Cancer Treatment

IV Vitamin C

Vitamin C is synthesized internally by most living things. Humans are among a very small number of living things that must instead supplement it through their diets by eating fruits, vegetables and plants that contain small amounts of it.

High doses of intravenous Vitamin C, clinically known as intravenous ascorbic acid (or IAA), is now one of the most popular supportive treatments used for cancer despite conservative sentiments within mainstream oncology.

Naturopathic medicine has long held IV Vitamin C as a valuable additional treatment, and thanks largely to the work of Dr Linus Pauling – winner of both the Nobel Prize for Chemistry and the Nobel Peace Prize – and others since the 1970s, the body of supporting clinical evidence has been steadily growing.

High doses of intravenous vitamin C have been shown to be selectively toxic to cancer cells, breaking down and destroying tumors while simultaneously supporting and boosting the body’s natural immune functions. But because of specific differences between how cancerous cells and healthy cells metabolize vitamin C, normal cells benefit highly from its presence, while it produces toxins within cancerous cells, eventually killing them.

Most forms of cancer have been tested against with positive effects being indicated in many cases. Clinical tests have shown a range of positive results, using dosages anywhere from 10 – 100 mg, and injections being administered from 2 to 7 days per week. Testing times have ranged from short term supplemental treatment lasting several weeks, to ongoing supplementation lasting many years.

Intravenous vitamin C is always accompanied by other treatments, and is regarded by proponents as a highly valuable supplemental treatment that can improve patients’ quality of life while also aiding in tumor treatment.
As with all medicinal treatments, naturopathic or otherwise, careful monitoring by an attending physician is vital to both the health and wellbeing of the patient, and the success of the treatment.

Meyers’ Cocktail

The late Dr. John Myers is generally credited with the creation of the Myers’ Cocktail, an intravenous multivitamin and mineral formula used to treat a wide variety of clinical conditions.

What the original preparation contained is not precisely known, as no published material was made available during or after the passing of Dr. Myers in 1984. But what is clear is that it contained specific concentrations of magnesium, calcium, multiple B vitamins, and vitamin C.

The basic tenet of intravenous nutrient therapy is to supply higher levels of nutrients than might otherwise be possible, in order to gain the therapeutic benefits associated with those higher nutrient levels. Direct intravenous supply was likely chosen because it can achieve higher blood serum levels than with oral or even intra-muscular injections.

Over the past 20 years, a number of modified Myers’ Cocktails have been used by doctors to effectively treat a number of acute conditions including: asthma and various respiratory conditions and infections, chronic fatigue, cardiovascular disease, fibromyalgia, and a number of other disorders.

With hundreds physicians within North America today administering the Myers and a growing body of thousands of anecdotal reports, some showing remarkable successes, there is a growing need for published research to support this rather simple treatment, in order that it may achieve wider usage.

The Myers’ Cocktail has shown to be surprisingly free from adverse reactions when administered using appropriate caution. After many tens of thousands of treatments, there have been no reports of serious adverse reactions and only a few slightly negative reactions, soon corrected with modifications to the formula used.

Mistletoe Therapy

Mistletoe Therapy was studied and popularized by Dr Rudolf Steiner (PhD) during the 1920s, and has received considerable attention in Europe since then. Considered sacred in ancient times, mistletoe was used historically to treat a wide variety of acute and chronic health conditions. More recently, preparations of the Common Mistletoe (Viscum album) have seen resurgence for aiding the treatment of various forms of cancer.

Although not yet widely accepted in North America, mistletoe therapy today is one of the most highly prescribed drugs to cancer patients in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. In fact, the numbers of German cancer patients who receive mistletoe therapy in addition to their other treatments now outweigh those who do not.

Mistletoe Therapy is seen as a dual function plant therapy, acting as a booster to the immune system preventing against the spread of tumor cells, while also acting directly to gradually halt and reduce growth in existing tumors. It is typically used in conjunction with more conventional treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment.

Patients have reported experiencing improved quality of life with fewer side effects, especially those receiving chemotherapy, who can suffer discomfort due to damage caused to healthy tissues during the process of killing cancer cells.

Treatment with mistletoe typically begins with tolerance testing. Each patent is tested to determine the correct dosage, as well as which preparation of the plant is best suited to their system, while also accounting for the type and stage of the cancer.

Once treatment begins, dosage is increased very gradually until a slight reddening begins to appear around the injection site, a desired effect showing increased circulation and a proper response by the immune system. Should this reddening not occur, often a different preparation will be chosen for that patient, usually by selecting mistletoe that was grown on a different type of host tree.

Occasionally a change in the course of the patient’s disease may also suggest a change in preparation.

Cyclic maintenance therapy with mistletoe usually follows over the next several years, under the observation and guidance of a specialized physician.