That day in September, my very knowledgable oncologist said if I didn't start chemotherapy immediately, he gave me about three months to live. At the end of that very unnerving discussion, and with my family in tears, I was ushered to a reclining chair in the back room of his clinic and was connected by an IV tube to a large plastic bag of a chemo drug called Taxotere. The regimen would be weekly, for two weeks - and then with a bag of Carboplatin added every third week. Next, a week of rest. No chemo. The following week we started again. And again. And again. I saw the same people in other recliners most of my visits - I called them "my class" - and was surprised that most of them didn't use supplemental nutrition fighters. They all took and used my information and were thankful for the assist.
I have been a health nut all my adult life. Unfortunately, my one stupidity has been my choice to be a smoker - and I've smoked about two to two and a half packs of cigarettes for about 50 years. I am 73 and a semi-retired author, writer, editor and publisher.With all this bad news swirling around me, I still smoke about ten cigarettes a day - neither the patch, gum, acupuncture or drugs can get rid of the last few cancer sticks to which I am so addicted. But I've stopped the cancer. Stopped it dead in its tracks.
How? Research into nutrition. Heavy research, good choices. Choices that work for me. That's what I want to share with you now. As I said, it has worked for me. While it may or may not work as good for you, or might not work at all, I think it's the best shot for anyone who wants to fight and live a longer life. Between the chemotherapy and nutrition, I created a synergistic effect that has frozen the damn spots. Other than my time for chemo visits - which ran about two hours once a week and weekly blood workup visits, I still lead a normal life doing the things I've always done. I have a healthy appetite and positive attitude which I credit in large measure to my superior nutritional program - which I feel has enhanced my chemotherapy treatments.
In April 2005, I was fortunate to find another exceptionally knowledgable oncologist. After examining my records and prescribing his own set of C-T and PET scans, and like all M.D.s, dismissing or saying nothing about nutritional supplementation, he started me on a later, coming-into-use chemo drug, Alimta, once every three weeks. Into the reclining chair in his clinic - with a new set of, but soon to become familiar, faces every visit. Deja Vu. BUT -- our latest C-T scan showed the malignant tumor shrinking and the other spots frozen. I credit this to not just my first three chemo sessions with the new drug - but with the cumulative effect of my previous chemo treatments and my nutritionals which enhance my immune system as well as working their magic anti-tumor and anti-cancer characteristics. Everything working together. That magic word is "synergism." I am not just a "cancer survivor" -- I am a Cancer Fighter. And obviously, I fight very well.
My Nutritional Program
I spent a lot of money and research time making choices. Forget MSM, CoQ-10, super vitamin C, blue-green algae and all those over-recommended and misunderstood (and misused) products. Some of them counteract some chemo treatments.The more food products you take in, the more absorption into your blood stream to assist your chemotherapy. I will list and discuss each of the nutritionals I use and tell you where to get them, what they cost and how I use them. I've taken my best shots - using a high degree of skepticism - and obviously, my shots have been pretty good for me. I became an MLM distributor for one of the products to get lower prices and I'll show you how to do the same -- (and with rebates, too - being sick doesn't mean you have to piss money away).
I've researched and investigated about 100 products from dozens and dozens of web sites. I culled the list down to about 20 products and then, after more study, eleven -- and then to a final six that have been working for me. Powerful immune enhancers, anti-viral and anti-cancer nutritionals and natural chemicals from foods that attack only cancer cells.
The nutritionals include Goji Juice, red rasberries, green tea, ellegic acid with graviola, a natural multi-vitamin and Maitake Mushrooms -- the most powerful of the known medicinal mushrooms. I will discuss each product in detail for your judgement.
There's been tons of research on green tea so there's no need to repeat it all here.I have two to three cups of green tea each day. No coffee. No artificial sweetener. I use Stevia - a natural plant sweetener - available in any health food store and, of course, over the internet. Green tea is rich in polyphenols which makes it an effective cancer fighter. Think Yankee manager Joe Torre, in the team dugout after his prostate cancer operation - drinking a quart bottle of green tea during the games - for months. That says it all. Most supermarkets sell green tea in addition to health food stores - and one brand is as good as another. However, if you want authentic oriental green tea, I recommend Numi's Gunpowder Green Tea. You can read all about it on their attractive and interesting web site: Numi Herbal Teas
I take a super multivitamin every morning with my other pills and liquids. That way, I guarantee my body is getting its basic nutrients. My preference is the Vitamin Shoppe's Nutri-100, compounded from natural ingredients. You can find them on the internet at www.vitaminshop.com. Stay away from any pills compounded and bound with tri-calcium phosphate. They are almost indigestible and you will get about 10% of its value. Many of the pills sold by GNC are manufacturered using that binder.
My major pill intake is a product called Ellegic Insurance Formula. This unique nutraceutical supplement combines therapeutic levels of polyphenols from plants: ellagitannins (Ellagic acid) from raspberries, pomegranates and terminalia chebula; oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPC) from whole grape extract; catechins from green tea and Graviola, together with the antioxidant vitamins A, C, E and the mineral Selenium to create a potent antioxidant formula. The scientific laboratory evidence and clinical medical research supporting the protective effects of these nutrients in multiple areas of health concern are reviewed by an M.D. in "Chemopreventive Properties of Phytochemicals " including their potent actions against the two most feared killers of our time, Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer.
The booklet is written in Adobe PDF format and is a real eye-opener. Since it says it all - better than I can - read it at An M.D.'s View of Ellegic Acid
When you are done reading this 32-page booklet, click on the back arrow of your browser to return to my web site.
The Ellegic formula I use also contains a substantial amount of Graviola. Graviola, a natural plant product from the South American rain forests, has been extensively researched by Duke University and it has the following actions on the body: it is anticancerous, antitumorous, antimicrobial, antiparasitic and hypotensive (lowers blood pressure). Its main uses include: 1. for cancer (all types); 2. as a broad-spectrum internal and external antimicrobial to treat bacterial and fungal infections; 3. for internal parasites and worms; 4. for high blood pressure and, 5. for depression, stress, and nervous disorders. A caution: Graviola has cardiodepressant, vasodilator, and hypotensive (lowers blood pressure) actions. Large dosages can cause nausea and vomiting. Avoid combining with ATP-enhancers like CoQ10. It is in the right balance in Ellegic Insurance Formula.
While there are numerous products available that contain some of the ingredients in the product I use - Ellagic Insurance Formula™ - there is NO other product available that comes even close to containing ALL the ingredients at the same therapeutic levels that the Ellagic Insurance Formula™ provides. An added benefit is that the ingredients are in a veggie capsule - not a gelatin capsule, meaning it will dissolve quicker and get into your digestive system faster and more completely. I take a theraputic dose of nine capsules in the morning with breakfast, and nine capsules in the evening with dinner.
A single 180 capsule bottle retails for $79 plus $7 shipping OR you can pay $35 for the same bottle by going to my distributor web site: Click Here and Become a Member and Order from Greenwood Health Products. I have a standing order for three bottles a month delivered to me by mail.
To augment the EIF capsules, I eat a cup of red rasberries every day, either as an afternoon snack or as dessert after dinner. I sweeten it with Stevia. ABC News reported during May, 2005, that researchers have found red rasberries contain a potent cancer fighter called ellagitannins (Ellagic acid) and are pursuing this line of investigation. They could have asked us Cancer Fighters about this years ago....
It took a lot of digging to get all the facts and understand the power of oriental medicinal mushrooms. Particularly since everyone in the sale of health products gives you a different take on the value of their products - true or not.
I consider the Maitake Mushroom to be most powerful of the class of medicinal mushrooms, which includes Reishi, Shiitake and ABM. Maitake mushrooms, like the Reishi, ABM and Shiitake, contain important polysaccharide compounds that are used for cancer and immune system deficiency treatment. These treatments have shown anti-tumor effects in mice. The polysaccharides in Maitake are reported to activate the body's own effector cells such as natural killer cells and macrophages that filter the blood. What are the health benefits of the Maitake mushroom? * Reduces blood pressure * Enhances the immune system * Anti-tumor, anti-viral effect * Reduces cholesterol * Improves insulin levels. These medicinal mushrooms have been used extensively in China and Japan for a millennium. Japan has included them in their national health programs.
There's a big problem with medicinal mushrooms, however. They are indigestable. The cell walls of the mushrooms are made of chitlin - the same material that comprises a lobster's shell. This biomass prevents access to the polysacharrides that are the potent cancer fighters. Every oriental treatment using these mushrooms utilizes a hot water extract technique to get the good stuff out of the cells.
Mushrooms are unique, stationary like a plant, yet built from chitin, the same indigestible fiber that forms the shell of a lobster. Understanding the properties of chitin is critical to understanding how to choose an effective, high-quality medicinal mushroom product. Chitin is indigestible by humans. Yet chitin, which makes up the cell walls of mushrooms and mushroom mycelium, contains the potent immune stimulating compounds common to all medicinal mushrooms, the polysaccharides. Practitioners of Traditional East Asian Medicine and modern clinical researchers both use the same preparation technique to overcome this barrier, hot water.
Only a heated liquid solution can break down the indigestible chitin and release the active compounds into a concentrated, bio-available form. When used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for chronic conditions or immune health medicinal mushrooms are always prepared with heat and water, as a tea or a decoction. Medicinal mushrooms are never used in the un-extracted form (as mycelium bio-mass powder or dried mushroom powder), and rarely prepared as a tincture (soaked in alcohol and water in the absence of heat).
Scientific research backs this traditional preparation method. Every published, independent study on the use of medicinal mushrooms for immune health has been conducted with a hot water or hot water/alcohol extract. Every form of extraction, including precipitation with alcohol, requires a heated liquid solution to first release the polysaccharides, the primary active compounds, from the chitinous cell walls of the mushroom and mushroom mycelium.
A popular product of the Maitake hot water extract process is called Maitake Fraction and Maitake D-Fraction, which seems to be hawked on countless health web sites. It's a "concentrate" sold in one-ounce bottles for around $50. Four to twenty drops from the bottle's eye dropper into eight ounces of water is the daily treatment. That's a homeopathic approach - which I don't believe in. Voodoo medicine with your life as the prize. Homeopathic remedies have never worked for me and I won't bet my life on such an approach.
Mitake Fraction removes the amino acids, vitamins and minerals from the extracted solution leaving only the beta glucans (fractionated glucans). "A little drop will do ya'" is not the way I wanted to go - not for my malignant cancers. I needed power, and this species of mushroom has that power, so I did what all the oriental doctors and herbalists did - I developed a hot water extract program to get the best from the Maitake.
I started with a dependable, quality supplier, Mitobi Enterprises, Ltd. in Canada, who imports Grade A dried mushrooms from China. Mitobi will ship ten 100 gram bags of Maitakes postpaid for $89 - not only a good price, but top quality. They also sell the other medicinal mushrooms as well as gourmet mushrooms. And - they offer some interesting recipes. I use about eight bags a month, doing my one hour hot water extraction every two days in my kitchen, and drinking eight ounces of a delicious brew of Maitake extract in the morning and again in the evening - it tastes like beef broth. I save the mushrooms that I've processed and mix them in my egg omelets and over my steaks. My 100-year-old mother also enjoys my egg and mushroom omelets. They may be indigestable, but they taste good. And - most important, my extract process puts back the amino acids, vitamins and minerals that the fancy marketers discarded.
. You can go to Mitobi's web site and check out their mushrooms by clicking on their name here. This is not an MLM company and there's nothing to join. You can also call them in Canada at 604-576-8807. They are very dependable people. Click Here to Visit Mitobi Enterprises, Ltd Web Site. When you are done browsing and/or ordering, click on the back arrow of your browser to return to my web site.
My Maitake extract is very strong - and as I said before - it tastes good. I've thought about bottling and selling it - but the polysaccharides are only effective for a few days and you must drink it while it's fresh.. I don't want to go into the bottling business, in any event. My youngest daughter calls my mix "Daddy's Magic Mushroom Tea." My hot water extract process is done in my kitchen with readily available and mostly ordinary utensils. It takes some care to do the extraction properly, but it's not a big deal. I spent several weeks experimenting to get the process down properly. Break up into small pieces about a third of a bag of the shrooms (about 30 grams) into a teflon coated or enamel pot, add four cups of water and bring to a boil. Then simmer for an hour, strain the liquid into glasses and store in the fridge. Consume all the glasses in two-three days to get the full effectiveness.
My latest C-T scan in October ('06) showed no growth after resuming chemo treatments and nutritionals in September that were halted for two months in July and August. When we stopped everything, the major tumor increased a centimeter (see below - Chemotherapy).On October 16, 2006 I began an experiment after my continued research came up with an idea and a source: I blended equal parts of Goji Juice, Noni Juice and added 1 part pomegrante extract to 4 parts of the mixed juices. Simply, 32 ounces of each juice and 16 ounces of extract, in a gallon bottle, in my refrigerator. I am taking 4 - 6 ounces every morning in addition to the other nutritionals above. I bought the juices and extract from www.doctorstrust.com at enormous savings. The Goji was $10.99, the Noni 13.99 and the extract 5.99. The extract contains Ellagic Acid, the Goji polysaccharides and the Noni polyphenols. I will take this through to my next C-T scan in three months and see if it has enhanced the fight against the damn tumors. My guess is it will - these are strong reinforcements for my chemotherapy. I still feel that Goji is superior to Noni, but at this price, it's worth the addition to my menu.
CLICK HERE TO GO TO MY LINKS PAGE FOR ADDITIONAL INFOMy links page will give you other sources you can jump to for additional research and information. You can contact me with any questions at allanmorrell@thecancerfighter.com Please use the letters CF in the subject line otherwise I may not respond. I get tons of junk mail every day (the joys of being a writer).
You can contact me with any questions at allanmorrell@thecancerfighter.com Please use the letters CF in the subject line otherwise I may not respond. I get tons of junk mail every day (the joys of being a writer).
Lastly, but definitely not last, I thank God for giving me the insight and inspiration to research and find solutions in this fight, I thank God for giving me more time in this life, I thank God for keeping me in a positive attitude and I promise God I will do my best to help others who must become fighters like me.
Last Modified 12/12/2006 Chemo Page Updated 01/27/2008