Cervical dysplasia is a precancerous change to the cells of the cervix caused most often by the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), the same virus that is responsible for cervicitis, genital warts, and cervical cancer. Approximately 20 million people in the United States are currently infected with HPV, with more than 6 million new cases expected annually.
The likelihood of a woman developing cervical dysplasia increases with intercourse at an early age, unprotected sex with several male partners, smoking, birth control pills, and weak immunity. Naturopathic physician Dr. Tori Hudson explains: “Women who have intercourse at an early age are more vulnerable to getting genital warts and cervical dysplasia because the cells of the cervix at that age are more susceptible to being infected by the virus.
“If you smoke, and you are exposed to the virus, you are much more likely to develop dysplasia, and you are much more likely to develop cervical cancer from your dysplasia,” Dr. Hudson says. “We know that nicotine actually lodges in the glands of the cells of the cervix. When exposed to the virus, the DNA can change to take on more abnormal features. If you have genital warts and you smoke, it is much more likely that they will turn cancerous as well.
“Oral contraceptives are known for creating a folic acid deficiency, and folic acid deficiency is associated with acquiring cervical dysplasia and having the disease progress to cancer.”
Dr. Hudson describes cervical dysplasia as a progressive syndrome that develops over time. “After initial exposure to the virus, there is no indication that anything has changed. Later, immune changes may occur. Warty tissue may develop, then mild dysplasia, moderate dysplasia, severe dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, and then invasive cancer.” These symptoms are not evident upon physical examination, so Pap smears are necessary.
Since HPV is sexually transmitted, the conditions associated with it are preventable. Notes Dr. Hudson, “Cervical dysplasia, genital warts, and cervical cancer are all sexually transmitted diseases. That should make an impression on all of us, because it really dictates how we should protect ourselves.
“Obviously, we shouldn’t smoke. We should protect ourselves by having safe sex and a healthy immune system. If you take birth control pills, it is advisable to take folic acid. A good maintenance dose would be 800 micrograms daily. Those are the main ways to protect against cervical dysplasia and genital warts.” Additional preventive daily supplementation may include 5,000 milligrams of vitamin C and 25,000 units of beta-carotene.
To detect the condition early, Dr. Hudson stresses yearly Pap smear exams. Statistics show that the longer women wait between Pap smears, the higher the incidence of cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer.
Before treatment, it is essential to get fully diagnosed to determine the stage of the illness. If a woman has an abnormal Pap smear, her partner needs to be examined by a urologist for warty tissue. Otherwise, they will pass the virus back and forth, reinfecting each other. Diagnosis by a licensed, well-trained alternative practitioner will determine whether a woman is a candidate for natural treatments only or needs to integrate these approaches with conventional methods.
Conventional medicine usually does nothing to treat mild dysplasia and genital warts. “Basically, they wait to see if it gets worse,” says Dr. Hudson. “Often the body can reverse mildly abnormal states to normal on its own, as the body has an extraordinary ability to heal itself. But when it can’t, then the disease progresses, and the downside of waiting becomes apparent.”
In the later stages, aggressive measures may be taken. The preferred conventional treatment is known as LEEP (loop excisional electrosurgical procedure), which uses an electrical wire to cut out abnormal tissue. This is less expensive and less traumatic than the older method, cone biopsy. Cryosurgery, cauterization, and laser vaporization are other options. In advanced disease states, a hysterectomy may be needed to save a woman’s life.
Women with cervical dysplasia often achieve excellent results using naturopathic approaches. Dr. Hudson notes, “In the results of a research study that I conducted at the College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, we treated fortythree women with varying degrees of cervical dysplasia. Through my treatment protocol, thirty-eight of the forty-three reverted to normal, three partially improved, and two had no change, meaning that they didn’t get better and they didn’t get worse.”
Dr. Hudson’s protocol consists of three parts: systemic, local, and constitutional treatment. She stresses that after a woman follows the protocol for three months, it is important for her to once again be examined by a health practitioner and to obtain another Pap smear. Sometimes a biopsy is also needed.
Amanda McQuade Crawford, a medical herbalist, uses herbal infusions to treat cervical dysplasia. In her book Herbal Remedies for Women, Crawford also recommends herbal douches. Her favorite douche uses 1 ounce of wheatgrass juice for every 6 ounces of sterile water. If wheatgrass is not available, she recommends the following douche solution:
Grind the herbs and mix with 4 ounces boiling water. Strain, and
allow the mixture to cool to room temperature before using.
Here’s another one:
You can also add:
Dilute the oils in water and mix together well.
Treating cervical cancer by restoring the patient’s own immune system has also proved successful at Dr. John Clement’s Immuno-Technologies Cancer Clinic in Freeport in the Bahamas. Dr. Clement specifies that success can occur if the treatment is begun early, even after surgery. (See chapter 24 for more information.)
Fibroids are growths composed of muscle tissue that are usually benign. They attach themselves to the inner or outer wall of the uterus. One in five women over thirty-five has them, with the majority being African American. Fibroids grow in response to estrogen levels. Medically, they are also referred to as fibromyoma uteri and leiomyoma uteri.
Complementary physician Dr. Robert Sorge says that fibroids are nature’s way of encapsulating toxins that result from an unhealthy diet and lifestyle: “Most of our patients with this condition consume tremendous amounts of coffee . . . Every person concerned about their health must stop drinking coffee. Diet sodas, greasy fries, pizza, potato chips, doughnuts and danishes, and other devitalized foods add to the problem.”
Registered nurse and licensed acupuncturist Abigail Rist-Podrecca adds that Asian medicine sees fibroids as the result of blockage to the uterine area. “This can be caused by anger, emotional upset, or a history of problems with menstruation, where it is either late or prolonged. Sometimes, after an abortion, the endometrial wall will still have some cells from that particular pregnancy. Further down the line, that can develop into fibroids.”
Small fibroids are symptomless, but when they grow, they may result in painful periods, bladder infections, and infertility. Uterine bleeding is another common symptom. Explains Rist-Podrecca: “If the fibroid is located on the inside of the uterus lining, then you will have this uterine bleeding, which usually sends women to the gynecologist, where she opts for hysterectomy. If the fibroid is located on the muscle wall, there is not so much bleeding, but the fibroid will continue to grow.”
Dr. Sorge adds that bleeding is the body’s attempt to restore balance, according to naturopathic medicine: “Circulation and oxygenation of the uterine muscles and blood vessels are diminished, and metabolic waste products begin to build up. Bleeding is the sign of a highly toxic condition attempting to correct itself.”
Small fibroids that do not cause problems may be left alone or removed by a procedure known as a myomectomy. This procedure removes the fibroid only and does not interfere with a woman’s ability to have children.
For larger tumors or fibroids that cause heavy bleeding, hysterectomies are the standard treatment. Dr. Herbert Goldfarb, a gynecologist and assistant clinical professor at New York University’s School of Medicine, reports that the majority of these operations are unnecessary, as well as dangerous. In addition, hysterectomies can be psychologically destructive.
“A laser procedure, called myoma coagulation, has the potential to end the use of hysterectomies for fibroids once and for all, but most people don’t know about it,” Dr. Goldfarb says. “My book, The No Hysterectomy Option, was written in response to my frustration at having a technology to help women avoid hysterectomies but women not knowing about it. Sometimes women need hysterectomies but often they are told they need them for frivolous reasons. My book is designed to help women understand when a hysterectomy is needed and when other options are available. I always like to say that a hysterectomy may be indicated, but may not be necessary. Our best patient is an informed patient.”
According to Dr. Tori Hudson, one alternative to hysterectomy is hysteroscopic surgery, which is used when a fibroid is protruding into the uterus. The surgeon inserts a hysteroscope, a tubular instrument that allows the surgeon to visualize the interior of the uterus, through the cervix and shaves away the fibroid with instruments passed through the hysteroscope. The hysteroscope is also used to shrink larger fibroids with lasers or electric currents.
An alternative for relatively small fibroids on the outside of the uterus is laparoscopic surgery. The laparoscope, an instrument used to visualize the interior of the abdomen, is inserted through an incision in the abdomen, and the fibroid is vaporized by an electric current or removed surgically, using instruments passed through the tube.
Dr. Goldfarb lectures extensively to doctors on this technology, which has enabled him to prevent hysterectomies in hundreds of women with fibroids and uterine bleeding. The typical candidate is a woman uninterested in reproduction, since the uterine wall may become too weak to support a pregnancy. Also, the size of the tumor must be 10 centimeters or less (approximately six inches). If the fibroid exceeds this size, it can be reduced with the medication Lupron. “Lupron reduces estrogen levels in the body, and temporarily reduces the size of fibroids,” Dr. Goldfarb says. “With Lupron, we get a 30 to 50 percent reduction in size.”
Once the tumor has become smaller, coagulation can be performed, which shrinks it another 50 to 75 percent and puts an end to the problem. “When we do this procedure, we literally undermine the tumor by destroying its blood supply. As we put needles around the fibroid, it turns blue, showing that the blood supply has been interrupted. Fluid and blood go out, and the tumor shrinks. It becomes stringy tissue and just sits there, becoming very small, eliminating the need for removal. The patient has no symptoms and can go about her life without the need for further surgery.”
Fibroids grow in response to estrogen, so nutritionist Gracia Perlstein advocates the natural lowering of estrogen through diet and exercise as a first-line defense. As Perlstein explains, “Research shows that an overfatty diet increases estrogen in the diet, and we know overweight women produce more estrogen. So the first approach would be dietary.
“The best diet for a woman attempting to decrease the size of her fibroids, or at the very least keep them from getting any larger, consists of whole foods and is semivegetarian or vegetarian. The best protein sources are from vegetables and include whole grains, especially millet, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, whole oats, and brown rice.
“Eat small quantities of legumes daily. Soybeans and foods made from soy, in particular, contain isoflavones that discourage tumor growth. Foods made from soy include tofu, fortified soy milk, miso, and tempeh. A variety of other beans can be used to make wonderful ethnic dishes: black beans, adzukis, pinto beans, chickpeas, mung beans, lentils, and lima beans. Grains and beans are your best source of proteins.
“The liver detoxifies excess estrogen, so you want to support liver function by avoiding all recreational drugs, alcohol, fried foods, coffee, and any processed or refined foods. Be sure to drink at least two quarts of pure water a day to help your bowels and kidneys. You are trying to remove excess estrogen from the system, and this is supported when your organs of elimination work properly.”
Exercise is also very important, says Perlstein. “Regular exercise will reduce excessive estrogen levels. Most people are familiar with the fact that hard-training women athletes sometimes reduce their estrogen levels to the point where they stop menstruating. We are not after that kind of effect, but regular exercise is very beneficial.”
For further uterine support, Perlstein recommends the following supplements and herbs:
Perlstein asserts that such a comprehensive program of diet and lifestyle changes, geared toward reducing excess estrogen, gives the body the tools it needs to shrink fibroids or keep them from growing any larger.
Dr. Joseph Pizzorno, past president of John Bastyr College of Naturopathic Medicine, recommends oil-soluble liquid chlorophyll. He says this old natural therapy can quite effectively put an end to abnormal uterine bleeding. Oil-soluble liquid chlorophyll is available in capsules. Two to three are usually taken two to three times a day. Dr. Pizzorno says that for some reason, the chlorophyll seems to relieve this condition. “Many people think this works because it improves clotting, but it turns out that women with abnormal uterine bleeding do not have clotting abnormalities. So why it works is not clear, but the bottom line is, it works quite well.”
According to Judy Griffin, an herbalist from Texas and author of The Woman’s Herbal, as quoted in Positive Health magazine, treating fibroids involves decongesting the liver by using safe herbs that can be taken over an extended period of time, including dandelion and vitex berries. Vitex is particularly beneficial for fibrocystic disease because it lowers estrogen levels.
Abigail Rist-Podrecca says the following herbs are good for stopping dysfunctional uterine bleeding when taken under the supervision of a Chinese herbal practitioner:
POO WHA—Made from bee pollen.
ER JOW—Made from the hide of an animal.
CHUAN XIONG (LIGUSTICUM WALLICHI)—Regulates bleeding by the amount taken. Too much causes uterine bleeding, and too little stops it.
HAN LIAN CAO (WARRIOR’S GRASS)—Helps tone the spleen and uterus and stops intense uterine bleeding.
Acupuncture points that relate to the uterus are found on the ankle. Rist-Podrecca explains how electrical acupuncture to this area helps reduce fibroids: “We use a small electrical current. This makes the uterus contract and expand. It palpates the area slightly to get the body to recognize that the fibroids are there, increase circulation, and start vibrating the fibroids so that they are released.”
Beth MacEoin, a homeopath and the author of Homeopathy for Women, as quoted in Positive Health magazine, says that since fibroids are a chronic condition, they are best treated by a practitioner. For acute symptoms, however, a number of remedies may be effective; these must be chosen based on the specific symptoms a woman is experiencing at a given moment. “The idea is that for a remedy to be active, the remedy chosen must match the symptoms as closely as possible. So it would be very important to select that remedy with the help of either a practitioner’s support or a very good, solid self-help manual.”
With that in mind, consider the following remedies for uterine bleeding and fibroids:
IPECAC—Dr. Marjorie Ordene,, a gynecologist from Brooklyn, recommends this remedy to stop acute hemorrhaging with bright red blood. “When given in the 200 potency, every fifteen minutes, Ipecac slows down the bleeding. That’s two pellets under the tongue until the bleeding actually stops. I have had success with a number of patients, and other physicians have reported this as well.”
SHINA AND SABINA—The late Dr. Ken Korins said the two remedies to think of first for heavy bleeding are Shina and Sabina. Shina is for heavy, dark blood that forms clots and leads to debility and exhaustion. Sabina is also for clots, but here the blood is bright red. When large clots are being expelled, there is a laborlike pain that radiates from the sacrum to the pubis.
SECALE—Women who need Secale have dark blood that is almost black. Periods are profuse and prolonged.
PHOSPHORUS—Phosphorus is indicated when there is bright red blood with no clots.
TRILLIUM—Trillium is indicated when bleeding is very heavy and bright red. The person characteristically feels faint and dizzy after bleeding. Periods occur biweekly, and the woman feels worse with even slight movement.
AURUM MURIATICUM—This remedy may reduce the size of fibroids. It should be used when there are no other symptoms, such as heavy bleeding, and there is no particular discomfort.
HYDRASTINUM MURIATICUM—This remedy has been known to cure large fibroids, especially when they seem to be on the anterior wall of the uterus, pushing on the bladder and causing symptoms of urinary frequency and pain.
Among the reproductive system cancers are those involving the ovaries, uterus or endometrium, and cervix. Of the three, ovarian cancer occurs most often and is increasing in frequency. Uterine cancers are easier to detect in the beginning stages and tend to be more treatable, whereas ovarian cancers are rarely discovered early, and are terribly damaging to the woman’s quality of life.
Women who are sedentary and don’t exercise have an increased risk of ovarian cancer, explains Dr. Susanna Reid, a naturopathic physician in Connecticut. Dr. Reid also believes that being overweight, smoking—especially if you are postmenopausal—consuming alcohol and milk, eating meat (especially fried meat), and eating a diet lacking in fruits, vegetables, and fiber also increase the risk of ovarian cancer. The drug tamoxifen is associated with ovarian cancer, and hormone replacement therapy may also increase the risk.
Ovarian cancer usually manifests after menopause, especially in women who have few or no children, were unable to conceive, or gave birth later than the average age. Other factors that place women at risk include a past history of spontaneous abortions, endometriosis, type A blood, radiation to the pelvic region, and exposure to cancer-causing chemicals, such as asbestos.
Women should look for the following early indications of ovarian carcinomas: abnormal vaginal bleeding, weight loss, and changes in patterns of urination and bowel movements. While a Pap smear will not detect ovarian cancer in the beginning stages, ovarian cancer can be diagnosed through annual pelvic exams.
Dr. Reid emphasizes therapies to help prevent reproductive cancers or help heal the body after surgery. “I focus a lot on lifestyle. Fruits and vegetables have been shown in epidemiologic studies to protect against ovarian cancer, so I suggest that people put a lot of fruit and vegetables in their diet. Carotenoid-containing foods appear to specifically protect against ovarian cancer, carrot consumption in particular. Vegetable fiber is also important. Green vegetables and carrots seem to have a particular affinity for the ovaries and help protect them from reproductive cancers. Cruciferous vegetables in particular are very important in increasing natural killer-cell toxicity. Whole grains also provide protection.”
One of Dr. Reid’s guiding principles is to have people return to natural or raw foods as much as possible. She says that animal products have a strong association with ovarian cancer and recommends eliminating animal products from the diet. “That even includes yogurt, which many people think is one of the best dairy products to eat. I don’t think a person can be too careful. Ovarian cancer doesn’t have a very positive prognosis, so if anything, a person should do too many things rather than not enough.
“Legumes seem to help as well, and the woman should also help eliminate alcohol; wine consumption is associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer. Although green tea isn’t specific for ovarian cancer, it does act specifically on breast cancer, so that might be something a woman would want to add to her diet. Also, moderate exercise increases immune function and is an important aspect of treatment.”
Dr. Reid says that women with ovarian cancer seem to have a problem with the antioxidative mechanism in their bodies, and suggests using antioxidants like vitamin E and selenium to help deal with oxidative conditions in the body. Indole-3-carbonyl may also be useful.
Camptotheca acuminata, native to China and Tibet, contains an anticancer ingredient that has been modified to create topotecan, which has been approved by the FDA for ovarian cancer therapy.
The uterus, or womb, is where the baby grows during pregnancy. The endometrium is the lining of the uterus. Cancer of the endometrium is the most common type of uterine cancer.
Endometrial cancer is associated with hormones, including hormone replacement therapy with or without progesterone, a history of infertility, failure to ovulate, the use of drugs containing estrogen, and uterine growths. Tamoxifen is one drug that significantly increases the risk for endometrial cancer.
According to Dr. Reid, other risks include not having given birth to any children, beginning menopause after age fifty-five, being overweight, consuming alcohol, and eating a diet high in calories, especially when you are postmenopausal. Eating meat and saturated fats—even fat from fish, especially processed fish—and low consumption of vegetables, fruit, fiber, and legumes are also risk factors. Other poor dietary habits that increase risk are drinking soft drinks and consuming sugar.
The symptoms of endometrial cancer are abnormal bleeding in the vaginal area, especially after menopause, and pain in the lower abdomen or back. A Pap smear does not always catch endometrial cancer early, but the cancer can be detected with a surgical examination of the uterus.
As with other reproductive cancers, Dr. Reid believes that endometrial cancer has to be surgically treated. “It’s not something that we would ever treat in natural medicine.”
Dr. Reid says that natural treatment is focused on helping the patient heal from surgery. She uses therapies that facilitate healing, such as zinc and antioxidants and anti-inflammatories such as bioflavonoids and quercetin and bromelain. The specific therapy depends on how the surgery was done. “If it was done vaginally, you can use hydrotherapy treatments on the abdomen. There is a time during which you have to be quiescent because clots are setting, so you don’t want to encourage bleeding. Patients should drink lots of fluids and eat very light foods so that their bowels are minimally taxed and their digestive systems can rest as the abdomen is healing.”
Cervical cancer is associated with cervical dysplasia, as discussed earlier in this chapter. Although not all cases of cervical dysplasia result in cancer, it can be the first stage of a malignancy. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 13,000 new cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in 2015.
Oral contraceptives and DES (diethylstilbestrol), reduced physical activity, multiple sexual partners or having the first intercourse at a young age, smoking, frequent douching, genital herpes, and multiple pregnancies are all associated with cervical cancer.
In the early stages of cervical cancer, symptoms are usually absent, although there may be a watery vaginal discharge or spotty bleeding. Signs of advanced cervical cancer include dark, odorous vaginal discharges; fistulas; weight loss; and back and leg pain. One’s chance of survival increases with early discovery through yearly Pap tests.
Dr. Reid warns that a chronic inflammation left untreated can become cervical dysplasia and eventually cervical cancer. She says that cervical conditions may be related to a virus. “Natural medicine has a really good track record in treating cervical dysplasia before it gets to cancer. I would not treat cervical cancer with natural remedies. A woman would normally have the cervix removed surgically.
“To treat cervical dysplasia, we use a diet high in fiber as well as flax seeds, olives, and avocados. There is some recent research that shows that olives contain immune-enhancing substances. And of course, I recommend a lot of fruits and vegetables.”
Dr. Reid also recommends using supplements and botanicals. These include folic acid, beta-carotene, and vitamins E and C with bioflavonoids. She also has a six-week set protocol that utilizes suppositories. It begins with mild herbal suppositories, which she alternates with more intense herbal suppositories followed by a healing herbal suppository. In one study, thirty-eight out of forty-three patients with cervical dysplasia using this treatment had their Pap smears revert to normal.
Gar Hildebrand, formerly of the Gerson Research Organization in San Diego, California, says that more patients would triumph over reproductive system cancers if a combination of approaches was employed. This is the case because contemporary treatments for ovarian cancer are disappointing. While they can make cancers disappear for weeks or months at a time, they fail in the end, as the cancer returns with a vengeance to finish the job. In fact, orthodox survival rates for ovarian cancer patients are only between 5 and 10 percent.
Cancers of the uterine cervix initially exhibit higher success rates with surgery, which may involve the removal of the uterus (hysterectomy), as well as both ovaries and the fallopian tubes (salpingo-oophorectomy), in addition to X-ray and hormone therapies. But there is no guarantee that the cancer will not return. He states, “No one should be treated by a single specialty, and then watched in hopes that the cancer will not come back. It’s not scientifically justifiable, nor is it acceptable to the patient. Sitting and waiting just causes horrible, immunesuppressing anxiety.”
Among the multiple modalities that work best for patients with ovarian and uterine cancer are nutrition, coffee enemas, hyperbaric oxygen, and Coley’s toxins.
“Let’s say a woman with an ovarian cancer has just been admitted to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center,” Hildebrand says. “The first thing the doctors will do is a laparotomy. She will be opened up, and a surgeon will get the bulk of the tumor out. I have no problem with that.
“But the second step would be to use drugs that kill tumors. Tissue damage always accompanies cancer; unless it is addressed, the cancer is sure to reappear. In other words, throughout the body tumor toxins cause cells to lose potassium and swell with extra salt and water. This state is worse around the tumor itself. Often a treatment that goes into the bloodstream fails to penetrate to a tumor effectively because the tissue next to the tumor has no immunity. What’s really needed, then, is for the patient to be stabilized physiologically. The ideal treatment would be for the person to receive nutritional salt and water management, a diet that nourishes and corrects the water retention in the cells. We’re going to feed the whole body to try to get the tissues back to normal functioning.”
Hildebrand recommends a diet that detoxifies and stimulates cells back to health. “Doctors have long been aware that most cancer patients have an aversion to meat. They’ll smell it and gag; that’s a self-defense mechanism. It’s absolutely essential for these people to stop taking in heavy proteins—animal proteins and sometimes even heavy vegetable proteins like legumes—for a while, just to clear up. The tumor is converting that stuff into caustic chemicals, related to the ammonia we use in our laundry machines. It’s those chemicals that create damage systemwide.
“We can also detoxify the body by supplying oodles of plant chemicals, called phytochemicals. These foods can be eaten cooked or raw, and should include vegetables of all sorts, fruits, and a few whole grains. Fruit and vegetable juices are especially important. You have to flood the system with nutritious fluids such as carrot and green leaf juices. Apple juice should always be added because apples contain a material that is very good for cellular energy. If you put those juiced phytochemicals into the body every hour, these cancer patients will have their cellular enzyme systems speeded up so that the individual cells can spit up toxins.
“Eating an excess of empty calories and proteins creates toxicity that causes the immune system to overproduce white blood cells that aren’t very adept at what they do. Once you restrict protein and calories and get the nutrient level up, these patients’ immune systems become intelligent again. They stop making excess stupid white cells and create more lymphocytes that are interested in more types of challenges. In other words, you get a very lean, mean immune system.”
Coffee enemas have been used by thousands of cancer patients outside the realm of traditional medical care. Hildebrand explains: “Coffee in retention enemas stimulates the liver’s enzyme system, which in turn causes great relief from pain in cancer patients. The liver has more than a thousand documented medical functions. When we help it work better and faster, a cancer patient’s overall physiological condition changes, sometimes within hours and certainly within the first several weeks of treatment. You have a whole different person. People come off gurneys and out of beds, excruciating chronic pain is eased, and addiction to morphine is broken.
“Every three minutes, all the blood in our bodies goes through the liver. Our livers and small intestine walls have an enzyme system with a fancy name that we will call GST for short [GST refers to the glutathione S-transferases]. This enzyme system naturally responds to cancer in the body by going up, and coffee enemas have been shown in laboratory experiments with rats, and in later experiments with humans, to produce increased liver bile flow and to stimulate the GST enzyme system. In fact, it’s raised to 700 percent of normal levels of activity. When the GST system is running that fast, it can effectively remove tumor toxins from the bloodstream. And it doesn’t take very long. The effects of these coffee enemas will last for sometimes four, six, or eight hours before a feeling of discomfort and pain around the tumor returns. They’re that effective.”
Hildebrand also looks at increasing circulation with full-body-immersion oxygen therapy. “Hyperbaric oxygen treatment is given in a diving chamber that used to be used to treat the bends,” he says. “There’s been a lot of fascination with ozone in cancer treatment in the alternative field. But what we found is that ozone applications raise tissue oxygen only by 25 to 50 percent, whereas hyperbaric oxygen can predictably raise oxygenation much higher. This means that tissue around the tumor, which doesn’t have enough oxygen to function, can get sufficient oxygen for energy production. This will also allow the tissue to repair itself by producing a high-potassium, low-sodium environment, so that this edema can come out of the tissue.”
Hildebrand states that this treatment has the best record of any treatment in the cancer literature, especially when combined with the Gerson diet program. “I am hopeful that much interest will be sparked in this therapy because right now the only reports I’ve seen of long-term survival for ovarian cancer patients have been from a combination of these approaches.
“The word toxin is a little confusing, because Coley’s toxins are not really poison. It refers to a bacterial endotoxin that is an immune stimulant. I would put that directly into the abdominal cavity once the tissue around the tumor has been stabilized.”
Coley’s toxins have an interesting history. “Coley was a physician who searched the literature for cancer treatments after a heartbreaking experience of losing a child patient to the disease,” Hildebrand says. “Much to his surprise, he found a skin infection called erysipelas. Erysipelas is caused by a streptococcus that causes a skin fever of 105 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit. This fever causes an inflammatory infection which interferes with tumor action.
“Coley constructed a live erysipelas vaccine, which was too toxic at first. Some patients died, but others experienced a tumor regression. He went through a lot of trial and error and eventually settled on something that we now call Serratia marsecens. He mixed the Serratia and the strep in a ratio of 1,500 cells to one, and then crushed the mixture through a microfilter to liberate the internal toxins of the bacteria. This liberated antigens, which in turn caused the immune system of the patient to respond as if there were a chronic infection that had to be fought.”
Hildebrand explains why Coley’s toxins work so well. “The effectiveness of Coley’s toxins seem to be due to the fact that the immune system, when turned on, can cause a lot of dust to rise. These patients need to be put into an intensive care unit and hooked up to monitors in case there is a problem, although there have never been any heart attacks or kidney failures reported in the 900 cases that have been thoroughly studied. Then a tiny amount of toxins was administered intravenously for four hours through a drip. About two hours into the process, the immune response begins. The patient will develop chills and shaking that last for about thirty to ninety minutes, followed by a rise in temperature of about a degree every ten minutes. Once that temperature hits 105 or 106, the ICU staff lays the patient down or puts in a suppository of Tylenol to stop it.
“The reaction is the immune system’s response. This is not a poison. This is not a toxin. It’s not like chemotherapy, which makes your hair fall out or causes bone marrow suppression. The Coley’s toxins are much more like what happens when your immune system decides to cure you of an infection. So the symptoms are more flulike, without the nausea and vomiting. After the second or third IV application, patients usually get sleepy and actually nod off. The fever lessens progressively. In other words, there’s a honeymoon period.
“Coley himself said that if you don’t keep these up for at least three or four months, in booster dosages, you won’t get a permanent response. The literature reveals that gains are lost when Coley’s toxins are given in lower concentrations or for shorter durations. But when they are properly used, there is an extraordinary 50 percent cure rate in advanced, inoperable uterine and ovarian cancers.”
Hildebrand reemphasizes the importance of utilizing any and every cancer protocol that works. “We believe that it’s time we stopped living in an either/or world where orthodoxy is over on one side and the marginalized alternative professions are in the trenches and foxholes, and nobody talks. We believe it’s time to get the doors and windows of communication open so that we can find the context for each of these treatments and the way they fit together.
“Our own experience reveals that using the nutritional approach takes a toxic load off the immune system and speeds up intracellular enzymes so that they can repel toxins and pull them from the blood rapidly. Calorie and protein restrictions and a diet high in nutrients can lead to the sensitization of a tumor. Years of experience show that diet therapy alone can produce monthly fevers, and tumors may or may not regress through those fevers. But if you stimulate the immune system when those fevers are hitting, you have a much greater chance of tumor reduction. That’s why we suggest the marriage of these disciplines and the respectful recognition of the role of every aspect of anticancer medicine that’s ever been developed.”
I still have cervical cancer, but I am working on overcoming it through a number of approaches. I watch my diet very carefully. I feel that my condition is in an early enough stage where I can handle it nutritionally. But it’s not just nutrition that I have to deal with. I have to deal with all the emotions that help to create disease in the body. It’s also a matter of detoxing. I do colonics and a lot of juicing. I take supplements. And I do meditation and exercise.
The major reason I started to see a nutritionist was, of course, the wake-up call, the cervical cancer, which was just diagnosed three months ago. But I had also had ulcerative colitis for almost twenty years.
I feel like I now have energy again. I exercise at least several times a week, which was literally impossible before. I even had trouble getting up a flight of subway steps without feeling exhausted at the top. So I have several different things that I am working with: nutrition, meditation, and detoxification. I’m working on it.
Now I have to find a gynecologist who is holistically oriented because my primary care physician dropped me after I refused to have a hysterectomy. I feel very lucky. I feel that someone else trying to deal with this would have followed the recommended course of action and would have given up her reproductive rights, allowing herself to be mutilated while always being fearful of having the cancer reappear.
Also, I feel that the cancer is nothing more than a wake-up call. Your body is saying, “Hey, something is wrong here. You’re out of balance. You need to address this and this and this.” If you don’t, disease is the end result. Now I am vegetarian and doing a lot of things differently. If I didn’t, I might not be alive now.
I might be at a higher risk for the cancer to spread throughout more of the body. This doesn’t mean that I am 100 percent there. I still have a lot of work to do. But I feel very hopeful.
—Morgan
An increasing body of evidence is showing the benefits of natural modalities to overall health and well-being. Following is a sample of recent peer-reviewed scientific studies on cervical dysplasia, fibroids, and reproductive system cancers.
According to a 2015 study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, women who drank about four cups of coffee daily had an 18 percent lower risk of developing endometrial cancer than those who drank less than a cup a day. A 2014 report in Cancer Prevention Research found that folate and vitamin B12 may benefit women with human papillomavirus (HPV) by maintaining a high degree of methylation at specific sites. In 2010, a report in Fertility and Sterility showed that epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a component in green tea, and vitamin D inhibit the proliferation of cultured human leiomyoma (HuLM) cells and induce apoptosis (programmed cell death). A 2013 study published in the International Journal of Women’s Health showed similar results.