Cancer and Supplements
One could affect radiation treatment and another could make tumors grow. In this week's Wellness Report: Cancer and supplements and what to watch out for.
“My mother lived to be 99 1/2! Yeah!” At 77 Anita Stein is funny, spunky and young at heart. She was also diagnosed 10 years ago with breast cancer.
“My husband died of cancer that year in May and I was diagnosed in September, ”and it looked bad. The right side looked really bad. Not just one lump but little funny things marching over toward the underarm.”
“I was just drained. I had no energy. I just felt like blah, but I didn't want to feel like that. So I went to the health food store and I said listen I need something to perk me up and get my immunity redone and everything.”
First a nutritionist recommended soy powder.
“But it turns out soy is bad for people with breast cancer because of all the hormones!” Stein found out.
“Soy is faboten!” says Stein, which means forbidden in German. “Totally no good for breast cancer!”
“It's very difficult for them to understand that something like a vitamin or a mineral can actually be harmful,” Says Dr. Neli Ulrich. She is a researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and she and her colleagues have compiled more than 30 studies on cancer patients.
She found: ¾ of them take supplements, but some studies show some supplements could be harmful. Take Saint John's Wort for example, which is a popular herbal anti-depressant:
“So there's a drug called Irinotican which can be used for colon cancer patients and it can alter the efficacy of that drug,” says Ulrich.
She also is considering a study into Folic Acid. Typically it helps to produce new cells, but so do tumors.
“Folic Acid is a nutrient that is important for the healthy growth of cells, but once people have a tumor, there is now data that suggests that it can foster the growth of a tumor.”
There is also growing research that grapefruit juice can be dangerous for cancer patients. It can block enzymes in the body that regulate how well the body absorbs cancer medication.
“We want to avoid a case of extreme toxicity,” warns Ulrich, “but we also want to give the highest maximum dose to kill the cancer.”
“I don’t take a multi-vitamin anymore,” says Stein, “but I take cod liver oil—but it has to be the one with the lemon it, vitamin E, D, C and I also drink green tea and then put a big, heaping spoonful of ground flax on my oatmeal.”
Stein has a pretty good idea *now* what's safe for her, but Ulrich says that's because stein does what most patients don't do: talk to their doctor--and ask questions.
“I always ask! I'm a curious person!” she laughs.
“Doctors need to do ask too--especially since more research needs to be done says Ulrich.
“Many times it's also not recorded in the person's charts. We really do not know if this is harmful or beneficial to patients.”
Today Stein is feeling good, and ready to spend a lot more time with her family.
“I’m OK. I have a wonderful life.”
Web Extra
Dr. Neli Ulrich, at The Fred Hutchinson Cancer research center, compiled more than 30 studies on cancer patients. She shares some important information on vitamin D, antioxidants, and what you should ask your doctor.
“Vitamin D can increase the absorption of calcium in the body, to the degree that people get kidney stones and calcification in the heart.”
“ So radiation is a case where we really want to have the damage done to the tissue, because that's what kills the cancer. Usually doctors recommend not taking any anti-oxidants prior to radiation therapy.”
“Now anti-oxidants everybody thinks are a good thing, but if you have radiation therapy, taking anti-oxidants may actually aggregate the effects of radiation therapy. What happens with radiation therapy is we actually induce oxidative damage to the DNA so we increase the oxidation and cause damage specifically to the cancer cells, or more specifically to the cancer cells, and if we take anti-oxidants it may reduce the efficacy of the radiation treatment.”
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM DR. NELI ULRICH FOR CANCER PATIENTS:
1. Ask your doctor for a list of the drugs you are taking.
2. Ask your doctor if there is a reason to believe that some of these drugs could interact with some of the supplements you are taking.
3. Make sure every doctor that treats you knows of the supplements that you are taking and it is written in your records.
4. Dr. Ulrich recommends *not* taking supplements *during* treatment.
5. Also, avoid multi-vitamins or "mega-doses" of vitamins. You can usually get most of what you need in a balanced meal.
6. Get on an exercise plan. The research is strong, that exercise helps in reduction and recovery.
7. Have a good social system around you to help you ask questions and support you when you need help.
4 GOOD SOURCES:
1. Your Physician
2. National Cancer Institute www.cancer.gov
3. American Cancer Society www.cancer.org
4. Fred Hutchinson www.fhcrc.org