How my liver mets went away on their own

Anna,

I am well aware of all the trials going on with metformin.  I initially enrolled in a trial that added Metformin to my Taxol/Carboplatin chemotherapy. 
Once I learned more about the drug, my own oncologist put me on the real drug and I removed myself from the trial (not the top cancer hospital
doing the trial).  I was told I had 4-6 mos to live- the trial I was in ends in 2019. I could have died if I hadn't gotten on the real drug. You can look
up the trial at clinicaltrials.gov. Putting Stage IV cancer patients in a  trial  for a drug that has been around about 60 years and costs about $10
for a two month supply is irresponsible, but they will give you more chemotherapy that they know doesn't work.  This isn't a "new" drug that
is untested and costs $100,000.  They can do trials if they want but if the patient in front of them is dying, do you think they should not be telling
you about this drug as an option for you?

They wouldn't be doing trials on the drug if they weren't already aware of its anti-cancer properties.  It has more anti-cancer
properties than anti-diabetic properties. Many, many trials have already been done in the past. Why keep doing trials and not just
prescribe the drug if they think it might help you?

Over 100 million people take metformin. It was approved in Europe and Canada in 1958, in the US in 1995.  Think of how many people
might have been helped, or lived longer if they had been given this drug?  This drug put me in remission and I remain cancer free from metastasis.

If you have metastatic cancer, which we are all told is incurable, the only way you will save your life is to take control of your health.
I wasn't going to die waiting for a trial with a well known drug to end.  I have no side effects from this drug, unlike the many deadly side
effects that can abe caused by chemo.

As I mentioned, any doctor can prescribe this drug "off label."  Prescribing drugs off label is common.  Chemo drugs are prescribed off label
all the time.

Takingcontrol58

Dave,

Let me clarify. You say you are NED. When I finished my 6 treatments of chemo (May 2015), I still had 2CM of tumors
( one on outer rectum and one on spleen).
I stayed on metformin and 3 months later I was NED (this was last Aug 2015).
I continue to take metformin (at a higher dose) and still remain NED.
Metformin works at a cellular level and prevents cells from turning into cancer cells in the first place.  That is why you have to
stay on it. I believe it is what is helping to keep me NED.  I have had no recurrences since I started the metformin in Feb 2015.
To say you don't need it because you are NED is not accurate.

What stage CC were you diagnosed with? When? How long have you been NED?

Just to be clear. The trial I started out in (which I dropped out of) gave you the 6 chemo treatments with/or without Metformin Then you
remained on the metformin till the trial ends in 2019.  I believe I was getting the placebo but they won't tell me till the trial ends.
The blood tests my onc took lead me to believe I was getting the placebo. 

Regards,
Takingcontrol58

MS2014,
I found this article at www.pubmed.gov which details all about what you are asking.
PMID 23877793. Article is from July 2013. 
Title is "Kras gene mutation as a predictor of cancer cell responsiveness to metformin"

The article states that -Ras mutations are considered to be an important target for
cancer therapy, but no treatment exists today. But metformin does and the article
says metformin is a promising treatment for the K-ras mutation.  You have to ask
yourself, why oncologists are not talking about this drug with their patients if it
might help them.  All the data on this drug comes from scientific journals.

I would definitely try it. You have nothing to lose.

takingcontrol58

MS2014 said:

Thanks so much

Thanks so much for taking your time to send me/us the article

It is promising, a ray of ligth. I'm sure that If I ask our doctor he will refuse to do any experiment with my  mother. I had a similar conversation with him and did'nt want to go out the bitten path. I'll ask him anyhow.

About tryng methformin by ourselves although it seems a non toxic medication for diabetes  it would terrify me to know if my mother is having the rigth dose, if it could cause some sugar unbalance in her body, if it could cause other problems, like interactions with sugar..... I dont know

Anyhow It worths to keep and eye on it and maybe try it. These days I don' feel like trying it. I'm not so brave to use it by our own with chemo ..maybe chemo will work like it did and resection is possible

Do you think doctors or laboratories are keeping metformin away from patients?: I think that as any other new drug combination it has to pass multiple trials an acceptances to check results or whatever

I read you were in a test with methformin and decided to leave it to try metformin with other doctor. Did this new doctor accepted to try this combination with you? Does he regularlly use it with their patients? Just metformin with or without  chemo? Did you suffer of Type 2 diabetes? I also read you left suggar in food. Is it mandatory to use metformin? I don't feel any doctor in my country will accept to try metformin as medical standards are hard regulated. ..So many doubts.....

These days I dont have time even to breath but I hope this week end I'll have the time to carefullt read your posts and If you don't mind maybe I'll ask you some more question If you keep droping by here

Here the link of the publication you mention

http://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/mmr.2013.1596

Thanks again

MS2014,
I would be happy to answer more of your questions.

The doctor who prescribed metformin was prescribing it for many of his patients. He put many terminal patients into
remission. He was an integrative oncologist.

I was not diabetic but "pre-diabetic", or insulin resistant. Metformin is given for this condition. No issues with blood sugar,
get my blood tested every 3 months for cancer markers as well. Sadly, he passed away last Sept but my gynecological/
oncologist prescribes it for me. She has been using it for her cancer patients, many with ovarian cancer.  This
is not some new experimental drug. They're known about metformin's anti-cancer properties for nearly 20 years.
You bring up a good point- perhaps they are leading patients to believe this is some new, untested drug, but it is not.
That is why you need to do your own research.

I think they are withholding it because it is inexpensive. Nobody is saying it cures cancer but it seems to keep your
cells working properly so they don't become mutated and turn into cancer. I believe metformin has kept me from
getting a recurrence.

Metformin was was approved in Europe in 1958- this is not a new drug which is why you don't need to enter a trial to
get it.  In my case, in the trial I initially joined, they were adding metformin to the chemo to make it work better because
they told me it doesn't work very well on metastatic endometrial cancer.  How's that for hope. Metformin was not approved
in the US until 1995, so you might have a better chance of getting this drug than people in the US.

Metformin is an old drug that is being "repurposed" for a new condition.  You only need to enter a trial for new, untested drugs.
Metformin is one of the oldest drugs around.  I think you can't  take if you have kidney issues.

Takingcontrol58

MS2014 said:

Some questions to you

Trying to know more about metformin I have asked some questions through a member of teh forum

If you don't mind sharing your experience with us, I would ask you the same questions to you. 

 

What would be the regular dose for a person without cancer (diabetic or insuline resitant I guess)?

What could be the potentally good dose to help chemo get rid of mets? (Just your thoughts, but your appetiation would be better than mine)

What could be the potential side effects for a no diabetic person that uses mertformin?

 

As I said to the other person ....for granted it is not medical advice but a way to share knowledge that ...who knows could be a bullet to use just in case.

Thanks again

MS2014,

I started on metformin at 500mg - twice a day- I was insulin resistant, not diabetic. I had 34cm of metastatic tumors at the
time (liver, spleen, rectum).  I started the metformin after 2 chemo infusions (Taxol/Carboplatin).  My  doctor may have put me on
a low dose to see if I had any side effects.  88% of all my mets were gone after one month on the metformin. All my mets
were gone after 6 months on metformin. The liver mets disappeared within 3 months. The spleen and rectum mets
were gone by 6 months.

I continued to take the metformin along with my chemo. After my chemo ended my doctor raised my dose to
750mg- twice a day. That was last June 2015.  I remain on the same dose today.

I have experienced no side effects from metformin.  Again, I am not diabetic. But it can lower your Vitamin B12 levels ,
so I take a supplement.

You should not take metformin if you have kidney failure and it can cause stomach upset - but this is less common when
you take the extended-release form of metformin (which I take).   I get regular blood tests every 3 months for all my
cancer markers and other general blood tests (including B12).

Hope this is helpful.

Takingcontrol58                  

tanstaafl said:

?

Very interesting story and Congratulations.   I heartily agree with the premise of independent research and careful off label treatment with low toxicity drugs with strongly favorable case histories, not waiting for Godot with new tests on old generic drugs.  

I would be interested in the deceased dr's name or website to try to follow up and see if he had papers or reflections on his medical career. 

Thanks for the good wishes.
My integrative oncologist was Dr. Mitchell Gaynor. He was a top integrative oncologist- had a PHd in molecular biology and was
the smartest doctor I have have met. Was associated with Weill-Cornell.  His practice was Gaynor Oncology in NYC.  He was
mysteriouslsy found dead behind his house in upstate NY in Sept 2015. They said it was a suicide but we've never really gotten
any detailed information. I had just seen him two weeks prior, right when I went into remission. His brother is the head of
clinical trials at Eli Lilly, so he was aware of everything that was in testing in clinical trials. You can look him up.

His last book, though he wrote many, was "The Gene Therapy Plan." He also believe in epgenetics, that you are not condemned 
to your genes and that certain foods and supplements and turn your genes on and off. He speaks about metformin briefly in this book.
I take 44 different supplements each day, that he recommended for me. Amazingly I never once got sick while on the chemo
nor did my white blood cells ever get too low to get chemo. The purpose of many of the supplements was to keep my immune
system up so my good cells were protected while the chemo was flowing. Some are targeted to cancer. I also take two low dose
aspirins each day, recommended by Dr. Gaynor.  Two for cancer, one for heart disease as he told me. Aspirin shuts off a key
inflammation marker called COX-2.   We all know that inflammation is the key cause of most chronic diseases.

I have been doing much research on cancer for the past year. Most of the scientific information on metformin comes from the
Natitonal Institutes of Health website (www.pubmed.gov).  If you search "metformin and cancer" 2,784 articles will come up, from 1969
to 2016, though metformin was not approved by the FDA until 1995 (approved much earlier in Europe and Canada). They have known
about metformin's anti-cancer properties for a long, long time.  And metformin has been around longer than any other diabetes drug.
You'll notice you don't see lawsuits for metformin but see them on TV for many of the current diabetes drugs.

Some of the key risk factors for many cancers, like colon, endometrial(mine), pancreatic, are diabetes orinsulin resistance/metabolic
syndrome and obesity or overweight.  I think that is why metformin seems to have anti-cancer effects for
those of us with impaired metabolisms. I was insulin resistant and overweight, plus had high cholesterol when I was diagnosed. My
bloods have never looked better plus I've lost 40 pounds. Metformin also lowered my cholesterol 75 points. One pill solving multiple
issues.  I think the only way to heal our cancer is to find out the root cause of what made it grow in the first place.

Luckily for me, my gynecological oncologist is also a big proponent of metformin.  I have put a list together of all that metformin
does in relation to cancer that I have shown to many doctors (from pouring through lots of scientific journals). Many of the latest
drugs in development target alot of the same items, but none are out yet or the ones that are have not been that successful. For
me, I'd rather take a non-toxic pill than chemo anyday.

Let me know if you have any other questions.
Takingcontrol58

Lilypad50 said:

Metformin

Hi Taking Control 58:

I have been looking into the Metformin...after reading your post.  I did print information and we did take it to the oncologist.  We simply wanted to know if it was something that my husband could try (colon cancer for the 2nd time in 5 years).  The oncologist was not willing to prescribe it for many reasons:

*still in clinical trials

*not approved for cancer treatment by the FDA

*none of her colleagues are currently willing to prescribe it for cancer treatment/prevention

*it can damage your kidneys

*diahrea is a side effect, which is already an issue for those with colon cancer

I did push and she said she would ask around to see if there was an alternative "maintenance" medicine he could take now that his chemo is over, but not Metformin.

I spoke with someone in the insurance industry who said there is too much liability in prescribing a drug "off-label" (in other words, for something other than it is approved to treat).  If he had type-2 diabetes, that would be different and the anti-cancer benefits of taking Metformin would be a bonus.

Interesting.

Lily

 

 

 

It is interesting how hard your doctor is trying to convince you that your husband should not get metformin. They seem to be going
out of their way which I find even more suspicious, expecially when over 115million people around the world take this drug.
Doesn't every drug have side effects?  And metformin's are minimal. Did your oncologist happen to list out all the terrible,
deadly side effects of chemotherapy before they prescribed it?

If I were you, I would get a second opinion from another doctor, perhaps an integrative oncologist or an endocrinologist
or your husband's general practitioner.

Does your husband know if he is insulin resistant? An endocrinologist would do a glucose tolerance test. Glucose levels
don't tell much. Mine were never that high.  Plus your IGF-1 (insulin growth factor) should be tested- this fuels cancer.
Plus fasting insulin. If your husband is overweight of has low HDL cholesterol, he might be insulin resistant. I am insulin
resistant and metformin will help to prevent me from ever getting diabetes. So if your husband is insulin resistant, he
should get treated for it.

Then perhaps you can at least try the drug to see if it helps.  Nobody is saying it cures cancer but if it can slow it down or
prevent it from recurring, that would be miraculous.

Takingcontrol58

Rightone said:

how can I get a doctor to prescribe Metrormin for cancer patient

Hi Takingcontrol58; I found a lot of evidances that this drug is effective for cancer.  We're in Ontario, Canada. I’m reaching out to you for help.  I'm desperately need to save my brother's life.  He was diagnosed with colon cancer in March 2014, has colon & liver resection. It came back and spread to his new liver, and now small mets in his lung….

He's KRAS Mutation is positive and mismatch repair mutation negative (MSS)

I have been searching and reading a lot. I spoke to some medical scientists and doctors, but so far no one is willing to put him in neither trial nor discuss further options including his oncologist.  He’s currently put on very strong medications for pain killer since he had developed anal fissure few months ago.  He’s anal fissure got better, but now he became addicted to these drugs, can’t sleep or function without it.  He’s getting more weak, not from the cancer but from the pain killer drugs and previous chemo.  

I know there is a way to improve his wellbeing regardless of cancer and prolong his life or keep his quality of life in tact, but I don’t know where to go.  It is very draining and stressful when no one is listening.  

I heard about the cocktail of cheap drugs like high blood pressure & high blood sugar, inflammation high cholesterol  that have anti-cancer and they could be effective.  I found this organization in UK who believe in this kind of treatment.  I’m attaching copy of a cocktail drugs including Metformin, Doxycycline,  and atorvastatin that were suggested for my brother. They believe some of the generic cheap drugs have anti-cancer and together they block several pathways, deal with blood sugar and inflammation,  but no doctor would prescribe off-label drugs for a cancer patient even if it has potential of saving someone’s life, curing or put patients in remission.   I talked to one of my scientist and he thinks it make sense.

References:

http://healthinsightuk.org/2015/06/09/pioneering-clinic-points-to-new-directions-in-cancer-treatment/

http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/pill-that-sent-cancer-into-remission-may-be-a-one-off-doc-says-1.2276290

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/cheap-diabetes-drug-tested-as-cancer-treatment/article572628/

http://www.factsandopinions.com/tag/financial-orphans/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/wellbeing/healthadvice/11424747/The-professor-who-cured-his-cancer-with-a-cocktail-of-everyday-pills-and-20-years-on-remains-disease-free.html

 

I would suggest the following to get a doctor to prescribe metformin for your brother:

1) If your brother is diabetic or has insulin resistance, metformin is typically prescribed for these conditions
and you should be able to get your general doctor or an endocrinologist to prescribe it for him. I would keep
searching for a doctor who will prescribe this drug for your brother if you feel it might help him.  Tell your
doctor your brother would sign a form saying he would have no responsibility if something happened or if the doctor is
worried.  They sure don't have a probelm prescribing deadly chemotherapy.  Remember, nearly all chemotherapy
drugs are prescribed "off label".  They don't have the time to test every combination of chemo drugs.  Ask the doctor
why he won't prescribe the drug. If he says there is no proof it is anti-cancer, remind him that chemotherapy is proven
not to work on most cancers (it only helps 2.3% of cancer patients to live to 5 years). They say it is only really effective
for testicular cancer and pediatric leukemia). The doctors know chemo does not work for metastasis. It is meant to
target the primary tumor.  You shouldn't take the drug if you have certain conditions (like kidney problems), but the
doctor would know if it was safe for your brother.

2) Can you take your brother to a naturopath or integrative oncologist who would more likely prescribe the drug?
They can also treat him as a person and try to get to the root cause of his cancer- treat the person not just the tumor.
Or try to find a doctor that knows the benefits of metformin.

3) I would print out some of the articles that specifically address metformin and colon cancer and the KRAS mutation
specifically- you can find them at the US National Institute of Health site: http:// www.pubmed.gov. Bring them with
you when you meet with the doctor.  

Metformin is going to be tested in a large trial by the National Instsitutes of Health as an anti-ageing drug.  They believe
it prevents you from getting cancer, alzheimers and heart disease until later in life. Metformin works at a cellular and
metabolic level so it prevents your cells from mutating. They think it makes the DNA replicate perfectly. So the cells don't
get mutated. I wouldn't say it cures cancer it appears they think it may prevent you from getting it in the first place.

It is important to be careful in how you describe what metformin does.  For me, it addresses what I believe made my cancer grow, my
insulin resistance. I also had high Insulin Growth Factor-1 levels- another fertilizer for cancer. I believe if you don't figure
out what is making YOUR cancer grow, you will always have the chance or a recurrence.  I also had high ferritin levels-
cancer cells thrive on iron and glucose.  Has your brother been tested for ferritin? It measures the stores of iron in the
blood- iron is stored in the liver and spleen- (maybe this is why he has metastases in his liver).  He needs to get to the
root cause of what is making his cancer grow.  If your brother is on another diabetic medication, I would ask the doctor to switch
him over to metformin as it is the only drug for diabetes that also has anti-cancer properties.

4) Another suggestion that you don't need a prescription for-  I take 2 low dose aspirins each day, one in AM and one in PM.
Aspirin thins the blood and inhibits the COX2 enzyme, which is a cause of inflammation. This is why aspirin is given to heart
patients. It can cause stomach issues if your brother has these, but it is already proven to help colon cancer.  Why is it
every cardiologist prescribes aspirin to their patients yet oncologists do not, when it does the same for both types of patients?
Inflammation is the cause of many chronic diseases. You can talk to your doctor about your brother taking aspirin.

5)  Doxycycline is a low cost antibiotic- my integrative oncologist prescribed it for me. I didn't take it immediately, but then I was
bit by a tick (twice) while I was on chemotherapy and took a 2week dose each time I was bit.  I had taken doxy before because
it is given to you when you are bit by a tick to prevent Lyme disease.  Perhaps doxy helped me as well.  There are a group of
antibiotics that are known to have anti-cancer properties along with doxycycline. You can look up many articles at www.pubmed.gov.

6) It is your brother's life- he needs to have an honest discussion with his doctor- he has every right to be on a drug he feels
can help him when there is so much evidence to support the drug having anti- cancer properties.  If your brother told the doctor
he was depressed,I'm sure the doctor would have no problem prescribing an anti-depressant, which are prescribed out like candy.
Maybe you need to "guilt" the doctor into letting your brother try metformin. Ask him- "are you willing to let my brother die by refusing
to prescribe a simple drug that over 115Million people safely take around the world?"

Look at what these 3 treatments have in common - metformin, aspirin, doxycycline.  They are all cheap and they work.
I personally believe this is why they are not being prescribed regularly for cancer treatment.  The cancer industry exists
because expensive cancer treatments fund them. But there is no reason they can't prescribe them along with the chemo.

Isn't is amazing how many countries and states are passing laws to help people kill themselves when they are really ill and in
the late stages of an illness yet refuse to prescribe a simple drug that could save their life? Even if only for a short time?

One last thing.  Another woman on the uterine cancer board just started taking metformin. She has been on it for one month
and her lung metastases shrunk in half.

Takingcontrol58