Strategy to combat cancer: Avoid meats and dairy products

Avoiding meats and dairy products is increasingly touted as helping to prevent the disease

We've heard about ways to potentially prevent cancer and other diseases -- increase antioxidants, take vitamins, eat eight to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables daily and drink plenty of purified water.

We all know we're supposed to avoid salty and sugary foods, as well as foods loaded with fat and cholesterol -- and that we should exercise.

But what about the advice to avoid meat and meat by-products? After all, they are the only foods that contain cholesterol, and fruits and vegetables open the arteries while cholesterol-containing foods clog them.

Although some people find the idea of avoiding meat repulsive, a growing number of Metro Detroiters are embracing the idea so much they are taking classes to learn how to cook delicious yet simple meals without meat or dairy products such as milk, eggs, cheese, sour cream or yogurt.

They have good reason. A growing number of research studies on large groups of people indicate avoiding meat reduces the likelihood of battling cancer.

Last year, the National Cancer Institute released study results after examining 500,000 people for 10 years. The study concluded that eating large amounts of red and processed meats increased the likelihood of developing cancer. In the past few years, large studies in England and Germany showed that vegetarians were about 40 percent less likely to develop cancer compared to meat eaters. Additionally, Harvard studies showed that daily meat eaters have approximately three times the colon cancer risk, compared to those who rarely eat meat.

Vegetarianism also is suggested for cancer survivors.

When Mary Bobis of Farmington Hills was diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer in February 2007, her doctors recommended she stop eating meat, so she did. Now she's an expert at finding mouth-watering recipes that don't require any animal products.

"I've learned that 80 percent of cancer comes from the way we eat and the environment," says the 24-year-old. "And 20 percent is unexplained or genetic. I think because I was diagnosed at age 21, I fall into the latter group. I believe you can safely say most cancers are prevented by eating right and exercising."

It's not as difficult as you think to give up -- or greatly reduce -- meat intake, says James Tester, a Cancer Project educator who teaches a cancer-prevention cooking class Tuesday nights at Providence Park Hospital's Assarian Cancer Center in Novi. He says the key is learning the four new food groups -- fruit, vegetables, grains and beans.

"We promote changing all the way," he says. "It's a lifestyle change and you've got to go all the way. When you adapt this way of nutritious eating, you'll find an alternative for everything."

For example, Cheryl Heppard, a health coach based in Birmingham, advises clients who want to prevent cancer to switch from cow's milk to almond, coconut or rice milk. Soy products are abundant in grocery stores these days, but Heppard doesn't recommend them because of the bloating, gassiness and digestive problems they can cause.

Melinda Lewis, a certified health minister who teaches cooking classes at her Southfield home through Great Joy Health Ministries, suggests getting away from white processed sugar and trying natural sweeteners such as agave nectar and pure maple syrup.

Bobis, who was not expected to make it this long after a diagnosis more typical to people in their 60s, says changing the way she eats has sustained her.

"It changed my life," she says, "and makes me more aware of the causes of cancer and helps me feel better."

Quick Chili

Recipe from "Eat Right, Live Longer" by Dr. Neal D. Barnard; recipe by Jennifer Raymond. Textured vegetable protein is a high-protein, low-fat by-product from processing the soy bean. It is used to add protein, flavor and texture to this recipe and is available in natural foods stores.

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 cup dry textured vegetable protein (TVP)

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup water or vegetable stock

2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 cup fresh or frozen corn

1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

Pour the boiling water over TVP and let stand until softened.

Braise onion, bell pepper and garlic in water or stock until onion is soft, then add beans, tomato sauce, corn, chili powder, oregano, cumin, cayenne and TVP.

Simmer at least 30 minutes.

Makes 8 1-cup servings.

Per serving: 167 calories; 0.9 g fat (0.2 g saturated fat; 5 percent calories from fat); 31.1 g carbohydrates; 0 mg cholesterol; 393 mg sodium; 11.1 g protein; 9.1 g fiber.

Any Veggie Coconut Curry

From "The Cancer Survivor's Guide: Foods That Help You Fight Back!" (The Cancer Project, $19.95). The vegetables listed in this recipe are favorites, but any vegetables you have on hand can be used, along with the coconut milk and spices. If you use coconut milk, choose the lite version.

1 cup dry (uncooked) brown rice

2 cups water

1 large onion diced

4 garlic cloves minced (about 4 teaspoons)

3 large carrots, cut into rounds or diced

1/4 cup vegetable broth or water

1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Pinch cayenne pepper

1 medium potato, diced (peeling optional)

3 cups chopped kale

2 cups chopped broccoli florets, or 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped broccoli florets

8 mushrooms, sliced

1 (15-ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups of cooked garbanzo beans

1 cup fresh or frozen green peas

1 cup lite coconut milk, or 1 cup nondairy milk + 1 teaspoon coconut extract

3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

Bring rice and water to a boil in a medium saucepan.

Lower heat and simmer, covered, until all the water is absorbed (about 30 minutes.)

In a large saucepan, sauté onion, garlic and carrots in vegetable broth or water on medium-high heat until onion become translucent.

Add curry, cumin, turmeric and cayenne.

Cook for 2 to 4 minutes, stirring often.

Add potato, kale, broccoli, mushrooms, beans, peas and coconut milk or nondairy milk mixture.

Cover and reduce heat to medium-low.

Simmer for 10 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potato can be pierced easily with a fork.

Serve over rice and sprinkle with soy sauce.

No-Meat Loaf

From the Cancer Project's upcoming book, "The Survivor's Handbook: Eating Right for Cancer Survival." A food processor makes it easy to make the bread crumbs (or you can purchase already prepared bread crumbs) and to finely chop the walnuts and vegetables. The tomatoes in this recipe add vitamins A, B and C.

1 1/4 cups quick-cooking or regular rolled oats

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs, preferably whole-wheat (2 to 3 slices bread)

1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 (14-ounce) package Lightlife Gimme Lean Ground Beef Style meat substitute, other ground beef-style meat substitute, or 2 cups cooked bulgur

3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 cup plain tomato sauce, or 1 cup of crushed tomatoes

2 teaspoons stone-ground or Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Vegetable oil spray

1/2 cup ketchup or barbecue sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Use a food processor to finely chop walnuts, onion, celery, carrot and green bell pepper.

Combine all ingredients except vegetable oil spray and ketchup or barbecue sauce in a large bowl.

Stir with a large spoon or knead by hand until well-mixed, about 1 minute.

Press into a vegetable oil sprayed 5- by 9-inch loaf pan or similar baking dish.

Top with ketchup or barbecue sauce, if using. Bake 60 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Makes 1 loaf (about 12 slices).

Per serving: 104 calories; 2.6 g fat (0.3 g saturated fat; 22 percent calories from fat); 13.9 g carbohydrates; 0 mg cholesterol; 418 mg sodium; 8.2 g protein; 2.5 g fiber.

Italian Polenta

Recipe by Isis Israel, Cancer Project Educational Alliance Partner. This recipe is delicious when topped with spaghetti sauce or your favorite marinara sauce.

1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)

1 cup course corn grits

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt or salt substitute

1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes (optional)

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley or basil (optional)

2 tablespoons chopped garlic (optional) vegetable oil spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

If using mushrooms, sauté in a skillet. Set aside.

Combine corn grits, water and salt or salt substitute in a sauce pan.

Cook and stir over medium heat until thick, about 5 minutes, then pour in sautéed mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley or basil and garlic, if using.

Pour into vegetable oil-sprayed small 1- or 2-quart pan to set up and let cool to room temperature.

Let it set up for 30 minutes at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Take the firm polenta out of the pan. Slice and bake for 30 minutes on a lightly vegetable oil-sprayed baking sheet or pan fry until golden on both sides.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving: 145 calories; 0.5 g fat (0.1 g saturated fat; 2.7 percent calories from fat); 31.1 g carbohydrates; 0 mg cholesterol; 303 mg sodium; 3.4 g protein; 0.6 g fiber.

Cover and refrigerate. Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: 320 calories; 5.2 g fat (2.5 g saturated fat; 14.7 percent calories from fat); 59.3 g carbohydrates; 0 mg cholesterol; 407 mg sodium; 12.3 g protein; 12.3 g fiber.

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Natural Cures for Stomach Cancer

Stomach cancer, also called gastric cancer, develops as cancerous cells proliferate in the wall and lining of the stomach. Several conventional methods of potentially curing stomach cancer exist, the most common of which is surgery. But other, more natural remedies also may combat stomach cancer--including using the herb Indian gooseberry, the Chinese herb lu feng fang and making certain changes to your diet. 

 

Indian Gooseberry

1. Consider using Indian gooseberry, also known as amla. This herb, used for centuries by ayurvedic herbalists in India to treat stomach conditions, is known to possess chemo-preventive qualities, naturally inhibiting the proliferation of cancer cells in the stomach. According to the scholarly journal "Anticancer Research," Indian gooseberry has been shown to have anti-carcinogenic properties. The herb is available in tincture, pill and tea form, and should be taken for four months daily in dosages according to the instructions on the container. Indian gooseberry is available at any herbal or natural products store. 

Lu Feng Fang

Consider the Chinese herb lu feng fang, or Polistes mandarinus Saussure. According to the Alternative Healing University in California, lu feng fang is considered by Chinese herbalists to be a toxin and parasite combatant. It has been used as a natural herbal remedy to fight cancer. In particular, Chinese herbalists recommend it for those with lung or stomach cancer. The herb is available in most herbal or natural products stores, and almost certainly from any Chinese herbal store. Consult with a physician or certified herbal doctor before using lu feng fang.

Diet

Avoid eating refined starches. Foods that contain refined starches include white breads, white-flour tortillas and many breakfast cereals. Also avoid sugary foods and desserts, such as cookies, cakes and candy. Sugary foods as a regular part of one's diet have been found to significantly raise one's chances of developing and dying from cancer, and generally contribute to poor health and an increased risk of developing other diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure--certainly not desirable if one is already struggling with stomach cancer.

Similarly, stay away from red meat, including beef, veal, lamb and pork. For protein, incorporate small portions of chicken and fish into your daily diet instead. Like sugary foods, inclusion of too much red meat or fatty foods into one's diet can significantly increase one's risk of getting and exacerbating cancer---and lead to poorer health overall.

Whole grains should be eaten regularly by stomach cancer patients for their dietary fiber. Foods that contain dietary fiber include whole-grain breads, whole-grain cereals, quinoa, whole-wheat pastas and oatmeal. Dietary fiber helps clean out the stomach, colon and intestine, thereby preventing carcinogens from prolonged exposure to these areas. This may contribute both to preventing stomach cancer as well as containing it, to a degree, once it has already developed.

Besides being the key to a balanced diet, fruits and vegetables contain fiber---as already discussed, a dietary must for stomach cancer patients. Try to incorporate new vegetables and new fruits into your diet. When is the last time you tried kale, a mango or some spaghetti squash? How about loganberries, parwal, tinda or artichokes?

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Graviola Tree and Paw Paw Treatments

How It Works

These products come from trees in the tropical areas of South and North America. They kill cancer cells as a minimum, but may have other affects on cancer. Paw Paw is known to work by blocking ATP production and thus reduce the voltage of the cancer cell to the point it falls apart (apoptosis or programmed cell death). Because Paw Paw and graviola are cousins, I assume that is also the way graviola works. They are also known to build the immunity system.

Graviola Tree and Paw Paw Tree

This is one of those treatments for cancer that is fairly new, meaning it has only recently found its way onto the internet. Nevertheless, there have been a lot of scientific studies on these two products. At the current time most of the articles for Graviola and cancer come from a single source - the Health Sciences Institute (see the links below), though there are a growing number of independent articles.

I recommend graviola on the basis of several scientific articles, several testimonials, and several comments by practitioners (mostly from Brazil), however, Paw Paw is actually stronger than graviola at treating cancer. Paw Paw is the more potent of the two because of its more sophisticated and larger molecular structures. Graviola is sometimes called "Brazilian Paw Paw," which can cause some confusion.

Paw Paw is clearly more powerful than graviola when treating cancer, if the quality of the processing is comparable. However, I would take freshly cut graviola over bottled Paw Paw (but American's can't get freshly cut graviola). Graviola only has single ring compounds, while the Paw Paw's acetogenins have several double ring compounds (e.g. bullatacin) which makes Paw Paw much more powerful.

Paw Paw works (and I assume graviola as well) by slowing down or stopping the production of ATP. This in turn lowers the voltage of the cell. For normal cells, there is plenty of ATP, thus lowering the level of ATP has no effect on the cell. However, with cancer cells, due to the way they create energy (by fermentation), ATP is far more critical.

When the ATP level, and the energy of the cell level, drops to a critical level the cell falls apart. The residual pieces of the dead cancer cell are called "lysing" and I assume are similiar to other apoptosis (programmed cell death) killed cells. If that is the case, then part of the lysing is literally "eaten" by other cells (called: phagocytosed).

However, because the cancer cells in a cancer patient are frequently clusted together, a large amount of lysing can be created within a cancer patient such that high levels of clustered lysing cannot be eaten by surrounding cells. Such a situation is especially dangerous for lung cancer patients and brain cancer patients where a clustered amount of lysing can be very dangerous.

Here is some technical information on graviola:

• "The Annonaceous acetogenins discovered in graviola thus far include: annocatalin, annohexocin, annomonicin, annomontacin, annomuricatin A & B, annomuricin A thru E, annomutacin, annonacin, annonacinone, annopentocin A thru C, cis-annonacin, cis-corossolone, cohibin A thru D, corepoxylone, coronin, corossolin, corossolone, donhexocin, epomuricenin A & B, gigantetrocin, gigantetrocin A & B, gigantetrocinone, gigantetronenin, goniothalamicin, iso-annonacin, javoricin, montanacin, montecristin, muracin A thru G, muricapentocin, muricatalicin, muricatalin, muri-catenol, muricatetrocin A & B muricatin D, muricatocin A thru C muricin H, muricin I, muricoreacin, murihexocin 3, murihexocin A thru C, murihexol, murisolin, robustocin, rolliniastatin 1 & 2, saba-delin, solamin, uvariamicin I & IV, xylomaticin.
  http://www.naturalpharmacy.com/learn-more/graviola

Graviola, like its cousin Paw Paw, is known to greatly enhace the effectiveness of another alternative cancer treatment - Protocel. However, generally it is recommended that Protocel not be taken with graviola or Paw Paw.

Paw Paw has been shown to kill multiple-drug resistant (MDR) cells, which result from someone taking chemotherapy. This is critical to understand because when a person on orthodox treatments comes out of remission into regression, a high percentage of their cancer cells are MDR cells. This would REQUIRE the use of Paw Paw to treat these patients.

Paw Paw is not toxic according to studies with beagles (dogs). It appears to be impossible to 'overdose', 32 capsules 4x/day were non toxic because it caused vomiting.

Paw Paw gravitates towards cells that use a lot of energy and then cuts off their energy supply. Since cancer cells use 10-17 times as much energy as a normal cell, Paw Paw acts on cancer cells. It is the same mechanism that made it so useful as a parasite cleanse and to kill hair lice.

It is also the reason that pregnant women should not take Paw Paw. Paw Paw could see some of the fast growing cells in the fetus as high energy cells. In addition, some of the cells in a fetus are very similar to cancer cells (i.e. the "trophoblastic" cells), so pregnant women should ALWAYS be careful what they take for cancer.

If no cancer, parasite, or other high energy users are available, Paw Paw may gravitate towards fast growing cells lining the digestive and intestinal system walls. This is why the main manufacturer, Nature's Sunshine, strongly cautions against long term use for non-cancer patients. Some people with cancer have reported digestion distress such as nausea. For this reason it is recommended to take Paw Paw with food. 

Warnings For Both Products

In the past, it was thought that the effectiveness of Paw Paw, like Protocel, was damaged by taking antioxidants with Paw Paw. However, new research has shown that this is not the case. I quote from an email I received:

• "The head of NSP research, Dr. Bill Keller, provided Paw Paw with supporting products to a research oncologist and his laboratory to test with actual cultures. Several of Nature's Sunshine strong antioxidants were also provided. The research personnel concluded overwhelmingly that there was no negative prevention of Paw Paw action as a result of the antioxidants." email to CancerTutor

Also, I do not know which antioxidants may conflict with graviola. If you buy graviola, check with the vendor for recommendations.

No one with Parkinsons Disease should take Paw Paw or graviola unless alkaloid-free preparations are used. There is also a possibility of allergic reactions in sensitive individuals.

Supercharging This Treatment

Paw Paw is generally considered stronger than graviola. This does not mean that graviola should not be used. Cat's Claw and Ellagic Acid seem to be items that people like to combine with Graviola. However, if you take Cat's Claw make sure you take a product like Samento, which is a TOA-free Cat's Claw.

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Pau d'arco - Mesothelioma and Nutrition

The pau d’arco tree is native to Central and South America. It can reach a height of 125 feet and is recognized by its violet-colored flowers. Pau d’arco has been used medicinally for treating many conditions, including pain, arthritis, inflammation of the prostate gland, fever, dysentery, ulcers and various types of cancer.

Within the inner bark of the tree contains the chemical substance lapachol, which has been proven to kill several types of viruses, bacteria and fungi in test tubes. It should be noted that these same effects might not occur in humans. Other studies have shown pau d’arco to be effective in treating certain types of cancer, but researchers have received mixed results. In many instances, the amount of pau d’arco needed to reduce cancer cells would be toxic for humans.

Pau d’arco can be bought as tablets, a tincture and dried bark tea. However, the medicinal properties within pau d’arco poorly dissolve in water and a tea is not always recommended. When taking pau d’arco as a treatment method, it is important to make sure the form you are taking contains tabebuia avellanedae as an ingredient.

The use of pau d’arco should only be performed under a doctor’s close supervision. Infants and children should avoid taking pau d’arco and adults should be cautious with the amount they ingest. Side effects are uncommon when pau d’arco is taken at recommended doses, but they can include anemia, diarrhea and dizziness. Pregnant and nursing women should also avoid using pau d’arco.

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Benefits of Maitake Mushroom: Fights cancer and balances blood sugar

Benefits of Maitake Mushroom in Cancer

Maitake Mushroom (Grifola frondosa) may best be known for its cancer-fighting properties. It contains grifolan, an important beta-glucan polysaccharide (molecule composed of many sugar molecules linked together). Grifolan has been shown to activate macrophages, a type of cell consider the " heavy artillery": of the immune system, explains Larry A. Walker, Ph.D., R.D., author of "Natural products update," published in Drug Topics, June 1997. D-fraction, one of the polysaccharides in maitake mushroom, also energized the cellular immune system.

The evidence confirming maitake's therapeutic value - both in and out of the laboratory - is impressive. Laboratory studies have shown that maitake extract can block the growth of cancer tumors and boost the immune function of mice with cancer.

Haroaki Nanba reported the findings of the following study in "Maitake D-fraction: healing and preventing potentials for cancer," published in the Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Feb/Mar 1996; In a non-randomized clinical study, 165 individuals with advanced cancer used maitake D-fraction. Patients received either maitake D-fraction alone or with chemotherapy. Maitake mushroom was found effective against leukemia and stomach and bone cancers. Responses were further improved when maitake D-fraction and chemotherapy were used together. Individuals receiving maitake D-fraction also experienced relief from the side effects of chemotherapy, such as loss of appetite, vomiting, nausea, hair loss, and deficiency of white blood cells.

Other Benefits of Maitake Mushroom

People with Type 2 Diabetes may also benefit from maitake mushroom, according to researchers Hiroaki Nanba and Keiko Kubo, authors of "Mushroom biology and mushroom products". Researchers investigated a specific, high-molecular polysaccharide in maitake called the X-fraction. They found that mice given maitake had an increased ability to recognize glucose, and the control group had higher blood glucose levels. The researchers suggested that maitake mushroom can reduce insulin resistance, thereby increasing insulin sensitivity. The X-fraction appears to be the active compound with anti-diabetic properties.

In addition, many doctors in Japan use maitake mushroom to lower blood pressure and blood lipids, two key risk factors in cardiovascular disease.

Beinfield also recommends maitake mushroom for stomach ailments. "It aids digestion by regulating the stomach and intestines, and helps eliminate food stagnation," she explains.

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Blue Shield Denies New Cancer Treatment Claim

A huge robotic machine has helped some doctors combat cancer in difficult to treat cases, but not everyone with insurance has been covered for it.

There was always that little bit of dread in the back of Fred Kinder's mind. His father had prostate cancer in his early 50s and Fred knew it might hit him early too.

But it was still a shock when Stanford confirmed the diagnosis last summer. Fred was 62 years old with a wife and 8-year-old son.

Karen Vinci was 53 years old when doctors said she had five weeks to live. The reason was a grapefruit-sized tumor had wrapped itself around her bile duct, just below the liver. That was in 2003. Somehow she survived the major surgery and made it through chemo and radiation.

But last year the cancer came back—a rare and inoperable tumor.

"Pretty severe. Life threatening," Vinci said. "It was a life and death situation."

But in both cases, a high-tech treatment offered hope.

It's called the CyberKnife—a huge robotic machine converted from an automobile assembly line. Despite its name, there is no cutting. The CyberKnife shoots out thread-like beams of intense radiation from hundreds of angles. Using computer guidance, the laser beams come together directly on the tumor—burning just the cancer without damaging healthy tissue.

An entire team of doctors at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center decided that the CyberKnife offered the only treatment that could save Vinci's life.

"Without it," said UCSF radiation oncologist Kim Huang, "it's impossible to have a cure in her case."

But then Kinder and Vinci got letters from their health insurance company—Blue Shield—denying payment for the procedure.

"I was shocked when I was denied," Kinder said, wiping away tears. "I was shocked."

"It was devastating," Vinci said. "Because here you are in treatment and they're saying no."

Why the rejection? Because Blue Shield said the CyberKnife is an "experimental and investigational" treatment—a term sometimes used by health insurance companies to claim that there isn't enough evidence that a treatment works.

Dr. Huang disagrees.

"There is medical evidence supporting the way we're using it—CyberKnife—to treat tumors in the body," Dr. Huang said.

In fact, in 1999 the Food and Drug Administration approved the CyberKnife for brain surgery; then in 2001 for treatment of tumors "anywhere in the body." Medicare, another federal agency, pays for all CyberKnife treatments in California. And there are more than 80 CyberKnife centers around the country.

CBS 5 Investigates asked Dr. Huang if the insurance company offered an alternative to the CyberKnife after they deemed the treatment was experimental and investigational treatment.

"No," Dr. Huang replied. "They don't think it's their job to offer an alternative. That's what I asked them, when I talked to the medical director at the insurance company. And I said, 'What kind of treatment do you want her to get then?'"

Asked about their response, Dr. Huang just shrugs.

"They don't answer," she said.

Vinci and her husband fought back, through two appeals, and thought they would be covered—until the very day she went for her CyberKnife treatment and found that Blue Shield was still refusing to pay.

"I was prepared to go into this treatment," Vinci said, "and now all of a sudden it's about money and I'm fighting for my life."

One health insurance expert CBS 5 Investigates spoke to said the very definition of experimental or investigational is a "moving target," with each insurance company essentially making up its own rules.

Healthcare advocate Jerry Flanagan of the group Consumer Watchdog said, "Insurance companies have a financial incentive to deny coverage and call it experimental and investigational."

Flanagan believes Blue Shield's denials for Karen Vinci and Fred Kinder are arbitrary and may violate state law.

"The bottom line here is that it's not up to the insurance company to decide who gets what treatment or whether the CyberKnife should be provided," Flanagan said. "The law requires that the doctor gets to decide, as long as the insurance company doesn't have a better option for you."

So what does Blue Shield say? The company refused an on-camera interview.  But they sent CBS 5 Investigates a statement saying it relied on the "best scientific evidence" in denying Kinder and Vinci's claims—and that "standard radiation therapy is as effective as the more complex treatment for these patients."

But Kinder said, "It doesn't make sense that insurance companies can be your doctor and determine what's best for you—when it's not the best."

After fighting for six months, Fred Kinder appealed the decision to California's Department of Managed Health Care—and won. The state said the CyberKnife "is likely to be more beneficial than any available standard therapy."

As for Karen Vinci, she eventually won her state appeal too.

And even better news, she said, "Exactly one year after having my last CyberKnife treatment, I am now cancer free."

And Dr. Huang can't suppress a grin as she added, "I think the CyberKnife treatment gave her another chance for life. And, yeah—I saved her life this time."

If an insurance company denies coverage for a treatment, you can appeal to the state. But a consumer watchdog tells us that, more often than not, patients lose the appeal.

The following is a statement from Blue Shield of California representative:

We recognize that patients trust their doctors to recommend the most appropriate treatment for their condition and expect their health plan to pay for it. We provide comprehensive coverage for radiation therapy, which is the standard treatment for these types of cancer. Our medical policy, which is based on the best scientific evidence and clinical studies, determined that standard radiation therapy is as effective as the more complex treatment for these patients.

In questions involving emerging medical technologies, it is not unusual for experts to disagree. Two of the physicians who reviewed these cases under the state's Independent Medical Review process agreed with us; four did not. In light of that outcome, we promptly agreed to cover this treatment and wish both patients a complete and speedy recovery.

Alan Sokolow, MD
Chief Medical Officer

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Blood Test May Reveal Smokers' Risk of Lung Cancer

Smoking is a major cause of lung cancer, which accounts for 30 percent of all cancer deaths. But new research indicates that some smokers are at greater risk of succumbing to the disease than others. According to a report published today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, smokers carrying a newly discovered genetic marker are up to 10 times more likely to get lung cancer than those without it.

Exposure to a number of things in everyday life, from sunlight to cigarette smoke, can degrade DNA, but our bodies have developed mechanisms to mitigate this damage. Zvi Livneh of the Weizmann Institute in Israel and colleagues studied the role of a repair enzyme known as OGG1, which deletes DNA parts that have been damaged by oxygen radicals, in preventing lung cancer. The researchers found that among lung cancer sufferers, 40 percent had low OGG1 levels compared to only 4 percent of the general population. In addition, the scientists determined that smokers with low OGG1 activity were five to 10 times as likely to suffer from the disease than smokers who have normal OGG1 activity were. This risk increased to 120 times when comparing the group to non-smokers with normal levels of the enzyme.

Levels of OGG1 can be monitored using a simple blood test. The authors thus suggest that screening smokers for this new marker could provide people with a greater incentive to kick the habit.

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Coffee Reduces Risk of Bladder Cancer

Researchers have long considered smoking a risk factor for bladder cancer, a disease that strikes about 55,000 Americans each year. But the results of a new study published in the January 2001 issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggest that risk may be far higher than previously thought. The same study, however, indicates that coffee may protect against bladder cancer, especially among smokers. Analyzing data from 500 diagnosed cases of bladder cancer, as well as 1,000 control subjects, the researchers found that non-coffee drinking smokers were seven times more likely to develop the disease as non-smokers. Coffee-drinking smokers, on the other hand, were only three times more at risk. Coffee thus appears to somehow dilute the harmful effect of tobacco use on the bladder. Previous studies have suggested that caffeine might discourage mutations from forming, perhaps by inducing activity in an enzyme known as CYP1A2. But only further research will reveal exactly how coffee consumption protects against this disease.

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Nanoparticles Annihilate Prostate Cancer

Fighting cancer is currently a messy war. Modern chemotherapies attack tumors with the equivalent of a machinegun approach: cover the area widely with deadly fire and hope to destroy the tumor with a minimum of collateral damage. Doctors have long sought a way to precisely target tumors with their chemical therapies. Now researchers may have found it in a nanoparticle laced with a cancer-combating drug.

Omid Farokhzad of Harvard University, Robert Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and their colleagues created the nanoparticle out of a previously FDA-approved polymer that has been shown to dissolve inside cells. This nanoparticle--one-thousandth the width of a human hair--carries a load of a lethal chemical: docetaxel, which is currently used to treat prostate cancer. In addition, the scientists studded the outside of the particle with so-called aptamers--tiny proteins that link directly to cancer cells while avoiding regular cells. Finally, they equipped the nanoparticles with polyethylene glycol molecules, which allow them to resist the internal defenses of a tumor cell.

In both laboratory dishes and mice with human prostate cancers, the nanoparticles proved extremely effective. "A single injection of our nanoparticles completely eradicated the tumors in five of the seven treated animals and the remaining animals had significant tumor reduction compared to the controls," Farokhzad says.

In fact, the mice that received the complete nanomedicine package had smaller tumors and longer lifespans than their counterparts injected with saline, nanoparticles without the drug, the drug alone, and nanoparticles with the drug but without the targeting aptamers. The research appears online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.

Further tests will be needed to ensure that the nanoparticle is safe in animals and, eventually, in humans afflicted with prostate cancer. The technique may even find wider application. "[Researchers] can put different things inside or other things on the outside of the nanoparticles. In fact, this technology could be applied to almost any disease," Farokhzad argues. And that may prove the advent of a little more rifle-like precision in the war on cancer.

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Research Reveals Role of Vitamin D in Preventing Colon Cancer

Americans' penchant for fatty foods is thought to be one of the reasons the rate of colorectal cancer is so high in the U.S. (as a killer, it is second only to lung cancer in industrialized countries). Vitamin D has been shown to offer protection against the disease in rats, but the mechanism behind its beneficial effects was unclear. Now a report published in the current issue of the journal Science reveals that the vitamin helps to detoxify cancer-triggering chemicals that the body releases during the digestion of high-fat foods. The findings suggest that drugs capable of mimicking this beneficial action of vitamin D could help combat colon cancer.

The liver produces a number of acids to digest dietary fat. One of these, lithocholic acid (LCA), is a known carcinogen and is the focus of the new work. David J. Mangelsdorf of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and his colleagues determined that LCA activates the receptor for vitamin D. Using cultures of human cells, the researchers further demonstrated that the gene known as CYP3A, which triggers a cell's detoxification machinery, is switched on when LCA binds to the receptor. "Other investigators had published data showing that the vitamin D could switch on this gene," Mangelsdorf says, "but it was a big surprise that LCA could do it also."

The results indicate that the vitamin D receptor acts as a sensor to detect high levels of the toxic LCA, according to the report. Thus, in theory, compounds that switch the receptor on could help prevent colon cancer by clearing LCA from the body. Simply administering vitamin D as a protective drug to ward off the disease is problematic because it can produce dangerous levels of calcium in the blood, a condition known as hypercalcemia. "But now we know that there's another endogenous compound, LCA, that can also attach to the receptor," Mangelsdorf notes. "This suggests that we can develop protective drugs that don't produce hypercalcemia but do activate the detoxification pathway."

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Compound from Coral Could Combat Cancer

Natural compounds have proven to be a treasure trove of medicinal properties. For example, the bark of the Pacific yew tree yielded a compound that has helped battle some forms of cancer. Such finds have led to a new industry--bioprospecting--and such prospectors have fanned out across the globe in search of nature's remedies. Now a compound isolated from coral collected off the coast of Okinawa has shown the ability to slow down and possibly prevent virus replication and it may hold promise as a cancer treatment.

Isis hippuris is a yellow, branching coral found in the tropical waters of the western Pacific. By grinding it up and treating it with methanol, researchers isolated a natural steroid, dubbed hippuristanol. Biochemist Jerry Pelletier of McGill University and his colleagues tested this steroid's therapeutic abilities. In vitro and in vivo, the steroid blocked a critical step in the process that allows a virus to thrive.

Antibiotics and other modern medicines do not work on viruses because these radically simple organisms infiltrate cells and hijack their processes to serve their own purposes. Such a hijacker virus uses cellular machinery to control the process of building proteins and thereby replicates itself. Based on the team's research, published online yesterday in Nature Chemical Biology, hippuristanol stops this process by inhibiting the function of a protein--eIF4A--that acts as a molecular motor, which the virus relies on to make proteins. "You can selectively block production of proteins from viral mRNAs that rely more heavily on this factor," Pelletier says. "It's very clean in the way it acts on this protein. It's very selective in its mechanism and it doesn't appear to have off-target effects."

These experiments showed that hippuristanol slowed the replication of poliovirus without stopping protein creation in uninfected cells. And because this process appears to spiral out of control in some cancers, hippuristanol might also prove to be a potent chemotherapy. "Any compound that targets these factors opens up a new therapeutic avenue for cancer," Pelletier notes. The only problem will be ensuring a steady supply of the promising compound without denuding the western Pacific's reefs.

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Green Tea and Ginger Show New Cancer-Combating Abilities

The potential health benefits of drinking green tea are varied, ranging from preventing bad breath to protecting your heart. Recent studies have also suggested that a topical cream based on the beverage may help fend off skin cancer. Findings presented yesterday at a meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research indicate that components of green tea could be effective at fighting other types of cancer, too.

Damage to DNA can lead to uncontrolled cell growth and the development of cancerous tumors. Impairment caused by oxygen-containing molecules, including very reactive free radicals, is often marked by the presence of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, or 8-OHdG. Iman Hakim of the Arizona Cancer Center and her colleagues performed a randomized, controlled study of the effects of tea drinking among heavy smokers. For four months, 118 smokers drank four cups of decaffeinated tea, either green or black, daily. The researchers determined that those smokers who drank green tea had a 31 percent decrease in their levels of urinary OhdG, suggesting that they were less susceptible to oxidative DNA damage than smokers who drank black tea or members of the control group were.

Participants in such studies are often required to drink quite a bit of tea, sometimes as much as seven to 10 cups a day. Researchers are thus investigating compounds similar to the active ingredients in green tea that could avoid this problem. Nurulain Zaveri of SRI International in Menlo Park, Calif., and her colleagues synthesized compounds similar to a component in green tea, EGCG, that has been associated with reduced risk of myriad types of cancer in humans. They manufactured two molecules that have different rings attached to a central structure similar to that of EGCG. One of these analogs, dubbed SR 13196, is better at slowing the proliferation of breast cancer cell lines than regular EGCG, whereas SR 13193 inhibits the growth factor protein VEGF in cancerous cells, the scientists found. "These analogs are not only valuable tools to clarify how green tea may fight cancer," Zaveri notes, "but are also potential chemopreventive drug candidates themselves, with perhaps better pharmacokinetic properties than have been seen with EGCG thus far."

Other results presented at the meeting suggest that the best type of cookie to eat during afternoon tea might be gingerbread. Researchers at the University of Minnesota determined that mice fed the main active component in ginger root three times a week had slower rates of cancer growth than control animals did. Ann Bode and her colleagues studied animals that had been injected with human colorectal tumor cells. Mice given [6]-gingerol had fewer tumors than creatures that did not receive the compound. In addition, the tumors that did develop were smaller. In future studies, the scientists plan to feed the mice [6]-gingerol only after their tumors have reached a critical size instead of administering it before tumor cells are introduced. "The new experiments should be more clinically relevant," Bode says. "They will get at the question of whether a patient could eat ginger to slow the metast [spread] of a nonoperable tumor."

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Bacteria May Help Protect Against Esophageal Cancer

Some bacteria, which are called Helicobacter pylori that live in the stomachs of humans, may help protect against the development of a type of esophageal cancer, known as adenocarcinoma, according to a review published in the Cancer Prevention Research journal.

The review found that people who had H. pylori strains carrying a gene called CagA were almost half as likely to get adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, a cancer that develops in the tube that passes food from the throat to the stomach.

"CagA- positive strains of H. pylori may decrease the risk of adenocarcinoma by reducing acid production in the stomach and, therefore, reducing acid reflux to the esophagus," said study co-author Farin Kamangar, M.D., Ph.D., a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute. "It may also work by decreasing the production of the hormone ghrelin, which is secreted from the stomach to stimulate appetite. A reduction in the level of ghrelin may lead to lower rates of obesity, an important risk factor for adenocarcinoma."

H. pylori, estimated to be present in about half the world's population, is a known cause of stomach cancer and ulcers. Advancements in sanitation and antibiotics have made H. pylori less common and have consequently lowered the incidence stomach cancer and ulcers. However, as H. pylori, including CagA-positive H. pylori, has become less common, esophageal adenocarcinomas have increased.

The study suggests that the declining rates of H. pylori in developed populations may be partly responsible for this increase. Once a rare cancer, esophageal adenocarcinomas now constitute approximately half of all esophageal cancers cases in Western Countries like the U.S. and United Kingdom.

Although H. pylori was first discovered in the early 1980s, Kamangar says humans already had been living with the bacteria for 60,000 years. The bacteria were once present in the stomachs of just about everyone. Despite its potential for causing stomach cancer and ulcers, H. pylori's long history of co-existence with humans suggests it also may have some beneficial effects, including possible roles in reducing diarrheal diseases and asthma, Kamangar said.

For the study, Kamangar and co-author Farhad Islami of the University of Tehran in Iran analyzed results from 19 published studies examining the associations of H. pylori with esophageal adenocarcinoma and esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, another type of esophageal cancer.

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Pomegranate Juice Could Benefit Men Treated for Prostate Cancer

According to long-term research results, pomegranate juice may slow the progression of post-treatment prostate cancer recurrence.

The researchers found that men who have undergone treatment for localized prostate cancer could benefit from drinking pomegranate juice.

A detectable level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is the first indicator of recurrent prostate cancer after prostate cancer treatment. The concept of PSA doubling time is found to be a reliable tool to distinguish which patients have prolonged innocuous PSA levels after therapy from those who are at great risk for disease recurrence and death from prostate cancer. Doubling time is defined as the duration for PSA levels in the blood to increase by 100 percent.

Patients with a PSA doubling time of less than three months after therapy are at imminent risk of death from prostate cancer. Patients with a doubling time of three to 12 months are at a significant risk for the development of systematic disease and cancer-specific death. Patients with PSA doubling times of one to 10 years are more likely to have a local rather than systematic recurrence, and patients with a PSA doubling time of greater than 10 years are at a low risk of recurrence.

The two-stage clinical trial followed a total of 48 participants over six years. Eligible participants had a rising PSA after prostate cancer surgery or radiotherapy, a PSA greater than 0.2 ng/ml and less than 5 ng/ml and a Gleason score of 7 or less. These patients were treated by drinking eight ounces of pomegranate juice daily. Currently, in the sixth year of treatment, active patients who remain on the study have a median total follow-up of 56 months. These participants continue to experience a significant increase in PSA doubling time following treatment, from a mean of 15.4 months at baseline to 60 months post-treatment, with a median PSA slope decrease of 60 percent, 0.06 to 0.024.

Researchers compared active patients, who remain on the study, with non-active patients, who no longer remain on the study. Though these two groups demonstrated similar mean PSA doubling times at baseline, both the PSA doubling time prolongation and the decline in median PSA slope were greater in active patients when compared to non-active patients.

"This study suggests that pomegranate juice may effectively slow the progression of prostate cancer after unsuccessful treatment," said Christopher Amling, an American Urological Association spokesman. "This finding and other ongoing research might one day reveal that pomegranate juice is an effective prostate cancer preventative agent as well."

Parts of this ongoing study suggest that some patients may be more sensitive to the effects of pomegranate juice on PSA doubling time. Phase three of this study is currently underway to further evaluate the benefits of pomegranate juice in a placebo-controlled manner.

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Vegetable Compounds Combat Cancer

In the ongoing war on cancer, researchers have enlisted a new series of soldiers: roots and vegetables. New findings presented at the American Association for Cancer Research show that a grocery list of vegetables including ginger, hot peppers and cauliflower show promise as cancer-combating agents.

Pharmacologist Shivendra Singh of the University of Pittsburgh and his colleagues showed that a chemical released when cruciferous vegetables--such as cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage--are chewed helps control human prostate tumors grafted into mice. Phenethyl-isothiocyanate, or PEITC, prompted the prostate cancer cells to kill themselves in a process called apoptosis. By the end of a 31-day treatment cycle, treated mice had tumors nearly two times smaller than their counterparts.

Fellow University of Pittsburgh pharmacologist Sanjay Srivastava and his colleagues found that capsaicin--the chemical that makes hot peppers hot--induced apoptosis in mice with human pancreatic cancer, an aggressive and usually fatal disease. Treated mice had tumors half the size of their untreated peers. "Capsaicin triggered the cancerous cells to die off and significantly reduced the size of the tumors," Srivastava says.

Finally, at the same meeting, obstetrician J. Rebecca Liu of the University of Michigan and her colleagues reported that ginger powder, roughly the same as that sold in supermarkets, killed ovarian cancer cells in vitro both by triggering apoptosis and inducing them to cannibalize themselves, a phenomenon known as autophagy. "Most ovarian cancer patients develop recurrent disease that eventually becomes resistant to standard chemotherapy, which is associated with resistance to apoptosis," Liu explains. "If ginger can cause autophagic death in addition to apoptosis, it may circumvent [that] resistance."

"Patients are using natural products either in place of or in conjunction with chemotherapy and we don't know if they work or how they work," Liu adds. "There's no good clinical data." To that end, these new findings may well be seeds of change.

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