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An Old Idea, Revived: Starve Cancer to Death

nytimes.com

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Re: An Old Idea, Revived: Starve Cancer to Death

#81

Post by sgift »

numair wrote: post #17

I was recently shocked and practically offended to read guidelines on what to eat while undergoing chemo[1]. It was a high-sugar diet, basically (milkshakes were encouraged !). I couldn't imagine anything worse than shocking your body with radiation, and then providing cancer cells with all the sugar they need for growth. Hopefully the ideas in this article start to affect public health policy and guidelines. 1: http…

When all you eat tastes like lead because of chemo therapy but you know that you have to eat something then you are really happy if it is over very fast. And drinking a milk shake is certainly fast.

Re: An Old Idea, Revived: Starve Cancer to Death

#82

Post by tluyben2 »

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #43
WalterBright wrote: post #3

A family member of mine was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and told to get her affairs in order. She went on a strict no sugar diet. 5 years later, she has no sign of cancer. Of course, she also had standard surgery and chemo. But I wouldn't be in the least surprised if the no sugar diet slowed the cancer down enough for the chemo/surgery to be more effective.

My car broke down the other day and I immediately started doing my prayers and sacrifices to the car healing gods. 2 weeks later, my car is running smoothly with no signs of issues! Of course, my mechanic also replaced the engine, but I wouldn't be surprised if my process helped.

That's why 'smart people' advise to do both; try something you believe in (it helps if you believe) but do it next to regular treatments. Replace the engine and pray at the same time. Praying doesn't hurt although it won't help because of the praying (if there would be a god, it is well accepted that he doesn't listen to individual requests; you get your chance in heaven) but because of the faith/believe you have which somehow makes you stronger.

BTW: Is that sugar as in all sugars or refined sugars? Not eating 'sweets' is not a bad idea anyway no matter if it helps against cancer or not. Just like not eating massive amounts of meat and exercising. It might not help you achieve immortality but it can't hurt. And no it does not 'remove all fun from life'.

Re: An Old Idea, Revived: Starve Cancer to Death

#83

Post by tominous »

danieltillett wrote: post #76
Spooky23 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They recommend that because in many cases you can't hold down solid food for periods of time. Good luck eating your veg and protein when you immediately vomit it back up.

Not only that but it is very easy to create a very strong food aversion to whatever you have recently eaten. Your brain connects the very bad nausea that results from the chemo with whatever you last ate. This effect can be so strong that people can never eat that food ever again.

One trick is to choose a scapegoat food that you don't care too much about, preferably something novel (e.g. strong liquorice might work). This has been shown to reduce the risk of aversion to normal food. [1]

[1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/3677112/

Re: An Old Idea, Revived: Starve Cancer to Death

#84

Post by agumonkey »

danieltillett wrote: post #76
Spooky23 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They recommend that because in many cases you can't hold down solid food for periods of time. Good luck eating your veg and protein when you immediately vomit it back up.

Not only that but it is very easy to create a very strong food aversion to whatever you have recently eaten. Your brain connects the very bad nausea that results from the chemo with whatever you last ate. This effect can be so strong that people can never eat that food ever again.

Interesting. I ate a can of tuna fish salad a while back. They changed something in the recipe, something made me feel sick in weird and deep ways. For a year, the sight of a similar enough can would trigger nausea back, with cold sweat fear.

Re: An Old Idea, Revived: Starve Cancer to Death

#85

Post by nommm-nommm »

galuggus wrote: post #47
andreygrehov wrote: post #41

A friend of mine (she is a microbiologist, let's call her Lucy) was diagnosed with Uterine cancer. Oncologist told her they have to remove her womb, otherwise she'll die in a couple weeks. She decided to avoid "traditional treatment". Instead, she shared her issue with various professors from the university she is working at. One of the professors (another friend of mine) advised her to go to the Republic of Peru. He…

One of the worst things about cancer is hearing stories like this all the time. It's really unhelpful and very draining to have your body undergo hell and your mind besieged by well=intentioned idiots telling you to expel toxins/ pray the cancer away/ stop eating this.

Having any chronic illness makes you hear this nonsense too, tons of unsolicited and unwanted "advice."

Re: An Old Idea, Revived: Starve Cancer to Death

#86

Post by reddytowns »

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #55
andreygrehov wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ryan, there is no magical herb. The gist of treatment was fasting. I have no idea what kind of diet it was. Do you want to know more? I can ask her details and the other guy who survived by sticking to the same diet.

I want to know whether they're dedicating their lives to winning a Nobel prize and saving billions of lives with this magical cure. If not, why not? They had fatal cancers cured in just a few months with no treatment, and then just went back to work and forgot about it? Also, if the essence is fasting, why did they need to go see a shaman in Peru?

The problem is that medical science today isn't equipped to prove/disprove this kind of medicine. All that would happen if they could convince anyone to even believe the story, which I highly doubt, is one study would be conducted.

The scientists would ignore all the diagnosis and individual examination the shaman did, and the study would probably have the participants take a specific amount of a single specific herb on a single specific schedule. Basically, they'd take all the complexities of the alternative medical system and tried to distill it down to a one-size-fits-all regimen.

Then, after it undoubtedly showed no effect, they'd proclaim the shaman is a fraud and that nothing he does really works.

I mean, really, are you going to sit there and tell me that its more logical that all the alternative medical systems developed over thousands of years are bullshit, than the possibility that modern medicine has gaps covered by these other medical systems, that can't/won't be filled using the scientific method, wrapped and perverted as it is by the hubris and single-minded culture of the doctors and scientists using it?

Re: An Old Idea, Revived: Starve Cancer to Death

#87

Post by marincounty »

jan_g wrote: post #10
WalterBright wrote: post #3

A family member of mine was diagnosed with metastatic cancer and told to get her affairs in order. She went on a strict no sugar diet. 5 years later, she has no sign of cancer. Of course, she also had standard surgery and chemo. But I wouldn't be in the least surprised if the no sugar diet slowed the cancer down enough for the chemo/surgery to be more effective.

My mother had lung cancer which spread to other parts of her body. Throughout her sickness, she ate very little, then almost nothing as the disease progressed. By the time of her death, she was practically just skin and bones. "Starving the cancer" didn't seem to work in her case. Then again, chemo also seemed to have zero effect. Cancer just spread, more and more, with each passing month.

My father died the same way. He was too late for chemo. He just got skinner. He died a horrid painful death. I do know he wasen't given enough pain/anxiety medication in the end. If I had a do over, I would buy illegial drugs for my father. It would be a first because I don't even know where to buy drugs, except the bad parts of certain cities.

Me and my father disagreed on life. I loved the man though. I think about the pain he went through daily. He died a little over 11 years ago.

I can honestly say, I died with him that day. I know it sounds dramatic, but I really did. My outlook on life changed. I haven't been the same person. It wasn't just losing him to cancer, it was the pain, and misery he went through.

I can't add anything, but my father probally had a liver tumor for years. The doctor blamed scar tissue from a previous survey for an umbilical hernia, but family members knew something was wrong, but we didn't say much. We did try to get him to cut back on drinking, but that was a big No.

I hope they make some bigger discoveries in cancer research--soon.

Re: An Old Idea, Revived: Starve Cancer to Death

#88

Post by steve19 »

agumonkey wrote: post #84
danieltillett wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only that but it is very easy to create a very strong food aversion to whatever you have recently eaten. Your brain connects the very bad nausea that results from the chemo with whatever you last ate. This effect can be so strong that people can never eat that food ever again.

Interesting. I ate a can of tuna fish salad a while back. They changed something in the recipe, something made me feel sick in weird and deep ways. For a year, the sight of a similar enough can would trigger nausea back, with cold sweat fear.

As a child I ate some sweet potatoes and not long after was vomiting (some sort of bug), for the next 15 years I felt sick at the thought of eating sweet potatoes and similar vegetables and did not eat any.

Now I enjoy them just fine and cook with them, but every time I see one I still remember throwing up as a child.

Re: An Old Idea, Revived: Starve Cancer to Death

#89

Post by tremon »

sergioisidoro wrote: post #26

I've read in multiple places that biohackers are using Intermittent fasting as a way of preventing cancer. By making sporadic (eg. once a month) fasting periods of 12h to 24h, they expect to starve cancer cells in their very early stages (basically using the underlying principle of the article). I would be extremely interested in seeing a study of the incidence of cancer in people doing Intermittent fasting vs genera…

By making sporadic (eg. once a month) fasting periods of 12h to 24h

Uh, any adverse effects if you increase that frequency? Because I reach a fasting period of 12h almost every day...

Re: An Old Idea, Revived: Starve Cancer to Death

#90

Post by karmelapple »

danieltillett wrote: post #76
Spooky23 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They recommend that because in many cases you can't hold down solid food for periods of time. Good luck eating your veg and protein when you immediately vomit it back up.

Not only that but it is very easy to create a very strong food aversion to whatever you have recently eaten. Your brain connects the very bad nausea that results from the chemo with whatever you last ate. This effect can be so strong that people can never eat that food ever again.

This happened to me with a particular type of cheese stick when I was young. I had a nasty illness, and to help, my Mom heated up a frozen cheese stick I never had before. I loved cheese sticks, yet never had this kind from the store before, and it was very different than any kind of cheese stick I had.

I could never eat that again. My brain tied it directly to bad feelings.

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