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Subject: Glutathione


Hi
I was recently introduced to glutathione by a friend. I am stage iv
colon cancer survivor, liver and lung resection for mets and trying
to stay healthy by using alternate medicine.
Researching glutathione on the web it seems to have some potential.
Has any one any experience with it or is just another false hope.
Regards David.

----------------------

David

We were able to extend my mother's life using chinese mushrooms. I have
just received this posting from another group. It may give you and others
hope. I have ordered the book for my collection.

Best wishes from Robin




Natural Products for Cancer Patients - Separating Hope from Hype

Introduction
http://www.doctormurray.com/newsletter/1-20-2003.htm

It has been a year since How to Prevent and Treat Cancer with
Natural Medicine was published. Our goal in writing this book was
for it to serve as the authoritative blueprint for a comprehensive
plan in dealing with cancer from a natural medicine perspective.
While the book has received much accolades and moderate success in
sales volume, I am very disappointed that it is not touching more
lives.

While I have been blessed with the opportunity to speak to thousands
of cancer patients, I have also been deeply saddened as I have heard
so many cancer patients tell me of their use of products that in my
opinion provide no significant benefit and only empty promises. I
know there are far more people that are using these sorts of
products than those who are following our program. In writing the
book, we debated whether we should critique some of the products and
treatments that are overly hyped. In the end, we decided that it was
more important to highlight the positives of our program.

Our goal was to provide a valuable resource with the latest
information on dietary and supplementation strategies to prevent
cancer, along with the critical guidance the cancer patient
desperately needs. We presented an evidence-based "natural" program
unlike any other. We reviewed over 10,000 scientific studies in
writing the book to provide proven recommendations on the proper use
of vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other natural measures to fight
cancer as well as enhance the effective of conventional cancer
treatments like surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Two of my
coauthors, Dr. Paul Reilly and Dr. Tim Birdsall, have worked in the
trenches with thousands of cancer patients - they know what works
and what does not. Yet, it seems that more people are drawn to
products and programs that provide little scientific study or
rationale but are marketed with wildly unsubstantiated claims. That
saddens me.

The Medical Profession's Response to Our Book

During my year long book tour, my hope was buoyed by the tremendous
response to the doctors and other medical professionals that have
either read our book or attended one of my lectures. I spoke at
several medical institutions in the last year, including the
prestigious Cleveland Clinic. One of the other key goals of the book
was for it to be a bridge between patients who utilize natural
medicines and their oncologist. We did make some small inroads in
this area, but we need to get it into more patients and more
oncologists' hands.

Physicians were responsive to our book because it presents a
rational approach without hype, but with tremendous hope. We believe
that in the treatment of end-stage diseases like cancer, that
sometimes heroic measures are definitely necessary in the form of
chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. We also believe that at all
times it is critical to use the healing power of nature in the
treatment of cancer. Failure to support the body, mind, and soul of
cancer patients is one of the critical shortcomings of conventional
oncology. Fortunately, we address this shortcoming by providing a
program that incorporates not only nutritional support, but also
recommendations on how to deal with the psychological, mental, and
emotional aspects of cancer treatment.

My Frustration

Obviously, I am quite proud of the book, but I am extremely
frustrated by its limited success. I am very much disappointed that
cancer patients are putting their faith into unproven, potentially
dangerous "natural" treatments instead of the program that we
present. In Chapter 8, The Super Eight: Fighting Cancer through Key
Natural Products, we highlighted what we considered to be the top
natural products to battle cancer. These are listed in what we
believe is their order of overall effectiveness. We based our
ranking on five key criteria:

clinical evidence of effectiveness
scientific rationale
safety
compatibility with conventional therapies
our own clinical experience
At every lecture that I gave this year, I was asked about a handful
of products that were not discussed in the book. My standard
response was that if it was not mentioned in the book it did not
necessarily mean that the product was without benefit, but that in
our opinion it simply did not measure up to the natural products
that we did discuss. My professional life is centered on natural
medicine, I am keenly aware of a product's merits and shortcomings.
Myself and my coauthors took the process of evaluating products to
put into the book with great responsibility. Cancer is a serious
disease. We wanted to provide recommendations that would provide the
greatest benefit.

Table 1. The Super 8 Natural Medicines for Cancer Treatment †

Proteolytic enzyme complexes
Curcumin (from Curcuma longa)
Quercetin
Maitake D- or MD-fraction
PSK/PSP
Polyerga
Modified citrus pectin
Ip6 (Inositol hexaphosphate)
† Note, while these "Super 8" are important, they certainly do not
represent the only products that we recommend nor do they all have
to be used in a cancer patient in most circumstances.

Proteolytic Enzymes vs. Unproven Products

To illustrate the value of our recommendations over marketing hype,
let's first take a look at proteolytic enzymes (or proteases) -
various enzymes that digest (break down into smaller units) protein.
These enzymes include the pancreatic proteases chymotrypsin and
trypsin, bromelain (pineapple enzyme), papain (papaya enzyme), and
Serratia peptidase (the "silk worm" enzyme).

We chose proteolytic enzyme complexes (e.g., Zymactive or Wobenzyme)
as our number 1 natural product because we felt that it offered the
greatest benefit to the widest range of cancer patients. Good
clinical studies have shown that proteolytic enzymes improves the
general condition of patients and their quality of life, and
produces slight to modest increases in life expectancy.1 For
example, let's take a look at a study in patients with stage 3 colon
cancer. Now, normally this stage of colon cancer has a very poor
outcome with conventional medicine alone. In the study, 166 patients
received a mixture of proteolytic enzymes along with a combination
of chemotherapy drugs while 99 matched patients served as the
control group. The results were astounding. The group receiving the
proteolytic enzymes displayed a three year increase in survival
rate. That is absolutely REMARKABLE.

O.K., so based on the results of this trial and others we see that
mixtures of proteolytic enzymes can dramatically improve the odds of
beating cancer. Now, can the products that are overly hyped such as
Graviola, PolyMVA, Cesium, Essiac, or MGN3 provide that
documentation? No, and that is where it gets difficult for me. Why
would anyone in their right mind choose a program or product that
has not been documented to provide clinical benefit over something
that has?

I could choose any of these products to pick on, but since I was
just got an e-mail from a son of a man with stage 3 colon cancer
asking me about Graviola, I will focus on this product.

Graviola refers to the plant Annona muricata - a small, upright
evergreen tree that grows primarily in the Amazon. The medicinal
preparations are made from the bark, leaves, roots, fruit, and fruit
seeds. It is the leaves and stem that are recommended to cancer
patients. Numerous websites and marketing brochures will cite the
research on the anticancer compounds in graviola known as
acetogenins.

While it is true that these compounds have anticancer effects it
comes with a price. Keep in mind that many conventional drugs used
in chemotherapy come from plants, such vincristine and vinblastine
from the periwinkle plant and paclitaxel from the Pacific yew tree.
Would it be appropriate to make these powerful drugs available over-
the-counter? These drugs work as cytotoxic agents directly poisoning
rapidly dividing cells. While the major goals of the natural
products we highlight in the book is similar (destruction of the
cancer), the path that we chose to recommend is a little different.
Instead of targeting cancer cell destruction by toxic means like
chemotherapy agents, we are trying to engage the body's own cancer
fighting mechanisms. When chemotherapy is necessary it should be
done with controlled dosages of approved cytotoxic agents and not
via ingesting a potentially toxic herb.

So, am I saying that graviola is dangerous. If the product contains
acetogenins it is. The actual level of acetogenins in these products
is probably very low, similar to the taxol quantity in Pacific yew
bark. Although acetogenins apparently have more specificity to
cancer cells, their mechanism of action is definitely cytotoxic.
They work by interfering with the mitochondria - the energy
producing units of our cells. While graviola products claim to be
clinically tested, when I conducted a detailed search of data from
the National Library of Medicine, I could not find any entries of
clinical trials. Furthermore, when I went to various websites that
provided "clinical references" all that I could find were the test
tube studies of the purified acetogenins. These are not clinical
trials.

While marketing data also claim a high degree of safety, it is
highly suspect. For example, nowhere did I find mention of the fact
that regular consumption of graviola has been linked to a from of
Parkinson's disease.2 Specifically, the frequency of treatment-
resistant Parkinson's disease is much higher in areas that consume
the fruit and infusions of graviola. Experimental studies have
documented that graviola extracts exert some of their cytotoxic
activity on brain cells that produce dopamine - the key
neurotransmitter that controls physical movement. Until this issue
is cleared up, I think it is irresponsible for marketers to be
selling graviola products. Of course, this statement as many others
I have made over the years will surely anger people selling products
that I don't think of as legitimate.

While graviola may be proven to be legitimate at some point, here is
my key point with it as my example - THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO REASON
TO GAMBLE WITH PRODUCTS WITH QUESTIONABLE SAFETY OR EFFICACY WHEN
SAFER MORE EFFECTIVE PRODUCTS ARE AVAILABLE.

Final Comments

Believe me, my reason for writing this editorial is not shameless
self promotion because I want to sell more books, it is simply that
I am frustrated by people looking for answers in the wrong places.
The more that I have learned about natural medicine, the more that
it has fueled a greater appreciation for the wonder of Nature and
the belief that there is a purpose to life. It is that awe that
motivates to spread the word of effective medicines from Nature. I
passionately want people to get the best results with natural
medicine - that is what motivates me.


Key References:

Leipner J and Saller R: Systemic enzyme therapy in oncology: effect
and mode of action. Drugs. 2000;59:769-80.
Lannuzel A, Michel PP, Caparros-Lefebvre D, et al. Toxicity of
Annonaceae for dopaminergic neurons: potential role in atypical
parkinsonism in Guadeloupe. Mov Disord 2002;17(1):84-90.

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