The cocktail to beat {Prostate] cancer?
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From: self on 26 Jun 2006 22:24 This article appeared in the June 19th issue of the Daily Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml? xml=/global/2006/06/19/hprostate19.xml&DCMP=EMC-exp_23062006 For more information on Prof Pfeifer's protocol, see www.clearfeed.com/pfeifer Does anyone know anything about this herbal preparation?? The cocktail to beat cancer? By Jill Palmer (Filed: 19/06/2006) A potent mix of herbs and vitamins devised by a European specialist has brought new hope to men with advanced prostate cancer. Jill Palmer reports Al and Faith Smith were determined on an idyllic retirement, and, in 1995, the couple - who'd been together for three years - rented a second home on the Greek island of Kalymnos where they had holidayed previously. Al and Faith Smith Al Smith, with his wife Faith: 'taking charge of my body gave me a sense of empowerment' They enjoyed the best of both worlds, spending their summers in Britain and winters on the island. Al, a former sales manager, grew tomatoes and courgettes, went fishing and took photographs, while Faith, a writer, devoted her time to completing a book on sponge diving. They had never been happier and all was set fair for that idyll. But their contentment was shattered when Al was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. He spent months on potent drugs but when they stopped working, the cancer continued to spread. Having exhausted the possibilities of conventional medicine, they turned to alternative treatments - and that was when Faith discovered a cocktail of herbs that, according to Swiss research, had prolonged the lives of patients with a similar prognosis to Al. What followed was a struggle to persuade doctors to test the herbal cocktail. Thanks to Faith's tenacity, Al is now one of the first men in this country to try the treatment as part of a pioneering study overseen by a leading British oncologist. The story began in August 2004, when Al started to experience prostate problems; he was urinating frequently and urgently, and getting up several times in the night. He wasn't too concerned because he felt well in himself. However, Faith encouraged him to go to the local doctor who gave him a blood test to measure the levels of a protein known as prostate-specific antigen (PSA), an indicator of cancer. The results were alarming: Al had a PSA of 37 - normal levels range from 0 to 4. Al, 71, and Faith, 56, returned to Britain for a second opinion; he had a private MRI scan and an ultra-sound. These confirmed their worst fears - Al had prostate cancer that had already spread to the bone and lymph glands. Another blood test showed his PSA levels had escalated to 82. "It was hard to take in. It hit me hard," says Al. "I had cancer. But I was not suffering from cancer. I was not dying from cancer. I was living with cancer and intended to carry on that way." The disease was aggressive, and, because the tumour was large and uncontainable, surgery and radiotherapy were not appropriate. "I was told my only option was hormonal drugs that would control the symptoms and keep the cancer in check." Around 32,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in Britain every year, and 10,000 die of the disease. Although surgery and radiotherapy can be successful if it is diagnosed early, for one in five men - like Al - the disease has already spread by the time it is detected. (Although it is easy to diagnose, many men with symptoms are reluctant to visit their doctor at an early stage.) For them, treatment involves hormone therapy: injections of a pituitary down-regulator (which halts production of the male hormone testosterone that stimulates the cancer cells), such as Zoladex, or anti-androgen tablets (which block testosterone reaching the cancer cells), such as Casodex. But in more than 50 per cent of patients, the body stops responding to the drugs after a few years; this is known as hormone- refractory prostate cancer. Al opted for Casodex because it has less extreme side effects - Zoladex can cause impotence and incontinence. The pills controlled his symptoms and reduced his PSA levels. Faith insisted that a sceptical Al should try complementary therapies, too, so they visited Bristol Cancer Help Centre. He was advised to adopt a vegetarian diet with no dairy or alcohol. He also took up Qigong, a Chinese exercise programme that co- ordinates breathing patterns with physical movements. "All this helped my determination to be positive," he says. "Focusing my mind and taking charge of my body gave me a sense of empowerment." A few months later, the cancer was in remission, and the couple returned to Kalymnos where, they thought, the stress-free existence would help Al to recover. Each month, he went to the local doctor for a check-up. Initially, his PSA levels dropped further, to 0.8 but, after a few more months, it started to creep up again - slowly at first and then rapidly. Soon, it was doubling every month. The doctor offered Al injections of Zoladex, but he refused, because they could cause impotence. "I knew that it was not a long-term option," says Al. "It, too, would eventually lose its effectiveness. In any case, I am a chicken about destructive therapies." In desperation, Faith turned to the internet. Her research led her to Professor Ben Pfeifer, director of clinical research at the renowned Aeskulap Clinic in Switzerland, who specialises in combining conventional and complementary cancer therapies. She read about Prof Pfeifer's success in treating prostate patients with a phytotherapy (the medicinal use of plants) protocol of four supplements, taken in specifically designed cocktails every day. These were Prostasol, which contains a range of herbs and dietary supplements with proven efficacy in supporting the prostate; Imupros, containing vitamins, trace elements, ginseng, lycopene, and green-tea extract to aid prostate function; Curcumin Complex, an extract of turmeric, which is a potent antioxidant - to mop up cancer-causing free radicals - and an anti-inflammatory; and Biobran, made from Japanese rice bran, which boosts the immune system. A one-year clinical study involved 184 patients with advanced and end- stage prostate cancer. In two thirds of patients, their symptoms were relieved, PSA levels were reduced by up to 50 per cent, tumours shrank, and the disease's progression was inhibited. When the trial was extended for five years to include a further 1,250 European men, similar results were obtained. Faith contacted Prof Pfeifer but her hopes were dashed by the protocol's cost - £500 a month. She found it wasn't available on the NHS. But she was determined not to give up and decided to try to interest British doctors in the study. This led her to Tim Oliver, professor of medical oncology at St Bartholomew's and the Royal London NHS Trust. She bombarded him with facts. "When I saw the findings of the European research using these supplements, it really interested me," says Prof Oliver. "I was particularly attracted to this protocol because unlike other prostate- cancer treatments, it does not cause impotency. "Finding a treatment for men who no longer respond to conventional hormone treatment is the holy grail of prostate cancer. There is nothing I can offer these men in the long term; with advanced tumours, the average hormone therapy will last between two and four years." Prof Oliver agreed to run a 10-man study in London but first had to obtain the expensive supplements for which he couldn't secure NHS funding. Faith contacted their British distributors - they are mainly formulated in the Netherlands - and persuaded them to donate the drugs to Prof Oliver. She also e-mailed Prof Pfeifer, who agreed to liaise with the London study and advise on Al's case. This January, Al became the first British patient to start the protocol. Although his PSA was 42, he stopped the Casodex and instead took a mixture of 10 pills every day. He and the other nine men will be monitored by Prof Oliver for up to 18 months. "At this stage, it is too early to be deemed a trial," says Prof Oliver. "Herbal medicine has been tried before and you have to be careful. A few years ago, another herbal mixture known as PC-SPECS had to be withdrawn because of contamination. But herbs could have a useful place in the treatment of prostate cancer and this study could enable us to validate it in a cost-effective way. "If I can confirm the Pfeifer findings, I will carry on and do further clinical research which is properly approved and documented." Within a few days of taking the supplements, Al's urine flow was much stronger with less urgency and frequency and he was sleeping better. After two weeks, his PSA had halved to 21; after a month, it was down to 10; today it is seven. "I know this is not a cure, but it is an exciting development," says Al. "Hopefully it will continue to improve my quality and quantity of life for a long time to come." # For more information on Prof Pfeifer's protocol, see www.clearfeed.com/pfeifer.The cocktail to beat cancer? By Jill Palmer (Filed: 19/06/2006) -- Pat
From: Alan Meyer on 27 Jun 2006 00:10 "self" <me(a)mine.com> wrote in message news:MPG.1f0a610396213ba19896ba(a)News.Individual.NET... This article appeared in the June 19th issue of the Daily Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml? xml=/global/2006/06/19/hprostate19.xml&DCMP=EMC-exp_23062006 For more information on Prof Pfeifer's protocol, see www.clearfeed.com/pfeifer Does anyone know anything about this herbal preparation?? ---------------- The above articles are about an herbal treatment called "prostasol". There's nothing about Prostasol in Pubmed. There are anecdotal reports from people on the web who say it caused their PSA to go down. But I could find no published studies. Because there are no published clinical trials, it's hard to know if the people who claim success with it were 1) also treated with other treatments, 2) actually had prostate cancer as opposed to, say, prostatitis, 3) are representative of what can be expected or are rare exceptions, or even 4) are not telling the truth. The effects claimed for Prostatsol are like those for PC-SPES, which was similar, and which turned out to contain prescription androgen deprivation drugs that were not named on the label in addition to the herbs that were on the label. If I were hormone refractory, and if the cost of prostasol were not high, I might consider it. Be aware however that there is a very good chance that the only thing that might happen is that a money transfer will occur from your wallet to the wallet of a thief and charlatan. Alan
From: I.P. Freely on 27 Jun 2006 12:00 self wrote: > Does anyone know anything about this herbal preparation?? Ooh, ooh . . . I do. I do. It's one dood. ONE DOOD. Even if every cancer cell in his body fell to the floor, his gray hair regained its original color, his teeth whitened overnight, his vision returned to 20/10, his love handles evaporated, his wanger went nuts and grew 6", he began playing ragtime to Carnegie Hall on the piano despite never having seen one before, he won the lottery the next day, some of his claims are actually provable, and the cocktail actually even influenced his PSA, it's still just ONE DOOD. The other few million who have died of PC despite trying everything from noni juice to Klingon wine to crystals to RP AND RT AND ADT AND Chemo probably aren't too impressed. WW, AS, RP, RT, ADT, etc. first, voodoo second, and only as long as it's proven safe. I.P.
From: c palmer on 27 Jun 2006 14:46 Does anyone know anything about this herbal preparation?? ======> you know - if anybody would give this a second thought, it would be funny. point to ponder, the human body is so sensitive to a change in ph or any type of drug that is put into our body that changes this ph, life becomes critical and hangs in the balance of life and death. look at the ED pills, for example. a tiny 20 mg produces an erection in the human body. yet, they want you to believe that you can buy some over the counter mixture (without a doctor's order) that is so strong that it will kill cancer, yet, leave your hair on your head alone, and not have any side effects? then, if this is the case, why do people do chemo? we need to buy this wonder drug and cure all the cancers of the world. after all, it is a proven fact that has does a great job on the reduction of the size of the wallet. ~ curtis knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional "Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so." http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc
From: Alan Meyer on 27 Jun 2006 15:22
I was probably too generous to Prostasol in my own reply. I once asked my mother's doctor about a drug that was being touted for Alzheimer's Disease. I was grasping at any straws. He answered me by saying: "If that drug worked, I guarantee you that every doctor, patient, hospital and drug company would be beating down the doors to get at it. They're not." (That was ten years ago. I haven't heard about the drug, hydergine, since then and the one clinical trial I found showed zero benefit.) I suspect that if Prostasol actually worked, at a minimum, there would be doctors beating down the doors to try it in clinical trials. I think I'll stick with tomato juice. Alan |