THE HOLISTIC CANCER
SOLUTION
By Walter Last
The cause and cure of cancer is
basically unknown, not only in conventional medicine but also in natural
medicine. For decades, while working as a natural therapist and health writer,
I continually tried to improve my understanding of what was really going on,
and I am confident that the relevant pieces of the puzzle have now fallen into
place.
Blocked Energy
Production
The conventional view is that
cancer originates in the cell nucleus due to random mutations or damage to the
genetic material from radiation or toxic chemicals. This orthodox model
sees the development of a tumor as a purely local event in an otherwise healthy
body. Therefore the aim is to catch it as early as possible, remove or destroy
the tumor, and all should be well.
But reality is different.
Unbiased investigations show that there is no real difference in conventionally
treated and untreated cases (1). I suspect that honest statistics would even show
chemotherapy to shorten lives. Why then do some patients survive conventional
treatment?
The answer is that some tumors
just have a tendency to spread and others remain harmless whether treated or
untreated. Presently the focus is on detecting very small tumors many of which
would never develop into cancer and form metastases but in statistics they are
counted as cured cancers. When cancer
does spread then there is generally no conventional treatment that really
works. Recognizing this, statistics are commonly expressed as five-year
survival rates. All this shows that the medical model of cancer is either
incomplete or wrong.
The German cancer researcher Dr
Paul Gerhard Seeger (2) demonstrated already in 1938 that in most cases
cancer starts with the degeneration of the cell membranes which in turn leads
to damage of the energy-producing mitochondria embedded in the cytoplasm, the
jelly-like outer part of the cell. In the mitochondria food fragments are
oxidized in a series of enzymatic steps called the 'respiratory chain'. Seeger
showed that in cancer cells this respiratory chain was more or less blocked,
especially at the site of the important enzymes cytochrome oxidase. Without it
the cell can produce energy only anaerobically like a fungal cell. This is very
inefficient and the resulting overproduction of lactic acid makes the cell and
the whole body overacid.
Seeger and others found that cancer cells utilize only between 5 and 50%
of the oxygen of normal cells. Furthermore, the virulence of cancer cells is
directly proportional to their loss of oxygen utilization, and with this to the
degree of blockage of the respiratory chain. In 1957 Seeger successfully
transformed normal cells into cancer cells within a few days by introducing
chemicals that blocked the respiratory chain.
Further experiments showed that cancer cells of low virulence could
easily be overcome by the immune system but those with high virulence prevailed
and continued to spread. Following this, Seeger made his most important
discovery: thousands of experiments revealed that certain nutrients, mainly from
the vegetable kingdom, could restore cellular respiration in low-virulence
cancer cells and, with this, transform them back into normal cells.
Seeger's finding that cancer originates in the cytoplasm and not in the
nucleus was confirmed by other researchers.
Between 1975 and 1977 they repeated an experiment 93 times in which they
replaced the nucleus of a fertilized mouse egg with the nucleus of a cancer
cell. In each case the egg developed into a healthy, cancer-free mouse and even
the offspring remained cancer-free. Similar results were achieved with frog
eggs (2).
The Budwig Therapy
Dr Johanna Budwig (3), a German biochemist and fat researcher,
confirmed the work of Seeger on a practical level. In the 1950’s she developed
a simple paper chromatography test that shows the blocked respiratory chain of
cancer patients as a slow yellow-green spot.
By using liberal amounts of high-quality linseed or flaxseed oil and the
sulfur-amino acids cysteine and methionine, the yellow-green spot disappeared,
the respiratory chain was reactivated, tumors commonly disappeared and cancer
patients recovered. The main food providing sulfur amino acids was low-fat
quark, a traditional form of cottage cheese made from fermented raw milk, and
she specified that all foods must be “as natural as possible”.
In the final stages of oxidative energy production electrons derived
from food are being made to flow along a bridge consisting of an essential
fatty acid (EFA) and a cysteine-containing molecule to form carbon dioxide and
water. This bridge becomes blocked at the cytochrome oxidase stage by metabolic
and microbial wastes and toxins. With this the cell reverts to a fungal type of
energy production which is the precondition for the growth of a tumor.
Repairing this blocked bridge with a clean cysteine-EFA replacement allows the
electrons to flow again and the cell to revert to normality.
The type of metabolic waste that Budwig found to block the respiratory
chain were mainly unbiological fats containing
trans-fatty acids as from commercial polyunsaturated oils, chemically hardened
fats such as margarine and mayonnaise, and saturated fats from grain-fed
animals, and in addition synthetic anti-oxidant preservatives added to
processed food to prevent rancidity.
To replace these faulty parts efficiently it is important to provide
both ingredients sulfur amino acids and EFA’s, in relatively high amounts at
the same meal without much interference from other fatty acids, but additional
lecithin is beneficial. Methionine, another sulfur amino acid, is also useful
in food as it can be converted to cysteine inside the body but it is not
suitable as a high-dose supplement.
Budwig wrote that beneficial results, such as increased energy, can
often be observed within days or weeks, while tumors may start shrinking after
several months. Furthermore, also worm-like microbes (Canceroben) that she
observed in red blood cells and blood serum gradually disappeared.
But there are also problems with the Budwig therapy that caused me to
hold back in the past. The Budwig diet is very high in milk products, which
cause digestive problems or allergic reactions with many individuals. Also we
know now that milk contains the growth factor IGF-1 which appears to promote
tumor growth, especially in hormone-sensitive cancers.
Furthermore, like Budwig I only regard raw or unheated milk products as
healthy, and the sale of healthy milk products is illegal in many highly
medicalized countries such as
Budwig supposedly had a 90% success rate with her therapy but that was
with a high amount of fermented and raw organic products, and generally with
patients who traditionally used a diet high in milk products. I am not aware of
the success rate when using commercial non-organic and pasteurized cottage
cheese but I believe that it will be much lower than Budwig’s results.
The presence of IGF-1 apparently did not affect Budwig’s results. This
means when the conditions for tumor growth are removed, then IGF-1 is no longer
a problem. It also helps that IGF-1 and lactose remain mainly in the whey, and
may be discarded.
Budwig did not seem to pay much attention to the fact that not only
quark but also other recommended food items in her diet such as buttermilk,
fresh raw milk, fermented sauerkraut, and soaked grains provide plenty of
beneficial bacteria to sanitize the intestines. I regard this as an essential
part of her therapy.
While there are many glowing testimonials, one story in particular
highlights a serious problem with the Budwig protocol. A
I believe some flaws in the Budwig approach contributed to this. While
it is a plus in cancer therapy that the Budwig diet is low in pro-inflammatory
phosphorus, it is rather high in calcium but low in magnesium. This is
problematic with many conditions and especially with arteriosclerosis. Also
contributing to this may have been calcifying nanobacteria because Budwig did
not have an antimicrobial therapy available (5).
Furthermore, Budwig discouraged the use of vitamin E as protection of
EFA’s from oxidation. Therefore individuals generally had a high level of
unprotected EFA’s in the blood. If they then were exposed to oxidizing
influences, such as car exhaust, active or passive smoking, and especially
chlorinated tap water, then that could cause much internal auto-oxidation.
Chlorinated drinking water has been shown to strongly promote atherosclerosis
and heart attacks (6).
To counter these effects I would avoid using milk, buttermilk and whey
as additions to quark as all of these are high in calcium; instead I recommend
a high level of additional magnesium. Furthermore, I would also squeeze natural
vitamin E oil into newly opened bottles of flaxseed oil. Contrary to some
expressed fears natural vitamin E does not interfere with the respiratory
chain.
Budwig also reported a rather unsettling feature of her therapy. She
warned that even after tumors and metastases have disappeared, if someone
starts again habitually eating processed meat, restaurant food, or other food
with preservatives and synthetic antioxidants, there tends to be a sudden
proliferation of the Canceroben (cancer microbes). These patients may then die
within weeks and no amount of cysteine and flaxseed oil will help anymore.
After about 5 years it is less dangerous to gradually introduce less healthy
foods.
This brings us to the role of cancer microbes which I believe is one of
the missing parts in the Budwig therapy. Budwig did not regard the Canceroben
as important in the cause and cure of cancer but I do.
The Cancer Microbe
From time to time I found references stating that cancerous tumors can
be dissolved by infusion of blood from young and healthy individuals, but not
with blood from older individuals or from anyone with cancer (7). This shows
that cancer has much to do with vitality and the immune system.
Many independent researchers have reported the proliferation of certain
pleomorphic (shape-changing) microbes in the blood and tumors of all cancer
patients (8). One of the first was the German professor of microbiology
Guenther Enderlein who described in 1925 the
different stages of a microbe that is normally present as tiny colloidal
protein units. In various degenerative diseases, especially cancer, these
protein units grow into cocci and higher bacterial forms and finally into
fungi.
Before him, in the nineteenth century, the French professor Antoine Bechamp had already described similar microbes and called
them microzymas. In 1890 the Scottish pathologist
William Russell also discovered the cancer microbe, and a form of it is still
presently known as Russell bodies in tumors.
Independently, mostly without knowing of each other's work, several
other researchers - Royal Rife, Wilhelm Reich, Virginia Livingston-Wheeler,
Alan Cantwell and Gaston Naessens - have described
the same phenomenon. Orthodoxy, however, has a dogma that says microbes always
have the same form and cannot change from viruses into bacteria and fungi. This
is because orthodox microbiologists commonly observe dead stained microbes in
dead tissue, or live ones for short periods, instead of live microbes in live
tissue at high magnification over long periods.
Anyway, this microbe, generally called the cancer microbe, appears to do
much of the damage attributed to malignant tumors. It badly weakens the immune
system and makes it incapable of fighting cancer cells. Toxins released by
advanced forms of this microbe cause the characteristic sickening odor as in
terminal cancer and cause wasting in experimental animals, just as in terminal
cancer. If injected into animals, this microbe and its toxins cause cancer.
Several of these researchers found ways to destroy or control the cancer
microbe, which often led to a cure or remission of the disease. The cancer microbe generally begins to
proliferate with a decline in health and vitality. It appears to originate from
breakdown products of diseased body cells. The unhealthier the body becomes,
the more it develops from the mycoplasma stage into bacterial and fungal forms.
By weakening the immune system and the metabolism it prepares the way
for the development of cancer. Toxins released by the cancer microbe may also
interfere directly with the respiratory chain.
Two factors that greatly contribute to the rise of the cancer microbe
are dead teeth and overgrowth of the intestines with harmful microbes. Dead
teeth have become a major problem because of root-canal treatments. The dead
roots and the surrounding jawbone commonly become concentrated breeding grounds
of harmful anaerobic microbes, releasing a steady stream of toxins into the
circulation (9).
Overgrowth of the gastro-intestinal tract with harmful microbes has the
same effect on an even larger scale, and is a main cause of devastating the
immune system, frequently resulting in autoimmune diseases and Candida-related
problems (10).
Therefore, in addition to regenerating the respiratory chain we need to
eliminate most of the microbes that poison the body and incapacitate the immune
system. We start doing this by removing the main sources of microbial
infestations, their home base, by sanitizing the gastro-intestinal tract and,
after sufficient cleansing and while using strong antimicrobials, removing any
dead teeth.
Sanitizing the gastro-intestinal tract involves killing harmful bacteria
and fungi with a dose of a suitable microbicide, and before ingesting any
carbohydrates using a high dose of probiotics,
preferably as a self-made ferment of lactobacteria.
Antimicrobial treatment requires strong remedies and needs to be done at
least for several weeks. My favorites are sodium bicarbonate, high-dose iodine
as Lugol’s solution or Iodoral
for about 3 weeks followed by a further period on acidified sodium chlorite
known as MMS (11). Also suitable are very high doses of wormwood and extract of
pau d’arco or olive leaf,
all strong fungicides. In addition a so-called electronic zapper and magnetic pulser may be used, and a variety of other antimicrobial
remedies.
In addition the immune system may need to be improved with specific
nutrients, especially selenium, zinc, magnesium, iodine and vitamin D
(sunshine). Many others will be helpful, especially berries yielding a purple
juice.
While some cancer patients claim to have been cured with antimicrobials
as the main therapy, others were not so lucky. This is what creates the
confusion when looking for the cause and cure of cancer, almost every method
can claim some successes and has some failures. Nevertheless combining
antimicrobial therapy with regeneration of the oxidative energy metabolism must
rate very high in overcoming the biochemical causes of cancer.
Cleansing
In addition to the problems caused by microbial toxins, there is also
the damage from exposure to toxic and unbiological
chemicals in our food and environment. This greatly weakens the immune system,
and Budwig as well as Seeger have shown that it is also a major cause for the
blockage of the respiratory chain. Natural therapists are well aware of this
aspect, and basically all natural cancer therapies stress cleansing and
avoiding or minimizing contaminated and processed food.
Most of the successful older methods, such as the Gerson Therapy (12),
the Grape Cure (13) or the Breuss Cure (14) rely almost exclusively on
cleansing and clean living, while also using raw foods and nutrients with a
good track record of overcoming cancer. The Grape Cure and Breuss Cure are
semi-fasting methods and most suitable in the early stages of cancer when
individuals still have a fair amount of weight and vitality. In contrast, the
broader-based but also much more difficult Gerson Therapy has a good track
record with advanced cancers.
Such methods of clean and natural living place a high value on organic,
unprocessed, and raw food and juices high in vitality. While so far ridiculed
by conventional medicine, a recent research paper revealed that three small
servings of raw cruciferous vegetables per month, such as broccoli and cabbage,
decreased the risk of developing bladder cancer by 40 percent. But if these
vegetables were cooked than the anti-cancer effect was lost (15).
Also another cornerstone of cleansing was recently verified by medical
research: it has been demonstrated that removing protein debris or damaged
proteins from cells keeps aging organs young and healthy (16). Of course, the
search is now on for a patentable drug to do this.
The basic importance of cleansing may be properly understood if we
assume that the cancer microbe starts its rise as tiny protein plasmas out of
the diseased protein sludge gradually accumulating inside cells. The more this
sludge leads to higher bacterial and fungal forms the more the oxidative
metabolism becomes blocked, and the more inflammation and general comfort
arises in the body.
A raw cleansing diet high in chlorophyll is strongly alkalizing and this
counteracts inflammation and pain. Commonly pain and inflammation disappear
within about 3 days on a raw-food cleanse. In the short-term a strong
alkalizing and pain-relieving effect can be achieved simply by taking
bicarbonate. Temporarily half a teaspoon of bicarbonate may be taken up to
seven times daily in water on an empty stomach or 2 to 3 hours after meals. As
a general rule if there is pain alkalize the body.
Using antimicrobial therapy is necessary as a first step to keep the
cancer microbe and other microbes and especially fungi under control. However,
for a long-term solution microbial bases in intestines and teeth need to be
cleared up, and in addition the protein sludge must be removed from cells. This
is a slow process, and after a more intense initial cleanse there needs to be a
long period of clean living.
What Causes Tumors?
There is still the unsolved question of what actually causes tumor
development, and what is the underlying difference between benign and malignant
tumors? All of the factors mentioned so far may be essential ingredients of
cancer, but they apply also to autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid
arthritis and multiple sclerosis, and to chronic fatigue syndrome. The cancer microbe
is present in all of these, and Budwig expressly mentions diabetics and others
as having the same blockage of the oxidative cellular energy production as
cancer patients, and also recover when this is rectified.
There must be an additional factor at work in cancer as compared to
autoimmune diseases, a factor that focuses a destructive influence on a
specific small part of the body.
Basically all chronic degenerative diseases are associated with
widespread chronic inflammation. This is an unsuccessful attempt of the immune
system to eliminate the infective disease agent, the cancer microbe or diseased
body cells.
If a disease-causing agent manifests in a very limited part of the body
then there will be an inflammatory immune response only in this small area.
This may happen if a group of cells becomes abnormal due to an accumulation of
toxic chemicals, causing a local blockage of the respiratory chain, and
possible infiltration by mycoplasma. If the immune system does not succeed in
eliminating this threat then chronic inflammation with destruction of body
cells result. This gradually leads to fibrosis with a tough fibroid wall
surrounding the battlefield, and we have a tumor.
If the immune system is strong, the damage to the respiratory chain
locally contained, no systemic problem with the cancer microbe, and any toxins
safely stored away, then the inflammation around the tumor subsides and we have
a benign or dormant tumor. However, if these factors are more severe then tumor
cells have greatly reduced vitality, they divide abnormally, and if there is
also a good blood supply then the tumor keeps growing. The cancer microbes
inside the tumor become aggressive and, aided by high acidity and chronic
inflammation, help the cancer cells to invade surrounding tissue.
If in addition the cancer microbe and other microbes are active
throughout the body, and there is widespread damage to cellular respiration,
then cancer cells being released from the tumor find fertile ground to become
attached and grow in other parts of the body, we now have metastases. In a way
we may compare cancerous tumors with mushrooms as both grow out of a widespread
fungal root and support system. The tumor-mushrooms are relatively harmless;
instead the root system and fungal overgrowth cause most of the damage. Finally
the fungal forms of the cancer microbe poison the whole body. This is cachexia
as the final stage of cancer.
Tumor Location
What causes a tumor to grow in a specific location, for instance in the
left breast rather than in the right? This is a confusing subject because there
can be different factors leading to the same result. The basic cause of a tumor
is local toxicity and damage to the energy production, leading to a loss of
vitality and abnormal fungus-like cell division.
Experimentally tumors can be caused in a specific location by injecting
a suitable toxin into tissue such as a concentrated form of the cancer microbe
or chemicals that block the respiratory chain. Another possibility is radiation
frequently being beamed into the same location as from a mobile (cell) phone,
or always sleeping in the same position over a beam of earth radiation from an
underground stream, or from radiation treatment of an existing tumor.
Natural therapists working with electro-acupuncture diagnosis have
developed a chart that shows energetic connections between specific tooth
locations and specific organs or body parts on the same side of the body (17).
If a tooth is dead as from root canal treatment, then this energy connection
becomes disharmonious and the organ is stressed. In combination with a general
presence of the cancer microbe and damaged energy production, this organ may
now develop a tumor.
Another cause may be deficiency of a nutrient that is needed in high
amounts at a certain location, such as zinc for the prostate gland, iodine for
the thyroid, and manganese for the thymus. In combination with other
aggravating factors such deficiencies may lead to tumors in these glands.
With breast cancer it has been shown that habitually wearing a tight bra
greatly increases the risk (18). This is understandable from the principle of
debris accumulating where the river flow slows down. In a similar way toxic
chemicals will deposit in fatty breast tissue when the lymph circulation in this
area is suppressed. Another question is why is one breast affected and not the
other? The answer may be found at the emotional level.
Emotions and Cancer
Dr Budwig also addressed emotional issues with her patients. She wrote
that she cannot help anyone with persisting emotional problems. I am convinced
that her success was also greatly enhanced by the positive expectations of
patients when consulting a famous therapist.
Another German, Dr Ryke Geerd
Hamer linked different forms of cancer and tumor locations
to specific kinds of emotional shock. Accordingly, a conflict shock concerning
child, home or mother will affect the left breast, while conflict shock
relating to a partner or others will affect the right breast (19).
Dr Hamer believes that most metastases or secondary tumors are caused by
the cancer-fear or death-fear resulting from the patient being given the cancer
diagnosis or a negative prognosis. The solution is to search for any emotional
shock that may have triggered the cancer, and neutralize it with positive
emotional changes.
The strong influence of fear can also be seen from an observation by the
late medical clairvoyant and Theosophist Geoffrey Hodson.
He described a woman who previously had a cancer operation on one breast now
becoming fearful of cancer developing in the other breast.
The fear created a dense grey area in the aura over this breast with
increasing pain and tumor growth, so that surgery was recommended. By cleansing
the aura and replacing fear with a positive emotion the grey area gradually
dissolved which then allowed the tumor and the pain to disappear as well. Hodson remarked that if surgery would have been performed,
the cancer would most likely have returned (20).
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a generally harmless calcification in
a breast that can occasionally
develop into an invasive tumor. The preferred medical treatment is mastectomy.
Despite this 1% of women get local recurrence of a malignancy and another 1%
get distant metastases after mastectomy.
A research report found that women with DCIS are much more fearful of a
malignant recurrence than is warranted (21. It requires a high amount of fear
to have a harmless calcification recur as cancer after mastectomy, but these
women must have had a lot of fear put into them to agree having a breast cut
off in the first place.
With this we have a further important aspect of a comprehensive cancer
therapy: reversing the lack of vitality in the affected organ due to fear. This
can be done by refreshing a memory of joy or love, or imagining a situation
that will cause such feelings, and then transfer this feeling to the affected
organ. Practice this focus daily as a guided imagery in a state of relaxation
or meditation.
A Rational Cancer Program
A rational cancer program will include the following aspects:
·
Immunotherapy – vigorous antimicrobial therapy and
immune system support
·
Restoring the oxidative energy metabolism according to
the Budwig principle
·
Cleansing and alkalizing, using natural food and
unpolluted water
·
Daily guided imagery to bathe the affected organ in
positive feelings
·
Trying to find and neutralize any emotional shock
·
Correcting any other conditions that may have
contributed to cancer development
·
Supportive remedies and therapies
Direct tumor destruction as with Cansema/cancer
salves (22) or sodium bicarbonate (23) is sometimes possible but should not be
done in isolation but rather as part of a holistic program that includes
immunotherapy, metabolic and emotional improvement as well as cleansing. For a
program to implement these steps see my website (24). However, there are
different ways of doing this, and in time we may come to a consensus on the
best combination of remedies and treatments for different conditions.
Endnotes
(1) Last, W: How
Scientific are Orthodox Cancer Treatments? NEXUS 2004, 11(4); also at http://www.health-science-spirit.com/cancerscience.html
(2) The only book available in English is Seeger, P.G.
and
(3) Budwig, J: The most detailed
information is at www.healingcancernaturally.com/budwig_protocol.html. Here you
also find details of the 3 Budwig books that have been translated into English
(4) http://www.healingcancernaturally.com/dr-budwig-patient-consultation.html
(5) Mulhall, D: The Nanobacteria
link to Heart Disease and Cancer. NEXUS 2005, 12(5)
(6) Price, J.M: Coronaries/Cholesterol/Chlorine.
Alta Enterprises, US, 1969
(7)
Scienceblog.com
(8) Cantwell, A: The
Cancer Microbe. Aries Rising,
(9) Meinig, G.E: Root
Canal Cover-Up. Bion Publ. 1993 www.ppnf.org/catalog/ppnf/Articles/Rootcanal.htm
(10) Truss, C.O: The Missing Diagnosis. Truss,
(11) Last, W: The Ultimate Cleanse at
http://www.health-science-spirit.com/ultimatecleanse.html
(12) Gerson, M: A Cancer Therapy: Results of
50 cases. First published Totality
Books, CA 1958; also see www.gerson.org/
(13) Brandt, J: The Grape Cure. Ehret
Literature Publ. Beaumont CA, first published 1928
(14) Breuss, R: The Breuss Cancer Cure. Alive Books,
(15)
(16)
Scienceblog.com 11-08-2008: Researchers
correct decline in organ function associated with old age.http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/researchers-correct-decline-organ-function-associated-old-age-17120.html
(17) http://www.health-science-spirit.com/dental.html
(18) Singer, S.R. and S. Grismaijer: Dressed to Kill. Avery
Press 1995; also see www.all-natural.com/bras.html
(19) The
official English-language website of Dr Hamer is at http://www.newmedicine.ca;
see also Last, W: The New Medicine of Dr
Hamer. NEXUS 2003, 10 (5),
and http://www.health-science-spirit.com/hamer.html
(20) Hodson, G: An Occult
View of Health & Disease. Health Research,
(21) Phend, C: Fears of
Recurrence Linked to Anxiety After DCIS Diagnosis. http://www.medpagetoday.com/HematologyOncology/BreastCancer/tb/8334
(22) See www.health-science-spirit.com/cansema.html
with suppliers listed at the end of this article
(23) Simoncini, T: Is the
Cause of Cancer a Common Fungus? Nexus Magazine Vo. 14/5, 2007, also www.cancerfungus.com
(24) See the
8-part series Overcoming Cancer at http://www.health-science-spirit.com/diseases.html
and the book Overcoming Cancer at http://www.the-heal-yourself-series.com
Disclaimer: The aim of this web site is to provide information on using natural
healing methods in the treatment of illness and health improvement. The author
cannot accept any legal responsibility for any problem arising from
experimenting with these methods. For any serious disease, or if you are unsure
about a particular course of action, seek the help of a competent health
professional.