Case Study: Starve To Double The Effectiveness Of Chemotherapy

In William Li’s talk, we know there is a medical revolution happening around us, and there is something can treat us from the cancer, it is called angiogenesis. It is based on the process that our bodies use to grow blood vessels. Also he tells us about the blood vessels and how can we prevent the cancer from eating.

I chose to write an essay about the “Topic of Cancer” by Christopher Hitchens. In this short autobiographical essay, Hitchens discusses his experience with Esophageal cancer. Just one day after lanching his book “Hitch-22” Hitchens was made aware of his illness, where he later describes the news as “taking me from the country of well, to the stark frontier.” It was then he chose to write about his experience for the purpose of documenting the changes that he, and his body were about to go through with chemotherapy, and also for the purpose of contemplating his current situation. The reason that I chose this story is because of my own personal experiences that I have had with many loved ones in my life. There is one case in particular that stands out in my memory, among the rest. It was when my friend of many years discovered that he had a very rare form of brain cancer. Soon after undergoing chemotherapy, he lost his battle. There are many people that believe chemotherapy at any stage is the best, and often times, the only way to cure cancer, yet others claim that chemotherapy is not the answer at all. A close analysis of recent statistics can settle this debate.

Fasting is a body cleansing procedure during which food is restricted and only liquids are consumed. Strictly water fasts are the most brutal; herbal teas and juices made from fresh fruits and vegetables are consumed during a more liberal fast. Juice fasting is the preferred method amongst many doctors and European fasting clinics, perhaps because it is less harsh than other treatment plans.

While Season felt completely broken-down, she knew that she had no choice but to bring her background in nutrition to her own home. To build Kicker’s immunity Season implemented The Ketogenic Diet. The human body produces cancerous cells daily, so building a strong immunity is imperative when fighting off cancer cells and the harsh chemicals from treatment. The Ketogenic Diet is a new cancer treatment, which is free, with virtually no side effects. It can also be conjoined with other cancer treatments. The diet involves cutting carbohydrates, beginning with the worst carbohydrate of all, sugar (Johnson L, 2013). It is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. The diet forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. Normally the carbohydrates contained in food are converted into glucose, which are then transported around the body. However, if there are little carbohydrates in the diet then the liver converts fat into fatty acids and ketone bodies. Ketone bodies are water molecules that are produced when the body is consuming very little food, which mimics fasting. Cancer is an obligate glucose metabolizer because it fuels on sugar. One’s normal cells have the metabolic flexibility to adapt from saving glucose by using ketone bodies (Johnson S, 2014). This addressed that because cancer

My friend fought a long and tiresome battle. She didn’t just lay back and succumb to cancer. She fought against the odds to undergo chemotherapy (something that can potentially cause more harm than it’s worth).

Dating even before Biblical times people realized that periodic and prolonged fasting was beneficial for epileptics. Little was known about why or how, but prolonged fasting could last up to 2 or 3 weeks. For some it involved clear broth diets and others abstained from everything but water (Key). It wasn’t until 1921 at the American Medical Association convention in Boston that endocrinologist (bordering on quacksalver) H. Rawle Geyelin from New York Presbyterian reported that a period of 20 day fasting had miraculously curative effect on epileptic patients (Wheless). Though the report was exciting, it was primarily anecdotal and offered no scientific explanation for how the fasting worked to stop seizures. Furthermore, therapeutic starvation wasn’t a sustainable treatment option for many epileptics, particularly for children. In 1924 Dr. Russell Wilder of the Mayo Clinic crafted a diet plan that mimicked the body’s response to fasting. What exactly is the body’s response to starvation? The body exhausts glycogen stores and begins metabolizing stored fat to create energy and power brain, and other organ activity.

The majority of patients initially admitted for chemotherapy treatment tend to be rather mobile and active in their home life. However, during and after treatment their physical strength and

Most chemotherapy drugs are given as a course of up to ten sessions (cycles) of treatment. This will depend on the type of drug you are having. At each treatment session you will be given the chemotherapy drug through a drip (infusion). This involves running a liquid containing the drug through a fine tube (cannula) into a vein in your arm. This allows the drug to enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body.

There are no special diets for chemo patients; however, doctors advise patients to avoid greasy and spicy food and to always wash their fruits before eating them.

The foods that are mostly picked out to eat have characteristics of detoxifying the body from cells that have turned cancerous or cleaning the body from harmful chemicals used in chemotherapy.

Another anti-inflammatory benefit of intermittent fasting is its ability to suppress pro-inflammatory cytokine expression while decreasing circulating levels of leukocytes (blood cells that indicate inflammation, infection, or trauma). (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23244540)

Studies depict that cancer patients particularly with the canal (GI) or head and neck area cancer ar malnourished. Weight loss and poor nutritionary status are also common in these patients. this may result in negative outcomes throughout treatment. Cancer patients become additional vulnerable as their risk of infections, health care price and toxicity of treatment are going to be increased. It decreases response to treatment, quality of life (QoL) and life expectancy. These nutritional challenges considerably increase morbidity and mortality in these patients, and severe cases can cause cancer cachexia. Early nutrition screening and intervention are very important in these patients to assist and forestall this nutritional decline. If you have cancer, healthy intake is even more vital throughout treatment.

Accounts of fasting can be traced back thousands of years. The primary purpose of fasting in those days was to flee from the distraction of eating, to give your full attention to something else, often through the form of prayer. However, fasting is becoming increasingly popular in a different kind of way. Today many scientists and doctors are studying fasting as a type of healing process, not just mentally, but also physically. These beneficial effects have been seen in the treatment of weight loss, mental health, cancer, skin disease, and a host of other ailments. While fasting may not be safe for a select few, the possibility of life changing benefits warrants everyone’s consideration.

2. Carr, D. B., Fischer, D. S. & Markman, M. (1994). Cancer: when to focus on palliation. Patient Care, 28, (3), 123–126.

Fasting is a period of absentness from all food and drinks. Many people around the world have their own reasons on why they are fasting. Some of them fast because it’s a must according to their religions, while some of them fast because they want to have better health. Fasting can give a lot of benefits to individuals such as a great physical health, reduces stress, improves mental clarity and focus and also cure diabetes.