Playbook for Cancer
You have a mass or tumor.
You need a biopsy because you need to know the tissue of origin. Depending on the type of cancer, you may be able to perform a Signatera test to identify the tumor cells for future monitoring and surveillance.
PET scan- a specialized 3D image of the entire body with the injection of a small amount of radioactive glucose through an arm IV. Cancer and tumor cells love glucose, so any areas or masses in the body with an increased uptake of glucose will light up on the scan. Eat a low carbohydrate diet for 24 hours before the scan, and do not eat or drink anything except water for 6 hours before the scan, which takes 30-60 minutes. Drink plenty of fluids afterwards. We have found that oftentimes there are tumor cells already in other areas of the body when a tumor mass is first found. This makes a difference in the classification of the disease state and the plan for treatment.
Cancer loves sugar- a low carbohydrate diet will help limit the fuel available for the cancer. Continuous glucose monitors are available either by a prescription from your physician, or on the internet. A good place to start is to keep the blood sugars under 100 mg/dL. A stricter diet has been found to be unsustainable, and even with the addition of a glutamine blocker, has not always been shown to impact the disease progression.
Obtain baseline tumor markers for your particular cancer, if available. The page on Tumor Markers contains a potential list of tumor markers that may be available for you. These can be drawn every 4-6 weeks during treatment to assess the response of your cancer to the treatment, as well as be used to help identify recurrence once treatment is completed.
There are additions to your chosen cancer therapy that have no side effects, nor will they interfere with other therapies, that you can discuss with your physician. Optimizing overall health and wellness, reducing inflammation, improving mitochondrial function and Natural Killer cells are all important in helping fight cancer, as listed below. Other additions to therapy are described in more detail on other pages on the HRF website:
Molecular hydrogen is a non-toxic biologically inactive gas with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant, inhibits tumor growth, protects DNA and mitochondria, scavenges toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inhibits ROS-dependent signaling pathways for cancer cells. Research indicates that cancer is a metabolic disease of the mitochondria, so mitochondrial repair has to be at the forefront for fighting and eradicating cancer.
Deuterium depleted water (DDW)- deuterium is also known as “heavy hydrogen” and is found in the air and the liquids and foods we ingest. A high deuterium level in the body has been shown to cause chronic fatigue, metabolic problems and premature aging. DDW inhibits the proliferation and migratory ability of numerous tumor cells, accelerates apoptosis, autophagy and senescence in tumor cells.
The benefits seen with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) may be due to a reduction of the deuterium level, but this needs to be further studied. HBOT is expensive as it needs to administered 3 times per week until the cancer is gone, which can take greater than 6 months at approximately $1,000/ week.​
High intensity focused ultrasound: HIFU (or Histotripsy)causes selective tissue necrosis in a well-defined volume either through heating or cavitation, without requiring a surgical incision. The treatment is only FDA approved for liver tumors, although it has been studied for over 10 years, particularly for tumors in the breast, uterus, liver, kidney, pancreas, bone and brain.
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There are some promising studies adding Alpha-lipoic Acid and Low-Dose Naltrexone to current standard of care chemotherapy regimens without detracting or interfering with the chemotherapy regimen, that leads to a decrease in tumor cell proliferation. However, further studies are still needed.
No Evidence of Disease- Now what?
So you are fortunate enough to eradicate your apparent cancer and are told you have No Evidence of Disease (NED) on your scans, labs, PET scan, etc. But almost universally, patients will still have Circulating Cancer Stem Cells (CTCs), which are the cells that ultimately lead to metastases, especially to distant organs like lung, bone and brain. There is testing available to measure CTCs, and in general, if this CTC number is maintained at less than or equal to 3, there will not be a growth or regrowth of tumor cells, or metastases to other areas of the body. In this sense, it should be possible for people to live indefinitely with cancer as a chronic disease, much like living with high blood pressure or diabetes. A sample CTC test result (or a Liquid Blood Biopsy) can be found on the Lab Sample Page. Periodically you should be repeating any previously elevated blood tumor markers, as well, to monitor for recurrence.
Now the goal is to get or keep the body as healthy as possible, eradicate existing viruses and toxins, improve mitochondrial function, and even try to increase the body's Natural Killer Cells (white blood cells that destroy infected cells and cancer cells in your body). There are multiple books that suggest that a healthy, stress free lifestyle can help with all of the above. This is a lifetime commitment to maintaining optimal health and preventing recurrence, that requires constant and persistent attention and dedication- forever. This includes getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep at night, using meditation, yoga or breathing exercises to reduce stress, or even Neurofeedback Headset training. Regular exercise is important in improving mitochondrial function and enhancing NK cell function, including aerobic exercise, resistance training and interval training.
Many cancers have been linked to a virus, which have to date been difficult to eradicate or effect. However there are some interesting studies on reducing viral load in hepatitis C (see the Scientific Articles and Case Reports Page). A thermogram is a non-invasive test that detects temperature variations on the skin surface that produce a "heat map". This can be helpful in identifying areas of inflammation, which could be caused by infection that needs to be eradicated before the body can become healthy, especially in the teeth and gums.
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In addition to a routine exercise program of aerobic exercise with resistance and interval training, mitochondrial function can be improved with a balanced diet low in processed food and refined sugars, sun exposure and detoxification. Mitochondrial nutrients include foods rich in antioxidants, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, and selenium. Potentially helpful supplements might include Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), Alpha-lipoic acid, L-carnitine, Magnesium and Creatine. There is some evidence that Low-intensity light therapy (LILT) or low-intensity red light or near-infrared light therapy can improve ATP production in the mitochondria at certain wavelengths (e.g. 632.8, 812, and 820 nm) ( see the Scientific Articles an Case Reports Page). There is also a Membrane Replacement oral supplement that studies show will replenish damaged membrane lipids and restore mitochondrial function (see the Scientific Articles and Case Reports Page). Stool tests can evaluate the gut health, integrity and inflammation, as well as imbalances in the gut microbiome and presence soft pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites. Reducing inflammation can improve mitochondria (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10094238/).
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Enhancing the Natural Killer (NK cells) includes a balanced diet rich in vitamin E, vitamin C, and selenium, along with moderate exercise, sufficient sleep, and avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol. There are medical stimulants such as interleukins, cytokines and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) engineered NK cells, as well as Adoptive NK Cell Therapy that involves collecting ND cells from a patient or donor, expanding them in the lab and then re-injecting them into the patient. Some research suggests that cyclic fasting ay improve NK cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity.
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Again- this is a lifelong commitment to your health and wellness. It requires constant attention to you, your sleep, exercise, and stress reduction. It requires repeated testing of tumor markers and at least a yearly liquid blood biopsy to measure Circulating Cancer Stem Cells. It is not inexpensive, but it is imperative to maintain these numbers at a low level, and make changes if they start to increase, before they are able to metastasize to other areas of the body.
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