Information on IV vitamin C use for cancer treatment
As far back as 1971, Linus Pauling claimed that high dose vitamin C helps cancer patients. He conducted studies that indicated this. The Mayo Clinic conducted studies that disproved it, but they used a different form of Vitamin C and did not follow Pauling’s protocol. High dose vitamin C is back on stage when it comes to cancer treatment.
Cancer loves sugar. Sugar is its main energy source. It will eat other things, like protein, if sugar is lacking, but it prefers sugar. Some people even believe that cancer is a natural body process that kicks in when your cells are receiving too much sugar. The cancer, according to the theory, eats the excess sugar to protect your other cells. If, in fact, this is a regulatory process that developed with our ancestors, who ate about 4 pounds of sugar, in the form of honey, per year, it is not surprising that it has turned into the monster that it is today, with the average human eating about 200 pounds of sugar per year.
High dose IV vitamin C (60-75 grams) looks a lot like sugar. The body can’t tell the difference. Receiving these IVs causes the body to produce insulin because it believes that the blood sugar is spiking. That is why it is important to receive these IVs with food and water in your stomach. Without this, you will experience hypoglycemia-like symptoms. If you measure your blood sugar during the infusion of IV vitamin C, the meter reads an enormously high number because it thinks the vitamin C is sugar.
Cancer cells also see the vitamin C as sugar, and gobble it up. The problem for the cancer cell is that once it has absorbed the vitamin C, it cannot process it and it turns into hydrogen peroxide, which kills the cell. The vitamin C also sensitizes the cells so that the chemo meds are more effective. Pretty simple, pretty effective.
The process does not work with oral vitamin C, which is where the Mayo Clinic trial failed. Additionally it would be impossible to consume 60-75 grams of vitamin C orally because it would upset your digestion.
Cancer cells are amazingly adaptable. This is why they can become resistant to chemo drugs. If they get hit with the same drugs, say every three weeks for 6 or 8 rounds and that is all they have to deal with, they can build up a resistance.
Consider hitting these cells, however, not only periodically with chemo drugs, but with IV vitamin C and foods that fight cancer and supplements that fight cancer, as well as depriving them of their favorite foods. The cells have little time to recover and adjust to what is fighting them, and the multiple methods being used to fight them can kick it while it’s down. Additionally, consider the boost to the immune system when it receives such high doses of vitamin C.
Oncologists who have recognized the benefits of IV vitamin C are adding it to or using it in conjunction with the chemo treatments. Unfortunately, since it is not a drug and cannot be patented so that pharmaceutical companies can make a lot of money off of it, medical students aren’t taught about its benefits in school. Many old school docs just don’t recognize its benefits.
My experience with IV vitamin C started about a month and a half after my surgery. Prior to that I could not receive the IVs because I was producing ascites like a cow produces milk. Receiving any IVs, including chemo, just exacerbated the situation. I was having paracentesis performed every third day or so. I had to go on 24/7 TPN (IV nutrition)for what ended up being 3 months to get my protein levels up to normal. Fortunately, about a week and a half after starting the TPN, the ascites dried up, and I started IVC. I also experience a peritoneal infection during the time of the ascites, for which I was hospitalized. Between the hardships I faced during treatment and the unusual circumstances of my disease, I think if I had only received chemo, my results would have been poor. Yet, at the end of my chemo treatments, my CA-125 was 2, and it has hovered between 2 and <1 since ending chemo about a year ago. I sitll receive IVC and I don't eat sugar.
There is a gentleman who receives IVC where I do, for some type of cancer. Six or eight months ago, his oncologist sent him home to die, telling him they could do nothing for him. He has been receiving IVC since then and the cancer has not progressed. It is clear he will need to receive some other form of treatment in order to reduce the cancer, but he is holding his own with IVC alone.
Comments
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DR. PAULING
We have followed Dr. Pauling since the early 70's, and he won the Nobel Peace prize for a very good reason. Dr. Pauling was way, way ahead of his time. It's good to see that the protocol he developed and perfected is still in use, even after his death (he was in his 90's when he passed away). Vitamin C has been not only beneficial with cancer, but also with heart disease and many other afflictions. It's no wonder that this nutrient is so valuable. It is too much overlooked as an important part of daily requirements.
Thanks for sharing. And congratulations on your continued good health!
Monika
P.S. I also stay away from sugar, but a good piece of chocolate now and then is still my 'guilty pleasure'!0 -
effect of ascorbic acid on malignant cells
Google "autoschizis" to learn the mechanism of action of ascorbic acid on malignant cells. The word translate literally as "self-cut" to describe the action of the ascorbic acid on the cellular membrane slicing it open and spilling the contents out. Pretty nifty, eh?
And true vitamin C is a complex of nutrients found in food that includes bioflavinoids and copper that is a whole lot more than ascorbic acid. Szent-Gyorgyi (credited with discovering ascorbic acid) and Royal Lee knew this.
So it is better not to confuse the two as the FDA and many people already do.
take care,
Carolen0 -
Thank you. I googled and...carolenk said:effect of ascorbic acid on malignant cells
Google "autoschizis" to learn the mechanism of action of ascorbic acid on malignant cells. The word translate literally as "self-cut" to describe the action of the ascorbic acid on the cellular membrane slicing it open and spilling the contents out. Pretty nifty, eh?
And true vitamin C is a complex of nutrients found in food that includes bioflavinoids and copper that is a whole lot more than ascorbic acid. Szent-Gyorgyi (credited with discovering ascorbic acid) and Royal Lee knew this.
So it is better not to confuse the two as the FDA and many people already do.
take care,
Carolen
I did as you suggested, and got many hits, including many from established sources that I trust. It seems well established that Vitamin C in large doses does cause autoschizis in cancer cells in vitro, but there have not been enough studies done to date to demonstrate its use in actual patients.
The Mayo Clinic simply says that there is renewed interest in IV Vitamin C, but that there is currently no proven benefit. I found a current Safety/Efficacy study in Canada, which is uncontrolled and non-randomized: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01050621. I hope there are more trials out there now; I don't have the patience to go looking at the moment. It does seem hopeful.0 -
I found this article on Medline:anicca said:Thank you. I googled and...
I did as you suggested, and got many hits, including many from established sources that I trust. It seems well established that Vitamin C in large doses does cause autoschizis in cancer cells in vitro, but there have not been enough studies done to date to demonstrate its use in actual patients.
The Mayo Clinic simply says that there is renewed interest in IV Vitamin C, but that there is currently no proven benefit. I found a current Safety/Efficacy study in Canada, which is uncontrolled and non-randomized: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01050621. I hope there are more trials out there now; I don't have the patience to go looking at the moment. It does seem hopeful.
J Am Coll Nutr. 2000 Aug;19(4):423-5.
Reevaluation of ascorbate in cancer treatment: emerging evidence, open minds and serendipity.
Padayatty SJ, Levine M.
Molecular and Clinical Nutrition Section, Digestive Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Abstract
Some clinicians and alternative therapy practitioners advocate megadose intravenous and oral ascorbate treatment of cancer. Randomized control studies using oral ascorbate showed no benefit. Recent data show that intravenous but not oral administration of ascorbate can produce millimolar plasma concentrations, which are toxic to many cancer cell lines. We propose that ascorbate treatment of cancer should be reexamined by rigorous scientific scrutiny in the light of new evidence.
PMID: 10963459 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Free Article
It looks like there was a clinical trial on IV ascorbic acid with chemotherapy in measurable solid tumor disease that was being done in the USA recently. Unfortunately, the study was suspended. The reason for the suspension was "...pending a determination as to the off-label status of intravenous ascorbic acid." How strange is that?0 -
Injectable Vitamin CLaundryQueen said:I found this article on Medline:
J Am Coll Nutr. 2000 Aug;19(4):423-5.
Reevaluation of ascorbate in cancer treatment: emerging evidence, open minds and serendipity.
Padayatty SJ, Levine M.
Molecular and Clinical Nutrition Section, Digestive Diseases Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
Abstract
Some clinicians and alternative therapy practitioners advocate megadose intravenous and oral ascorbate treatment of cancer. Randomized control studies using oral ascorbate showed no benefit. Recent data show that intravenous but not oral administration of ascorbate can produce millimolar plasma concentrations, which are toxic to many cancer cell lines. We propose that ascorbate treatment of cancer should be reexamined by rigorous scientific scrutiny in the light of new evidence.
PMID: 10963459 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]Free Article
It looks like there was a clinical trial on IV ascorbic acid with chemotherapy in measurable solid tumor disease that was being done in the USA recently. Unfortunately, the study was suspended. The reason for the suspension was "...pending a determination as to the off-label status of intravenous ascorbic acid." How strange is that?
I don't think it's all that strange. The FDA has ruled injectable Vit C (and several other IV vitamin cocktails) "a new and unapproved drug." In order to conduct clinical trials with injectable Vitamin C, there must first be a clarification of the question: is it or is it not new and/or unapproved, as defined by Federal law.
Vitamin C is not, of course, "new", but injectable anything makes it, per the letter of the law, a drug and would therefore require approval by the FDA before it could be manufactured, sold, or used in clinical trials.
Below is part of the letter, setn by the FDA to one manufacturer of injectable Vit C:
These products are drugs within the meaning of section 201(g) of the Act, [21 U.S.C. § 321(g)] because they are intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of diseases. Further, they are “new drugs” within the meaning of section 201(p) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 321(p)] because they are not generally recognized as safe and effective for their labeled uses. Under sections 301(d) and 505(a) of the Act [21 U.S.C. §§ 331(d) and 355(a)] a new drug may not be introduced into or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce unless an application approved by FDA under either section 505(b) or (j) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 355(b) or (j)] is in effect for the drug.0 -
tethys41
thank you so much for the vitamin c info. can any doctor/hospital administer vitamin c. how does one go about obtaining iv vit c. i imagine talking to one's doctor first, but if s/he isn't willing, where to go next?
thanx,
maggie0 -
Probably the best place tomaggie_wilson said:tethys41
thank you so much for the vitamin c info. can any doctor/hospital administer vitamin c. how does one go about obtaining iv vit c. i imagine talking to one's doctor first, but if s/he isn't willing, where to go next?
thanx,
maggie
Probably the best place to start would be a search for homeopathic or naturopathic practicioners in your area. Be forewarned, however, that these treatments are not covered by insurance and are very expensive. They generally averaging $150 to $300 per week.
Carlene0 -
IV ascorbic acid (vitamin C)maggie_wilson said:tethys41
thank you so much for the vitamin c info. can any doctor/hospital administer vitamin c. how does one go about obtaining iv vit c. i imagine talking to one's doctor first, but if s/he isn't willing, where to go next?
thanx,
maggie
I am another survivor using the IV ascorbic acid to augment chemo. As far as I know, its use for chemo patients is considered unapproved by the FDA. Doctors may use drugs for "off label reasons" but I would guess that most insurances won't pay for the treatment.
I found an osteopathic doctor locally who s out-of-network & offers non-traditional care for all sort of serious conditions. Such healthcare providers would be listed under Alternative or Integrative Medicine on a google search.
The treatment costs $75 each & I receive 2-3/week.
Even though I have had to take breaks from chemo because of various reasons, my CA-125 has steadily dropped (now 6.5).
Good luck.0 -
carlene and laundryqueenLaundryQueen said:IV ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
I am another survivor using the IV ascorbic acid to augment chemo. As far as I know, its use for chemo patients is considered unapproved by the FDA. Doctors may use drugs for "off label reasons" but I would guess that most insurances won't pay for the treatment.
I found an osteopathic doctor locally who s out-of-network & offers non-traditional care for all sort of serious conditions. Such healthcare providers would be listed under Alternative or Integrative Medicine on a google search.
The treatment costs $75 each & I receive 2-3/week.
Even though I have had to take breaks from chemo because of various reasons, my CA-125 has steadily dropped (now 6.5).
Good luck.
thank you both so much for your suggestions. i will get on it as soon as i can. laundryqueen, that's such great news re: iv vitamin c and your low ca 125. wow! so encouraging.
good luck to both of you, as well.
sisterhood,
maggie0 -
Vit C/ascorbic acid (same thing)
I stumbled across this thread via a google search. There is new news out this week and I thought some here might be interested.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18544557
Intravenous ascorbic acid to prevent and treat cancer-associated sepsis?
ABSTRACT: The history of ascorbic acid (AA) and cancer has been marked with controversy. Clinical studies evaluating AA in cancer outcome continue to the present day. However, the wealth of data suggesting that AA may be highly beneficial in addressing cancer-associated inflammation, particularly progression to systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and multi organ failure (MOF), has been largely overlooked. Patients with advanced cancer are generally deficient in AA. Once these patients develop septic symptoms, a further decrease in ascorbic acid levels occurs. Given the known role of ascorbate in: a) maintaining endothelial and suppression of inflammatory markers; b) protection from sepsis in animal models; and c) direct antineoplastic effects, we propose the use of ascorbate as an adjuvant to existing modalities in the treatment and prevention of cancer-associated sepsis.
From the MedNews article:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/220327.php
Scientists at the Riordan Clinic were the first to publish, and patent, that intravenous, but not oral vitamin C, can achieve significant concentration in the blood in order to selectively kill tumor cells.
Who is the Riordan Clinic?
http://www.riordanclinic.org/
We are a not-for-profit
501(c)(3) corporation specializing in nutrition-based health services. Based in Wichita, KS, for 35 years, our treatment philosophy helps to identify the underlying causes of your illness.
So it does seem that "natural" treatments can be patented.
Interesting?0 -
Need one locallyLaundryQueen said:IV ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
I am another survivor using the IV ascorbic acid to augment chemo. As far as I know, its use for chemo patients is considered unapproved by the FDA. Doctors may use drugs for "off label reasons" but I would guess that most insurances won't pay for the treatment.
I found an osteopathic doctor locally who s out-of-network & offers non-traditional care for all sort of serious conditions. Such healthcare providers would be listed under Alternative or Integrative Medicine on a google search.
The treatment costs $75 each & I receive 2-3/week.
Even though I have had to take breaks from chemo because of various reasons, my CA-125 has steadily dropped (now 6.5).
Good luck.
Obviously, with so many treatments necessary, a person needs to find local treatment. I am having absolute failure on the Internet trying to find who does these treatments.
How do you FIND a doctor who does this? I go to a wonderful Integrative Medical M.D. who does some complementary cancer care but he does not do this.
He also says he knows nothing about Paw Paw.
NJ0 -
NaturopathNJW said:Need one locally
Obviously, with so many treatments necessary, a person needs to find local treatment. I am having absolute failure on the Internet trying to find who does these treatments.
How do you FIND a doctor who does this? I go to a wonderful Integrative Medical M.D. who does some complementary cancer care but he does not do this.
He also says he knows nothing about Paw Paw.
NJ
Have you tried contacting a naturopath in your area? I don't know whether the laws differ from state, but I think it is possible you cannot receive these in some states. Where do you live?0 -
Thanks for postingBuckwirth said:Vit C/ascorbic acid (same thing)
I stumbled across this thread via a google search. There is new news out this week and I thought some here might be interested.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18544557
Intravenous ascorbic acid to prevent and treat cancer-associated sepsis?
ABSTRACT: The history of ascorbic acid (AA) and cancer has been marked with controversy. Clinical studies evaluating AA in cancer outcome continue to the present day. However, the wealth of data suggesting that AA may be highly beneficial in addressing cancer-associated inflammation, particularly progression to systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and multi organ failure (MOF), has been largely overlooked. Patients with advanced cancer are generally deficient in AA. Once these patients develop septic symptoms, a further decrease in ascorbic acid levels occurs. Given the known role of ascorbate in: a) maintaining endothelial and suppression of inflammatory markers; b) protection from sepsis in animal models; and c) direct antineoplastic effects, we propose the use of ascorbate as an adjuvant to existing modalities in the treatment and prevention of cancer-associated sepsis.
From the MedNews article:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/220327.php
Scientists at the Riordan Clinic were the first to publish, and patent, that intravenous, but not oral vitamin C, can achieve significant concentration in the blood in order to selectively kill tumor cells.
Who is the Riordan Clinic?
http://www.riordanclinic.org/
We are a not-for-profit
501(c)(3) corporation specializing in nutrition-based health services. Based in Wichita, KS, for 35 years, our treatment philosophy helps to identify the underlying causes of your illness.
So it does seem that "natural" treatments can be patented.
Interesting?
Buck: I appreciate your contribution to this thread. I hope that the oncologists of the future will incorporate ascorbic acid into the standard of care for various cancer therapies.
NJ: Look up doctors in your area who do chelation therapy to find someone who does IV ascorbic acid. Try the American College for Advancement in Medicine (www.acamnet.org)--someone will refer you to a doctor who does ascorbic acid IV therapy.0 -
We need more information!LaundryQueen said:Thanks for posting
Buck: I appreciate your contribution to this thread. I hope that the oncologists of the future will incorporate ascorbic acid into the standard of care for various cancer therapies.
NJ: Look up doctors in your area who do chelation therapy to find someone who does IV ascorbic acid. Try the American College for Advancement in Medicine (www.acamnet.org)--someone will refer you to a doctor who does ascorbic acid IV therapy.
Dear Buckwirth
Thanks for posting the information on vitamin C/ascorbic acid. I still can't figure out what to call IV ascorbic acid therapy as I think of ascorbic acid as an integrative therapy rather than a natural one.
I am waiting to see the results of the Canadian research on using ascorbic acid with standard of care chemo for ovarian cancer. I...must...be...patient.
Thanks again.0 -
YES!LaundryQueen said:Thanks for posting
Buck: I appreciate your contribution to this thread. I hope that the oncologists of the future will incorporate ascorbic acid into the standard of care for various cancer therapies.
NJ: Look up doctors in your area who do chelation therapy to find someone who does IV ascorbic acid. Try the American College for Advancement in Medicine (www.acamnet.org)--someone will refer you to a doctor who does ascorbic acid IV therapy.
I found ONE in the vicinity that says she does oncology and chelation... So I'll be calling her office to find out more. THANKS!
-NJ0 -
Oasis of Hopecarolenk said:We need more information!
Dear Buckwirth
Thanks for posting the information on vitamin C/ascorbic acid. I still can't figure out what to call IV ascorbic acid therapy as I think of ascorbic acid as an integrative therapy rather than a natural one.
I am waiting to see the results of the Canadian research on using ascorbic acid with standard of care chemo for ovarian cancer. I...must...be...patient.
Thanks again.
While I as going through chemo, I went to a hospital in Mexico for integrative treatment, the Oasis of Hope, for two weeks. Let me tell you, going to Mexico for cancer treatment took all the guts I had.
Yet, once I was there, I realized that the doctors in that hospital really have it together. They incorporate what they believe to be the best combination of therapies to fight the disease. They look at research from all countries and use what they believe to be the most effective treatments. They are not restricted by an agency like the FDA. They treat a number of cancers using treatments other than chemo. A friend's husband went there for pancreatic cancer as was cured without chemo.
The doctors there told me that for breast and ovarian cancer, they have the best results when chemo is part of the treatment combination. They said that the integrative therapies, including IV vitamin C serve to sensitize the cancer cells, so they are impacted more by the chemo.0 -
Did you find out more?NJW said:YES!
I found ONE in the vicinity that says she does oncology and chelation... So I'll be calling her office to find out more. THANKS!
-NJ
Dear NJ
Just wondering if you were able to learn more about the ascorbic acid IV treatments in your area. I'm finished with chemo and continuing with the ascorbic acid treatments weekly for a few more months. So far, so good for me.
take care and best wishes on your future,
Carolen0
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