<< An Apology >>
<< Case Study Update >>
<< Artemesinin >>
<< Dr. Dana Flavin-Koenig >>
<< Short Shots…. >>
<< …on the lighter side >>
***********
An Apology
***********
I owe many of you a sincere apology. Starting about
July 28th, my e-mail address [bhenderson@getandstaywell.com]
has been flaky. Except for about four days last week,
it has been “down.” Many of you have told me you tried
to send me e-mail which was rejected, etc.
Since five days ago, my web site has also been “down.”
I have very little control over this. The web site and
the e-mail address are on a remote server “somewhere.”
Actually, I’m not sure where. The gentleman who helps
me with the design and maintenance of my web site is in
New Zealand. As of yesterday, he says he is doing his
best to get the server people to get things back to normal.
This is the first problem I’ve had with this web site and
e-mail address since November of 2000. I’m sure it is just
a computer “glitch” or possibly a virus which the server
guys will clear up shortly.
In the meantime, and if there is any such problem in the
future, you can contact me by e-mail at my other address:
bhenderson1@satx.rr.com
The character before the “@” sign is a “one,” not an “L.”
******************
Case Study Update
******************
Most of you will remember the past articles on Paula of San
Antonio and her experience with treating her endometrial
cancer. Briefly, after her hysterectomy and cancer diagnosis
in September, 2001, Paula took magesterol, a hormone. She
also took several CAM products — MGN-3, beta glucan, shark
cartilage and acidophilus.
She tried the Burzynski treatment, which turned out to be an
expensive nightmare for her. At $4,500 per month for out-
patient treatment, and a horrible bout of nausea caused by the
Burzynski medication, she concluded it was not for her. See
my December 6, 2001 newsletter #14 and April 13, 2002 news-
letter #21.
Beginning in February, 2002, she had a recurrence in the form
of a small tumor on her kidney. For this, she had both surgery
and a round of radiation therapy.
As of yesterday, Paula (not her real name) was still weak from
the radiation therapy and its aftermath. That aftermath has
included numerous bladder infections treated with antibiotics.
These were caused by infections from her “stents” and, of course,
her weakened immune system.
She feels she is now gaining ground daily. Her most recent CAT
scans show no cancer anywhere. She is still taking MGN-3, Green Supreme, Slippery Elm, Pau d’Arco and even the hot Castor Oil packs recommended by Edgar Cayce. She takes Vitamin B-6, along with various medications prescribed by her oncologist for anemia.
Recently, her radiologist suggested implanting some radioactive
“seeds” in her kidney near the site of the removed tumor. She
declined, because of the probable collateral damage to her bladder, colon, etc.
In short, Paula and her husband are fighting the good fight. They
have faith in her ability to conquer the cancer and regain her
health.
…More on Paula later.
************
Artemesinin
************
Some of you may recall me mentioning this subject in a previous
newsletter along with a promise to fill out my knowledge of it.
I have done that and would like to share it with you.
Late last year, two bioengineering researchers at the University
of Washington published their discovery of a promising potential
treatment for cancer. Originating in the ancient arts of
Chinese folk medicine, the wormwood herb derivative has been
used for 30 years to treat malaria.
In the journal Life Sciences, Professor Harry Lai and his
assistant Narendra Singh described how they targeted breast
cancer cells with artemesinin. The results were indeed sur-
prising. While only 25% of the cells were killed in the first
eight hours, virtually all of them were killed in 16 hours.
“Not only does it appear to be effective, but it’s very selec-
tive,” Lai said. “It’s highly toxic to the cancer cells, but
has a marginal impact on normal breast cells.”
Artemisinin works against malaria by reacting with the high
concentrations of iron found in the malaria parasite. When
artemisinin comes in contact with iron, a chemical reaction
ensues, spawning charged atoms that chemists call “free
radicals.” The free radicals attack the cell membranes,
breaking them apart and killing the single-cell malaria
parasite.
About seven years ago, Lai began to hypothesize that the
process might work with cancer, too.
“Cancer cells need a lot of iron to replicate DNA when they
divide,” Lai explained. “As a result, cancer cells have much
higher iron concentrations than normal cells. When we began to
understand how artemisinin worked, I started wondering if we
could use that knowledge to target cancer cells.”
Lai’s work has been funded by a grant from the Breast Cancer
Fund of San Francisco. However, artemisinin’s value is hardly
limited to breast cancer. In fact, an earlier study involving
leukemia cells yielded even more impressive results. Those
cells were eliminated within eight hours. A possible explana-
tion might be the level of iron in the leukemia cells.
“They have one of the highest iron concentrations among cancer
cells,” Lai explained. “Leukemia cells can have more then 1,000
times the concentration of iron that normal cells have.”
Here are web sites with articles which will get you completely
up to speed on this interesting substance:
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/27125/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1678469.stm
http://www.annieappleseedproject.org/artemisinin.html
http://members.tripod.com/~altmedangel/cancherb.htm
Unlike some Chinese herbs, this one has 30 years of Western
scientific studies behind it and is used widely to treat malaria
and hemorrhoids (it is anti-inflammatory) and is certainly non-
toxic.
At $2 a day, it’s among the less expensive cancer treatments.
Fortunately for you, Dr. Lai’s idea has been patented by the
University of Washington. This just means that a pharmaceutical
company probably can’t pick it up, develop a synthetic form and
sell it for twenty times as much.
OK, so you’re convinced that this substance is an interesting
development in cancer treatment. Next question. How do I get
it? Good question. I’ve looked at several sources, including
Dr. Donsbach’s “Canburst” and Hepalin 25. The best formulation
for the best price, in my opinion [I’m open to correction here]
is:
http://www.altcancer.com/artemis.htm
[See August 15th Newsletter Special Edition for a cheaper source for artemesinin.]
***********************
Dr. Dana Flavin-Koenig
***********************
Last week, I had a call from a very interesting lady. I’d like
to introduce her to you, along with some of her ideas about
treating cancer.
Dr. Dana Flavin-Koenig is an American living in Germany. She
describes herself as a “physician, toxicologist, pharmacologist
and nutrient biochemist.” She has doctorates in three of those
fields. She was chief toxicologist for the FDA for two years
in the late 1970s.
What is important to us is that she has been researching the
molecular biology of cancer since 1979. She has found that
many nutritional substances can inhibit specific functions in
cancer cells. We’ll look at some examples of her discoveries
in a minute.
Dr. Flavin was married to the Director of Molecular Biology at
Roche Group, the European conglomerate which includes Hoffman-
La Roche, Inc., one of the largest pharmaceutical companies
in the world. She says her divorce was at least partially
caused by her success at treating cancer with nutrition and
her husband’s jealousy. Doesn’t God work in mysterious and
wonderful ways his wonders to perform?
Dr. Flavin-Koenig is an advisor to the National Cancer Institute
(NCI) in the U.S. She is working on a data bank for the NCI
which will catalog the molecular biology of each cancer type
along with a central information source for new treatments.
She treats numerous cancer patients successfully in Europe.
One of them was one of my readers in Ireland, who gave her my
[flaky] e-mail address. After trying unsuccessfully to send
me an e-mail, she called me on the phone last week. We talked
for over an hour. Since then, she has sent me two long e-mails
describing her successful treatments.
Dr. Flavin-Koenig’s Treatments
Before I tell you her methods, I need to define a couple of
two-bit words for you which are essential to understanding them:
APOPTOSIS: Cell death programmed by a particular set of genes.
In my book, I “popularized” this concept by describing these
genes as the “suicide” and “proofreader” genes. Another gene,
called “bcl-2” inhibits this process. Cancer patients want
apoptosis to happen to their cancer cells pronto.
ANGIOGENESIS: The development of a vascular network providing
blood and nourishment to a new cancer colony. Obviously, cancer patients want to disrupt this process by whatever means. Two substances you may remember which purport to do this are shark cartilage and pau d’arco tea.
Dr. Flavin-Koenig recommends, based on her own observations of
cancer cell activity in the biological lab and 23 years of
treatment of cancer patients:
BETA CAROTENE, which is Vitamin A in plant form. Dosage: 200
mg per day. She calls this the most important treatment (after
stopping smoking) which she uses. It inhibits the “bcl-2” gene
(see above) and makes cells more sensitive to immune therapy, as
well as chemo and hyperthermia. Yes, Dr. Flavin-Koenig uses low-
dose chemo, but only to treat lung and colon cancer but says “it
is not enough alone.”
VITAMIN A in cod liver oil, which also has Vitamin D. Dosage:
one gram a day. This “limits the rate of DNA synthesis and
causes apoptosis (see above) in most tumors — colon, prostate,
sarcoma, lung, breast, etc.”
[Note: Synthetic Vitamin A and that found in fish oils, like
cod liver oil, can be toxic if taken in excess. Beta carotene
is not toxic.]
SOY PRODUCTS (a controversial subject) “inhibit the receptors
for hormones” and are therefore effective in treatment of
prostate cancer.
FISH OIL. Dosage: 4 grams a day. It inhibits angiogenesis and
the “ras” gene that feeds tumor growth. [Dr. Flavin-Koenig had
not heard of Dr. Johanna Budwig until I mentioned her. She was
interested and will research Dr. Budwig’s flaxseed oil/cottage
cheese protocol.]
N-ACETYLCYSTEINE. Dosage: 600 mg, 3 times a day. It inhibits
angiogenesis, transforms “bcl-2” into “bax” [another gene],
which “makes it pro-apoptosis. It also increases T-killer
cells and binds with [gets rid of] nitric oxide which suppresses
the immune system and stimulates tumor growth.”
SODIUM SELENITE. Dosage: 400 micrograms a day. It inhibits
the protein Kinase C. It should not be taken at the same time
as Vitamin C.
VITAMIN C. Dosage: 3-5 grams a day spread through the day or
3 grams a day combined with 5-7 grams by IV twice a week. It
increases hydrogen peroxide in the tumor cells [which kills them].
LACTOFERRIN. Dosage: 1 gram dissolved slowly in mouth at bed-
time. It inhibits angiogenesis and binds with iron to decrease
tumor growth. It also has anti-viral activity.
BROMELAIN – Dosage: 1 capsule 4 times a day. It also inhibits
angiogenesis. It is an enzyme extracted from pineapples.
WOBE MUGOS – An enzyme mixture which enhances the immune system
and helps block tumor growth, especially in colon cancer.
INDOMETHACIN – May require a prescription. It blocks the Pros-
taglandin E2 (PGE2) and ornithine decarboxylase. Both of these
play a major role in angiogenesis and tumor growth plus metastases.
DEVIL’S CLAW – A somewhat less effective substitute for above.
Take 3 times a day.
THUJA – For cervical cancer. It is an anti-viral plant which
comes in tincture form [which I use to control my toenail fungus].
Some general guidelines:
For Prostate Cancer: Green tea and lots of soy products to reduce
hormone receptors and melatonin – 9 mg – at night.
No Vitamin E except “succinate.” Other types of Vitamin E protect tumors.
No iron, no B complex, no zinc.
Eat lots of fish (no shellfish — too much cholesterol), limited
eggs, chicken, turkey and all vegetable dishes, with olive oil.
No red meat and no unsaturated fatty acids. Instead olive oil and
butter. Butter has butyric acid that prevents DNA synthesis. This
is also found in wheat bran and figs.
Dr. Flavin-Koenig is constantly searching internationally for treat
-ments including chemo, plants, teas, vitamins, hyperthermia, etc.
Because of her encyclopedic knowledge she often consults with
colleagues in hospitals all over Europe and with MD Anderson and
others in the U.S. She is currently testing a tea from Turkey which
cured liver metastases from kidney cancer. She is writing a cookbook
for cancer patients.
My admiration for this lady is on two levels. First, of course,
we share a common view about the proper treatment for cancer and
a zeal to get this message to others. Second, though, is her
extreme integrity. She lives a very modest life style, drives an
old car and uses what money she has to support the treatment of her
cancer patients who cannot afford it.
More in future newsletters about Dr. Dana, an awesome lady.
Her contact information is:
Dr. Med. Dana F. Flavin-Koenig
Durrbergsgtr 28
82335 Berg
Germany
E-mail: dana_fk@hotmail.com
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Short Shots….
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ENZYME THERAPY IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Want to read a fine article on the importance of enzyme therapy
in the treatment of cancer? It is a five-part article, so when
you scroll down and it says “Next Page,” just click on it until
you get through part 5. Just go to:
http://www.lifestar.com/file_html/whyenzymes.html
CODEX ALIMENTARIUS
Last week I sent a three-page letter to Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes,
asking him or some other investigative reporter to please look into
this apparent power grab by the FDA. I’ll keep you posted on developments, if any.
“IF I HAD TERMINAL CANCER…”
Want to read a great article by a real CAM expert, Dr. Julian
Whitaker? Just go to this web site:
http://cat007.com/ifihadcancer.htm
In case you have wondered at the spartan simplicity of the
format of this newsletter, it has a purpose. From experi-
ence publishing several newsletters, I’ve found that this
format — simple text with lines no longer than 65 char-
acters — is the only one that will print on all e-mail
screens (maybe even WebTV) the same. Most of you will
notice that the web links in this newsletter are high-
lighted in blue. Clicking on them will open your browser
and take you to that site. If they are not highlighted
(a la AOL), you may need to “copy and paste” them into
your browser. You’ll have to do the same if you go to
my newsletter archives at my web site…”copy and paste.”
I’ll be back sometime soon with another newsletter. Be
well and send your friends to my website:
http://www.beating-cancer-gently.com
Bill Henderson
Author “Cure Your Cancer” e-book
143 pages – $14.95 – instant PDF download
As for the legal stuff — Disclaimer: The author of this
newsletter is a researcher and writer, not a doctor. Any
treatment for an illness should be shared with your doctor
before you attempt it.