http://alternativecancer.us - Has anyone ever used any of this stuff?
 

I have looked at this site over and over the last 3 years, and wondered if any of you had any luck with any of these products or if it was just a huge waste of money? Thanks!

Not these specifically...
 

...but Lisa was ALL about treating this disease "holistically" - combining Western Meds with Eastern, using our Chinese Herbalist and accupuncturist with chemo and rads.

She even was able to get our onc (GREAT GUY) to host a meeting at his office (he even brought coffee, donuts, and bagels) with our Chinese herbalist, guided image therapist, surgeon, accupuncturaist, physical therapist, healing touch therapist, message therapist - I know I am forgetting some - and in the end our Chinese Herbal and Accupuntucture theapist even ending getting hospital privledges (gotta love Boulder Colorado). Altogether the TEAM helped determine her treatment strategy and worked together for this battle.

I also have a very close friend whom initially battled her b/c with ozone therapy, colonics, etc.

Lisa would say to use every weapon in your arsenal, BUT, first and foremost - assemble a healing team that you love and trust and ENSURE they are all communicating. For instance your onc may have very specific reason NOT to want you on Milk Thistle extract and your herbalist needs to know this.

As you research this let us all know what you find, OK?

Love and Light
Mel

I got accupuncture every two weeks during chemo and radiation. Now I get it once a month. I think of it as combining eastern and western medicine. My accupuncturist is also an RN.

Hi,

I have never heard of that site, I just took a quick look. I am lucky that my doctor's office has a Chinese herbalist on staff. They consult with each other so that there is no problem in the use of herbs / vitamins / essential oils and my treatment. Recently they told me that I should add calcium with D to my routine. I take a few different things as recommended.

I don't think that I would buy anything with just one source of the Internet.

Have a great weekend!

Carolyns

Julierene,
One lady in my family tried MG-3 the mushroom extract because there was some lab data regarding its mode of action.
It did not appear to help based on blood markers but it did cause a bout of psiorasis possibly by overstimulating the immune system (my speculation).
Later on, Life Extension Org which was one of the reputable firms distributing it,stopped doing so stating there were doubts about its effectiveness.

In general I look with suspicion about any unproved supplement or other treatment when the promoters fail to make public some data on the percentage of patients that are helped.
My reasoning is that if a treatment was effective the promoter would be eager to keep a detailed log of his successes & seek a Nobel prize.
Failure to provide such data is not a good signal especially if the product or the treatment have been around for a long time.

Avemar
 

I have read about this wonder product where it seems many studies have been done to see if it works to help those with cancer. There are many studies in Pubmed.com as well as it has it's own webpage. Avemar.com. Some of the studies were reportedly supported by Univ. of Calif.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...arch&DB=pubmed

I first heard about it from a neighbor in an alternative news letter by Dr. David Wilson. It is expensive but is said to really help chemotherapy work much more effectively.
So I am posting this to see what Lani, Hebla and others might say about this product just in case it is an alternative theapy that might be useful to us.

Janet,
It is difficult to draw conclusions about the merits of Avemar in cancer treatment due to the small scale of the few clinical trials using this product. One positive point is that it appears to be non toxic & in the lab does not affect the mode of action of several chemo drugs on cancer cells.
Regarding the specific case of breast cancer the only detailed info I could find was this extract:
http://www.avemarresearch.com/pdf/05_Avemar.pdf
QUALITY OF LIFE
Breast Cancer
A multicentric clinical study of Avemar in breast cancer is still ongoing. However, a QOL study involving Avemar use in breast cancer patients has been completed.31 A total of 55 patients were enrolled in the study at Szeged Unversity Clinic of Surgery, and gauging of QOL and changes in it were based on the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. Main baseline characteristics included: mean age: 55 years; UICC stage: I: 8, II: 19, III: 15, and IV: 13; concurrent therapies: chemoradiotherapy: 10, chemotherapy only: 9, radiotherapy only: 2, and none in 34 cases. The mean observation period was 32 months. Several components of QOL showed significant improvement due to supportive therapy with Avemar. Significant improvements were achieved in physical functions (P < .05), emotional functions (P < .001), global state of health (P < .01), fatigue (P <.01), nausea, vomiting (P < .01), insomnia (P < .01),and constipation (P < .01). Effects were manifested after 3 months of treatment and remained stable throughout the entire length of the study.

So pending the results of the trial, we can only conclude that Avemar may improve QOL.
Since its mode of action is likely to be slow it probably will need to be used as an adjunct to a faster acting drug.
One lab study of Avemar in conjunction with vitamin C showed different results depending on the type of cancer & sequence of the supplements. So it is possible that Avemar's action may be affected by food intake.
Overall the impression left I got from the readings is positive but not yet convincing.
Since it has been in use for 8 years in Hungary, there may be interesting anecdotic cases to learn about. But I am not fluent in the Magyar language, Maybe there are Hungarian speaking members of the Forum who can search the web.

1: Cancer Biother Radiopharm. 2004 Dec;19(6):746-53.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/corehtml...MAL_100x25.gif Links
The efficacy of tamoxifen in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells is enhanced by a medical nutriment.

Marcsek Z, Kocsis Z, Jakab M, Szende B, Tompa A.
National Institute of Chemical Safety, "József Fodor" National Center for Public Health, Budapest, Hungary. marcsekz.okbi@okk.antsz.hu
Avemar, a fermented wheat germ extract, has been applied in the supplementary therapy of human cancers. Because tamoxifen is commonly used in the therapy of ER+ breast cancer, in this study the combined effect of tamoxifen and Avemar treatment was investigated on MCF-7 breast cancer cells, in order to detect a possible agonistic or antagonistic action. Cytotoxicity was measured by MTT assay, the percentage of mitoses and apoptotic cells was determined morphologically, apoptosis and S-phase was measured by flow cytometry, and estrogen-receptor activity was determined by semiquantitative measurement of the estrogen-responsive pS2 gene mRNA production. Tamoxifen (1 nM) alone had no effect on the percentage of the apoptotic cell fraction and significantly reduced the percentage of the S-phase, compared to untreated cells. Avemar (625 microg/mL) significantly increased apoptosis after 48 hours of treatment. Tamoxifen together with Avemar significantly increased apoptosis already 24 hours after starting treatment but had only a slight (not significant) effect on mitosis and S-phase. Estrogen-receptor activity of MCF-7 cells was enhanced by Avemar, decreased by tamoxifen, and was further decreased by combined tamoxifen and Avemar treatment. As apoptosis increased when Avemar was added to tamoxifen treatment, the use of supplementary therapy with Avemar in the case of ER+ breast tumors may enhance the therapeutic effects of tamoxifen.

Fermented Wheat Germ Extract Beneficial in Cancer Therapy

by Jeremiah Smith, citizen journalist
See all articles by this author
Email this author


(NaturalNews) Wheat germ is the most nutritious part of the wheat kernel. In fact, it is one of the most nutritionally dense foods available. When subjected to yeast fermentation, wheat germ becomes a source of two biologically active substances: 2-methoxy-benzoquinone and 2,6-dimethoxy-benzoquinone. Following fermentation, the resulting product can be standardized to a benzoquinone concentration that is capable of producing the desired health effects.

Investigation into the biochemical significance of fermented wheat germ began with Albert Szent-Györgyi. Szent-Györgyi was a Hungarian physiologist, credited with the isolation of vitamin C, and recipient of the 1937 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He strongly believed in the idea of food as medicine. Szent-Györgyi noticed lower cancer rates among those who ate whole grains, compared to those eating mostly refined grains. This led him on a search to uncover the ingredient in wheat that might explain the observed cancer prevention. Later, he was able to demonstrate the potential of benzoquinone compounds in relation to cancer cell metabolism. Unfortunately, it was difficult to isolate a sufficient amount, and to achieve consistent concentrations, of the fermented product, which prevented Szent-Györgyi from taking his research to the next level.

Availability and classification

Szent-Györgyi’s efforts laid the groundwork for further research and development that continues today. New and improved industrial technologies have solved the problems of production and standardization. Now, a new generation of Hungarian scientists has picked up where Szent-Györgyi left off. Dr. Máté Hidvégi developed and patented an extract of fermented wheat germ, called Avemar®.

Avemar was initially released in Hungary, as a dietary supplement, in 1998. After demonstration of its anti-cancer activity, Avemar received approval for clinical studies. Based on those results, it was registered as a medical nutriment for cancer patients in 2002. Under this registration, it is recommended as a complement to cancer treatment during and after surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy.

It has since been registered for the same indications in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, with registration pending in several other countries. In the United States, Avemar is classified as a dietary supplement, and is distributed under the name of Avé®.

How does Avemar work?

Mechanisms of action responsible for Avemar’s anti-cancer and immunoregulatory properties include:

* Prevents cancer cell proliferation

* Induces programmed cell death in cancer cells

* Enhances the immune system’s ability to target cancerous cells

* Increases recovery rate of immune function following immunosuppressive therapies

* Decreases uptake of glucose by tumor cells

* Promotes balance between cellular and humoral immunity, thus regulating the immune response

This last point refers to one of the most interesting properties of Avemar. In cases of cancer, Avemar stimulates the immune system. In cases of autoimmunity (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus), it offers appropriate immunosuppressive effects. At first glance, this appears contradictory. However, Avemar is able to exert these seemingly opposite effects through its action on different segments of the immune system.

In most cases, cancer therapy complemented with Avemar is proven to be more effective than conventional treatment alone. Avemar not only enhances these treatments, but also reduces their damaging side effects.

Avemar itself has no adverse effects, and shows no toxicity toward normal cells.

Evidence for the supportive role of Avemar in cancer treatment

A study examining the use of Avemar in patients with colorectal cancer, found significant improvements in those patients supplemented with Avemar. The Avemar group received traditional cancer therapy along with Avemar supplementation, whereas the control group received only traditional treatment. The results showed a significant reduction in new cancer recurrences (3% vs. 17.3%), new metastases (7.6% vs. 23.1%), and deaths (12.1% vs. 31.7%). The authors concluded that supportive use of Avemar is highly recommended in colorectal cancer treatment. This study was reported in the Orvosi Hetilap Hungarian Medical Journal.

Another study, from the British Journal of Cancer, reported similar findings. Supplementation of conventional cancer therapies with Avemar was found to improve progression-free and overall survival probabilities.

A research review, by the Hungarian Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, found that the progression of malignant tumors of the oral cavity was slowed significantly with the use of Avemar. Furthermore, the five-year survival rate of patients was increased, and quality of life was improved.

The International Journal of Cancer reports a study evaluating the supportive use of Avemar in high-risk melanoma patients. Again, the time to progression and the probability of progression-free survival were increased in favor of patients taking Avemar. Fewer side effects were also noted in these patients.

As impressive as these results are, they represent only a fraction of the total published research on Avemar. There are currently more than 20 publications in peer-reviewed medical journals alone. Research has been funded by many government organizations including the Hungarian Scientific Research Foundation, the Ministry of Health in Spain, the Clinical Nutrition Research Unit of the University of California Los Angeles, INCO-COPERNICUS of the European Union, as well as NATO’s Scientific Program.

References:

Avemar®
(http://www.avemar.com/home.php)

Avemar® Product Research
(http://www.avemar.com.au/avemar_research.ews)

Avemar® Research Publications:
(http://www.avemarresearch.com/TOC.html)

American Biosciences, Inc.
(http://www.avemarusa.com/)

http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/69418.cfm
Clinical Summary

Fermented wheat germ extract (WGE) was developed by Mate Hidvegi, a Hungarian chemist, in the 1990s. It should not be confused with wheat germ oil. WGE is used as a dietary supplement by cancer patients in Hungary to improve quality of life. Results from in vitro studies show that WGE has anticancer (1) (2) (12) , antimetastatic (3), and immunomodulatory (2) (4) effects. It was also shown to increase estrogen receptor (ER) activity in vitro. However, when used along with tamoxifen, an ER antagonist, it enhanced efficacy of tamoxifen in ER positive breast cancer cells (5). The antitumor effect of WGE is comparable to other endocrine treatments in animal model (11). WGE also increased production of tumor necrosis factor and cytokines that are responsible for tumor cell death (6). Data from pilot studies implicates a beneficial role for WGE in patients with colorectal cancer (7) and in reducing treatment associated febrile neutropenia in pediatric cancer patients (8). Another pilot study showed that WGE can prolong survival of patients with melanoma when used with chemotherapy (13). However, these effects must be confirmed by large scale, well-designed clinical trials. Because it potentiates estrogen receptor activity, patients with hormonal sensitive cancers should use WGE with caution. Reported mild side effects include diarrhea, nausea, flatulence, soft stool, constipation, and dizziness. Long term use of WGE may result in increased body weight (10).

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Good work, boy reporter!

http://alternativecancer.us - Has anyone ever used any of this stuff?
 

I have never heard of that website, but I have combined conventional and complementary medicine
successfully for almost 11 years. My body has held up great and I have been able to avoid some of the less pleasant conventional cancer treatments. My fully licensed naturopathic physician who is also a licensed acupuncturist helps me with the complementary medicine. He is also very knowledgeable about conventional medicine and has collaborated on projects with my M.D.s on several occassions.