iodine loading test for iodine deficiency; mistletoe

[eileen]

Has anyone taken the iodine loading test for iodine deficiency? If so are you taking iodine supplements?

Also was wondering if anyone with early BC was on mistletoe as a preventative for recurrence?

Eileen

[vickie h]

Eileen, I did an iodine loading test about a year ago and have been on an iodine supplement since then. One of my Oncs from Santa Barbara is doing her own study about the effects of iodine deficiency and it's link to cancer. She says that 98 per cent of all of her breast cancer patients are deficient in iodine and that we cannot get the iodine we need from iodized or sea salt. I have had so much more energy since taking the Lugol's solution (you can google that for more info). I would definitely take that test! It is amazing how you will feel and what you may find out. By the way, My onc in SB is Japanese and she says the rates of cancer are so low there due to their intake of iodine, not soy products. Let me know how your test comes out. Much love, Vickie

[eileen]

Thanks, Vickie.
I'm going to try to find someone in the New York City area to give me the test.
My oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering is very conservative & won't do it.

Eileen

[vickie h]

Eileen, I did it through a lab in South Carolina (Or maybe it was North Carolina. You do it through the mail and they send you everything including mail instructions and a box to send it back post paid. I will try to find the lab for you, but you will need a script from your Onc or primary care provider, or possibly an accupuntuist, etc. It is so important to know how your body is functioning and to place it on the right track. I'll find what I can and get that info to you AXAP. Love, Vickie

[vickie h]

Eileen, I forgot to tell you that my Onc thought this was the only lab that does this kind of specialty testing. Love, Vickie

[SusieQ]

My Naturopathic Doctor in Irvine, California ordered the lodine-loading test for me.

I conducted some research and found that Iodine is an essential mineral in the body, and one which is often underestimated. Iodine is found throughout the body and is absolutely vital to the health of the body in ways that reach far beyond thyroid function. These include: general antibacterial, anti fungal, antiviral properties, enhancing immune function, mood regulation, helps to maintain healthy mental and memory function, blood pressure regulation, blood sugar regulation and the prevention of diabetes, excretion of toxic metals and sweat, contributing to normal hormonal function and proper gastric digestive acid secretion, and contributes to proper lubrication of mouth, eyes and skin.

With the above-mentioned functions in mind, iodine can be useful as part of the treatment for the following conditions: improve general energy and well being, reduce headaches, improve sleep and digestive system, reduce or prevent ovarian and breast cysts, and help treat autoimmune diseases.

The most widely recognized test to determine iodine deficiency is the lodine-loading test. In this test 50 mg of iodine/iodide combination is ingested and then urine is collected for 24 hours to determine the amount of the iodine solution that is excreted. If there is a sufficient state of iodine, over 90% will be excreted because it is not needed for uptake by the body. However, if the body is deficient in iodine much less will be excreted because it is needed by the body.

I released about 62%. I will begin a 1/2 tablet of Ioderol 12.5mg and repeat the test in two months.

[eileen]

Thanks, Vickie & Susie,

I think there is a doctor in the NY area who gives the test. Is Ioderdol the same as lugol's solution?

Can iodine supplements be harmful in any way? I feel good physically, don't think I have thyroid problems & so far NED.
I'm somewhat conservative (although I do take Chinese Herbs) & I know that there is a lot of controversy out there about iodine.

Eileen

[vickie h]

loderol is made from Lugol's and has the same effect except tast. Lugol's is a dissolved compound of Iodine and potassium iodide--5% iodine, 10% iodide and 85% water. 2 drops a day give 12.5 mg. of iodine. It's great stuff, boosts your energy and feeds your thyroid. I don't know of any toxicity but there is a test you can do to see if your body needs the iodine. Paint a 2 inch square of Lugol's on your stomach and wait 24 hours. If it is still bright reddish brown, your body isn't utilizing it. If it is very faint and almost gone, your body really needs it. Good luck and please have that test done, it will make a HUGE difference in your fight against cancer. Love, Vickie

[Lien]

Don't know about the iodine, but am on mistletoe. I live in Europe and am giving myself shots three times a week. So far no recurrence. But I'm also on Zoladex and Arimidex, was stage 1 with no node involvement. Who knows?
It feels good to be doing something that may well boost my immune system.

Lien

[StephN]

Thanks for bring up this topic. I have had my thyroid levels checked a couple of times since my BC diagnosis. Comes up normal. However that may not be completely indicative of my iodine needs. I use a special salt that is mined from the Great Salt Lake. I also sprinkle powdered kelp on my eggs and other food.

Here is an abstract that I found interesting (I put in the emphasis):

The thyroid, iodine and breast cancer.

Smyth PP.
Endocrine laboratory, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, and Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Ireland. ppa.smyth@ucd.ie
A renewal of the search for a link between breast cancer and thyroid disease has once again demonstrated an increased prevalence of autoimmune thyroid disease in patients with breast cancer. This is the most recent of many studies showing an association between a variety of thyroid disorders and breast cancer. Such an association is not surprising as both diseases are female predominant with a similar postmenopausal peak incidence. The significance of the presence of thyroid autoantibodies, particularly thyroid peroxidase antibodies, in serum from patients with breast cancer is unknown, but it has been suggested that antibody positivity is associated with better prognosis. One area in which thyroid and breast functions overlap is in the uptake and utilization of dietary iodide. Experimental findings showing the ability of iodine or iodine-rich seaweed to inhibit breast tumour development is supported by the relatively low rate of breast cancer in Japanese women who consume a diet containing iodine-rich seaweed. However, there is as yet no direct evidence that iodine, iodinated compounds, or a combination of iodine and selenium is the antimammary carcinogenic element in the Japanese diet. It remains to be resolved whether the perceived breast cancer-thyroid disease relationship is thyroid or iodine related or, in the case of thyroid autoantibodies, is the consequence of an immune response to the carcinoma. Is this response breast specific and does it relate to iodine status? These and many other questions await resolution before a definitive role in the natural history of breast carcinoma can be assigned to the thyroid.
PMID: 12927031 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Mistletoe. I have known 4 people with cancers to take mistletoe. One is my brother-in-law for Prostate. All of them have relapsed or died, but maybe because they had a more aggressive type of cancer.

[Lien]

Yep, I heard about people who died anyway. It happens. I just found a short article about mistletoe on a Dutch site. Don't know how well the research was designed. It was a small trial too. Anyway:

Perioperative application of the Viscum album extract Isorel in digestive tract cancer patients.

Enesel MB, Acalovschi I, Grosu V, Sbarcea A, Rusu C, Dobre A, Weiss T, Zarkovic N.
The 2nd Anesth. & IC Department, Emergency University Hospital, 540362 Tg.Mures, 40/11, Magurei Street, Romania. eneshell@rdslink.ro

BACKGROUND: It is assumed that perioperative immunomodulation of cancer patients can attenuate cellular and humoral deficiencies thus improving their overall health status. Mistletoe (Viscum album L.) anticancer drugs are likely candidates for such adjuvant therapy, because they do not have major adverse side-effects but have dual desirable activities; immune-modulating effects and relatively selective cytotoxicity for cancer cells.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used the aqueous extract Isorel, which is produced from the entire plant and is validated for batch consistency. The study involved 70 cancer patients, divided into two groups: Isorel-treated group of 40 patients who received Isorel for 2 pre- and 2 post-operative weeks (1 esophageal, 16 gastric, 2 pancreatic and 21 colorectal carcinomas) and the age- and sex-matched control group of 30 patients that did not receive Isorel (2 esophageal, 9 gastric, 3 pancreatic, 1 ileac and 15 colorectal carcinomas). Blood samples were obtained to study parameters of the immune system before the surgery and the drug administration (DO) and on the postoperative days 1 and 14 (D1, D14). The overall health status was evaluated after 60 days by the Kamofsky Performance Index and by the Analogic Scale of Anxiety. The results were compared by Student's t-test and one-way ANOVA test.

RESULTS: Isorel significantly attenuated the immuno-suppressive effects of surgery observed for the Isorel-treated group, increasing the number of NK cells, the T and B cells, in particular T-helper cells, complement, IgA, IgG and IgM values also in comparison to the respective D0 values. Both the Kamofsky status and the Anxiety Scale improved remarkably in Isorel-treated patients in comparison to the control.

CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that perioperative use of the mistletoe drug Isorel can improve immune competence and the overall health status of cancer patients undergoing surgery.

Publication Types:
Randomized Controlled Trial

PMID: 16334146 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Cancer Biother Radiopharm. 2003 Feb;18(1):27-34.

The influence of isorel on the advanced colorectal cancer.

Cazacu M, Oniu T, Lungoci C, Mihailov A, Cipak A, Klinger R, Weiss T, Zarkovic N.
The 4th Surgical Clinic--University of Medicine and Pharmacy Iuliu Hatieganu, Romania. czm@xnet.ro

There is still no therapy method in the colorectal cancers that is good enough for such a complex disease. Combined surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy improved survival, but the side effects and the poor performance status of the patients seriously affect the use of these methods. We used a therapeutical approach of surgery and chemotherapy combined with biotherapy by Viscum album extract Isorel, aiming to improve the patients' resistance to the disease and to render the treatment's side effects more tolerable. Isorel is aqueous extract well known for its anticancer effects obtained by various in vitro and in vivo experimental models and which was validated by an in vitro bioassay on murine melanoma B16F10 and human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells. Isorel strongly reduced human colon cancer HT 29 cell line growth in vitro in the MTT bioassay.

Hence, it was further used in a prospective, randomized, and controlled study which compared the postoperative results for patients with colorectal cancer stages Dukes C (40 patients) and D (24 patients) who, beside surgery, received either only chemotherapy (5-FU), 6 cycles (either the Mayo or the De Gramont protocol) or chemotherapy combined with Isorel biotherapy. These 64 patients were randomly allocated into three groups "only chemotherapy" for 21 cases, chemo + biotherapy for 29 cases and 14 patients underwent only surgery as the control group. We noted no toxic deaths due to either chemo or biotherapy. The patients operated on and treated with chemo and biotherapy had median survival significantly better and a cumulative proportion survival (Kaplan-Maier) superior to those of the patients receiving only postoperative chemotherapy. Thus, colorectal cancer patients seem to benefit in terms of survival from combined postoperative chemotherapy and Isorel biotherapy, either adjuvant or palliative.

Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Randomized Controlled Trial

PMID: 12667306 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Informatie over rol en effect van Iscador in een behandeling van kanker.