Ovarian cancer- herbs that fight cancer

[sharxx101]

A friend of mine recently found out his long time gf and companion have ovarian cancer she is getting it removed soon and we woulkd like to know of some good cancer fight herbs and plants that may help before and after the operation.

Thanks in advance everyone.

[~shameless~]

Thats terrible news sharxx man!!

- what i'm about to suggest is nothing new, just general chit chat that has been brought about by this seemeingly more common occurance these days

Hey man, foods high in anti oxidants, Eg- ( green leafy vegetables more often, organic produce) can assist in lowering chances maybe (?????) of this occuring again, steer clear of as many modern day chemicals as possible, keep moblie phones away from the body as much as possible, faulty machinery such as old micro waves should be avoided,

This may sound stupid, but we as a human race seem to be much more in contact with alot of things we shouldnt be, one thing that makes me wonder sometimes is how we as a race are going to deal with build up of metals such as lead and mercury in our eco systems, our food is slowly starting to be contaminated so is the air we breath and the water we drink

we are going forward sort of but going to be alot sicker in the future i think,

Well wishes man!! all the best bro

[kenny]

Sorry to hear that sharxx.

I'm not aware of any plants used for this particular purpose. Aside from maybe taking a journey with some Ayahuasca, prior to the surgery. Get the mind and body aligned before forcing it into the stresses of surgery.

Then again, realistically, one would want to be sure that any herbs being consumed would not in any way clash with anesthetics and other medications received when in hospital.

Best of luck to her though. I will channel some good vibes.

[Torsten]

Magnolia officinalis has a long history of use against cancers in TCM. The active constituent honokiol works a treat in vitro, but there is little in vivo research available. It is certainly very safe and with little side effects. In vitro is approximately doubles the effectiveness of chemo, and it is itself a potent angiogenesis inhibitor.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honokiol

[Micromegas]

Hey man that sucks. what kenny says about herbs not mixing well with meds is apropos...

When I was in the Amazon however i heard excellent reports of a mixture of cat's claw and psychotria viridis taken orally as tea being good at shriking tumors/eliminating cancer.

every-body is different and the psychological/physical matrix is so complicated

my personal experience of cat's claw is that it is an exceptionally good medicine, generally, and possibly target-specific; this is drunk regularly over a week/month or longer and seems to improve overall health and mind/body connectivity. tho it did not reduce the size of a hematoma i have which was my aim i found it helped almost everything else. the regimes of viridis and cat's claw were considerable, such as three cups everyday over periods of months

so check out cat's claw if you're interested as a general immune system-booster and anti-inflammatory that will help with post and pre-op i doubt it has any contraindication with traditional meds.

good luck mate

[Monk]

I know I'm going to sound like a mycological zealot, but seriously; look into Reishi, Trametes, Grifola frondosa (maitake) and the rest of the medicinal mushrooms. My own experiences have been with fighting less severe ailments, but their efficacy is very well established in traditional medicine and western medical science alike. Reishi is my personal favorite for the effects I've perceived as well as confirmed research.

I've tested lots of products and these guys have the most kickass medicinal mushroom extracts (no I'm not affiliated) because they're made from hot water extracts from organically grown fruiting bodies, just like the traditional way, but better. Most other brands just use mycelium. People don't eat cubie mycelium to trip, so why would we eat medicinal mushroom mycelium to get well? Fruits are where it's at for medicine.

http://www.mushroomscience.com/msstore/international.html

That's for their international info. Not too bad, IMO.

Edit: Oh, and reishi and maitake often used in conjuction with chemo therapy to enhance effects and help reduce side effects and have been shown to be well tolerated.

Anyway, best wishes, positive intent, and mushroom healing headed her way....

Edited February 20, 2009 by FM.

[sharxx101]

Thanks everyone for the great information. The reason I have asked this question is because a friend of mine took his mother to peru when she was diagonsed with breast cancer. She had no medical treatrment just treatment for a peruvian shaman with herbs and rituals, when she came back after 6 weeks she had no sign of cancer. These true stories tell me that with the right treatment we can overcome most things.

My friend and his gf thank everyone here for posting you information is priceless.

Hey Kenny she is aware of the mix of chemicals and that some mayu react. She has decided to try herbal medicine after she has the operartion and is off the other meds.

I had a grandma and aunty pass away last year from cancer in the space of a month. So I know how hard it can be when someone has it.

Thanks again

[DreamingNagual]

I hope this all turns out well for your friend sharxx,

It Sounds like they caught it early enough to remove the Cancer, Do you know how advanced it is?

My Mother (Bless Her Dear Heart) Died from Ovarian Cancer, It is something that effects the whole family & is not something I would wish upon my worst enemy!

Keep in good faith for your friend & positive vibes go out from me buddy!

[Torsten]

For every success story there are many failures. A prominent very young herb warrior in melbourne decided to refuse treatment and go the herbal way - and died soon after. That's the other side of the reality which is not talked about as much.

Let's not forget that many chemo drugs are derived from plant molecules and optimised for activity [and admittedly patentability].

It's a difficult decision, but statistically chemo is MUCH more successful than herbs. If there is enough time then supporting the body's own defences with herbs is a great idea, but I think if time is running tight then conventional treatment is the only way to go.

[Evil Genius]

Torsten is totally right! Herbs can support but at that point, i wouldnt risk losing time! Some herbs might be able to avoid cancer! But they dont cure it! At least none of the ones i know! She should get that thing removed as fast as possible! Also should she start the chemo instantly! That cancer is very serious! bye Eg

Edited February 21, 2009 by Evil Genius

[sharxx101]

My friends and I thank everyone here for their advise and support. She is getting it removed and she is going to take the medicine the doctors give here. Not sure how advanced it is but if its getting removed its a good sign. She is looking at cancer fighting plants and hebs that help promote the repair of the body after she has received treatment. Also she is looking to take these herbs when all the medication is finished to ensure there is no chem reaction with the meds.

[oface]

Saffron - Apparently "A growing body of research has demonstrated that saffron extract itself and its main constituents, the carotenoids, possess chemopreventive properties against cancer."

- http://www.ebmonline.org/cgi/content/full/227/1/20

I also remember reading somewhere that taken daily, saffron's as effective as many popular antidepressants (without the nasty side-effects.) It's super important to keep your spirits up when faced with such hardship, saffron might just be able to help you guys do that, while also helping to prevent relapse.

Also, you might want to give ginger a try, as apparently it helps in dealing with nausea - including that brought on by chemotherapy.

And as has been mentioned, lots of antioxidants: green tea, red grapes, goji berries, broccoli, cabbage, orange juice etc.

Also, not that I'm encouraging anything illegal, but THC has been shown to have anticarcinogenic properies, and cannabidiol inhibits cancer cell growth:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticarcinogen

Sending positive vibes your way =].

edit - you might want to consider immune-strengthening foods and herbs too, like yoghurt, echinacaea and cat's claw to name a few.

Edited February 21, 2009 by oface

[Torsten]

oface has mentioned an incredibly important factor in regards to cancer. One that is the basis of faith healings, shamanic healings and the sudden remission many experience when they 'drop out to enjoy the rest of their days'. The secret is serotonin - or at least a neurochemical profile that equates to a high serotonin lifestyle. Spirituality, shamanic journeys and simply letting go of all of life's stresses set the body up in a way that it can fight cancers much better. Whether this is directly due to serotonin or whether it is due to a reduction in cortisol [directly or in turn as a result of higher endogenous serotonin/tryptamine/tryptamide levels] is anyone's guess, but time and time again it is this particular profile that results in unexplained remission.

So, the herbs to chose would be the following:

1 - herbs nurse the body back to health after the chemo/radiation therapy. This includes tissue protectives and antiinfectives.

2 - herbs that increase serotonin levels, relax the mind, reduce stress, etc

3 - herbs that act as angiogenesis inhibitors or some other cancer fighting pathway

[kadakuda]

interesting stuff!

my grandma has ovarian cancer as well...far too bad to be healed. but when she went to chemo i flew back to canada and brought some reishi with me. it really helped her through that part, and kept her healthy through the process. there is some neat stuff on reishi in japan, it boosts the immune system to help hill the cancer cells. One article by a leading Japanese researcher said that taking vitamin c whith reighi mushroom (oral) was far better as it broke down the compounds in the mushroom to smaller sizes which are easily absorbed. one thing that seems nice about this is it has no side affects and doesn't appear to mess with any meds. we asked all teh doctors if my grandma could take this and they all said it was safe. they also said that even if it did not work, it still got more liquids into the body which is super important, and not easy for many people with that bad cancer (cant swallow/throw up).

[Evil Genius]

What do you guys think of an carbohydrate free diet? Cancer cells need more energy than normal cells! The Body cant use all those carbohydrates we normally eat! The body doesnt get Carbohydrate Deffiency if you leave them out! How about just starving the cancer cells? On avery basical level, cancer is nothing else than fermentation of the cells! And you need sugar for fermentation! Why not leaving it out of the diet? Theoretically it makes sense! However, You should surely eat enough other foods during that time to avoid health Problems! bye Eg

Edited February 21, 2009 by Evil Genius

[neo1]

What do you guys think of an carbohydrate free diet? Cancer cells need more energy than normal cells! The Body cant use all those carbohydrates we normally eat! The body doesnt get Carbohydrate Deffiency if you leave them out! How about just starving the cancer cells? On avery basical level, cancer is nothing else than fermentation of the cells! And you need sugar for fermentation! Why not leaving it out of the diet? Theoretically it makes sense! However, You should surely eat enough other foods during that time to avoid health Problems! bye Eg

Sugar feeds cancer cells!! but so do a lot of other things also!!! If its was me, I would choses "NOT!!" to do chemo!!! I think chemo is horrible stuff!! I believe it is the most toxic stuff on the planet!!!

But, If a person does chemo, its would be very wise to do both herbs and chemo, with the herbs being the main part of it.

My mother has breast cancer, and cancer is in my family bad. She will NOT!! take chemo, or get cut on!!! She's going completely 100% natural Many think she is crazy!! I don't believe that anymore, but I did at first. I have had IC, a rare bladder disease, and all the stupid "un natural" chemicals that use to help with it, fucked the living day lights out of me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am now a pain meds, possibly for LIFE!!!! its is a horrible way to live!!

If I would went natural with my disease in the front part, I would not have to live on pain meds as I do now. But, I went to the urologist and they had a fucking hay day with me!!! all the while telling me to STAY OFF THEM PAIN MEDS!! yea right!! HOW THE FUCK???? throwing all this toxic shit in my dick!! and throwing me in to all this fucking pain!! yea how the fuck am I not going to be on massive amount of pain meds????

I am not only that kind of pain meds now for ONLY ONE REASON!!!!! I try my dammist to eat organic and take the right natural supplements!!! other wise I be on a LOT MORE PAIN MEDS!! If the uro's would have had there way, I be in pain up to my ears WITH "NO FUCKING PAIN MEDS!!!" and not even have a fucking chance at life at ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I understand when dealing with cancer you think you need to act fast, I believe that its can be true in some cases, BUT!! I don't believe that its cross the board. Some cancers you can just watch them closely and they won't get worse, others you have to get right on them. I still don't like chemo!! But if your going to go that way, I would double up on the natural shit!! and do as much as you have the money to do.(which is a limiting factor when it comes to paying for this natural treatment type stuff)

I tried to talk my mother into trying chemo along with the natural herbs she is doing, but she told me she NOT GOING THROUGH WHAT I WENT THROGH!!!!! She not going though the crap they put my ass through!! she watched me being fucked to "hell" for "10+ YEARS!!!" in pain you would not want to even think about!!(not being able to move from off "BED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and she's NOT FUCKING DOING IT!! She does "NOT" trust them, "any" "fucking more!!!!" Not after watching me "suffer!! and suffer!, and suffer!, and then suffer! some MORE!!!! and then "them NOT even want to give me fucking pain meds!!" after they went in and fucked the hell out of me!!!!

I pretty much hate all doctors now!! I mean, I don't hate them ALL, Just 99.0% of them!!! I guess that leave 1%, I guess that's not so bad?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

I don't know? I believe that is you are going to go 100% natural, you really can't do it half ass, you got to give it a 120% or just say fuck it and take your chances with chemo. However, even if you don't give it a 100%, I believe you might very well have a much better quality of life(if you do "NOTHING AT ALL!!!!"), at least until the end. You very might be in crazy amount of pan and suffering until maybe the end.

I watch many people in my family go the chemo route and it's not pretty!!!!!!! and takes their ass pretty damm quick too!! "while there quality of life is fucked!!!!"

Again this both my opinion and what I seen also take place with my own two eyes!!! You can take it with a gain of salt, just as you do everything else. However, is my "firm" belief that most always the chemo "kills you" before the cancer gets a crack at your ass!!!! That just what I think, having been around it, and being in EMS/EMT and what I have seen, plus my crazy time I had with my stupid disease!! I the whole chemo things is a fucking mess!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even if you beat the cancer with chemo, and all the other toxic shite!! The cancer is most likely to come back!! and when its does, SEE YOU LATER!!!!!! Because by then, your body is so fried from the drugs, that your body just gives up!! and then YOUR DONE SON!!!!

Just my take on it

J

Edited February 22, 2009 by Torsten

[Evil Genius]

Neo, i´m sorry to hear that! I can understand that you might feel a great ammount of hate for doctors and medicine if you went through a bad disease! Chemo is a nasty and hard Process! But if you want to live, there are no Real Alternatives to chemo, Removal or irradiation! You cant cure cancer with herbs! I am with you that in some particular cases, a chemo is not necessary because its too late! I have respect for people who decide to enjoy the time they have left and dont make chemo! But in that case, they will definately die! Hope is good but false Hope is dangerous! Your mother should definately let the cancer being removed! All The Best for you and your family! Maybe you find a herbal way to deal with your pain! Pain meds might help but they also have great side effects! Pain Med Addiction can turn your world into a dark and lonely place! bye Eg

Edited February 21, 2009 by Evil Genius

[Torsten]

neo, do NOT use more than 30 consecutive letters without spaces. it fucks up the formattign of the whole thread and makes it unreadable. first and only warning.

[ajna]

Iscador (from Mistletoe) is another one which is gaining popularity, with some integrative MDs using it as the cornerstone of their treatment protocol. i don't know a whole lot about it but might be worth looking into also.

What do you guys think of an carbohydrate free diet?

there's a fellow in brisbane who has been running a cancer treatment program for a while now, and a low carb diet is a major part of the nutritional guidelines. he suggests eating virtually no grains, few fruits and definitely no refined sugars, allowing a small amount of carbs to come from vegetables and the rest from gluconeogenesis. he also promotes a fairly intensive exercise regime focusing on a lot of weight-bearing exercises. the theory is as you said, to reduce excess sugar availability to starve/slow down the cancer cells, while a high protein intake and exercise promotes the turnover of tissues and increases oxygen flow.

apparently he boasts an 80% success rate with the people he treats! i have heard from a few different sources that there have been a number of success stories coming from his program. a friend of mine who was diagnosed with bone cancer at a young age started with him after a round of chemo in his teens, he has said he is constantly amazed watching people come in crippled and sickly, and within a short time totally turn around, many leaving cancer free. so i was quite confident in this program, but unfortunately my friend has recently experienced a very surprising relapse which has made me less so (granted, he could have been a lot worse off in the meantime had he not taken on the program). i guess the point is there is no sure-fire cure, but there are a lot of things you could do to better your chances.

here is this guy's site, CanHelp: http://www.canhelp.org.au/

and some dietary info from Weston Price Foundation: http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/cancer_broch.html

Torsten, re serotonin etc, i think that's a very valid point to make and something i find extremely interesting, it supports a mind/body approach, also the use of melatonin in treatment programs which i have heard of recently, for improved sleep (and REM healing time) as well as overall wellbeing. i've also heard of a so-called 'cancer personality'; a tendency for these people to internalise emotions, please others over self and repress self-expression. i'm just throwing bits and pieces of info together here while i think, but the suggestion from that recent article that DMT may help proteins to fold properly seems as if it could be somewhat relevant to all of this too... (edit: my mistake, it was the sigma-1 receptor they were talking about which helps folding proteins, however the connection may still be there with tryptamines being the site activators)

Edited February 22, 2009 by ajna

[sharxx101]

Thanks for all the info everyone! Much appericated. This gives my friends gf a choice to use herbs after her treatment of the normal cancer fighting drugs. I also dont think doctors claim to know as much about cancer as they do I think the best option is to do what your heart tells you, we are all gonna die one day and chemo can make it 100 times worse and it can also make it better its such a catch 22. My family had chemo and they told my aunty the cancer was gone and it spread everywhere! So I dont really trust doctors they are jsut looking to prescribe u something, in this modern time medicine is one of the biggest business. Give people the means to get sick like tabacco,liquor and chems in our food and water. This helps keep the hospitals full and keeps pollies with a easy job of telling us we are all the problem not commerical businesses that consume more then we ever will.... Going off the topic a bit sorry

[kadakuda]

lets give the doctors some credit....how can they TOTALLY know whats going to happen???? cancer is such a scary and unknown disease....it can stop, spread, die, come back, pop up from "no where". i don't think many doctors, at least where i am from, say in their head "i can sell more pills if i lie and kill this person". they look and give their best opinion. i think it is of course to get second, third fourth etc opinions. why not go to a couple "western" style doctors, try a herbalist or 2...Chinese medicine etc....try and find some sort of parralels and think about it well....read some stuff.

chemo obviously has its bad (HORRIBLE) side, but it has also saved hundreds/thousands of lives....should never be completely shit on. every single cancer can be different, every persona can be different, every method/drug can be different...there are billions of variables, so testing the fields is probably needed.

my grandma stopped chemo cause it made her life hell. now she takes meds and herbal teas (mainly reishi) and she is doing -ok-. she can go out now and then and eat dinner with the family.

if it were my body, i would exhaust all none-dangerous fields...ones without body harm or dangerous medication interactions and see how that goes. if they dont work try some more dangerous ones, like chemo.

I think the best option is to do what your heart tells you,

agreed. happy healing seems more effective than depressed healing.....but doctors do know some stuff, i would at least consider their opinions.

[neo1]

lets give the doctors some credit....how can they TOTALLY know whats going to happen???? cancer is such a scary and unknown disease....it can stop, spread, die, come back, pop up from "no where". i don't think many doctors, at least where i am from, say in their head "i can sell more pills if i lie and kill this person". they look and give their best opinion. i think it is of course to get second, third fourth etc opinions. why not go to a couple "western" style doctors, try a herbalist or 2...Chinese medicine etc....try and find some sort of parralels and think about it well....read some stuff.

chemo obviously has its bad (HORRIBLE) side, but it has also saved hundreds/thousands of lives....should never be completely shit on. every single cancer can be different, every persona can be different, every method/drug can be different...there are billions of variables, so testing the fields is probably needed.

my grandma stopped chemo cause it made her life hell. now she takes meds and herbal teas (mainly reishi) and she is doing -ok-. she can go out now and then and eat dinner with the family.

if it were my body, i would exhaust all none-dangerous fields...ones without body harm or dangerous medication interactions and see how that goes. if they dont work try some more dangerous ones, like chemo.

agreed. happy healing seems more effective than depressed healing.....but doctors do know some stuff, i would at least consider their opinions.

you are very wise!!! my friend!!!