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Old 11-03-2014, 07:24 AM   #1
annettchen
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Methadone as a new cancer treatment drug

There's some research going on in Germany (with clinical trials planned to start soon) based on research that has shown that Methadone has a number of beneficial effects in cancer treatment. As far as I know it can be used as a replacement for Opioids in pain treatment, but they found that when you combine methadone with chemotherapy, even previously resistant tumor cells start responding to chemotherapy again. It induces apoptosis. Furthermore, they have seen that - in vitro at least - this even works with cancer stem cells.

I have not found a lot of literature in English on it, but here's an article detailing the latest findings.
http://www.bio-pro.de/standort/5_bio...937/index.html
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Annette
----------------------------------------
03/2014: Diagnosed with ER/PR-, HER2+++ MBC (bone mets, oligometastatic)
04/2014: Started 6 cycles of "PHD" (Perjeta, Herceptin, Docetaxol)
07/2014: Finished 6 cycles of PHD; restaging; 2 bone mets are sclerotic - looks like Herceptin and Perjeta is working
10/2014: STABLE!
01/2015: STABLE!
04/2015: STABLE!
08/2015: STABLE!
12/2015: BRAIN METS. BODY STABLE.
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Old 11-30-2014, 08:31 PM   #2
annettchen
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Re: Methadone as a new cancer treatment drug

Bumping this up - has anyone heard / seen anything about this in North America?

I am on a German forum, where some ladies contacted the researcher directly, who in turn helped them to get access to the drug. They now regulary update the forum with how they are doing. And so far, their feedback is just amazing. All the ladies that started taking it are doing very VERY much better than they did before they started. Almost all of them (except one) were on parenteral nutrition - not any more, they're all off it, and gaining weight eating normally! Their posts are just amazing - one of them recently said it's like a miracle.

It's early yet, but apparently Methadone seems to reinforce / increase the efficiency of chemo, in particular in women that had developed resistance to chemo. Some of the ladies will start new chemo regimes shortly - I so hope for them it works!

And even if it's only temporary - at the point where you would be treated with it, the gain in quality of life alone seems to be worth it...
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Annette
----------------------------------------
03/2014: Diagnosed with ER/PR-, HER2+++ MBC (bone mets, oligometastatic)
04/2014: Started 6 cycles of "PHD" (Perjeta, Herceptin, Docetaxol)
07/2014: Finished 6 cycles of PHD; restaging; 2 bone mets are sclerotic - looks like Herceptin and Perjeta is working
10/2014: STABLE!
01/2015: STABLE!
04/2015: STABLE!
08/2015: STABLE!
12/2015: BRAIN METS. BODY STABLE.
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Old 12-01-2014, 08:21 PM   #3
Catia
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Re: Methadone as a new cancer treatment drug

Annette,
thanks for sharing this info,..it looks very promising. What is the web address for that German forum you mentioned?
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Dx: April1st (yes April Fool's Day!), 2011
ER-/PR-/HER2+++ Tumor grade 3 size:1.6mmx1.2mm
Micromet to sentinel node, 5 auxiliary nodes were clear, stage 1B
April 13th, 2011 Double Mastectomy, no immediate reconstruction
May 2011 to Nov, 2011 chemo AC-TH plus
Herceptin until Sep 2012
11/2012 Began GP-2 vaccine at MD Anderson in Houston (monthly shots until April 2013), now receiving booster shots every six months

Began natural breast reconstruction with BRAVA procedure in Oct 2012
With Dr. Khouri at the Miami Breast Center.

Oct 2012 First fat graft
Jan 2013 Second fat graft
March 2013 Third fat graft
July 2013 Final touch-up with nipple reconstruction
November 2013: Vaccine Booster #1
January 2014 Nipple tatooing
April 2014: Vaccine Booster #2
October 2014: Vaccine Booster #3
April 2015: Vaccine Booster #4 (trial finished)
Dec 2015: Scar treatment with Kenalog and laser

Update: 2022 still in the clear and the GP-2 vaccine trial I participated in is moving to 3rd and final phase. None of the women that are in it have relapsed!!!
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Old 12-01-2014, 08:38 PM   #4
annettchen
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Re: Methadone as a new cancer treatment drug

Hi Catia,

it's http://www.krebs-kompass.de/index.php.
There's a separate thread on methadone, as well as a general advanced stage / stage 4 thread that has the posts of the ladies that have been taking the methadone.
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Annette
----------------------------------------
03/2014: Diagnosed with ER/PR-, HER2+++ MBC (bone mets, oligometastatic)
04/2014: Started 6 cycles of "PHD" (Perjeta, Herceptin, Docetaxol)
07/2014: Finished 6 cycles of PHD; restaging; 2 bone mets are sclerotic - looks like Herceptin and Perjeta is working
10/2014: STABLE!
01/2015: STABLE!
04/2015: STABLE!
08/2015: STABLE!
12/2015: BRAIN METS. BODY STABLE.
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Old 12-02-2014, 11:38 AM   #5
annettchen
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Re: Methadone as a new cancer treatment drug

Hi all,

one of the ladies that's using Methadone has created a website (sorry, German only at this point), where she documents her personal experience, as well as collects research / publications and so on.
The website address is: http://www.krebs-methadon-nora.de/
In case anyone's interested, I can help translate.
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Annette
----------------------------------------
03/2014: Diagnosed with ER/PR-, HER2+++ MBC (bone mets, oligometastatic)
04/2014: Started 6 cycles of "PHD" (Perjeta, Herceptin, Docetaxol)
07/2014: Finished 6 cycles of PHD; restaging; 2 bone mets are sclerotic - looks like Herceptin and Perjeta is working
10/2014: STABLE!
01/2015: STABLE!
04/2015: STABLE!
08/2015: STABLE!
12/2015: BRAIN METS. BODY STABLE.
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Old 12-07-2014, 08:59 PM   #6
annettchen
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Methadone as supporting drug to conventional cancer therapy

I have to share this with you.

Some women I got to know via a German breast cancer forum have over the last month or so started being treated with Methadone. They were all in very bad shape, not being able to eat any more on their own, or walk much, or even spend much time awake. They were all on strong pain killers (i.e. opioids).

They decided to start Methadone as a replacement drug for other opioids in conjunction with chemotherapy. Initially, they all found that their qulity of life went up noticeably. They started being able to eat again. They had more energy and started participating in their family life again. One of the ladies had a wheelchair; she recently retired her walker in the basement. Secondly, one of the ladies had her scan early last week. All metastases (lung, bone mets sternum, clavicle) are noticeably smaller. The other two women also feel much better, but will only be re-staged in January.

Having seen all this, I decided to contact the researcher today. I spoke with her for 2 hours. She explained to me that they have seen marked improvement in ALL of the almost 4000 cancer patients they know have been treated with Methadone. Not all of them had breast cancer; as a matter of fact Methadone seems to be effective for many cancer types, among those lung, colon, breast, leukemia, glioblastoma and others. Clinical trials are in preparation, but will take time. It is also under discussion whether a comparison trial where half of the patients would not receive the medication is ethical, given the incidental results observed in the 4000 patients treated so far.

I'm not trying to raise undue hopes or anything. This is not a wonder cure for metastasized breast or any other cancer. But it looks like it might help overcome resistance to chemotherapy or other treatments. And it looks like it has some positive effects on it's own such as inducing apoptosis. I'm not a doctor or chemist, or pharmacist, so I don’t understand the details of how / why this might work. I only read what other women posted, and then followed up with the researcher that's working on the issue. Having done that, I felt like the word needs to be spread.

Currently, based on what I heard, only women that already receive Opioids as pain medication would be eligible to try this, as Methadone is not yet approved as anything but pain medication. But I felt like I have to speak up. Having seen the effects it had on 3 other women I know of, I think every cancer patient who is terminally ill or in a stage of their illness where they are on strong pain medication should have the right to decide for themselves whether they want to try this.

Here's more literature (in English) on the topic:

2014 (Glioblastoma): http://science.gov/scigov/link.html?...ubmed/24626197

2013 (Leukemia): http://www.impactjournals.com/oncota...path%5B%5D=952

http://www.yourcancertoday.com/Cance...age=1&searchQ=
__________________
Annette
----------------------------------------
03/2014: Diagnosed with ER/PR-, HER2+++ MBC (bone mets, oligometastatic)
04/2014: Started 6 cycles of "PHD" (Perjeta, Herceptin, Docetaxol)
07/2014: Finished 6 cycles of PHD; restaging; 2 bone mets are sclerotic - looks like Herceptin and Perjeta is working
10/2014: STABLE!
01/2015: STABLE!
04/2015: STABLE!
08/2015: STABLE!
12/2015: BRAIN METS. BODY STABLE.
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Old 12-08-2014, 06:24 AM   #7
rhondalea
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Re: Methadone as a new cancer treatment drug

On a technical note, Google Chrome will translate the page automatically if you have translation checked in settings. (This is the default in Chrome.)

There are a couple of Google translators for Firefox; the most highly rated plugin is here:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/fir...dl-mostpopular

IE also has a Google translator; it's the third one down on this page:
http://www.iegallery.com/Search?q=translate

Sometimes the translations come up a wee bit garbled, so it's good you're here to translate, Annette. For casual reading, though, this should help some.
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2/6/09 Core needle biopsy: negative; Mammos through 2010: no change
3/30/11 Pea-sized lump in left breast at site of prior biopsy; mammo negative, sonogram not so much
4/14/11 Core needle biopsy: negative for cancer
5/18/11 Excisional biopsy 1.2 cm tumor, LVI, positive margin; ER+60%,PR+20%,HER2/CEP17 5
6/15/11 BMX: Left DCIS & LH; Right ADH; SNB: 2/3 nodes: 1.4 cm and 1 mm; ALND L1&2: 0/10; Stage IIa, Grade 3
7/14/11 CT/Bone scans NED; MUGA 66%
7/19/11 Biweekly dd AC w/Neulasta; done 8/30/11
9/13/11 Transfusion (Hemoglobin 8.6); MUGA 64%
9/20/11 Start Taxol + Herceptin; Taxol done 12/6/2011; continue Herceptin until 9/4/2012
12/27/11 Radiation - 6 weeks; 2/27/2012 - DONE! Yayyyy!
2/29/12 Start Tamoxifen 20 mg/day; continue until 2/28/17
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6/19/12 MUGA 61%
8/21/12 Brain MRI NED (head still hurts, brain still fogged)
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7/11/13 Aricept 5mg for cognitive impairment; increased to 10mg as of 8/23/13; back to 5mg 12/2013
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Old 12-08-2014, 07:35 AM   #8
annettchen
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Re: Methadone as a new cancer treatment drug

Thanks Rhondalea, I agree they have gotten pretty good with the online translators - I am absolutely willing to help out if stuff comes out garbled, though...
__________________
Annette
----------------------------------------
03/2014: Diagnosed with ER/PR-, HER2+++ MBC (bone mets, oligometastatic)
04/2014: Started 6 cycles of "PHD" (Perjeta, Herceptin, Docetaxol)
07/2014: Finished 6 cycles of PHD; restaging; 2 bone mets are sclerotic - looks like Herceptin and Perjeta is working
10/2014: STABLE!
01/2015: STABLE!
04/2015: STABLE!
08/2015: STABLE!
12/2015: BRAIN METS. BODY STABLE.
annettchen is offline   Reply With Quote
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