PROTECTING THE RADIATION PATIENT By Harry Chrissakis, Herbalist, Practitioner of Natural Medicine
Two thirds of all Cancer patients will receive some form of radiation during treatment, the side effects of which can be serious and long lasting. Of all the treatment modalities of cancer, radiation is the least forgiving. Radiation and chemo are most effective against cancers that are more aggressive. Some of cancer’s main aims are to produce an environment in the blood stream that is highly acidic, one that has low to no oxygen (hypoxia) and the formation of a blood composition that favors a thick and slow moving blood flow (stagnation). Radiation can only be effective in an environment where cells are still using oxygen as part of their energy production cycle. This is an environment where oxidation reduction cycles take place and where cancer cells are dividing rapidly. When cells are dividing they are more vulnerable. So both things have to be in place for radiation to be effective. That is, cells need to be rapidly dividing and they still need to be using oxygen in order for radiation to work. Radiation works by producing irreversible oxidative damage to cancer cells (and unfortunately normal cells that are dividing as well) which means the Cancer cell still needs to be dependent upon using oxygen for Radiation to work. So what happens when we have a cancer that has evolved, become more complex and has now begun to function without oxygen (Hypoxia). Under these circumstances Radiation will fail. If anything it will serve the cancer and weaken the patient. Remember No Oxygen= no oxidation reduction=no oxidative damage to the Cancer by the radiation treatment. The only cells that get damaged under these conditions are normal cells that are in the line of fire of the radiation. Cancer patients need to be screened to see if the Cancer has become hypoxic and is now only using the glycolytic pathway for energy (using only sugar and no oxygen). This can be accomplished through testing, which is rarely done before the use of Radiotherapy. Under the conditions of hypoxia, hyperacidity, and blood stagnation, the bodily functions in this area are being controlled by the cancer (Cancer is a systemic metabolic disease). The way to measure how advanced this process is would be through a series of simple blood tests. Hypoxia Inducible Factor 1 (HIF1). If there is an elevated HIF1 than the cancer (Lets’ say it is a Cancerous Tumor) has developed the capacity to function without oxygen. When HIF1 is elevated it promotes the growth of new blood vessel tissue, which is good if you need a wound to heal and not good when that same process is assisting the cancer. It also helps to induce multi drug resistance to chemo as well. Radiating this tumor, under these conditions, is destined to fail.CA9 (Carbonic Anhydrase 9) If this marker is elevated it will indicate both chemo and radio resistance. CA9 elevation shows increased tumor micro vessel density, which occurs under hypoxic conditions. Basically the tumor grows more tiny blood vessels to feed itself. It has developed the capacity to burn glucose without oxygen (anerobic glycolysis). CA9 will also indicate that the tumor is advancing in altering the blood ph (more acidic) to favor the cancer. Both markers indicate tumor resistance to radiation. So the first step in protecting the radiation patient is to look at some blood work and determine if radiotherapy is even going to work.The major drawback of radiotherapy is fibrosis of the radiated normal tissue surrounding the Cancer (normal tissue that is in the line of site of the radiation). Through inducing oxidative damage, radiation microwaves the cell causing irreversible cross linking in the protein structures and rendering the cell useless. Once again, great for killing cancer cells, but unfortunate for any normal cells in the area. Fibrosis is damaged and dangerous tissue (Basically scar tissue). Effects are usually down the road (can take a few years to reach fruition) as the patient gets progressively worse. So if a patient is going to receive radiotherapy , we need to focus on this area and try to prevent it from happening. Another area that needs focus during Radiotherapy is the detoxification of dead Cancer cells. Balancing and strengthening the liver will get us there. Cancer cells are quite toxic, so much so that if cancer die off is too great the patient can be put at risk. In order for fibrosis to occur, a number of things have to be in place in the blood stream and we can check in advance to see if those problems are there. First is to check the results of the 2 above mentioned tests. If those tests are clean than the next 2 tests are Fibrinogen and D-Dimer. If they are elevated it means the blood is thickening and moving more slowly (Hyper coagulation is happening). Fibrosis occurs in the areas that are being radiated that have slow moving, acidic and poorly oxygenated blood. The radiation itself can induce these conditions and or make it worse, but it should be a red flag if they exist before therapy even begins and that is not uncommon. If a patient has all or some of these as elevated test results, then they need to be resolved before radiation is given. Any of these test results can be normalized through the use of Natural Medicine before radiotherapy. This program needs to be continued during and for some time post therapy. The general principals of approach are as follows.Reducing blood viscosity and stagnation through the use of Enzymes, Essential Fatty Acids, Blood and Lymph moving herbs, herbs that enhance oxygen uptake and utilization by the cells. The use of Adaptogens are always and so is the use of Phenolic compounds. In short; cleaning, normalizing PH, moving and oxygenating the blood stream. Fibrosis takes place in goopy, stagnated, acidic and poorly oxygenated blood. This needs to be a before, during, and after therapy in conjunction with the Radiation. The use of green drinks (juiced greens, vegetables and some fruits) will enhance the effect.There is a strange outdated myth that continues to circulate in Oncology no matter how much evidence proves the opposite to be true.That false notion is that anything antioxidant will reduce the effects of both radiation and chemo. Properly directed, anti oxidants (supplements) and anti oxidant compounds (Plant Medicines) do the exact opposite, that is, they enhance the effects of both chemo and radiation by weakening the cancer cells (reducing resistance) and making them more vulnerable to the killing effects of the chemo and radiation. As well as this, they help protect the normal cells from becoming collateral damage, which in the case of Radiation means cell death and ultimately tissue fibrosis.Standard Practice Medicine has developed a drug to help reduce fibrosis. It is called Trental. It is given with Vit E. Trental reduces an inflammatory marker called Transforming Growth Factor Beta (TGFB1) TGFB1 pushes the inflammation and degradation of the radiated tissue. This is a great idea, but it only addresses 1 aspect of a much bigger systemic problem. Natural Medicine fits perfectly with the use of Trental.
Harry Chrissakis, Herbalist, Practitioner of Natural MedicineHerbalistandHerbs.com530-9338244