Complementary Science-based Natural Cancer Treatment Protocol

Posted on by Shovas

Goal

A science-based, fully sourced, complementary and natural protocol to be used alongside traditional cancer treatment and started immediately upon diagnosis before official treatment begins.

Status

Benefits

  • While there are no silver bullets, or miracle cures, for cancer, at present, there are clearly demonstrated habits that have significant, positively-or-negatively correlated outcomes for cancer and cancer treatment. Perhaps by adopting some, most, or all of these habits, a significant positive outcome probability can be achieved.
  • Added benefit as an everyday healthy living and cancer prevention guide.

Why

  • Doctors seem to be operating mainly off an unwieldy, unhelpful medical script when treating patients with cancer with little protocol room for encouraging anything but the basic ‘safe’ (for them) standard cancer treatments
  • Doctors seem to be unwilling or unable to engage in healthy living discussions with patients with any kind of authority
  • Doctors offload cancer patients to cancer counsellors instead of having the discussions with the patients
  • Doctors appear to fear medical establishment liability and backlash for encouraging simple but non-standard treatment options even as used alongside standard treatment protocol

Science

  • Each item in this protocol is chosen for the robust scientific literature showing significant correlations with positive cancer outcomes while highlighting that correlation does not mean causation and that positive outcomes are not guaranteed
  • See The Science of Natural Cancer Prevention and Treatment for full citations

Schedule

  • Start immediately upon diagnosis. There’s always lag between diagnosis and treatment.
  • For prevention, begin to adopt as a lifestyle habit, even if you are healthy.

Protocol

How To approach This Protocol

  • Start with whatever you can sustainably maintain
  • Gradually add items from the protocol or increase their duration or intensity
  • Few do all of the items on this protocol. The goal is to do what you can.

Getting Started

Start protocol immediately as there is always lag between diagnosis and treatment.

  • Prayer and Fasting
    • Prayer improves poor mental health and reduces stress, factors associated with worse health outcomes
    • Fasting has many biological benefits including putting the body in a ‘cellular regeneration’ state that can reduce bad body components eg. fat and promote immune response against bad cells
  • Fasting
    • Start 12/12, extend to 16/8, 18/6, and then 20/4, as you are able
    • Reduction in growth factors and anabolic signaling
    • Metabolic shift and anti-Warburg effect
    • Autophagy induction
    • Immunomodulation and antitumor immunity
    • Increased oxidative stress and apoptosis in cancer cells
    • Reduced inflammation, enhanced DNA repair in normal cells, ketone body production (which some cancers handle poorly), and potential reversal of drug resistance
  • Exercise
    • Walking. Builds muscle and bone density drawing healthy resources to healthy function.
      • Start at any daily target steps, but aim for 10k steps per day, and ramp up to 15k/day, as you are able.
    • Hormone Regulation
    • Reduced Inflammation
    • Improved Immune Function
    • Antioxidant and DNA Repair Effects
    • Improves gut health/motility and gut microbiome (potentially reducing colorectal cancer risk), enhances vascularization/perfusion in tumors (improving treatment delivery in some contexts), and may induce tumor cell apoptosis or inhibit proliferation via pathways like mTOR/Akt.
  • Nutrition
    • Emphasize an anti-inflammatory, plant-rich diet (>400g fruits/veggies daily) to reduce risk via phytochemicals. Prioritize whole foods (e.g., berries, cruciferous veggies like broccoli, nuts) over processed items. Limit red meat, sugar, and additives. This supports immune benefits without overclaiming “targeting.”
    • Prefer Natural Food Ingredients
    • Eat Whole Foods
    • Reduce Sugars and Carbs
      • Insulin/IGF-1 Axis and Hyperinsulinemia
        • Stimulates cell proliferation, inhibits apoptosis, and promotes tumor growth in insulin-sensitive cancers (e.g., breast, colorectal, prostate)
      • Chronic Inflammation and Oxidative Stress
        • Excess sugars can increase reactive oxygen species (ROS), DNA damage, and pro-inflammatory pathways (e.g., NF-κB), creating a tumor-promoting environment
      • Obesity and Adiposity
        • High-calorie diets rich in added sugars contribute to weight gain and obesity, a established risk factor for 13+ cancers
        • Adiposity; amount, distribution, and function of body fat (adipose tissue)
      • Specific Roles of Fructose
        • Fructose (in table sugar/sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup) may indirectly support tumor growth (e.g., liver converts it to lipids that cancers use) or promote angiogenesis via VEGF overexpression
      • Glycemic Index/Load
        • Diets high in refined carbs (high GI/GL) cause rapid blood sugar fluctuations, linking to higher risk in some studies, while complex carbs/fiber-rich foods show inverse or neutral associations
    • Stop Alcohol Intake
  • Healthy Sleep Patterns
    • Circadian Rhythm Disruption
    • Melatonin Suppression
    • Immune System Dysregulation
    • Hormonal and Metabolic Imbalances
    • Increased oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to DNA damage
    • Lifestyle correlations (e.g., poor sleep linked to smoking, inactivity, obesity)
    • In some cases, bidirectional effects: tumors can induce sleep disruption via inflammation, cytokines, or metabolic changes, creating a vicious cycle
  • Immune Exhaustion
    • “T cell exhaustion is a poorly defined or ambiguous term. There are three approaches to its definition.”
      • “The first approach primarily defines as exhausted the cells that present the same cellular dysfunction (typically, the absence of an expected effector response).”
      • “The second approach primarily defines as exhausted the cells that are produced by a given cause (typically, but not necessarily, chronic exposure to an antigen).”
      • “Finally, the third approach primarily defines as exhausted the cells that present the same molecular markers (typically, programmed cell death protein 1 [PD-1]).”
      • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T_cell#Exhaustion
    • Avoid medicines or therapies that unnecessarily trigger the immune system into a prolonged response that draws off immune capacity which could better be used against cancer or, as a preventative measure, against everyday immune defense measures.
  • Radiation
    • Avoid Unnatural Unnecessary Radiation eg. Dental x-rays
  • Weight Loss
    • Being overweight or having obesity is strongly linked to an increased risk of developing several types of cancer.

Next Steps

  • Vitamins
    • Vitamin A
      • Induction of cell differentiation
      • Inhibition of cell proliferation
      • Promotion of apoptosis (programmed cell death)
      • Antioxidant and DNA protection effects
      • Modulation of additional signaling pathways
      • Immune and anti-inflammatory effects
    • Vitamin D
      • Inhibition of Cell Proliferation and Cell Cycle Arrest
      • Induction of Apoptosis and Autophagy
      • Promotion of Cellular Differentiation
      • Suppression of Angiogenesis and Metastasis
      • Anti-Inflammatory and Immunomodulatory Effects
      • Interaction with Oncogenic Pathways
      • Additional Chemoprotective Mechanisms
    • Vitamin C
      • Pro-Oxidant Generation of Hydrogen Peroxide (H₂O₂)
      • Epigenetic Modulation via 2-Oxoglutarate-Dependent Dioxygenases (2-OGDDs)
      • Immune modulation
      • Metabolic interference
      • Selective uptake and vulnerability
    • Vitamin E
      • Antioxidant Activity
      • Anti-Inflammatory Effects
      • Induction of Apoptosis (Programmed Cell Death)
      • Inhibition of Cell Proliferation and Cell Cycle Arrest
    • Vitamin K
      • Induction of apoptosis (programmed cell death)
      • Cell cycle arrest
      • Autophagy
  • Minerals
    • Zinc
    • Magnesium
    • Iodine

Extra Steps

  • Natural Compounds
    • Curcumin (from Turmeric): Inhibits inflammation and tumor growth pathways; some trials show benefits in reducing side effects during chemo. Dose: 500-2000 mg/day with black pepper for absorption, but check for interactions.
    • Ginger: Anti-inflammatory; helps with nausea from treatment.
    • Green Tea (EGCG): Antioxidant effects may slow cancer progression in early studies. Avoid megadoses.
  • Turkey Tail
    • Stimulates various immune cells and pathways which improves the body’s ability to recognize and attack cancer cells
    • Potential action to counter immune-suppression caused by cancer or cancer treatments
    • Increases natural killer cells activity Increases activity of natural killer (NK) cells, T cells (including cytotoxic T cells), macrophages, and dendritic cells. It upregulates cytokines like interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ).
    • Polysaccharides binds to immune cell receptors enhancing recognition of tumors
    • Boosts cytotoxic T-cells in peritumoral aress
    • Boost immune system, cancer support (decades of use in Japan and China), potential antitumor effects, possible anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory effects
  • Ivermectin
    • Anti-parasitic, anti-bacterial, anti-viral properties
    • Very good safety profile
    • Given out in the billions of doses over decades all around the world
  • Fenbendazole
    • Preferential effects on cancer cells including promoting processes leading to apoptosis (cell death)
    • Inhibits glucous (sugar) uptake and ‘starves’ cancer cells
    • Reported to increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cancer cells, creating cell damage, leading to cell death
    • May modulate angiogenesis (blood vessel formation) or interfere with tumor-supporting stromal cells

The Science of Natural Cancer Prevention and Treatment

Terms

  • Adiposity
    • Amount, distribution, and function of body fat (adipose tissue)
  • Anti-inflammatory
    • Anti-inflammatory refers to any drug, substance or mechanism that reduces inflammation by lessening the redness, swelling, fever, or pain and loss of function which are part of bodies inflammatory response.
  • Antioxidant
    • Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals.
    • In chemistry, a radical, also known as a free radical, is an atom, molecule, or ion that has at least one unpaired valence electron.[1][2] With some exceptions, these unpaired electrons make radicals highly chemically reactive. Many radicals spontaneously dimerize.
  • Antitumor immunity
  • Apoptosis
    • Apoptosis is the body’s natural, healthy way to clean up old, damaged, or unneeded cells.
    • Apoptosis occurs constantly, every day.
    • Also, called “programmed cell death”, it is still the body’s natural and healthy way of maintaining itself.
  • Autophagy
    • Autophagy is the natural, conserved degradation of a biological cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components through a lysosome-dependent regulated mechanism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autophagy
  • Chronic Inflammation
    • Chronic systemic inflammation is the result of release of pro-inflammatory cytokines from immune-related cells and the chronic activation of the innate immune system.
      • It can contribute to the development or progression of certain conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders, and coronary heart disease.
      • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemic_inflammation
  • Circadian Rhythm
    • A circadian rhythm (/sərˈkeɪdiən/), or circadian cycle, is a natural oscillation that repeats roughly every 24 hours. Circadian rhythms can refer to any process that originates within an organism (i.e., endogenous) and responds to the environment (is entrained by the environment).
  • Oxidative Stress
    • Oxidative stress reflects an imbalance between the systemic manifestation of reactive oxygen species and a biological system’s ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or to repair the resulting damage.
  • DNA Repair
    • DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome.[1][2] A weakened capacity for DNA repair is a risk factor for the development of cancer.
  • Glycemic Index/Load
    • The glycemic (glycaemic) index (GI; /ɡlaɪˈsiːmɪk/[1]) is a number from 0 to 100 assigned to a food, with pure glucose arbitrarily given the value of 100, which represents the relative rise in the blood glucose level two hours after consuming that food.
      • In clinical management of obesity, diets based on a low glycemic index/load appear to provide better glycemic and inflammatory control than ones based on a high glycemic index/load (and therefore could potentially be more effective in preventing obesity-related diseases).
      • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_index
  • Growth Factors and Anabolic Signaling
  • Gut Health, Gut Microbiome
    • Gut microbiota, gut microbiome, or gut flora are the microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses, that live in the digestive tracts of animals.
      • The gut is the main location of the human microbiome.
      • The gut microbiota has broad impacts, including effects on colonization, resistance to pathogens, maintaining the intestinal epithelium, metabolizing dietary and pharmaceutical compounds, controlling immune function, and even behavior through the gut–brain axis.
      • Imbalances in the gut microbiota (dysbiosis) have been associated with numerous diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, certain cancers, and even neurological disorders, prompting increased efforts to develop microbiome-targeted therapies.
      • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gut_microbiota
  • Hyperinsulinemia
    • Hyperinsulinemia is a condition in which there are excess levels of insulin circulating in the blood relative to the level of glucose.
  • Immunomodulation
  • Melatonin
    • In vertebrates, melatonin’s functions extend to synchronizing sleep-wake cycles, encompassing sleep-wake timing and blood pressure regulation, as well as controlling seasonal rhythmicity (circannual cycle), which includes reproduction, fattening, molting, and hibernation.

Notepad

  • I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. Ask your doctor if you have questions.

Scratchpad

TBD

To-Dos

  • Rework benefit descriptions using everyday language and terms for easier reading

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