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Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

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Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#251

Post by shakna »

nikisweeting wrote: post #125
ausbah wrote: post #87

I know when someone’s faced with certain death they’ll do almost anything they can to survive if only for a little bit longer, but this thread full of personal antectodes and largely non-reproduced effects from random pubmed articles is the hackernews equivalent of essential oils or smth

OP is explicitly asking for hacks and "out there" solutions, I think this is a reasonable place to post anecdata, papers, personal theories, etc. as long as people state their confidence level and link to sources when possible

As someone who nearly died a little over two years ago from cancer... It's irresponsible.

Point to the experts, but don't cause further pain through at best, false hope, and at worst, a murderous experience for your last few days.

Lots of people want to help. That leads to questions like this. You're desperate to help someone who is suffering. But you will absolutely make that suffering worse if you act through ignorance.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#252

Post by bArray »

I just now checked out my theory of switching to a keto diet - this appears to be terrible advice.

There appears to be some initial idea of using keto to control cancer [1]. My working theory is that cancer is a high-replication cell, and the ketogenic diet is anti-growth, increasing the probability of it outgrowing the resources available. It appears possible to starve them of glucose [2].

In reality, it appears the keto diet may encourage metastatis, by promoting BACH1 [3]. You may end up with weaker cancer spread around the body. It's extremely unclear if this is a better situation or not.

[1] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6375425/

[2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S08999...

[3] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11152127/

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#253

Post by markjohnson9 »

I am in the same boat. Glioblastoma diagosis 21 months ago. I am IDH wild type with MGMT methylation status. I am starting to get a possible recurrence.

Yes, I HAVE used the spinning oscillating magnetic field. I don't know that I am doing it right but I have the following setup and have been doing this for a month. I simply connected a large round 500lb neodynium magnet to a drill. I set the drill to oscillate for 2 seconds rapidly and then slow down to near stopping for 1 second. This results in it continually spinning up and down. Since I don't know the ideal frequency I am trying to hit ALL frequencies.

This is just a burner account but i am a very real person. If I lose my credentials, I may have to create yet another account. I apologize if that happens.

I know it's not appropriate but god bless you. Let's keep sharing. I appreciate you starting this up.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#254

Post by markjohnson9 »

markjohnson9 wrote: post #253

I am in the same boat. Glioblastoma diagosis 21 months ago. I am IDH wild type with MGMT methylation status. I am starting to get a possible recurrence. Yes, I HAVE used the spinning oscillating magnetic field. I don't know that I am doing it right but I have the following setup and have been doing this for a month. I simply connected a large round 500lb neodynium magnet to a drill. I set the drill to oscillate for 2…

I should also say that i am using the device for 20 minutes at a time and 3 times a day. I am not sure if that is sufficient, I know in the article they were using for 2-6 hours.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#255

Post by georgeburdell »

EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK wrote: post #180
georgeburdell wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Military? Glioblastoma is correlated to military service in the First Gulf War

Radar microwave radiation?

Burn pits (link is about Second Gulf War)

https://amp.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/chemicals/burn...

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#256

Post by dubscientist »

dubscientist wrote: post #121

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33508300/

Key findings: Harmine treatment significantly suppressed the proliferation of U251-MG and U373-MG cells in a dose and time-dependent way. Mechanistically, harmine reduced the basal and EGF-enhanced the phosphorylation level of FAK and AKT. Moreover, harmine inhibited the cell viability of U251-MG and U373-MG cells by downregulating the phosphorylation of the FAK/AKT pathway. Besides, harmine significantly suppressed the migration of U251-MG cells by suppressing the expression of MMP2, MMP9 and VEGF. Subsequently, orthotopic xenograft models revealed that harmine treatment dramatically inhibited the growth of glioblastoma in vivo.

Significance: In conclusion, these results suggest that harmine suppresses the proliferation and migration of U251-MG and U373-MG cells by inhibiting the FAK/AKT signaling pathway. Our findings elucidate harmine could be a promising drug for glioblastoma therapy.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#257

Post by markjohnson9 »

bArray wrote: post #252

I just now checked out my theory of switching to a keto diet - this appears to be terrible advice. There appears to be some initial idea of using keto to control cancer [1]. My working theory is that cancer is a high-replication cell, and the ketogenic diet is anti-growth, increasing the probability of it outgrowing the resources available. It appears possible to starve them of glucose [2]. In reality, it appears the…

Thank you for this. I don't have your background but I have GBM and research it and yes agree there is a total bypass in your system for keto. Your body finds a way to get what it needs. Keto might buy some time before that takes effect but it is not a solution.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#258

Post by nozzlegear »

nikisweeting wrote: post #125
ausbah wrote: post #87

I know when someone’s faced with certain death they’ll do almost anything they can to survive if only for a little bit longer, but this thread full of personal antectodes and largely non-reproduced effects from random pubmed articles is the hackernews equivalent of essential oils or smth

OP is explicitly asking for hacks and "out there" solutions, I think this is a reasonable place to post anecdata, papers, personal theories, etc. as long as people state their confidence level and link to sources when possible

As someone with a mother, stepfather and multiple extended family members who've survived cancer thanks to modern medical science, all I can say is hopefully their friend at least asked before OP went out looking for these harebrained schemes.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#259

Post by bArray »

markjohnson9 wrote: post #257
bArray wrote: post #252

I just now checked out my theory of switching to a keto diet - this appears to be terrible advice. There appears to be some initial idea of using keto to control cancer [1]. My working theory is that cancer is a high-replication cell, and the ketogenic diet is anti-growth, increasing the probability of it outgrowing the resources available. It appears possible to starve them of glucose [2]. In reality, it appears the…

Thank you for this. I don't have your background but I have GBM and research it and yes agree there is a total bypass in your system for keto. Your body finds a way to get what it needs. Keto might buy some time before that takes effect but it is not a solution.

I'm not in the medical profession, I'm just a humble internet user. It's entirely possible you know more than me - I'm happy to hear other ideas.

> Keto might buy some time before that takes effect but it is not a solution.

It might still be a solution. The cancer may be spread out and easier for the body to effectively tackle. Also note that it may depend on type or location.

One thing that does seem clear is that if you do go the keto route, you would need to stick at it. If you purposefully break it down, it spreads, then you give it back the fuel, it would probably make the situation far worse by growing rapidly in multiple locations.

Re: Ask HN: A friend has brain cancer: any bio hacks that worked?

#260

Post by d--b »

markjohnson9 wrote: post #253

I am in the same boat. Glioblastoma diagosis 21 months ago. I am IDH wild type with MGMT methylation status. I am starting to get a possible recurrence. Yes, I HAVE used the spinning oscillating magnetic field. I don't know that I am doing it right but I have the following setup and have been doing this for a month. I simply connected a large round 500lb neodynium magnet to a drill. I set the drill to oscillate for 2…

Thanks a lot for sharing. Yes, going up and down the frequency range is what they seem to be doing in the experiments as well.

By 500lb, you mean its pulling force, right? Thought it was the weight of the magnet for one second. And just making sure, by "round" you mean cylinder with diametric polarization?

Do you use any tool for measuring the strength of the magnetic field?

Good luck to you.

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