Vitamin C:  Numerous studies have shown that high-dose vitamin C is associated with a decreased risk of cancer. But can it be effective in the treatment of cancer?  Studies done by Scottish physician and researcher Ewan Cameron, M.D., provide competing evidence that it can.

Malignant cells produce an enzyme called hyaluronidase that breaks up the “glue” that holds cells together. This slows cancerous cells to infiltrate healthy tissues.  Dr. Cameron discovered that “cellular cement” and slowing cancer growth. When he gave high-dose vitamin C (an average of 10 grams per day) to cancer patients, he reported remarkable improvements in quality of life and survival time.

In addition to strengthening the “glue” between healthy cells, vitamin C enhances immune function and stimulates the formation of collagen that encapsulates or “walls off” tumors and prevents them from spreading.   It also corrects the vitamin C deficiencies seen in most cancer patients, speeds surgical wound healing, enhances the effectiveness of some chemotherapy drugs, and reduces the toxicity of others.

Extra vitamin C is a must for cancer patients.  If I had cancer, I would take 10,000-15,000 mg a day. High-dose vitamin C can cause gastrointestinal distress in some people, so it should be taken in small doses throughout the day, with food, to minimize that possibility.  Some people tolerate buffered vitamin C better.  Vitamin C may also be given intravenously.

 Coenzyme Q10:  Like vitamin C, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a powerful anti-oxidant and cancer fighter. CoQ10 is most active in the mitochondria, the energy-producing factories in every cell.  It functions like a spark plug within the mitochondria, igniting the creation of ATP, the basic unit of energy that runs your entire body.

Research has shown that cancer patients often have serious deficiencies of CoQ10. According to Dr. Karl Folkers, the “father of CoQ10” who began studying this nutrient back in the early 1960’s, supplemental CoQ10 is extremely effective in reducing and eliminating tumors in some patients.  In 1995, in conjunction with Danish researchers, Dr. Folkers published a study reporting complete tumor regression in five patients with advanced breast cancer using an average of 390 mg of CoQ10 per day.

I am convinced that CoQ10 is a valuable component of a comprehensive cancer treatment program.  If I were facing cancer, I’d take 100-200 mg of this very safe supplement, in an oil-soluble form, every day. CoQ10 requires a little fat to be best absorbed, so it is best taken with a meal.

 Bovine and Shark Cartilage:  One of the most exciting discoveries ever in cancer research was announced in the summer of 1998.  Two drugs under development were able to dramatically shrink tumors in mice by choking off their blood supply.  It may be years before these drugs, called endostatin and agiostatin, are ready for human use, but two natural agents that work in a similar way are available right now in your health food store—bovine and shark cartilage.

Research on cartilage dramatically facilitated wound healing.  Dr. Prudden later found that bovine cartilage inhibited angiogenesis, the growth of a network of blood vessels around a dormant tumor that allows it to grow and metastasize—the same mechanism by which the drugs endostatin and angiostatin are purported to work.

Attention turned to shark cartilage is the early 1990’s.  Sharks are unique in that they have no bones—their entire skeleton is cartilage.  This ancient species also has an amazingly robust immune system, and unlike other animals, sharks rarely get cancer. Biochemist William Lane, Ph.D., was intrigued by Dr. Prudden’s work but thought shark cartilage might work even better as an anti-angiogenic agent.