IV VITAMIN C
When it comes to Ascorbic Acid ( Vitamin C), we humans are all born without the ability to produce it. Mammals except primates and guinea pigs can make ascorbic acid from glucose. We humans cannot. Therefore, we need to obtain our ascorbic acid from food, or intravenously in certain illnesses.
The RDA is 60 mg per day, generally considered the amount necessary to prevent scurvy. But this is a distorted picture of how much ascorbic acid we really need. Stress affects the amount we need as does intake of other nutrients.
There have been many published studies of how IV Vitamin C has been a successful cure for polio ( 1949), hepatitis (1962 and 1981), and viral encephalitis (1951).
How does it work? All toxic and infectious damage occurs via what is called oxidative stress, leading to free radical damage of many cells in the body. Vitamin C strongly activates the immune system’s anti microbial and antitoxic functions. It has proven to be effective in various clinical conditions over the past 75 years. It is safe: among drugs and supplements, it may be the least toxic of all. And it is remarkably inexpensive for what it does. Our bodies use Vitamin C to form collagen in our connective tissue, and to form muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia. Also it is used to form our bone matrix, blood vessels, the meninges that surrounds our nerves, and in adrenal gland maintenance. For these functions, in most people, it is effective when taken orally, in food or in supplement form.
In patients with cancer, it leads to the generation of hydrogen peroxide inside cancer cells. This leads to cancer cell destruction. Our own cells, however, have an enzyme that prevents them from being destroyed by this intracellular peroxide. Vitamin C also chelates mercury. The University of Kansas Medical Center has conducted many studies in the effectiveness of intravenous Vitamin C in cancer. In high enough doses intravenously, it is tumorocidal ( leads to cell death of cancer cells). Intravenous Vitamin C synergizes with many chemotherapy agents to make them even more effective. In cancer it is best used along with Vitamin K, Vitamin D, magnesium, alpha lipoic acid, and calcium. IV Vitamin C is given slowly, ramping up to therapeutic doses over weeks.
IV MISTLETOE
Mistletoe is often used in subcutaneous doses. However in more serious cancers we give it intravenously. To learn more about mistletoe in cancer, go here.
INTRAVENOUS CURCUMIN
Intravenous curcumin in a liposomal delivery system is a novel and promising adjunct to the care of the cancer and chronically ill patient population. Oral administration has been shown to provide some benefit, but absorption and distribution does not always allow maximal benefit.
Curcumin is a GRAS (generally recognized as safe) food additive by the FDA. Multiple studies using high doses of oral curcumin in humans have shown incredible safety.
Curcumin (diferuloylmethane), a component of the golden spice Curcuma longa, commonly known as turmeric, has recently been determined to induce epigenetic changes. Epigenetics is the study of changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than alteration of the genetic code itself. In other words, how you change your psyche, your food program, and detoxify, can change how genes express themselves. This puts a tremendous amount of the power for change in the hands of the patient.
The activity of curcumin reported against leukemia and lymphoma, gastrointestinal cancers, genitourinary cancers, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, lung cancer, melanoma, neurological cancers, and sarcoma reflects its ability to affect multiple targets. Thus, “an old-age” disease such as cancer requires an “age-old” treatment. This is why part of our foundational oral protocol includes a product called Botanical Treasures, which has high quality curcumin and turmeric in each capsule or teaspoon. But sometimes IV forms of curcumin are also needed, as many naturopathic published studies have shown.
A review of over forty peer-reviewed publications yields this summary and rationale for Phase-1 trial of liposomal intravenous curcumin.
What the Research Shows:
In a report on curcumin clinical trials published in The AAPS Journal in 2013, it was reported that intravenous sodium curcumin was successfully used in human biliary diseases (conditions affecting liver, gallbladder, and bile ducts). A study in China also used a type of intravenous curcumin. The intravenous application of it was effective in inhibiting the tumor cell-induced angiogenesis (creation of new blood vessels that would feed cancer cells in the body in order for them to grow).
Another study successfully used curcumin-loaded micro-particles as a chemoprevention agent by injecting it into tumors of mice. Chemoprevention means using a substance (natural or lab-made) in order to stop or slow down cancer growth.
I personally have seen IV curcumin bring down blood inflammation test markers in many patients with cancer who cannot tolerate oral anti-inflammatory drugs.
Functional Medicine Doctor Brian Davies from Westcoast Integrative Health in North Vancouver, Canada wrote about using intravenous curcumin in combination with intravenous vitamin C for patients with chronic health conditions, and in combination with intravenous antioxidant called glutathione (the “master hormone” produced by the human body) for hepatitis C, and liver fibrosis.
How Does Curcumin Fight Cancer?
Curcumin is often used for cancer prevention and treatment, not matter what form it is administered in. According to the Advanced Rejuvenation Institute, curcumin helps fight cancer in five different ways:
Curcumin has an ability to promote healthy cells to grow, while slowing down the cancer cells.
It causes cancer apoptosis (programmed cell death) at lower stages of cancer than other treatments.
Curcumin works against toxins and enzymes that promote cancer cell growth, thus it significantly slows down and often inhibits the progression of cancer.
It prevents angiogenesis—creation of new blood vessels—thus cutting off blood supply from cancer cells. As the result cancer cells starve and stop growing. Because curcumin prevents blood flow to cancer cells, it reduces cancer growth, and improves recovery rates from not all but many cancers, including: breast, lung, prostate, and colon.
It slows down inflammation, and inflammation helps cancer cells grow, thus once again slowing down cancer growth.
Why Use Curcumin Intravenously?
While it has the same benefits as curcumin taken in supplement form, IV curcumin is absorbed better and faster, which may be especially useful for cancer patients, where time is vital.
Liposomal Curcumin May Be Second Best Option to IV Curcumin
Because IV curcumin is available at very few clinics at the moment, liposomal curcumin has been used with similar results, as it has high absorption quality.
A 2013 study showed that it was beneficial for pancreatic cancer patients with no side effects.
Is There Any Reason Not To Do IV Curcumin? Yes, if you are on any anticoagulants or have known gallbladder disease, or have any diarrhea. The other wonderful thing about IV Curcumin is that it is relatively inexpensive. I look forward to the day when IV Curcumin is an integral part of modern oncology treatments. We will all benefit from this development.
MAJOR AUTOHEMOTHERAPY WITH OZONE
Ozone therapy is very safe and effective treatment. Ozone therapy has shown promise as an important part of an integrated cancer treatment plan. Ozone therapy is nearly free from adverse effects and has the potential to help improve health in a variety of illnesses.
Ozone therapy has been included in alternative and integrative cancer support programs outside of the US for many decades. Only recently has ozone therapy gained some attention in the US for its anti-cancer effects. Ozone therapy refers to the use of O3, which is a molecule consisting of three oxygen atoms that are unstably combined together. This is somewhat similar to the O2 that most people are familiar with, which is two oxygen molecules bound together in a more stable fashion.
The power of ozone therapy stems from this third oxygen molecule. In living systems when ozone is exposed to the blood this causes a chemical reaction to occur with amino acids and lipids. This reaction forms intermediate molecules known as peroxides, and it is these molecules that give ozone health promoting effects.
To be clear, when you are administered ozone therapy this does not mean you are given the gas directly IV. This could be dangerous. Rather, a small amount of your blood is removed and gently mixed with ozone.
Doing ozone therapy in this way has is the ability to increase tissue oxygenation. This is the goal and what is achieved. Why? Tumor oxygenation is very important as tumors with low levels of oxygen are harder to treat with conventional treatments like radiation and chemotherapy. It has been reported that tumors with low levels of oxygen saturation (called hypoxia) can increase radiation resistance by 2.5-3 times (1). Having low oxygenation levels can promote tumor aggressiveness by stimulating a process called angiogenesis. This low tissue oxygenation is common in most metastatic cancers.
A low oxygen environment within a tumor has even been called an independent prognostic factor for advanced cancer progression. Meaning that the lower the oxygenation, the more likely the cancer will progress. This can be measured by special pathology testing, but modern oncology does not order these tests and they are not covered in Medicare or insurance. Therefore, we think it is safe to assume that most aggressive cancers are poorly oxygenated, and to treat accordingly with an ozone therapy.
Many scientific studies have shown that the degree of hypoxia within a tumor can be predictive regarding response to treatment, or even about the tumor’s aggressiveness. For example, in one study of breast and colon cancer cells, the greater the level of hypoxia the greater the chance of resistance to the chemotherapy drug 5-FU. Additionally, in head and neck cancers it has been proposed that the degree of hypoxia can correlate with the tumor response the treatment and even overall survival.
A more recent study investigated the role of ozone therapy to treat fatigue in cancer patients. This study recruited people with cancer and who were experiencing cancer-related fatigue. Fatigue is extremely common in people fighting cancer. This fatigue can be brought about as a result of the treatments, the disease process itself, or even from the mental-emotional state of the patient. The participants in this study were either being actively treated for cancer or had finished their cancer treatment. Ozone was administered twice weekly for a month and then twice monthly for maintenance. Seventy (70%) percent of patients reported a significant improvement in their fatigue, with a greater than 50% reduction in symptoms. None of the patients reported side effects.
In optimal situations both financially and clinically, cancer patients would receive ozone/blood therapy IV, or ozone sauna therapy, once a week.
Ozone administration is typically done through a process called major autohemotherapy or auto-hemotransfusion. This is what we do at both clinics where I see cancer patients. This is a safe procedure in which a small volume of a patient’s blood is extracted into a sterile container, exposed to ozone, and then infused back into the patient. The ozone gas reacts with the blood in the container, forming the peroxides described above, and then these peroxides create the effect in the body. This process is typically takes less than an hour to complete and is virtually free from adverse effects.
Ozone therapy can also be delivered via other routes, such as rectal insufflation. In this process a small catheter is inserted into the rectum and then the ozone gas is infused through the catheter. The patient is then asked to hold the gas in as long as possible to facilitate good exposure. This process also takes less than hour with very little potential for adverse effects. There is some debate as to how well this compares to blood/ozone IV treatments in terms of tissue oxygenation. However, it is much more affordable and doable. If a patient lives within 20 min of the clinic, they can come by and pick up a freshly made bag of ozone gas, and take it home and self-administer. To be clear, ozone therapy is only one therapy that most cancer patients need, an effective therapy that can accompany diet changes, herbs, nutrients, other IV integrative cancer therapies, as well as radiation therapy to sensitize the cancer cells to radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapies.
Note: much of the text of this article is borrowed from the website of the Longevity Medical Health Center in Az, at https://www.longevitymedical.com
ARTESUNATE IV
Artesunate is a parenteral (IV) medication derived from portions of artemesia or wormwood plant. Artemisia-based medications are used the world over for anti-malarial activity. Their pharmacology and safety are well studied and published in the scientific literature.
The use of these agents in the patient with cancer and their effectiveness against cancer cell lines are newer areas of scientific research, especially in the growing field of naturopathic oncology, and also published in the literature. Experience in clinical research of over one thousand patient IV doses of artesunate have shown this agent to be safe in patients with advanced cancers. Some data indicates that Artemisinin has antiangiogenic activity. This means it can prevent any cancer cells from making new blood vessels and spread. While specific human clinical data needs to be collected, our experience and the basic pharmacology of artesunate in cancer lead us to the conclusion that this agent is worthy of further investigation in oncology practice. In adults, IV artesunate has shown to be a highly tolerable and low side effect profile when used in typical parenteral IV doses. Our patients have universally done well with their IV herbal treatment.
We often will administer this approved herb IV before giving IV Vitamin C. Subsequent doses of IV artesunate can be given three days a week. It is usually given over a 15 minute time span. We may suggest that you also be taking oral artemisinin, in a product called Artemis Plus, concurrently with IV artesunate.
IV ALA
intravenous alpha lipoic acid (IV ALA). IV ALA was ranked as a primary therapy for brain & nerve cancers, breast cancer, carcinoid tumor, colorectal cancer, kidney cancer, liver & gallbladder cancer, lung cancer, multiple myeloma, nasopharyngeal, head & neck cancer, pancreatic cancer, sarcoma, stomach cancer, thyroid cancer, and uterine cancer. It also had many other important uses with symptom management and side-effect control.
Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) is a naturally occurring cofactor found in every cell and is active in an assortment of enzyme complexes that control metabolism. ALA is also a vigorous free radical scavenger that has demonstrated the ability to reduce oxidative stress in a number of disorders, including diabetes, liver disease, and cancer.
ALA’s unique benefit is that it is both water soluble and fat soluble. Therefore, it works in both the fatty cell plasma membranes and the aqueous interior (cytosol) of the cell. Other nutrients are restricted to only work in water (such as vitamin C) or fatty tissues (such as vitamin E). ALA is estimated to be 100 times stronger than vitamins E and C combined in inhibiting free radicals. Additional evidence suggests alpha lipoic acid may help regenerate these other antioxidants (vitamin C, E, glutathione, etc) and make them active again. Also, unlike vitamin C and other nutrients, ALA is shown to be equally effective against proliferating (growing) and non-proliferating (dormant) cancer cells– a very important part of preventing cancer reoccurrence.
There have been a number of articles suggesting the use of ALA in the treatment of various cancers. ALA is a ‘multi-tasker’ with multiple mechanisms of action and numerous benefits in cancer. Here, I have listed five of the most researched and exciting mechanisms (for the complete list of ALA’s functions please see below in the comprehensive detail section).
Protects DNA from mutations.
ALA inhibits NF k B, considered in many cancer types as the master switch for cancer growth and survival.
ALA transforms the way cancer cells uses sugars and re-activates pathways to allow cancer cell death.
ALA has direct anti-tumor activity and can stimulate prooxidant-driven cell death of cancer cells.
ALA is a powerful therapy for all forms of nerve damage and neuropathy (e.g. from chemo drugs like the platinums or from diabetes).
IV GLUTATHIONE THERAPY
Glutathione is the antioxidant that is present in every cell in the human body. Glutathione is primarily synthesized in the liver where it is abundantly present.
A high percentage of the blood that leaves the stomach and intestines passes through the liver. The blood carries important nutrients to the liver where they are metabolized into substances vital to life. In the same way, exogenous toxic substances reach the liver where they are either activated or transformed into less toxic derivatives. Glutathione plays a crucial role in the liver’s biotransformation system.
Free radicals play an important role in the development and progression of many brain disorders such as brain injury, neurodegenerative disease, schizophrenia and Down’s syndrome. Glutathione is the brain’s master antioxidant and plays an important protective role in the brain. Free radicals and oxidative damage in neurons is known to be a primary cause of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.
Amyloid plaques encroaching on the brain increase the production of free radicals, or oxidative stress. Antioxidants, such as vitamin C and E remove the damaging free radicals. Glutathione can prevent the death of brain cells induced by amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease.
Taking glutathione itself as an oral supplement does not boost cellular glutathione levels, since it breaks down in the digestive tract before it reaches the cells. However, intravenous glutathione therapy, along with dietary supplements, is effective in boosting intracellular levels of glutathione.