in the food base of
the Saccaromyces cerevisiae culture
used to biotransform the vitamin C and bioflavinoids, forming
natural organic bonds in a true food form. The bioavailability
of each 250mg vitamin C tablet is said to be the equivalent of
1000mg of isolated vitamin C as ascorbic acid.
2 x Higher
Nature True Food Natural Vitamin E, each containing 133mg
vitamin E, biotransformed as above. The bioavailability of the
vitamin E is said to be the equivalent of twice that of isolated
vitamin E.
1 x Higher
Nature True Food Selenium, each containing 200mg of selenium,
biotransformed as above.
1 x Higher
Nature Milk Thistle and Artichoke extract, each capsule containing
milk thistle seed (200mg, 80% silymarin – the active ingredient),
artichoke leaf (150mg), schizandra fruit (50mg), and echinacea
(20mg). I currently alternate a month of this with a month of
1 x Cotswold
Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum), each capsule containing
530mg milk thistle (70-80% silymarin). For nearly a year after
surgery, I took both.
1 x Decaffeinated
Green Tea Extract, 500mg.
4 x Optimum Source
Chlorella Tablets, 500mg each, occasionally, not daily.
1 x Turmeric
Extract with Bioperine, 500mg (contains piperine from black
pepper, which greatly aids curcumin absorption).
2 x Cat's
Claw, 500mg each.
2 x Astragalus,
500mg each
1 x Co-Enzyme
Q10, 100mg (1 to be taken once a day with a meal containing
oil or fat).
1 x Quercetin,
500mg.
1 x Calcium/Magnesium
+ Boron, 500mg.
1 x Digestive
Enzyme Complex, containing lipase, amylase, protease 4.5,
protease 3.0, glucoamylase, cellulase, bromelain, and papain.
1 x Lycopene, 535mg,
containing 15mg lycopene.
1 x Acidophilus.
1 x MCP
(modified citrus pectin), rounded teaspoon (5 gms), in soya yogurt.
Before Lunch
A third of the mushroom extract prepared before
breakfast.
With Lunch
2 x Higher Nature True Food Vitamin C, as at breakfast.
1 x Higher Nature Milk Thistle and Artichoke extract,
each capsule containing milk thistle seed (200mg, 80% silymarin
– the active ingredient), artichoke leaf (150mg), schizandra fruit
(50mg), and echinacea (20mg). I currently alternate a month of
this with a month of 1 x Cotswold Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum),
each capsule containing 530mg milk thistle (70-80% silymarin).
For nearly a year after surgery, I took both.
4 x Optimum Source Chlorella Tablets, 500mg each, occasionally, not daily.
1 x Turmeric Extract with Bioperine, 500mg (contains
piperine, which greatly aids curcumin absorption).
2 x Cat's Claw, 500mg each.
2 x Astragalus, 500mg each.
1 x Quercetin, 500mg.
1 x Calcium/Magnesium + Boron, 500mg.
1 x Digestive Enzyme Complex, containing lipase,
amylase, protease 4.5, protease 3.0, glucoamylase, cellulase,
bromelain, and papain.
1 x MCP (modified citrus pectin), rounded teaspoon (5 gms), in soya yogurt.
Before & With Supper
As breakfast, without the juice.
What Else?
I keep my regime under review. For instance, things
I have considered adding to this daily routine include Avemar,
CLA, odourless garlic, vitamin D (new research shows that it decreases
the likelihood of developing colorectal and other cancers, especially
D3), and the medicinal mushroom, Agaricus blazeii.
If you want to research any of the things mentioned here or get
more information on any of the substances discussed on this site,
a good starting point is to try google searches such as "garlic
cancer", "curcumin piperine cancer", "viscum
album cancer", etc. You will normally find far more information
than you want to take on board.
