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alternative_medicine_forum From: Frank Sun, 29 Aug 2004 04:17:38 -0700 (PDT) Megavitamin Treatment of Cancerhttp://doctoryourself.com/cancer_hoffer.htmlMegavitamin Treatment of CancerCancer and VitaminsCopyright C 2000 and prior years Abram Hoffer, M.D. Reprinted with permission "After breakfast, I visited Linus Pauling who wasstaying in the room next to mine. When I walked in hewas busy with a hand calculator. I told him that onthe basis of my fifty patients I had concluded that heand Dr. Cameron were right, that vitamin C in largedoses did improve enormously the outcome of treatmentfor cancer."Orthomolecular Treatment of CancerBy

Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., FRCP©IntroductionBetween 1978 and March, 1999 I have seen over 1040patients suffering from cancer who came to me fornutritional and psychiatric counseling. This is nolonger a surprising combination as it was when I firststarted to practice psychiatry in 1952. I attended myfirst annual meeting of the American PsychiatricAssociation in Los Angeles, in 1952. I did not meetanother psychiatrist there with a PhD in Biochemistry.Since then many more scientists with the doubledegrees have become active in this field but of thesevery few actively pursue this particular combination.Orthomolecular theory and practice drives these twotogether. I have retained my interest in thebiochemistry and clinical aspects of nutritioncombining this with my education in medicine and laterin psychiatry. The recovery of my first patient in1960 from terminal bronchiogenic cancer of the lungarose

from this coalescence of these two disciplines. By 1960 my research group in Saskatchewan haddiscovered the first biochemical substance that wasclearly related to the schizophrenias. Not knowing itsstructure we called it the mauve factor until it waslater identified as kryptopyrrole. We tested thousandsof patients and found that over 75% of allschizophrenic patients excreted this substance intheir urine. It was also present in about 25% of otherpsychiatric groups, in about 10% of severely stressedphysically ill patients and in about 5% of normalpeople but they were mostly first order relatives ofschizophrenic patients. It disappeared with recoveryof the patients no matter how they were treated. I wasparticularly interested in the fact that out of eightpatients with cancer of the lung, this factor waspresent in 5.In 1960 a retired psychotic professor was admitted toour psychiatric department at University

Hospital inSaskatoon. He had a bronchiogenic carcinoma of thelung and when he became psychotic it was concluded hehad secondaries in his brain. He was placed onterminal care, expected to die in a month or so.Earlier he had been discharged to the care of his wifeand a nurse but after several weeks had to bereadmitted since they could not cope with hisbehavior. As soon as I discovered he was on our ward Ihad his urine collected and we tested it for thefactor. He excreted copious quantities which we wereable to use to help us identify the substance. I thenadvised his resident to start him on niacin 1 gramafter each meal and on ascorbic acid 1 gram after eachmeal. By then I knew that this combination of vitaminsused in megadoses was very helpful in treating anypatient with this factor in their urine no matter whatthey were diagnosed. Fortunately for this patient theresident accepted my advice (the patient was not

undermy care but I was Director of Psychiatric Research atthe hospital). He was started on the two vitamins onFriday afternoon and he was mentally normal by thefollowing Monday. I knew this patient before he became ill as I hadtreated his wife. After he had recovered I advised himto remain on these two vitamins. In 1960 our researchunit was the only one in Canada, and perhaps in theworld, where 500 mg tablets of these vitamins wereavailable. They were specially made for us. If smallertablets were used in these large doses they would makeour patients sick because they contained so muchfiller. I told him that if he would pick up a supplyeach month I would give it to him free. This meant hehad to see me each month and this gave me theopportunity of assessing his psychiatric state. I didnot expect he would recover from his cancer. He hadbeen told of his dismal prognosis and I did notcontradict that. To my

surprise he kept on comingback. About 12 months later I had lunch with theDirector of the Cancer Clinic which had been followinghis case. He told me that the tumor had become lessand less visible with each X ray every three monthsand that it was now no longer present. He lived about30 months after he was diagnosed terminal. I had hopedthat when he died he would be autopsied at UniversityHospital. Unfortunately he died at another hospitaland I did not hear this until several days later. Hedid not die from his cancer.Two years later a woman I had treated for depressionseveral years earlier consulted me again. This timeshe was depressed because her 16-year-old daughter hadEwings tumor (a highly malignant sarcoma) in one armand she was slated for surgery to amputate her arm.This was the standard treatment. I told her about theprevious patient and his recovery and suggested thatalthough there was no evidence it

would help it coulddo no harm and might possibly be of some value. Herdaughter agreed to take niacinamide 1 gram after eachmeal and ascorbic acid 1 gram after each meal. Hersurgeon agreed to postpone surgery for a month. Sherecovered and the last time I heard from her familyshe was married and leading a normal productive life,with both arms. I concluded that vitamin B-3 was themost important component and that the vitamin C washelpful. In Saskatchewan under my direction we did thefirst double blind controlled therapeutic trials inPsychiatry, completing six by 1960. Therefore I wasaware of the powerful influence of placebo. Howeverwhen two terminal patients recovered on the vitaminsit became powerful evidence that there was more thanplacebo at work. I did not see any more cancer patients until 1977after I had established my practice in Victoria, BC.In British Columbia specialists will not acceptpatients

until they have been referred by theirgeneral practitioners. As a psychiatrist I sawpatients referred with psychiatric problems but inmost cases the referring physicians would not indicatewhy the referral had been made and I would onlydiscover the reason when I finally saw my patient.A.S., an elderly woman appeared and when I asked herwhy she had come she replied that she had cancer ofthe head of the pancreas. She had developed jaundice.Her surgeon discovered she had a large tumor in thehead of the pancreas which occluded her bile duct. Hepromptly closed, created a by-pass, and when sherecovered from the anesthesia advised her that she hadabout 3 to 6 months to live. She worked in a bookstore. She had read Norman Cousins book Anatomy of anIllness and thought that if he was able to take somuch vitamin C with safety she could too and she beganto take 10 grams each day. The next time she consultedher doctor she

told him what she was doing. Hereferred her to me since he was familiar with myinterest in megadoses of vitamins. I reviewed herprogram and increased her vitamin C to 40 grams dailytrying to reach the sublaxative level. I had beenusing multi nutrients for my schizophrenic patientsfor many years and since I had no idea which, if any,of these vitamins might help I reasoned that she wouldhave a much better chance if she also were to takemore than one nutrient. I then added vitamin B-3,selenium, and zinc sulfate. Six months later shecalled me at home in great excitement. She had justhad a CT scan. No tumor was visible. The CT scan wasrepeated by the incredulous radiologist. Her originalbile duct had reopened and now she had two. Sheremained alive and well until she died February 19,1999, nearly 22 years after she was told she woulddie.Rarely patients make a major contribution to medicineby their interest in

a disease and their willingnessto try innovative approaches. A.S's recovery changedmy professional career and I believe will make a majorcontribution to the complementary treatment of allcancer patients. Last year at a public meeting Ithanked her publicly when I discussed her case beforea meeting of Cancer Victors. She added that I hadchanged her life as well. She has also changed thelife of hundreds of cancer patients who becamevictors, not victims.By telling her friends, relatives and customers abouther recovery she changed the nature of my practice.That first year another five patients were referred.The second case was a man with a sarcoma of theprostate which was invading his pelvic bone. He wasadvised no treatment was available. His doctorreferred him to me and I started him on a similarprogram. But he was only able to take about 10 gramsof vitamin C daily. I asked his doctor if he wouldmind

injecting him with 10 grams of vitamin C twiceweekly. After six months his doctor wanted to know howmuch longer would he need to receive his vitamin C. Hetold me that the tumor was gone. He stopped theinjection. He lived another 9 years and died at age80, but not from his cancer.More patients were referred to me each year. At firstalmost all of them were patient-generated and often ittook remarkable persuasive powers for the patient toobtain the necessary referral. After assessing theirphysical and mental state I would talk to them aboutthe therapeutic regimen. I outlined the program indetail describing each nutrient and why I thought theymight be helpful. I added that there was no guaranteethat the vitamins would be helpful but gave them hopeby describing the cases who had had a dramaticresponse. I added that the vitamin mineral programwould decrease the toxicity of the xenobiotictreatment and would

increase the efficacy of thexenobiotic program. If they needed surgery they wouldheal faster afterwards. If they needed chemotherapythe program would make it more tolerable and lesspainful and if they needed radiation the program woulddecrease the intensity of the side effects of theradiation and increase its efficacy. These commentswere based on the literature which was developingrapidly. The program was designed to assist the bodyin controlling the cancer and was not a direct assaulton the tumor. The attack on the tumor was carried outby the other physicians including their family doctor,the surgeons, the radiologist and oncologists. Thediagnosis of the cancer and the xenobiotic treatmentused was left entirely to the patient and their otherdoctors. I did not advise them whether or not theyshould take any other treatment. Very few did notreceive xenobiotic therapy. After describing theprogram I would arrange to

see them once more unlessthey were very depressed and anxious, in which case Iwould see them more often. A few of the patients hadbeen under my care before they developed their cancerand I continued to see them. I then sent aconsultation report to each referring physician. Afterthe second interview they were returned to the care oftheir family physicians. I had not planned on doingany follow up but after several years when I hadtreated about 50 patients I became aware that thepatients who had followed the regimen consistently forat least two months lived much longer than thepatients who did not start the program or did not takeit for at least two months. About this time I went to a Festchrift for Dr. ArthurSackler at Woods Hole, Mass. We met in 1951 when I wasstarting our research program. He and his brotherswere practicing in mid-Manhatten. They were probablythe first orthomolecular psychiatrists in the

UnitedStates. They were treating schizophrenic patients byinjecting them with histamine. After I returned home Irepeated their studies and found that theirobservations were correct. Out of twelve patients Itreated using their regimen 8 became normal. Thetreatment was difficult since they had to be givenincreasing amounts of subcutaneous histamine untiltheir diastolic pressure decreased to 0. It wasamazing to see how comfortable they could be with thatlow blood pressure. Treatments were given daily onweek days until the series was completed. I did notcontinue this series because by this time I was usingmegadoses of vitamin B-3 which was much easier toadminister and equally effective. The histamine flushwas identical with the niacin flush. At that meetingDr. Linus Pauling delivered a vigorous and carefulcritique of the Mayo Clinic's attempt to repeat thestudies he had done with Dr. Ewan Cameron in Scotland.The

Mayo group claimed they had exactly repeated thesestudies but it was clear on reading their paper thatthey had not. Dr. Pauling did not object to theirnegatives findings. He objected to their statementthat their conclusions resulting from a differentmethod of administering the vitamin C were used tocondemn his and Camerons findings. In other words noscientist can claim to confirm or deny any studyunless they really have repeated the original work asdescribed by the original authors.The next morning, after breakfast, I visited LinusPauling who was staying in the room next to mine. WhenI walked in he was busy with a hand calculator. Hetold me he was working out the electron orbitalssaying that he did not understand them unless he didthe calculations himself. I told him that on the basisof my fifty patients I had concluded that he andCameron were right, that vitamin C in large doses didimprove enormously the

outcome of treatment forcancer. Linus asked me if I intended to publish thedata. I replied that I did not. I added that in myopinion there was little point in trying to do sosince it would be impossible to gain entry into anymedical journal, that they would not accept any paperthat dealt favorably with megadose vitamin therapy.The New England Journal of Medicine, which hadpublished the Mayo Clinic attack on Pauling, refusedto publish his rebuttal. Linus urged me to do acomplete follow up study of every patient I hadtreated. I was flattered and agreed that I would. Hesaid that he would see that the material would bepublished. But when I returned home I decided not todo the follow up. It would have meant an enormousamount of work. I thought that Dr. Pauling was beingkind to me. Two years later I received a letter fromLinus in which he said bluntly "Abram where is thestudy". I decided that he was serious about it.

Bythen I had seen 134 patients. I apologized andpromised to start the follow up immediately. I tracedevery patient and determined whether they were alive,where they were, and what had happened to their lives.I contacted the patients, their families, theirdoctors, the cancer clinic where nearly all of themhad been seen and treated. The Cancer Clinic inVictoria did a good job of investigation, diagnosisand treatment using only xenobiotic therapies.Dr. Pauling developed an elegant method fordetermining the probable outcome of treatment usingcohorts of patients who were or were not treated.After I had completed the follow up I sent the casehistories, with identification of each patientremoved, and the follow up study. We decided to usethe duration of life as the only variable. This beganwhen they first saw me and ended with the day of theirdeath. There is increasing evidence that this hardmeasure of success

is much more useful than trying todecide whether the tumor is slightly smaller or not.Patients have lived for a long time with slowlygrowing tumors. We agreed to publish as coauthors. Isuggested that the first paper would be by Pauling andHoffer. This was because it was his original idea touse megadoses of vitamin C and the work I had done wasmerely to test his conclusions. He was very firm thathe would not consider this and insisted it wouldappear as Hoffer and Pauling. I think he felt that asa clinician who had done the clinical work I should bethe senior author. He did not have an MD. LinusPauling, in my opinion, was the most brillianthumanitarian scientist that ever lived. Over his lifetime in addition to his two Noble Prizes, he wasawarded nearly 40 Honorary degrees, PHD's and DSc's. Iam sorry he was never given an Honorary MD. Hiscontribution to human health has surpassed that ofmost physicians. We wrote

the paper using his methodfor analyzing the data and my clinical material. Butthe Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesrefused to accept the paper. One of the criticisms ofour paper came from some rumor which had reached thecritic that I had solicited patients to come to beseen implying I had selected only the best prognosticpatients. On the contrary I had nothing to do with theselection and I included every patient who had beenreferred. Eventually we published in the Journal ofOrthomolecular Medicine. I am the editor and I couldnot refuse to accept our work. That original paper wasreprinted in the book by Ewan Cameron and LinusPauling Cancer and Vitamin C. Updated and Expanded.Camino Books Inc, P.O. Box 59026, Philadelphia, PA19102. 1993. Appendix IX is this report.We began to write a book. My case load was buildingvery quickly and I published a second paper with Dr.Pauling and several more after

that on my own. Wefinished most of the book except for much of thedetailed clinical material but we could not find apublisher in the United States willing to publish it.The topic was still too controversial. I found aCanadian Publisher, Quarry Press, Kingston, ONT. A fewmonths ago I sent him the completed manuscript. Thiscontains all the original material Dr. Pauling hadwritten dealing with each type of cancer and apresentation of my data based on nearly 800 patients.We concluded in our manuscript that the optimumtreatment for cancer today is a combination ofxenobiotic and orthomolecular therapy and thattreatment must be started as soon as possible. Thisbook will be available presently. Here are the earlyreferences.Hoffer A & Pauling L: Hardin Jones biostatisticalanalysis of mortality data for cohorts of cancerpatients with a large fraction surviving at thetermination of the study and a comparison of

survivaltimes of cancer patients receiving large regular oraldoses of vitamin C and other nutrients with similarpatients not receiving those doses. J OrthomolecularMedicine 5:143-154, 1990. Reprinted in, Cancer andVitamin C, Updated and Expanded E Cameron and LPauling, Camino Books, Inc. P.O. Box 59026, Phil. PA,19102, 1993.Hoffer A & Pauling L: Hardin Jones biostatisticalanalysis of mortality data for a second set of cohortsof cancer patients with a large fraction surviving atthe termination of the study and a comparison ofsurvival times of cancer patients receiving largeregular oral doses of vitamin C and other nutrientswith similar patients not receiving these doses. J ofOrthomolecular Medicine, 8:1547-167, 1993.Hoffer A: Orthomolecular Oncology. In, AdjuvantNutrition in Cancer Treatment, Ed. P Quillin & RMWilliams. 1992 Symposium Proceedings, Sponsored byCancer Treatment Research

Foundation and AmericanCollege of Nutrition. Cancer Treatment ResearchFoundation, 3455 Salt Creek Lane, Suite 200, ArlingtonHeights, IL 60005-1090, 331-362, 1994.Hoffer,A. Orthomolecular Treatment of Cancer. InNutrients in Cancer Prevention and Treatment. Ed.Prasad,KN, Santamaria,L & Williams RM. Pages 373-391,1995, Humana Press, Totowa, New Jersey.One Patient's Recovery From Lymphoma. Townsend Letterfor Doctors and Patients. #160 , 50-51, 1996A new book just arrived by Burton Goldberg, edited byW.John Diamond, W. Lee Cowden with Burton Goldberg,Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide to Cancer.Future Medicine Publishing, Inc. Tiburon,California.1997. In this valuable book 37 physiciansincluding myself, describe the alternative methodsthey use with clinical descriptions of some of theresults they have obtained. I prefer the termcomplementary to alternative and expect that soon allmedicine will

be complementary and that physiciansusing only xenobiotic methods will be the exception.Review of Previous Reports and Present Summary.The use of large doses of nutrients for the treatmentof cancer has not yet entered the mainstream ofmedicine, not in the Universities, nor in the medicaljournals, or in the wards, halls and corridors ofhospitals. But it is beginning to do so, largely dueto the persistence and dedication of Professor LinusPauling. He needed forums in which to outline hisviews and these were provided for him by thephysicians and other interested individuals. TheCanadian Schizophrenia Foundation was honored to hostLinus Pauling on three separate occasions, in Torontoand in Vancouver. About the same time the NationalCancer Institute held a meeting in September 1990.This was not a clinical meeting. No one presentedclinical data showing what nutrients might do. At thismeeting Dr. Linus Pauling

and two associates presentedtheir findings. Dr. Pauling commented at that meeting"It is very interesting to be here since, for some tenyears or so, you have refused every request of minefor research grants on vitamin C". The Proceedings,National Academy of Sciences (US) refused to publishany clinical papers authored by Dr. Linus Pauling. Thefirst paper, by Hoffer and Pauling, was rejected.During May 10-12, (1991) Jay Patrick, President,Alacer Corporation, hosted a meeting- the Second WorldCongress on Vitamin C and The Immune System, in SanDiego, Bahia Resort Hotel. He had hosted the FirstWorld Congress on Vitamin C in 1978 in Palm Springs.That one was addressed by Dr. Szent-Gyorgyi who wonthe Noble Prize for his work on vitamin C andintermediary metabolism, by Dr. Linus Pauling, and byDr. Fred Klenner, the first physician to use megadosesof vitamin C. The Second World Congress broughttogether a distinguished

group of vitamin researchersand clinicians including Dr. E. Cheraskin, Dr. C.A.B.Clemetson, Dr. E. Ginter, Dr. J. Priestly, and others.Their papers were published in the Journal ofOrthomolecular Medicine Volume 6, 1991. I alsopresented a report on the clinical procedures I wasthen using in treating the terminally ill cancerpatients with Vitamin C. Dr. Linus Pauling presentedan excellent outline of his research into vitamin Cand Cancer but his presentation was not published. Dr.Pauling was an excellent speaker, very honest, andvery blunt. The following quotation from his paperwill convey some of the flavor of his presentations."When Irvine Stone wrote to me in 1965, after havingheard me give a talk in which I said that I would liketo live 25 years longer in order to enjoy readingabout the new discoveries about the nature of theworld that no doubt would be made by scientists duringthese 25 years and said if I were

to take three gramsa day of Vitamin C, I would perhaps not only live the25 years but even 50 years. And that was when Iincreased my uptake ot ascorbate fifty fold to 3,000milligrams a day, then later to a hundredfold, 6000,then to two hundredfold, then to three hundredfold andI'm still not sure what the optimum intake is. Thereis a practical reason why I stopped at threehundredfold at 18,000. Well, I think that's prettyimportant. I read a statement by physicians that theyshould tell their patients not to worry about beingconstipated. I think they should worry about beingconstipated, its so harmful to carry waste toxicmaterials around an unnecessarily long period of time.So, it was Irwin Stone that got me interested inVitamin C and of course, it was Victor Herbert who wasresponsible for my having begun writing books aboutvitamins". So the other day I got a book published bythe National Academy of Sciences on

control ofdiseases. It mentions practically nothing aboutvitamins and their usefulness but it does havesomething about common colds. A statement that 16control trials have been turned out, every one ofwhich showed that Vitamin C has no value incontrolling the common cold, preventing or controllingthe common cold. They didn't listen, but I'm surethey're the 16 control trials that I discuss in mybooks, where I give the amount of decrease in illness.Every one of these shows that Vitamin C has value, notthat it doesn't have value. That's perhaps a minormisrepresentation. A couple of years ago, I got two orthree letters from people who sent me clippings from amagazine. One of them said he had stopped taking hisVitamin C because of the statement in this magazine.It was a quotation from the Professor of Medicine atYale University Medical School. I had mentioned, threeor four weeks ago, while speaking in Yale

UniversityMedical School, his statement that you shouldn't takeas much as even one gram of Vitamin C per day becauseit will damage the liver. So I wrote to him and saidthat I read the literature on Vitamin C to the extentthat I can, and there are a couple of thousand newpapers published every year about Vitamin C, but Imissed the meal. Would you please send me thereferences to the work done on the damage done to theliver. Well, he was a gentleman, which you'd expect atYale Medical School and often when I write letterslike that I don't get an answer from them. He wroteback saying oh, that was just a mistake. That was theend of that. So far as I know he didn't write to themagazine and say that was a mistake, but he did say itto me. And there are lots of mistakes of this sortabout vitamins that perhaps sometimes intentionallymisrepresent the facts. For some perhaps there is areason an economic, financial reason,

that there is somuch opposition in the medical establishment againstimproving your health by taking vitamins."This first symposium which included laboratory andmedical scientists was one of the first with this mixof clinical and preclinical data. The number attendingwas not very large but they made up in quality for thelack of numbers. There I met Dr. Patrick Quillin, VicePresident of Nutrition, Cancer Treatment Centers ofAmerica. He was thinking about organizing a conferenceto consider the connection between nutrition andcancer. I thought it was an excellent idea andencouraged him to do so. The first symposium was heldin Tulsa, Oklahoma, November 6 to 8, 1992. The titleof the meeting was Adjuvent Nutrition in CancerTreatment. Over 300 physicians and others attended.Participating were seven Universities, more than 6cancer institutes. The last half day of the symposiumwas taken up by clinical studies

including my report,and a report from Prof Rudy Falk, University ofToronto Medical School. This was the first meetingwere both the academic physicians and orthomolecularphysicians met in an amicable and interesting exchangeof information. The meeting was co- sponsored by theCancer Treatment Research Foundation and the AmericanCollege of Nutrition, and published as a proceedings.In my presentation at the Tulsa Conference I describedhow I became involved in the treatment of patientswith cancer. My preliminary data indicated that theaddition of vitamin C in mega doses improved theoutcome of treatment substantially. I described thesefindings to Linus Pauling. He urged me to follow upcarefully every patient I had seen and offered toanalyze the follow up data using the method he haddeveloped. In our two recent studies, Hoffer andPauling concluded that the addition of vitamin Cimproved the outcome of treatment for

cancersignificantly and substantially. In the first study134 patients seen between August 1977 and March 1988were followed until December 31, 1989. We concludedthat orthomolecular treatment given to female relatedcancers had improved life expectancy about 20 timescompared to our non random controls and 12 times forother cancers. In our second paper a second cohort of170 patients seen between April 1988 to December 31,1989 was followed to December 31, 1992. These resultswere about the same as those we had published earlier.We concluded that while vitamin C alone led to about10 % excellent responders the addition of the othernutrients increased this to about 40 %.Orthomolecular treatment improves the quality of life.It also decreases the side effects of radiation andchemotherapy. The program is palatable. The onlypatients who could not follow it were those who weregetting chemotherapy and suffered severe

nausea andvomiting or patients who could not swallow because oflesions in their throat. Orthomolecular therapyprovides a step forward in the battle against cancerand must be fully explored. There can be no logicalreason today why most of the research funds should goonly toward the examination of more chemotherapy andmore ways of giving radiation. There must be a majorexpansion into the use of orthomolecular therapy tosort out the variables and to determine how to improvethe therapeutic outcome of treatment.Hoffer A: Orthomolecular Medicine for Physicians.Keats Publising, New Canaan, CT, 1989.Pauling, L: Biostatistical analysis of mortality datafor cohorts of cancer patients. Proceedings NationalAcademy Sciences, USA 86:3466-3488,1989.Pauling, L and Herman, Z: Criteria for the validity ofclinical trials of treatments of cohorts of cancerpatients based on the Hardin Jones principle.Proceedings

National Academy Science, USA86:6835-6837,1989.Anti Cancer Nutrition A large number of special diets ranging from fasting(water only) to juice fasts to low fat and sugar freediets are used. Every one of the special diets haveproponents who think they are very helpful, andpatients who have been helped by them but no one hasever conducted an experiment to compare all the dietsto determine which is the best. Perhaps there willnever be a "best". Because of the individuality ofpeople it may turn out that each person will have todetermine what is their own best diet. In my bookHoffer's Laws of Natural Nutrition Quarry Press,P.O.Box 1061, Kingston, Ontario K7L 4Y5. Almost allthe diets used by complementary therapists are lowerin animal proteins, much more vegetarian, withemphasis on vegetables rich in bioflavonoids andfruits. I advise my patients to obey three rules (1)To eliminate all junk food i.e,. food

containing anyadded simple sugars like table sugar or glucose as incorn syrup. This simple rule, comprehensible even tochildren, will eliminate nearly 90% of the additivescommonly added to processed foods. (2) To reduce fatlevels, I think that dairy products are the chiefvillains. Nearly every study internationally has shownthat countries with lower fat intake have fewer casesof cancer, particularly breast cancer. Milk is veryrich in estrogens from the cow and in phytoestrogensfrom the grass that they eat.(3) To eliminate allfoods they know they are allergic to. These rulesallow the diet to be varied, palatable andinteresting.Vitamin SupplementsNo one should take any supplements until they havebecome familiar with their properties and how to usethem. It is advisable always to work with aknowledgeable physician. But if they can not find anyphysician or orthomolecular nutritionist they shouldgo

ahead on their own using the information nowreadily available on nutrition and vitaminsupplements. They should advise their doctors whatthey are doing and which supplements they are using.By listing the vitamins and dose ranges I am notsuggesting that every person need to take them all.This is an individual matter based on discussions withtheir doctor. The vitamin and mineral supplements arecompatible with medication and with the diet.Vitamin C. The dose range is anywhere from 3 to 40grams daily in three divided doses. If the dose is toohigh it will not be absorbed by the intestines, willstay in the bowel and act like a laxative causingloose stools and gas. It is a good laxative. The bestdose does not act like a laxative. Forms of vitamin Cinclude the pure ascorbic acid (hydrogen ascorbate),and the mineral salts such as sodium ascorbate(slightly salty in taste), calcium ascorbate (slightlybitter), and other

salts often found in combinationsof the mineral ascorbates, In large doses it is bestused as the powder dissolved in water or one of thejuices. Do not use commercial grade vitamin C crystalsof powders. Use CP grades as is found in drug storesor health food stores. Contrary to false rumors issuedby some hostile critics of megadose vitamin use itdoes not cause kidney stones, does not causepernicious anemia, does not cause sterility. A recentsuggestion in a letter, to Nature, published inEngland concluded that more than 500 milligrams ofvitamin C daily could cause DNA damage. This was basedon one of a possible 20 markers that could have beenused which showed no damage and a 21st marker which isseriously questioned. Some of the key scientists inthis field criticized these conclusions. My onlycomment is that if they were correct why do mypatients who take large doses of vitamin C live somuch longer. Vitamin

B-3. There are two forms. Niacin lowerscholesterol, elevates high density lipoproteincholesterol and reduces the ravages of heart disease,but causes flushing when it is first taken. Theflushing reaction dissipates in time and in most casesis gone or very minor within a matter of weeks.Niacinamide, the other form, has no effect on bloodfats (lipids) but is not a vasodilator. There havebeen 7 international conferences on the theme niacinand cancer. This vitamin is an essential component ofthe enzyme systems that repair broken DNA molecules.The dose ranges from 100 milligrams three times dailyto 1000 milligrams three times daily. Several studiesin Detroit have found that the response rate of canceraround the head and neck was 10% on radiation alonebut increased to 80% when patients were given largedoses of niacinamide. Very rarely niacin will causeobstructive jaundice which clears when the niacin isstopped. For

details see my book OrthomolecularMedicine for Physicians.Vitamin E (d alpha tocopherol succinate). This watersoluble form has the greatest efficacy in controllingcancer cell growth in the test tube and is the one Irecommend should be used. The dose ranges from 400 to1200 International Units daily. Vitamin E is the majorfat soluble anti- oxidant in the body and plays a roleby decreasing the concentration of free radicals whichare thought to be involved in the creation of thecancer. It also decreases the risk of heart disease,thus confirming what was found over fifty years inOntario by Drs. Wilfrid and Evan Shute.The Carotenoids. Most people have heard of betacarotene but this is only one of a large number ofcarotenoids which are present in colored vegetablesand fruits such as carrots, beets, tomatoes andgreens. The evidence is very powerful that these mixedcarotenoids as found in these foods will

decrease theincidence of cancer but there is a question about theefficacy of the pure beta carotene. There is still avigorous debate about this. I prefer carrot juice tothe beta carotene. Generally it is better to have alarge variety of these natural anti cancer factors.Beta carotene is very safe. The only question iswhether it is the best form. Only a small portion isconverted into vitamin A.Folic acid. Several studies have found this importantvitamin has anti cancer properties, for cancer of thecervix and of the lung in lung smokers. This does notmean it is safe to smoke. It does mean that smokersshould take it and immediately start their campaign tostop smoking. Women should take ample amounts toprevent neural tube disorders such as spina bifida.The US government plans to add it to flour. Canada isstill thinking about it. The dose range is from 1 to30 milligrams daily. It can be taken only

onprescription. Coenzyme Q 10. Dr. Karl Folkers discovered thissubstance, also called ubiquinone; toward the end ofhis long and distinguished career he regretted that hehad not called it a vitamin. It is an odd vitaminsince young people are able to make enough from thelower numbered ubiquinones such as Q 6 or Q 8 whereasolder people and anyone ill is not able to makeenough. It thus becomes a vitamin later in life andwhen one becomes ill. A few clinical studies haveshown that in large doses it has anticancer propertiesespecially for breast cancer. These range from 300milligrams to 600 milligrams daily. Mineral supplementsSelenium. The presence or absence of this traceelement has the clearest relationship to the presenceof cancer. People living on soils that are rich inselenium have a lower incidence. I recommend between200 to 1000 micrograms daily. One of my patients took2000 with no side

effects.Calcium and magnesium. These are generally very usefulto take to maintain calcium levels in bones and blood.They have been found helpful in cases of bowel cancer.Women should receive 1500 milligrams of calcium dailyfrom their food and supplements and half as muchmagnesium. There are several forms of these mineralsavailable. Usually a person will absorb into theirbody anywhere between 25 and 50% of the calcium.Zinc and copper. There is a reciprocal connectionbetween these two. If blood zinc levels are too highthe copper levels will be too low. Because zinc canshrink enlarged prostate glands and may be helpful inthe treatment of this cancer. I have been using itroutinely. Also, people in Victoria tend to be low inzinc levels because our water is soft, and dissolvescopper more easily from copper plumbing.Other Substances Found in Plants.A large number of these preparations are being

usedfor the treatment of cancer. They includebioflavonoids, preparations from soy bean, and frommushrooms. Vaccines are also being used. Coley'svaccine originated over 100 years ago. I will notdiscuss these, nor other treatments such as 714-X,Ukrain, Iscador, Cartilage, Carnivora, Amygdalin(Laetril), Essiac, and many herbs. These are describedin the book by Diamond, Cowden and Goldberg.Most of the speakers at the 26th Annual InternationalConference on Nutritional Medicine Today, Toronto,April 1997, discussed various topics dealing with theprinciple and practice of orthomolecular medicine. Dr.C. Simone spoke on "Breast Cancer: Nutritional andLifestyle Modification to Augment Oncology Care". Dr.Simone is well known for his work in researchingcomplementary treatment of cancer.. He is anInternist, Medical Oncologist, Immunologist andRadiation Oncologist and has published severalvaluable books including

Cancer and Nutrition and ATen Point Plan to Reduce Your Risk of Getting Cancer.Optimum nutrition, avoiding toxic substances in foodand water, and other lifestyle changes will materiallyreduce the risk of developing cancer.Here is his ten point plan (1) Nutrition: caloriesslightly below average to maintain a weight just belowthe average weight. Should be high in fiber, rich infish, fruits, and vegetables and with vitamin andmineral supplements. Eliminate additives and salt. (2)Avoid tobacco. (3) Avoid alcohol (one drink per weekallowed). (4) Avoid radiation. Take X-ray only whennecessary and avoid excessive exposure to sun. (5)Keep environment, air, water, and work place clean.(6) Avoid promiscuity, hormones and any unnecessarydrugs.(7). Learn early warning signs like a lump inthe breast. (8) Exercise and relax regularly. (9) Takea yearly physical. (10) Read his book for a self testof risk factors and

symptoms that may indicate canceror heart disease. See the report by Esteve,J. et all.Diet and cancers of the larynx and hypopharynx: theIARC multi-center study in southwestern Europe. InCancer Causes and Control 7:240-252,1996.These ten points should be part of every treatmentprogram as well. The main difference is that intreatment the first point becomes even more importantand the doses of supplements are much greater. Thesicker a person is the more nutrients are needed inoptimum doses to help the bodies reparativemechanisms. Treatment must be started as soon as thediagnosis is suspected and made, and should beconcurrent with any other treatment recommended byoncologists and cancer specialists. Eventually allcancer specialists will be using these orthomoleculartechniques. Supplements must be maintained whilechemotherapy or radiation are being used. Studies haveshown that these supplements enhance the toxic

effectof the treatment on the lesion and decrease the toxiceffects on the body. Patients do not suffer as muchfrom the side effects and recover much more quicklywhen the treatment series is completed. They enhancethe quality of life during and after treatment.Treatment with high doses ascorbic acid either bymouth or intravenously or both carries no risk anddoes provide substantial advantages over chemotherapyand surgery used as the sole treatment. Between 1980and 1995 four patients with sarcoma followed mytreatment protocol (a combination of orthodox andorthomolecular treatment). The first seen in Victoria,had a prostate sarcoma invading his pelvic bones. Thecancer clinic could not treat him and he was declareduntreatable. He responded to the regimen and died 9years later at age 80 clear of cancer. One is aliveafter ten years. One is still alive after five years.The last one, an abdominal liposarcoma died in

hissixth year. Counting the first young patient I saw in1962 who was still well several years ago, five of sixresponded either to the vitamin regimen alone or tothe combination treatment.There is no reason in the world why any oncologistshould not allow vitamin treatment in combination withchemotherapy. This would enhance the therapeuticeffect of the chemotherapy and decrease its toxicity. (December 26, 1999 ) Please pass this message or article on to someone else so that they may learn also.Community Newsletters.http://www.alternative-medicine-newsletter.infoCommunity Message Boards.http://www.alternative-medicine-message-boards.info"Do not let either the medical authorities or the politicians mislead you. Find out what the facts are, and make your own

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