This article looks at the known differences between healthy cells and cancer cells and the various ways these differences can be exploited to defeat cancer, all of which you can do yourself!
With cancer it pays to know your enemy!
1. Cancer cells can resemble very primitive cells. During the first 56 days of a foetus in the womb the original fertilised cell divides extremely rapidly and all cells at the outset seem identical and undifferentiated. They are called stem cells. Stem cells seem to be switched on by the hormone, oestrogen, to form trophoblast cells. These stem cells are present throughout your life and are crucial in, for example, the healing process, or after conception when the embryo needs to attach to the uterus wall and the placenta needs to develop. Then, in a healthy baby as if a switch is turned on, these cells start to change, multiplying at a slower and normal rate. Some become eye cells, or liver cells, or toe cells or lung cells. This is called differentiation.
Unfortunately, sometimes the stem cells don’t switch over. Cancer cells are like the undifferentiated foetal stem cells or trophoblasts, dividing at a much faster rate than the normal healthy and differentiated cells surrounding them and never dying.
This is true of cancers. At the heart of all cancers, cancer stem cells have been found to exist. While a tumour can be knocked back 50, 60 or even 70%, no drug currently exists that can kill them off completely.
Dr. Young S. Kim, conducting research for the National Cancer Institute in the USA showed that where people with cancer were in remission, eating badly would encourage the cancer stem cells to re-grow. However, eating foods that, for example, contained sulphoraphanes, resveratrol, curcumin, pipeline, all 8 variants of vitamin E, vitamin A, certain B vitamins like choline, genestein and EGCG (in green tea) could prevent the cancer stem cells regrowing. She even suggested that these could be found in quality supplements.
Go To: Bioactive foods tackle cancer stem cells
2. All cells contain power stations, called mitochondria. Normal cells take carbohydrate through a preliminary 6-step preparation phase before passing it into the mitochondria where it is burned in the presence of oxygen.
In cancer cells the mitochondria are turned off. The only energy produced is in the preliminary phase in the cytoplasm of the cell. It is a very inefficient process, but cancer cells require a lot of energy to grow fast. Thus they require a lot of carbohydrate, or glucose.
The opportunity is simple. While healthy cells are flexible and can burn fats in a process called ketosis, if there’s no glucose around, cancer cells are inflexible. They must have glucose - lots of it. It is their Achilles heel.
Cancer cells try to make their own glucose. The waste product produced by glucose metabolism in the cytoplasm is lactic acid, which is detoxified by the liver to … glucose, which passes back round to feed the cancer. It is a downward spiral. Drugs like metformin, the diabetes drug, have been used to reduce blood sugar levels, as has the herb Berberine. They can break this spiral. Both have been shown to increase survival and make drugs work better by cutting plasma glucose levels.
Go to: 20 links between sugar and cancer
3. Cancer cells hate oxygen; and they thrive in conditions of low oxygen. Exercise, eating more raw vegetables (and encouraging your gut bacteria to produce glutathione, or Hyperbaric Oxygen can all increase plasma oxygen levels. Oxygen pre-sensitises cancer cells so that more are killed by chemo- and radiotherapy. Oxygen can even reduce drug and radiotherapy side-effects. You need your blood oxygen levels above 98%. A nurse at the Royal Marsden said to a CANCERactive follower, on seeing her blood test results, "Your blood oxygen is 100% of where it should be. You won’t have any trouble beating this cancer, will you?"
Go To: Hyperbaric Oxygen and cancer
4. Cancer cells are very clever and thrive on the biological systems of the host, rather like a parasite.
For example, they often attack the bones. In response the bones produce ’Growth hormone’ to strengthen themselves. The cancer uses this growth hormone to build blood supplies. Drugs such as bisphosphonates can be used in advance to strengthen bones. Ten year survival in breast cancer goes up 18%. Ask your doctor about these drugs.
For example, they encourage your adrenal glands to produce more Cortisol and Epinephrine, the stress hormones. Levels go up when you have cancer, according to UCLA research. Green juices and a Rainbow Diet are proven to neutralise epinephrine; whereas endorphins (so-called Happy Hormones) produced when exercising and especially during yoga, neutralise Cortisol.
Go To: Stress hormone management aids cancer survival
5. The cancer energy production system features certain enzymes (the stimulators of chemical reactions) unique to a cancer cell and not normally found in a healthy cell. Some cancer treatments can target these unique enzymes. But this is what Salvestrols attempt to do. For example, one gene, the CYP1B1 gene, takes resveratrol (from red grape skins) and turns it into picetannol, which selectively kills the cancer cell, as only cancer cells have this gene.
Many people believe that a compound called amygdalin, found in seeds, pips, apricot kernels, gooseberries and quince does exactly the same.
Go To: The Truth about Amygdalin, B-17 and cancer
6. Cancer cells don’t die. Only heat seems capable of killing them. Hyperthermia uses heat to help kill cancer cells. Whole-body hyperthermia has been used with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It pre-sensitises the cancer cells and more die.
Localised hyperthermia, where cancer cells are directly heated, is called Ablation. HIFU uses ultrasound to heat and liquify tumours; it has been used with prostate, kidney and breast cancers. But German clinics use Ablation with simple heating elements, and the new ’Nanoknife’ puts an electrode either side of the tumour and passes a current through the tumour. Holes are made in the cancer cell walls; again the tumour liquifies.
Go To: Hyperthermia as an effective cancer treatment
So, exploit the weaknesses. Cancer is only human.