Cancer as a Disease of Civilization – History
Cancer as a Disease of Civilization Is cancer a disease of civilization? Is it related to other diseases that seem to increase with industrialization? If so, what are the implications for people...
Cancer Stem Cells
In Memory of Robert A. Good MD, PhD
A Celebrated Cancer Researcher “He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look for upon his like again.” —Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, Scene ii Dr. Robert A. Good, MD, Ph.D., one of the...
Laszlo Csatary – In Memoriam
The First to Use Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) On March 20, 2012, Laszlo Csatary, MD, the first person to use Newcastle disease virus (NDV) in the treatment of cancer, passed away in Fort...
In Memoriam – Wolfgang Woeppel, MD and Alexander (Alex) S. Sun, PhD
I note with sadness the passing of two significant figures in the world of complementary and alternative medicine. Wolfgang Woeppel, MD, founding director of the Hufeland Klinik (hospital) in Bad...
ASCO in 2002: A Hollow Event
38th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Everything about the 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) was huge. There were 26,000...
A View of Gastric Cancer’s Origins
Gastric cancer originates from bone marrow-derived cells. So states a paper published in late 2004 by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), Worcester,...
Can High-Dose Vitamin C Help Fight Cancer?
Ascorbic Acid, IV-C, IVC There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that vitamin C is useful in the prevention of cancer. Its intrinsically low cost and lack of toxicity make it an extremely...
Is Green Tea or EGCG Dangerous?
Conflict between the Drug 5-FU and Polyphenols?We are often told that there is a conflict between the drug 5-FU and the polyphenols such as EGCG in green tea. Here, too, there is no unanimity...
Cannabis and CBD Oil
Attitudes Are Changing Perhaps the most famous herb in the world is Cannabis (Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica). As of this writing, Cannabis is legal in about half the U.S. states and is in...
Cardamom
Inhibitory Effects Certain nutraceuticals are able to kill cancer stem cells (CSCs) and to interact in a beneficial way with chemotherapy. One of these is cardamonin, an active ingredient in the...
Mistletoe – Viscum Album
A Semi-Parasitic PlantMistletoe (Viscum album) is a semi-parasitic plant found throughout most of Europe. Because it is considered harmful to the tree, its importation is banned in the U.S. (A...
Honokiol – Magnolia Bark
Targets Multiple PathwaysHonokiol is a derivative of the bark of the Magnolia tree (a genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae)....
Mistletoe Makes Further Gains
Immunomodulating as well as Direct Antiproliferative Effects One of the most obvious differences in the practice of oncology in the US and in Europe is the attitude toward mistletoe (Viscum...
Nutraceuticals Target ALDH+ Cells
The Most Effective Blockers of Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) Our supplement charts consist of several different kinds of agents. Resveratrol, soy isoflavones, sulforaphane, curcumin, and EGCG/green...
The Power of Synergy
Non-toxic TreatmentSince we advocate the simultaneous use of various non-toxic treatments, we should say a word about synergy. Why do we generally avoid very high doses of each individual...
Feverfew and Cancer Stem Cells
Chrysanthemum Many readers know the feverfew plant (Tanacetum parthenium), a member of the Chrysanthemum family, sometimes called bachelor's buttons. This is a cheerful-looking perennial, with...
Spirulina
Blue-Green Algae (Spirulina platensis)Spirulina is a concentrated food supplement derived from blue-green algae (Spirulina platensis) that grows abundantly in water. It is defined as a “water...
What is EGCG and Should I Take It?
Natural Agents That Target BCR-ABL There are natural agents that target BCR-ABL and the other metabolic pathways of CML cells. One can think of these as natural tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs),...
Honokiol and Cancer Stem Cells
Signal Transducers and Activators Honokiol is another promising anti-CSC agent that is available to present-day cancer patients without a prescription. Honokiol is a fascinating compound that has...
Fenugreek
Both a Food and a Medicine for Thousands of Years Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) is a plant in the family Fabaceae, or Leguminosae. It has been used as both food and medicine for thousands...
Benefits of Boysenberries
Raspberry, Blackberry, Dewberry, Loganberry The boysenberry is a cross between the European raspberry, European blackberry, American dewberry, and loganberry. It was first developed by Charles...
Boysenberry and Mesothelioma
Asbestos-induced MesotheliomaOne food that has a particular relationship to mesothelioma is the boysenberry (Rubus loganbaccus × baileyanus Britt). The boysenberry was definitely not present in...
Pomegranate Extract and POMI-T
Pomegranate, Broccoli, Turmeric, and Green TeaScientists at the University at Albany, SUNY, showed that a pomegranate extract (PE) killed breast cancer stem cells. They concluded that pomegranate...
Soy and Breast Cancer
Soy Exhibits Anti-Estrogenic Properties Soy isoflavones consumption is associated overall with an 11% reduction in breast cancer incidence. However, the protective effect was primarily observed...
Vanillin and Cancer Stem Cells
Suppressing Cancer “stem-ness” A surprising finding is that vanillin, a key flavor component in the vanilla bean (Vanilla planifolia), can “suppress cancer stem-ness”, particularly in lung cancer...
Garlic
Antibiotic and Immune-Modulating Properties Garlic (Allium sativum) is a plant whose edible bulbs contain flavonoids and sulfur-containing compounds: diallyl sulfate, alliin, ajoene, and,...
Does Red Wine Prevent Breast Cancer?
3 to 6 Glasses of Wine Per Week At first sight, the data on the effect of wine on the risk of breast cancer (BC) appear contradictory. For example, in November 2011 there was a report in the New...
An ASCO 2007 Review
Shark Cartilage, Ginseng, and Flax Seed - ASCO 2007 In June, 2007, I attended the meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). There were about 30,000 attendees at this 43rd...
Asparagus and Cancer
An Urban Myth? I was recently told by one of my phone consultees that he was taking a purée of asparagus as a treatment for his prostate cancer. For 35 years, I have been hearing about the...
Diet and Supplements for Pancreatic Cancer
Research on the “Big Five” The first agents (curcumin, green tea, resveratrol, isoflavones, sulforaphane) are what the oncologists Dwight McKee and Cord called the “Big Five” of anti-cancer stem...
Artichokes vs. Cancer
The Flower Bud of a Large Thistle I purchased two extraordinary-looking globe artichokes and incorporated them into a family dinner. This got me thinking about the various health properties of...
Dietary Compounds That Kill Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs)
Natural Agents in the Food We Eat “A small number of malignant cancer stem cells are already enough to ensure a continuous supply of cancer cells. These tumor stem cells are resistant to chemo-...
NCI and CAPCAM, Macrobiotics
The Olive Branch Bears Fruit On February 28, 2002, I attended a meeting of the Cancer Advisory Panel on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAPCAM), of which I am a founding member. The...
Macrobiotics and Other Plant-Based Diets
But is it effective? It is worth noting that Prof. T. Colin Campbell, of Cornell University, is not the first, and probably not the last, to advocate a whole-foods, plant-based (WFPB) diet for...
Resveratrol
Resveratrol: A Natural Phytoalexin Found in Grapes Chemical Complexity Grapes are chemically complex but have been better studied than most other plants. There are hundreds of separate...
Introduction to Cancer Stem Cells and the “Big Five”
Cancer Stem Cells Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) are defined as cells with the capacity for both self-renewal (i.e., making an exact copy of themselves) and differentiation (i.e. turning into different...