Recently Diagnosed or Relapsed? Stop Looking For a Miracle Cure, and Use Evidence-Based Therapies To Enhance Your Treatment and Prolong Your Remission
Multiple Myeloma an incurable disease, but I have spent the last 25 years in remission using a blend of conventional oncology and evidence-based nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle therapies from peer-reviewed studies that your oncologist probably hasn't told you about.
Click the orange button to the right to learn more about what you can start doing today.
Furthermore, they (antioxidants) enhance the killing of therapeutic modalities for multiple myeloma, decrease their side effects, and protect normal tissue.
Numerous studies (see below) show that antioxidants enhance multiple myeloma treatment. Most MM patients know this. The question for most patients is if they should take antioxidants during therapy.
I was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma (MM) in early 1994. Conventional multiple myeloma treatment such as induction therapy, an autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) and radiation did little for me beyond two short remissions and numerous short, long-term and late stage side effects.
I wish I knew then what I know now. I often say that to myself because I have learned a lot about evidence-based, non-conventional therapies for multiple myeloma-
antioxidants,
nutrition,
supplementation,
detoxification, etc.
The five studies linked and excerpted below discuss one of the, or maybe the most controversial issue of modern oncology. And that controversy is whether or not multiple myeloma patients should undergo antioxidant supplementation duringchemotherapy and/or radiation.
Of course, it’s impossible to make one giant proclamation for all therapies, everywhere, but allow me to outline my thinking…briefly.
If you have been diagnosed with either a pre-myeloma (single bone plasmacytoma, MGUS, SMM) or early stage multiple myeloma where you may not undergo toxic multiple myeloma treatment at all or what therapy you do undergo will be lower dose, your MM treatment can result in a better prognosis, You don’t need to worry about antioxidant supplementation.
However, if your MM is stage 3 and your symptoms are advanced, your multiple myeloma treatment may be much more aggressive (6 rounds of induction therapy rather than 3 rounds, for example). More aggressive therapy means you body is being exposed to more toxicity. More toxicity means a much greater risk of adverse events aka side effects.
Consider both antioxidant supplementation as well as other evidence-based supplements shown to enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy.
To Learn More about antioxidants and conventional cancer therapy read the posts linked below
I am both a long-term MM survivor and MM cancer coach. Living with an incurable blood cancer called Multiple Myeloma since my diagnosis in ’94 has taught me to think outside the conventional oncology box. Consider more than just conventional multiple myeloma treatment.
“Abstract-Cancer patients can be divided into 3 groups:
those receiving standard or experimental therapy,
those who have become unresponsive to these therapies, and
those in remission at risk for recurrence of multiple myeloma or a second new cancer.
While impressive progress in standard MM therapy has been made, the value of this therapy in the management of myeloma may have reached a plateau. At present, there is no strategy to reduce the risk of recurrence of the primary MM or of a second cancer among survivors.
Patients unresponsive to standard or experimental therapies have little option except for the poor quality of life for the remainder of life. Therefore, additional approaches should be developed to improve the efficacy of current management of cancer.
In this review, the author proposes that an active nutritional protocol that includes high doses of multiple dietary ANTs and their derivatives (vitamin C, alpha-tocopheryl succinate, and natural beta-carotene), but not endogenously made antioxidants (glutathione- and antioxidant enzyme-elevating agents), when administered as an adjunct to radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or experimental therapy, may improve its efficacy by increasing tumor response and decreasing toxicity. This nutritional protocol can also be used when patients become unresponsive to standard therapy or experimental therapy to improve quality of life and possibly increase the survival time.
The authors also propose that after completion of standard therapy and/or experimental therapy, a maintenance nutritional protocol that contains lower doses of ANTs and their derivatives, together with modification in diet and lifestyle, may reduce the risk of recurrence of the original tumor and development of a second cancer among survivors.
Experimental data and limited human studies suggest that use of these nutritional approaches may improve oncologic outcomes and decrease toxicity. This review also discusses the reasons for the current debates regarding the use of ANTs during radiation or chemotherapy.”
Abstract-Despite nearly two decades of research investigating the use of dietary ANTs supplementation during conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy, controversy remains about the efficacy and safety of this complementary treatment.
Several randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that the concurrent administration of antioxidants with chemotherapy or radiation therapy reduces treatment-related side effects. Some data indicate that antioxidants may protect tumor cells as well as healthy cells from oxidative damage generated by radiation therapy and some chemotherapeutic agents.
However, other data suggest that antioxidants can protect normal tissues from chemotherapy- or radiation-induced damage without decreasing tumor control. We review some of the data regarding the putative benefits and potential risks of antioxidant supplementation concurrent with cytotoxic therapy. On the basis of our review of the published randomized clinical trials, we conclude that the use of supplemental antioxidants during chemotherapy and radiation therapy should be discouraged because of the possibility of tumor protection and reduced survival.
“Some in the oncology community contend that patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy should not use food supplement antioxidants and other nutrients. Oncologists at an influential oncology institution contended that antioxidants interfere with radiation and some chemotherapies because those modalities kill by generating free radicals that are neutralized by antioxidants, and that folic acid interferes with methotrexate. This is despite the common use of amifostine and dexrazoxane, 2 prescription antioxidants, during chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy…
Conclusions-Since the 1970s, 280 peer-reviewed in vitro and in vivo studies, including 50 human studies involving 8,521 patients, 5,081 of whom were given nutrients, have consistently shown that non-prescription antioxidants and other nutrients do not interfere with therapeutic modalities for cancer. Furthermore, they enhance the killing of therapeutic modalities for cancer, decrease their side effects, and protect normal tissue. In 15 human studies, 3,738 patients who took non-prescription antioxidants and other nutrients actually had increased survival.”
“Some in the oncology community contend that patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy should not use food supplement antioxidants and other nutrients. Oncologists at an influential oncology institution contended that antioxidants interfere with radiation and some chemotherapies because those modalities kill by generating free radicals that are neutralized by antioxidants, and that folic acid interferes with methotrexate. This is despite the common use of amifostine and dexrazoxane, 2 prescription antioxidants, during chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy…
Results– Fifty human clinical randomized or observational trials have been conducted, involving 8,521 patients using beta-carotene; vitamins A, C, and E; selenium; cysteine; B vitamins; vitamin D3; vitamin K3; and glutathione as single agents or in combination.
CONCLUSIONS: Since the 1970s, 280 peer-reviewed in vitro and in vivo studies, including 50 human studies involving 8,521 patients, 5,081 of whom were given nutrients, have consistently shown that do not interfere with therapeutic modalities for cancer. Furthermore, non-prescription antioxidants and other nutrients enhance the killing of therapeutic modalities for cancer, decrease their side effects, and protect normal tissue. In 15 human studies, 3,738 patients who took non-prescription antioxidants and other nutrients actually had increased survival.”
“Despite recent comprehensive review articles concluding that supplemental antioxidants do not undermine the effectiveness of cytotoxic therapies, the use of antioxidants during MM treatment remains controversial. Many oncologists take the position that antioxidants by their nature undermine the free radical mechanism of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and should therefore generally be avoided during treatment.
For their part, many integrative practitioners believe that antioxidants taken during multiple myeloma treatment not only alleviate some of the adverse effects of that treatment but also enhance the efficacy of cancer therapy.
Until recently, research attention has focused primarily on the interaction of antioxidants with chemotherapy; relatively little attention has been paid to the interaction of antioxidants with radiotherapy.
This article reviews the clinical literature that has addressed whether antioxidants do in fact interfere with radiation therapy. Studies have variously investigated the use of
α-tocopherol for the amelioration of radiation-induced mucositis;
pentoxifylline and vitamin E to correct the adverse effects of radiotherapy;
melatonin alongside radiotherapy in the treatment of brain cancer;
retinol palmitate as a treatment for radiation-induced proctopathy;
a combination of antioxidants (and other naturopathic treatments) and external beam radiation therapy as definitive treatment for prostate cancer;
and the use of synthetic antioxidants, amifostine, dexrazoxane, and mesna as radioprotectants.
With few exceptions, most of the studies draw positive conclusions about the interaction of antioxidants and radiotherapy. Although further studies are needed, the preponderance of evidence supports a provisional conclusion that dietary antioxidants do not conflict with the use of radiotherapy in the treatment of a wide variety of cancers and may significantly mitigate the adverse effects of that treatment.”
Anyone who does not agree with a suppliment and enzyme program and radical diet change before during and after cancer is a fool. Most chemo recomodations are speculation on the ocologist part if you take the time to read about the drugs you are…as for suppliments, most people who do not make starve to death.They are so weakened by all the treatments they no longer have the strength to cary on.All the more reason to diet exercise and take suppliments to ease the side effects of therapy and to keep you strong enough to eat during the process.The kicker is while doing so you will have also built up your imune system t9 help fight the beast….I am a 3 time stage 4 surviver of esophageal cancer. Not too many people in this world that are still alive 8 years after being diagnosed ….god bless you all
