If your doctor puts you on a statin for cholesterol, prepare to be on it for life. If you have high blood pressure, you can be sure you’ll be filling that prescription forever. Diabetic? You can look forward to decades of metformin.
Big Pharma seems to have a “treatment” for every disease. But they rarely have a “cure.”
You see, the longer you take their “medicine,” the more money they make.
And now they’re trying to do the same thing with chemotherapy drugs.
A group of researchers from Oregon and the U.K. just created a new drug delivery system for cancer. It’s called “metronomic dosage regimen.” 1
The goal? To never get you off chemo.
One of the researchers involved with the new chemo therapy said it would be a “huge leap forward” in cancer treatment.
Maybe for profits, but not for your health.
Side Effects of Chemo
Right now, most cancer patients get the highest dose of chemo possible for as long as the patient can tolerate it. Doctors only stop the treatments when you can’t handle the horrible side effects anymore. Side effects like nausea, vomiting, pain, extreme fatigue, blood disorders, mouth and throat sores…
Chemotherapy destroys your immune system. And the irony is that a strong and robust immune system is your body’s first line of defense against developing cancer in the first place.
Your immune system has its own “hit squad” of natural killer (NK) cells. At the first sign of infection, these white blood cells flood your bloodstream. They seek out and target cells that are cancerous or show signs of becoming cancerous.
Once these mutant cells are identified, the NK cell releases a chemical called perforin. This compound fires a hole in the malignant cell’s outer membrane that rips it apart. This triggers a mechanism known as apoptosis — or cell death.
In an animal study at Boston Children’s Hospital, NK cells were shown to reduce tumor growth and prolong survival in mice with lymphoma (blood cancer).2
In another study, researchers ramped up the NK activity of mice with melanoma. Within two weeks, the cancer tumors were hardly detectable.3
The only problem is that your NK cells decline with age. Fortunately, there are natural ways to keep your army of NK cells on high alert.
Boost NK cells naturally
At my clinic, I recommend supplements to boost your NK cells. My three favorites are anamu, astragalus and cat’s claw.
1. Anamu.This South American herb was given to me by a native healer — a curandero — after I hurt myself while hiking in the Amazon. And it healed my cuts and scratches in no time.
It turns out anamu stimulates your immune system. In one study, anamu increased NK cells by 100%.4 Not only that, but anamu contains two compounds that kill cancer cells without damaging healthy cells.5
Anamu capsules are available at most health food stores. I suggest taking 500 to 1,000 mg per day in divided doses.
2. Astragalus. I’ve used this herb for more than 20 years to help my patients improve their immune systems. And the research on astragalus continues to grow…
In one study, the immune systems of subjects supplementing with astragalus for three months acted up to 20 years younger.6
Another showed that cancer patients treated with astragalus had the potential to live twice as long as those who received chemotherapy alone.7 In fact, researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas found that cancer patients who take astragalus double their chances of survival.8
I recommend 500 mg of the concentrated extract three times a day.
3. Cat’s claw. I’ve used this herb in my clinic for years. But I only recently discovered that cat’s claw stimulates NK cell function to boost your immune system and fight infection.
Researchers have identified 53 compounds in cat’s claw root that provide a broad range of health benefits.9 Not only is it anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant, but it provides vascular and central nervous system health support.
Look for a supplement made from the inner bark of the plant and take 500 mg per day.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1. “Important Advance Made with New Approach to ‘Control’ Cancer, Not Eliminate It.” Science Newsline Medicine. August 26, 2016.
2. Zhaoqing B, et al. A Rapid Embryonic Stem Cell-Based Mouse Model for B-cell Lymphomas Driven by Epstein-Barr Virus Protein LMP1. Cancer Immunol Res. 2015 Jun; 3(6): 641–649.
3. Lakshmikanth T. NCRs and DNAM-1 mediate NK cell recognition and lysis of human and mouse melanoma cell lines in vitro and in vivo. J Clin Invest. 2009 May;119(5):1251-63. doi: 10.1172/JCI36022. Epub 2009 Apr 6.
4. Jovicevic L., et al. “In vitro antiproliferative activity of Petiveria alliacea L., in several tumor cell lines.” Pharmacol Res. 1993;27(1):105-106.
5. Williams L., et al. “A critical review if the therapeutic potential of dibenzyl trisulphide isolated from Petiveria alliacea L. (guinea hen weed, anamu).” West Indian Med. 2007;56(1):17-21.
6. Harley, C., Weimin L., et al, “A Natural Product Telomerase Activator As Part of a Health Maintenance Program,” Rejuvenation Research 2010.
7. Morazzoni, P., Bombardelli, E., Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch) Bunge, Scientific documentation March 1994 Milano (Italy):1-18
8. Sang-Mi Woo. A New Herbal Formula, KSG-002, Suppresses Breast Cancer Growth and Metastasis by Targeting NF-κB-Dependent TNFα Production in Macrophages Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013; 2013: 728258.
9. Heitzman ME., et al. Ethnobotany, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Uncaria (Rubiaceae). Phytochemistry. 2005. 66(1):5-29.