How ineffective are current Alzheimer’s disease treatments? Quite. So much so, in fact, that David Cameron, the Conservative former prime minister of the United Kingdom – a supposed BFF of Big Business and one can only deduce, Big Pharma – called out the pharmaceutical industry for its “failures undermining dementia research and drug development.” A huge multi-billion-dollar industry being called out by a world leader isn’t something that happens every day.
But then again, Cameron’s sentiments have plenty of merits. Per Scientific American, dementia drug research has failed miserably. In a mega-study investigating 244 drugs across 413 clinical trials, researchers found that just one drug was approved. In other words, 99.6 percent of the experiments amounted to nothing. Just this past January, another company discontinued not one but two Alzheimer’s drugs during the final stages of clinical trials.
So, what is going on? Well, it’s one thing for a politician to lambast an industry for their lack of progress and next-to-nil results; it’s quite another to pinpoint and act upon the catalysts of dementia. It certainly doesn’t help that the drug industry is so entrenched into the health care apparatus either, as this discourages looking at alternative methods of care. Mix in public ignorance about natural remedies (yes, including marijuana) and the outlook doesn’t appear favorable.
But researchers may just be edging ever closer to a real solution to the Alzheimer’s problem – and it isn’t in the form of an expensive pill. What is it, then? Well, if studies are to be believed, it’s the use of cannabis.
In this article, we’re going to discuss some interesting findings concerning the use of cannabis and Alzheimer’s disease. We’ll briefly touch on the problem of Alzheimer’s in today’s society as well as the problems posed by conventional dementia treatments.
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: AN OVERVIEW
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by a gradual loss of memory, learning ability, communication, and judgment. In some cases, these cognitive functions decline to a point where the person becomes entirely dependent on caregivers for daily activities.
Alzheimer’s is typically found in those over the age of 65, of whom approximately 1 in 14 adults are affected. The highest concentration of patients with the disease are those over the age of 80, with 1 in every 6 meeting the criteria for diagnosis. This type of Alzheimer’s, also known as Late-onset Alzheimer’s is the most common, accounting for nearly 90 percent of all cases.
Only 6 to 8 percent of patients develop symptoms before the age of 65 – a condition known as early-onset Alzheimers – with those affected having a family history of the disease.
The rarest form of Alzheimer’s is called Familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD), which is believed to be wholly inherited. In affected families, members of at least two generations are found to have had Alzheimer’s disease. FAD accounts for less than 1 percent of all Alzheimer’s cases.
Alzheimer’s disease symptoms are classified into three categories: mild, moderate, and severe.
COMMON SYMPTOMS OF MILD ALZHEIMER’S INCLUDE:
Difficulty completely once-routine tasks
Impaired sense of judgment
Impaired sense of direction or getting lost
Increased anxiety and aggression
Lethargy and lack of purpose
Memory loss
Monetary difficulties
Poor decision making
Repeating the same questions
MODERATE SYMPTOMS INCLUDE:
All of the symptoms mentioned above
Further deterioration of memory
Poor judgment and worsening confusion
Requiring assistance when doing simple tasks (e.g. bathing, grooming, using the bathroom.)
Significant changes in personality and behavior.
SEVERE SYMPTOMS MAY INCLUDE:
All of the signs mentioned above
Losing the ability to converse or speak
Complete dependence on others for many tasks
Declining physical abilities (e.g. inability to walk or sit up straight, rigid muscles, etc.)
PROBLEMS ABOUND WITH DEMENTIA DRUGS
It’s not just that so few drugs are approved for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia; the problem is also that they are ineffective and downright counterproductive in just about every conceivable way. Let us briefly discuss the problems with current dementia treatment.
1. THEY’RE EXPENSIVE
First, Alzheimer’s prescription drugs are costly. While Medicaid covers much of the costs, prescription drugs for dementia can add up to hundreds of dollars per month. For seniors who live on a fixed income, this amount may be unattainable, forcing them to choose drugs over other necessities like food, or vice-versa.
2. THEY CARRY NASTY SIDE EFFECTS
Among the pervasive side effects of dementia medicines are abdominal cramps, bruising, confusion, constipation diarrhea, insomnia, muscle cramps, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and weight loss.
3. THEY’RE INEFFECTIVE (EXCEPT FOR ONE)
While the statistics may vary, they seem to agree on this point: Alzheimer’s prescription medications aren’t very effective at doing what they say they’ll do. In a meta-analysis of 41 randomized control trials published in Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, the research team concludes that there is not one drug that reduces neuropsychiatric symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
Memantine is the sole dementia medication that carries significant benefits. In both the previous meta-analysis, and the second analysis of 30 studies published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, memantine (brand name “Namenda”) significantly improved learning, cognition, and memory. (Furthermore, compared with the other type of dementia medications – acetylcholinesterase inhibitors [e.g. donepezil] – memantine has relatively few and less severe side effects.)
CANNABIS AS AN ALZHEIMER’S AND DEMENTIA TREATMENT
“When we investigated the power of THC … we found that [it] was a very effective inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase. [We] also found that THC was considerably more effective than two of the approved drugs…” – Kim Janda, Ph.D. (source)
It’s a good thing that marijuana use is becoming less and less taboo – especially for those with medical conditions. To give you an idea of just how widespread cannabis is as either a primary or secondary treatment option, consider what it’s been thought to help treat:
Alzheimer’s disease (of course!)
Anxiety
Cancer (by killing cancer cells and slowing tumor growth)
Chron’s disease
Chronic pain
Eating disorders
Epilepsy
Excessive weight loss (in people with AIDS and cancer)
Glaucoma
Inflammation
Loss of appetite
Mental health conditions such as schizophrenia and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Nausea and vomiting (from chemotherapy)
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
Muscle spasms
UNDERSTANDING ALZHEIMER’S
To understand how cannabis may help treat Alzheimer’s, we must first understand the underlying neurophysiology of the disease. To this point, researchers attribute the onset and progression of the disease to the buildup of a sticky plaque protein called beta-amyloid. It is thought that the protein disrupts communication between neurons in the brain and causes cellular death. It is these effects of the beta-amyloid, neuroscientists say, that causes both the cognitive and neuropsychiatric problems seen in Alzheimer’s patients.
An active compound in marijuana called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) may help to remove the toxic buildup of beta-amyloid, say researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California. Moreover, THC may also help to reduce inflammation in nerve cells. Dave Schubert, the leading neurobiologist at the institute, believes that his team’s study is the first of its kind to demonstrate these dual properties of THC.
Schubert’s team may have made another novel finding: the inflammation produced in the brain may stem from beta-amyloid buildup within the neurons – not immune-like cells within the brain as thought previously. Moreover, “THC-like compounds (within) the nerve cells themselves may be involved in protecting the cells from dying,” says Antonio Currais, a researcher in Shubert’s lab.
Schubert’s team attributes these the anti-inflammatory, beta-amyloid reduction properties to THC to activation of the brain’s “switches,” or receptors. Research has shown that endocannabinoids activate these receptors, causing intracellular signaling within the brain. As THC has similar molecular activity as endocannabinoids, they have similar effects of the brain’s receptors.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In related research, Schubert’s lab discovered that a potential drug known as J147 produces similar effects of beta-amyloid proteins and reduces the inflammatory response in the brain. Schubert’s team has found that the J147 drug works by manipulating a mitochondrial protein called ATP, which performs the role of providing cellular energy to neurons. As of this writing, J147 is said to be nearing clinical trials – the first step, albeit a long one, in gaining approval for mass manufacturing and distribution.
As of this writing, the Salk Institute is advancing its research on THC and endocannabinoids as a potential Alzheimer’s treatment.
A police officer has been filmed allegedly punching a teenage girl in the head during an arrest at a pro-cannabis rally in central Melbourne.
Play Video
Footage of the incident emerged on Saturday after the 15-year-old was arrested at the rally in Flagstaff Gardens about 2.30pm.
Footage has emerged of a police officer appearing to strike a 15-year-old girl after allegedly being spat on at a Melbourne rally.
Witnesses said the teen was pulled to the ground by officers during her arrest. When she was eventually led away, she allegedly spat in the face of a female officer, who appears to retaliate with a right hook.
The girl was charged with trafficking drugs, possessing drugs and assaulting an officer. She is due to face the Children’s Court at a later date.
Footage has emerged of a police officer appearing to strike a 15-year-old girl in the head after being spat on.
A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said on Sunday police had not received a complaint about the officer and would only investigate if one was received.
Victorian MP Fiona Patten, who spoke at the rally, has called for an urgent investigation into the incident.
“For police to get violent in this manner and use that type of heavy, over-handed tactics, we really need to question that and question the priorities of police”, she said.
“I would hope that sort of violent behaviour is not sanctioned by police and is fully investigated.”
Ms Patten said the police presence at the rally seemed “overwhelming and unnecessary”.
“It’s a peaceful demonstration – there’s no need for police action we’re seeing today,” she said on Saturday.
Marijuana enthusiasts at the event.CREDIT:PAUL SAKKAL
Witness Greg Reiner said he saw about 10 police surrounding the girl soon after she was arrested.
“She was struggling to walk because the officers were manhandling her quite violently,” he said. “Then about halfway through the walk out we saw she got punched in the face.”
Cries of “Leave her alone, she’s a kid” can be heard in the footage as the officers hold the teen on the ground.
As the officers walked her from the park, they were followed by what bystanders have described as an “angry mob” of onlookers, chanting and booing at them.
“A whole mob then followed the police and the girl as they walked her out, probably 300 people,” Mr Reiner said.
“A few of us had to convince the mob to turn around and stop following police because the mob were really angry at how this girl was treated.”
The annual 420 rally is held worldwide on April 20 by marijuana enthusiasts to campaign for the liberalisation of drug laws. The rally takes its name from the time 4.20pm, when all attendees smoke marijuana in unison.
Greens MPs Adam Bandt and Tim Read, and Liberal Democratic Party MP David Limbrick spoke at the rally along with Ms Patten.
Thirty people were issued a caution for cannabis possession at the rally. One person, who was arrested in relation to possessing cannabis and trafficking a drug of dependence, will be charged on summons.
Acting Inspector Lisa Prentice-Evans said “police will facilitate peaceful demonstrations but if there’s breaches of legislation we’ll take proactive enforcement either by way of diversions, cautions, or through the courts”.
Tennessee has become the fourth state to impose restrictions on Monsanto’s flagship herbicide, dicamba. Farmers in the state have stated that the herbicide has drifted to neighboring farms, damaging crops that have not been genetically-modified to withstand it. Tennessee follows Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas in holding global giant, Monsanto, responsible for environmental damage. Dicamba is the main ingredient in herbicides produced by Monsanto, BASF, and DuPont for use on soybeans and cotton which have been genetically-modified to tolerate the chemical. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved dicamba as safe for use in 2016 against broadleaf weeds.
Despite its supposed efficacy, farmers in the southern United States say that dicamba has cost their neighbors thousands of dollars in lost crops due to it drifting over to surrounding farms. Several lawsuits have already been filed against dicamba producers. A farmer in Wyatt, Missouri, Hunter Rafferty, told Reuters, “We’ve had damage across just about every acre of soybeans we farm in southeast Missouri. In our small town, the azaleas, the ornamentals, people have lost their vegetable gardens. It’s a big problem.”
According to Rafferty, 3,000 to 4,000 acres of soybeans on his family farm have been compromised because of dicamba drifting. He says that the leaves of the plants have constricted into cup-like shapes — a warning sign that the soybeans have somehow been altered.
Monsanto has dismissed these claims as the ramblings of uneducated farmers. They insist that these are challenges faced by any and every early-adoption strategy. Monsanto representatives liken the cross-contamination to similar headaches faced by the company when it launched Roundup Ready glyphosate-resistant crops 20 years ago; a situation that was “fixed” even as recent reports suggest otherwise. (Related: Monsanto: History of Contamination and Cover-Up.)
“In almost every technology in the first year there are kinks that you need to work out,” said Robb Fraley, Chief Technology Officer of Monsanto, in response to the dicamba lawsuits.
Fraley joins spokespeople from BASF and DuPont who implicate improper handling, rather than inherent chemical issues, as the cause for the damaged crops. He says that farmers do not follow application labels, use contaminated equipment, and even buy older formulations of the herbicide to save on costs, but which are more prone to drift. However, he said that Monsanto will look over additional safeguards for product use.
Dicamba was developed to match its Xtend line of soybeans and cottons which have been designed to handle the weed killer. The line was meant to replace earlier products that contained only glyphosate. In 1970, Monsanto introduced glyphosate-resistant crops to battle the rapid buildup of plant-destroying weeds.
Late last year, Monsanto introduced their new dicamba formulation, marketed as XtendMaxTM. The herbicide was reported to have low-volatility, which the company described as being less likely to drift while being more flexible, and intriguingly, better able to “maximize crop yield potential.” In their official press release, Monsanto projected over 15 million Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybean acres, as well as three million Bollgard II XtendFlex cotton acres by the end of 2017.
These estimations might not come to fruition, however, given the latest restrictions filed by Tennessee. Part of these guidelines include allowing application only from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and banning the use of older dicamba formulations.
Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Jai Templeton has said, “I’m confident that we can address this issue as we have in other cases to ensure the safe and effective use of these tools.”
The World Health Organization’s data clerks are about to put in some overtime.
The World Health Organization is looking to make up for lost time, as far as Mary Jane is concerned. And while that majority of buddha-lovers are probably in unison when they “WHO CARES!,” the organization “re-organization” is still a pretty big W for the weed advocates who fought long and hard for decades on end.
What this all means on a more profound level is this: the WHO will change all the official writing or regulations regarding Marijuana – that includes the removal of whole-plant marijuana and cannabis resins from the “extremely restrictive” list of substances logged under the headingSchedule IV in their official database. All THC-contaminated substances or isomers as they’re called in the scientific community will also switch over to a less restrictive category – to match the U.S. Government’s Schedule I categorization.
As the original report goes on to explain, the pro-Marijuana turn comes vetted by UN reps. So when the WHO reclassify’s their database, UN reps will then engage with World leaders to coerce (not enforce) rule changes across the board. To the casual smoker who lights up without provocation, all these regulatory changes might seem redundant on the surface, but as I said before, this is a big WIN for the activist community, several years too late.
Below is a video of Dr. Christina Sanchez, a molecular biologist at Compultense University in Madrid, Spain, clearly explaining how THC (the main psychoactive constitute of the cannabis plant) completely kills cancer cells.
Cannabinoids refer to any group of related compounds that include cannabinol and the active constituents of cannabis. They activate cannabinoid receptors in the body. The body itself produces compounds called endocannabinoids and they play a role in many processes within the body that help to create a healthy environment. I think it’s also important to note that cannabis has been shown to treat cancer without any psychoactive effects.
Cannabinoids have been proven to reduce cancer cells as they have a great impact on the rebuilding of the immune system. Although not every strain of cannabis has the same effect, more and more patients are seeing success in cancer reduction in a short period of time by using cannabis. Contrary to popular belief, smoking cannabis does not assist a great deal in treating disease within the body as therapeutic levels cannot be reached through smoking. Creating oil from the plant or eating the plant is the best way to go about getting the necessary ingredients, the cannabinoids.
The world has come a long way with regards to accepting this plant as a medicine rather than a harmful substance. It’s a plant that could benefit the planet in more ways than one. Cannabis is not something offered in the same regard as chemotherapy, but more people are becoming aware if it, which is why it’s so important to continue to spread information like this. Nobody can really deny the tremendous healing power of this plant.
At 10 months of age, Kalel Santiago of Puerto Rico was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called neuroblastoma. He endured chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and surgery for two years—and survived. Then he was diagnosed with something permanent: severe autism that disabled him from speaking.
“While he was in the hospital, we noticed he didn’t speak at all and had some behavior that wasn’t right, like hand flapping, and walking on his toes,” his father Abiel Gomez Santiago told Yahoo News. “But we waited until he was 3 and cancer-free to look at his behavior.”
According to Yahoo, “He and his wife Gladys — also parents to two older boys, now 18 and 20 — did a cram course in educating themselves on autism. They tried various schools and therapies and eventually found impressive success with a unique surf-therapy school near their home.”
Eventually, the Santiago family stumbled upon a treatment of real potency and potential: CBD oil.
Through a fundraising program, they were able to receive a tiny bottle of the oil. Kalel was given oral doses twice a day.
Within just two days, he was finally able to speak. “He surprised us in school by saying the vowels, A-E-I-O-U. It was the first time ever,” Abiel said. “You can’t imagine the emotion we had, hearing Kalel’s voice for the first time. It was amazing. The teacher recorded him and sent it to my wife and me and we said well, the only different thing we have been doing is using the CBD.”
Soon after, he began using consonants, too, speaking like his parents never thought possible. “He said, ‘amo mi mama,’ ‘I love my mom,’” Abiel says. “I don’t know how to thank [the CBD oil makers].”
Kalel’s story is yet another piece of evidence piling onto the mountain of support for cannabis oil and full marijuana legalization. Please share this with as many people as possible.
Originally published September 28, 2018 at http://yourhealthdoc.com/autistic-boy-gains-ability-to-speak-after-just-2-days-of-cannabis-oil-treatment-3/?fbclid=IwAR2GwbvayI5NzVBMgdjmfVCJvFAzGCbOn6bAt-5g9POSSKJ4LvYTYLRryrA
A group including 12 former heads of state has called for drugs to be legalized worldwide, as the war on drugs has ‘failed’, a report published today said.
The report ‘Regulation: The Responsible Control of Drugs’ by the Global Commission on Drug Policy found that arresting drug dealers has had little effect.
Instead, governments should introduce regulated markets for drugs – and turn away from global policies which require prohibition and punishment. Should weed be legalised worldwide?
‘The international drug control system is clearly failing,’ said Helen Clark, a former prime minister of New Zealand.
‘The health … of nations is not advanced by the current approach to drug control.’
‘Current drug policies are reducing neither the demand nor the supply of illegal drugs, quite the contrary, while the increasing power of organized crime is a sad reality,’ writes Ruth Driefuss, the former president of Switzerland and chair of the commission.
By taking control of illegal drug markets, the report argues governments can weaken the powerful criminal gangs that have grown despite decades of efforts to stamp them out. Cesar Gaviria, former president of Colombia Source: Bloomberg Mexico’s President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador
The commission chose to launch its report in Mexico, whose criminal gangs are top suppliers of heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana to the United States and where gang-related violence has driven murders to a record high.
‘Mexico is the most important country in the fight against drugs,’ said former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria.
Mexico’s recent history exemplifies the report’s claim that evidence shows arresting drug traffickers has little impact on drug supply and may increase violence. Should drugs be legalised? Yes No Yes, but only soft drugs like weed
Just over 10 years ago, Mexico intensified its battle with drug gangs by sending out the military to battle traffickers.
While dozens of kingpins have been captured or killed, the number of gangs operating in Mexico has multiplied as new criminal leaders step into the breach and battle over turf.
The commission recommends governments open participatory processes to shape reforms toward regulation.
Incoming Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has already started to hold town-hall reviews on violence and discuss potential ‘amnesty’ for non-violent drug traffickers and farmers. Members of his team have said Mexico will evaluate creating legal markets for marijuana as well as opium.
The report calls for a renegotiation of the international treaties that created a ‘repressive’ strategy where drug users and low-level dealers face stiff prison sentences, but it cautions nations are far from a global consensus yet.
Originally published by: Rob Waugh Monday 24 Sep 2018 8:39 am at https://metro.co.uk/2018/09/24/former-world-leaders-call-for-worldwide-legalisation-as-war-on-drugs-has-failed-7973392/
Dr. Lee Cowden says most people don’t die from cancer; they die from the side effects of treatment. While the “war against cancer” is moving toward more personalized and so-called “precision medicine” treatments, the old standby model of “cut, poison and burn,” via surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, is still widely used and regarded as the standard of care for many cancer cases.
One of the major problems with chemotherapy is its indiscriminate toxicity, which poisons your body systemically in an attempt to knock out cancer cells. There have long been signs that this model has fatal flaws and may cause more harm than good. In the case of the breast cancer chemotherapy drug Tamoxifen, for instance, patients must trade one risk for another, as while it may reduce breast cancer, it more than doubles women’s risk of uterine cancer.1
Serious, sometimes-fatal side effects (or more aptly, simply effects) of chemotherapy are common, as are serious unforeseen effects that may make your cancer prognosis worse instead of better.
Writing in the journal Science Translational Medicine, researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine revealed that giving chemotherapy prior to surgery for breast cancer may promote disease metastasis, or the growth and spread of cancer to other areas of the body.2 This, in turn, greatly increases a woman’s risk of dying from the disease.
Chemotherapy May Make Breast Cancer More Aggressive and Likely to Spread
Preoperative chemotherapy, known as neoadjuvant chemotherapy, is often offered to women because it may help shrink tumors, which increases the likelihood that women will receive lumpectomy surgery instead of a full mastectomy. After performing tests on mice and human tissue, however, the researchers found that doing so may increase the likelihood of metastasis by increasing what are known as “tumor microenvironments of metastasis.” As Stat News explained:3
“Called ‘tumor microenvironments of metastasis,’ these on-ramps are sites on blood vessels that special immune cells flock to. If the immune cells hook up with a tumor cell, they usher it into a blood vessel like a Lyft picking up a passenger. Since blood vessels are the highways to distant organs, the result is metastasis, or the spread of cancer to far-flung sites.”
When mice with breast cancer or given human breast tumors were given the chemotherapy, it altered the tumor microenvironment in ways that made them more conducive to cancer spread, including, Stat reported:4
Increasing the number of immune cells that transport cancer cells into blood vessels
Making blood vessels more permeable to cancer cells
Making tumor cells more mobile
In mice, chemotherapy treatment doubled the number of cancer cells in the bloodstream and lungs compared to mice that did not receive the treatment. Further, in 20 human patients who received common chemotherapy drugs, the tumor microenvironments also became more favorable to cancer spread. As The Telegraph noted:
“It is thought the toxic medication switches on a repair mechanism in the body which ultimately allows tumors to grow back stronger. It also increases the number of ‘doorways’ on blood vessels which allow cancer to spread throughout the body.”5
Further, researchers wrote in a 2012 Journal of Clinical Oncology editorial, “Unfortunately, neoadjuvant chemotherapy does not seem to improve overall survival, as demonstrated in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B18 trial, among others.”6 This means women may be trading a potential increased risk of cancer metastasis for a treatment that doesn’t even improve their chances of survival.
It’s Been Known for Years That Chemotherapy Can Trigger Tumor Growth
While the news that chemotherapy may encourage cancer spread may sound surprising, it’s not a new discovery. In 2012, researchers found chemotherapy for prostate cancer caused DNA damage in healthy cells and caused them to secrete more of a protein called WNT16B, which boosts tumor growth and may encourage cancer cells to develop resistance to treatment.
“WNT16B, when secreted, would interact with nearby tumor cells and cause them to grow, invade and, importantly, resist subsequent therapy,” study co-author Dr. Peter Nelson, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, told AFP News.7
In the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers further noted, “The expression of WNT16B in the prostate tumor microenvironment attenuated the effects of cytotoxic chemotherapy in vivo, promoting tumor cell survival and disease progression”8 and “ … [D]amage responses in benign cells … may directly contribute to enhanced tumor growth kinetics.”9
While research continues to reveal that chemotherapy’s effects are wide-reaching and devastating to healthy cells, it’s also been shown — at least as far back as 2004 — that “chemotherapy only makes a minor contribution to cancer survival.”10 A Clinical Oncology study found that in terms of five-year survival rates in adult cancer cases, chemotherapy has an average five-year survival success rate of just 2.3 percent in Australia and 2.1 percent in the U.S.11
Separate research revealed that out of nearly 2,000 patients receiving chemotherapy, 161 deaths occurred within 30 days of the treatment. Nearly 8 percent of them were classified as related to the chemotherapy (and another nearly 16 percent were unclassified due to insufficient information).12
Further, as mentioned, chemotherapy can increase the risk of subsequent cancer, such as therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (tAML), “a rare but highly fatal complication of cytotoxic chemotherapy.” Researchers noted that tAML cases occur nearly five times more often in adults treated with chemotherapy than they do in the general population.13
Conventional Oncologists Aren’t Likely to Explain the Many Options for Treatment
Upon receiving a cancer diagnosis, many people assume their only options for treatment are chemotherapy, surgery or radiation. Only you and your health care team can make the decision on how to best pursue treatment, but you should know that conventional providers are unlikely to think outside the box.
Oncology is the only specialty in medicine that is allowed and even encouraged to sell drugs at massive profits — typically in excess of 50 percent — and cancer drugs are, as a general category, the most expensive medications in all of medicine to begin with. Oncologists actually get a commission for the chemotherapy drugs they sell, and with that type of incentive, it’s nearly impossible to imagine them actively seeking other alternatives.
Oncologists are further constrained by the “standard of care” prescribed by oncology medical boards and the drug industry. If they go against the established standard of care, they’re susceptible to having their license reprimanded or even taken away. As a result, patients are typically forced to go it alone if they don’t want to go the conventional route, which is unfortunate because there are many promising alternative treatments.
Understanding Your Options for Cancer Treatment
A comprehensive natural cancer-fighting approach would be to make your body as healthy as possible, using detoxification, strategies to boost your immune function, dietary changes and other targeted therapies depending on your needs. For instance, Annie Brandt — a 16-year cancer survivor and author of “The Healing Platform: Build Your Own Cure!” — states products that are helpful against metastatic cancer cells include:
The point is that there are many anti-cancer strategies overlooked by conventional medicine. Many of them even work in addition to conventional treatment. For instance, vitamin C in combination with nutritional ketosis and fasting prior to administering chemotherapy radically improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
Oncologists in Turkey, who aren’t under the same U.S. restrictions, are also using a stacked ketogenic treatment protocol that is showing shocking remissions in many stage 4 cancer patients. The treatment protocol at ChemoThermia Oncology Center in Turkey includes:
At the center, all oncology patients are put on a ketogenic diet, which creates metabolic stress on the cancer cells. Then, prior to administering the chemo, the patient will do a 14-hour fast, which further increases the metabolic stress on the cancer cells.
The patients will typically have a blood glucose level around 80 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) at this point. They then apply glycolysis inhibitors to inhibit the glycolysis pathway in the cancer cells, which creates a terrific amount of metabolic stress, as the cancer cells are already starved of glucose.
Insulin is then applied to lower the blood glucose levels to around 50 or 60 mg/dL, to cause mild hypoglycemia. At that point, chemotherapy is applied, often at a far lower dose than would otherwise be used, thereby lowering the risk of side effects.
In the days following chemotherapy, hyperthermia and hyperbaric oxygen therapy are applied, plus a daily infusion of glycolysis inhibitor therapies with high-dose vitamin C (50 grams) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). A sampling of other targeted therapies covered in Brandt’s book are below.
Poly-MVA, a colloidal mineral complex that crosses the blood-brain barrier and helps renourish your body and brain at the cellular level. It also helps replace nutrients lost during chemotherapeutic and radiological treatments.
AvéULTRA (Metatrol), a fermented wheat germ product.
Selenium, vitamin D and iodine, as most cancer patients are low in these three nutrients. Since I do regular sauna therapy, I take 200 micrograms of SelenoExcell each day. (You tend to excrete selenium when sweating.) Selenium increases glutathione, an important metabolic antioxidant necessary for detoxification. It also catalyzes the conversion of thyroid hormone T4 to T3, so it can be beneficial if you have thyroid problems.
Modified citrus pectin (MCP) has been shown to reverse cancer and stop metastatic cancer. Brandt recommends the brand ecoNugenics, as this is the one that has been scientifically studied and verified to work.
Colloidal silver is a nontoxic, broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy with no known toxicity and no known mechanism for acquired resistance.
Salicinium, a plant-based extract that inhibits production of nagalase — an enzyme produced by cancer cells — while simultaneously stimulating innate immune cells.
So as mentioned, there are many promising avenues to target cancer. Even if you’re working with a conventional oncologist, the ChemoThermia Oncology Center has published protocols your oncologist could make use of, regardless of where you live. If your oncologist isn’t willing to integrate these alternative strategies into your care regimen, you may want to consider finding a new doctor.
Originally published by: By Dr. Mercola at https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/07/25/chemotherapy-spreading-cancer.aspx?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=facebookmercola_ranart&utm_campaign=20181007_chemotherapy-spreading-cancer&fbclid=IwAR1_QSRot3NmbJ0SmGLkFzRYTrksEv-XZwqi_Pt-LT2pZy1i239kHXTZqHg
Yolanda Ng was on the cusp of a full time job as a pediatric nephrologist at Providence Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital in Spokane, Washington, in the summer of 2014. She was going through the motions of onboarding at the hospital—filling out paperwork and finalizing her new position. Then she took a drug test, and it came back positive for cannabis use.
A few months prior, Ng had started to take a few drops from a cannabis-infused tincture that her friend recommended to help with menstrual cramps for a few days every month when she had her period. She tells me that it was such a small amount that she’d had no concerns about giving the requisite urine sample. Weed was already decriminalized in Washington at the time, and Ng says she had never used cannabis at work or before seeing patients.
But when the positive result came back, her supervisor said it was protocol to report her to the state’s physician health program, an organization tasked with protecting the public from unsafe medical practice. What followed was a costly and messy process of legal proceedings, suspended licenses, mandatory rehab, and regulatory middlemen—a process that pushed Ng to decide to leave the field altogether.
Now Ng’s story is another cautionary tale, adding to a growing number from medical professionals facing repercussions for using medical and recreational cannabis in the 23 states where it has been decriminalized. As the country continues to push for legalization, the lack of clarity and regulation within the medical establishment is leaving physicians in the crosshairs with little guidance and often fewer rights than other working citizens.
“The law doesn’t provide paths forward for [physicians like Ng],” says Nicole Li, an attorney who represents Ng and several other physicians who have faced similar issues as a result of both authorized medical and adult cannabis use. “Resolving the situation is going to require a political solution prompted by political pressure.”
Cases like Ng’s have cropped up across the country. There’s the neurosurgery resident in California who said she smoked weed on her days off. Or one of Li’s current clients in Washington who was only reported and tested when a patient complained about him after he refused to prescribe unnecessary opioids. Physician Paul Bregman in Colorado lost his medical license after he used marijuana as a treatment for bipolar disorder.
There are no specific laws that govern what a physician can and cannot do when it comes to cannabis. It’s widely accepted that a doctor cannot legally practice if his or her work is compromised by any drug—be it opioids, alcohol, or weed. But marijuana poses a specific challenge since the substance can stay in your system, and show up on drug tests, for up to a month after use. There is no way to distinguish between someone who smoked a joint in the morning before work and one who did so three weeks ago on a weekend.
Sometimes the rules around whether or not a doctor can use cannabis depends on the workplace, not the state. Micah Matthews, deputy executive and legislative director for the Washington Medical Commission, the state licensing agency, says that hospitals or clinics that accept federal dollars often have to comply with federal, not state, regulations. And under the US law, marijuana is still a Schedule I—i.e., illegal—drug.
“An employer may not have a problem with recreational use,” he says, “but if they accept federal money, as all hospitals tend to do, that creates some requirements for continued funding should cannabis use be discovered.”
The grey area, however, is not just about what is permitted. It’s also about who determines what happens to physicians who are found using cannabis. This task often falls to physician health programs, semi-voluntary organizations that are meant to direct physicians to rehab or report dangerous behavior. State licensing boards, like the one in Washington, often defer to these organizations to evaluate the physicians and recommend a course of action.
Physician health programs are controversial in the medical community, and have been criticized for forcing doctors into unnecessary treatment. There’s also the chance that these programs have a financial interest in sending physicians to costly treatment centers. “They’re pursuing our clients when there are dangerous doctors out there,” Li says, referring to physicians who put their patients’ safety at risk.
When psychiatrist Michael Alpert in Cambridge, Massachusetts, created a Change.org petition to protect doctors who use marijuana safely, the petition was directed at the Federation of State Physician Health Programs, which oversees the state programs. (Full disclosure: I know Alpert socially).
When I reached out to Chris Bundy, the director of Washington’s physician health program, he told me that his organization tries to address and rehabilitate doctors so that they don’t have their licenses revoked. He also emphasizes that the organization believes that regular cannabis use (which he defined as at least weekly) leads to cognitive impairment, and shouldn’t be used by doctors, especially since it is federally illegal.
“How would we know or define safe limits for physicians?” he says. “The danger is the assumption that most people have that getting drunk or high on Sunday won’t impact practice performance on Monday.”
There is a dearth of research on the long-term use of cannabis, and we still don’t know if using the drug has permanent impact on cognitive functioning in adults. But Bundy says the program would never make a decision about referral for evaluation, treatment or monitoring based only on the frequency of cannabis use. Instead, he says it has to be evaluated in the context of the other clinical information available. (Bundy didn’t comment on any specific cases.)
Doctors have spoken out against the state programs and their treatment of doctors in the past, saying the programs are not looking out for physicians like Ng. “Mandating people go for evaluations at physician health programs solely on the basis of a marijuana test is ridiculous,” says J. Wesley Boyd, a physician and associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “The fact that the state board of medicine in Washington state went along with that is appalling.”
In Ng’s case, the physician health program she was referred to conducted an interview, determined they couldn’t make a conclusion, and referred her to Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation Center, an addiction program, for a $5000, three-day evaluation. And while the psychologist and psychiatrist determined she wasn’t at risk, Ng tells me that one of the program’s counselors decided she had “severe substance abuse” and that her marijuana use had permanently impacted her brain.
They then recommended that she enter a three-month inpatient rehabilitation program at the same center, which would have required her to pay $50,000. When she didn’t comply, she was reported to the Washington Medical Quality Assurance Commission. “There were some people who legitimately needed to be there,” she says. “I don’t understand why I qualified.”
The misunderstanding and lack of research around cannabis use can have severe repercussions on a physician’s career, not to mention their well-being. Li says that none of the clients she’s currently representing had been reported for threatening a patient’s safety. But even then, some of their names appeared in local media, stating that they were reported for using illegal drugs.
“Physicians call me from across the country—they don’t know what kind of lawyer they need. There’s shame and stigma around it,” Li says. “The amount of suicide talk is alarming.”
Meanwhile, Ng, now living in California, says she wants to leave her past, and the stress of her three-year ordeal, behind. After hearing the requirements for probation—working every day, and remaining 100 miles away from the original hospital—she hung up her white coat entirely and is now working as an interior designer.
Originally published at: https://tonic.vice.com/en_us/article/vbknb4/doctors-using-legal-weed-suspended
