You have a mass or tumor.

 

You need a biopsy because you need to know the tissue of origin. Depending on the type of cancer, you may be able to perform a Signatera test to identify the tumor cells for future monitoring and surveillance.

 

PET scan- a specialized 3D image of the entire body with the injection of a small amount of radioactive glucose through an arm IV. Cancer and tumor cells love glucose, so any areas or masses in the body with an increased uptake of glucose will light up on the scan. Eat a low carbohydrate diet for 24 hours before the scan, and do not eat or drink anything except water for 6 hours before the scan, which takes 30-60 minutes.  Drink plenty of fluids afterwards. We have found that oftentimes there are tumor cells already in other areas of the body when a tumor mass is first found.  This makes a difference in the classification of the disease state and the plan for treatment.

 

Cancer loves sugar- a low carbohydrate diet will help limit the fuel available for the cancer. Continuous glucose monitors are available either by a prescription from your physician, or on the internet. A good place to start is to keep the blood sugars under 100 mg/dL. A stricter diet has been found to be unsustainable, and even with the addition of a glutamine blocker, has not always been shown to impact the disease progression.

 

Obtain baseline tumor markers for your particular cancer, if available.  The page on Tumor Markers contains a potential list of tumor markers that may be available for you. These can be drawn every 4-6 weeks during treatment to assess the response of your cancer to the treatment, as well as be used to help identify recurrence once treatment is completed.

 

Additions to your chosen cancer therapy that have no side effects, nor will they interfere with other therapies. You can discuss with your physician.  These are described in more detail on other pages on the HRF website:

 

Molecular hydrogen- non-toxic biologically inactive gas with anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant, inhibits tumor growth, protects DNA and mitochondria, scavenges toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) and inhibits ROS-dependent signaling pathways for cancer cells. Research indicates that cancer is a metabolic disease of the mitochondria, so mitochondrial repair has to be at the forefront for fighting and eradicating cancer.

 

 

 

 

 

Deuterium depleted water (DDW)- deuterium is also known as “heavy hydrogen” and is found in the air and the liquids and foods we ingest. A high deuterium level in the body has been shown to cause chronic fatigue, metabolic problems and premature aging. DDW inhibits the proliferation and migratory ability of numerous tumor cells, accelerates apoptosis, autophagy and senescence in tumor cells.  

 

 

 

 

 

The benefits seen with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) may be due to a reduction of the deuterium level, but this needs to be further studied.  HBOT is expensive as it needs to administered 3 times per week until the cancer is gone, which can take greater than 6 months at approximately $1,000/ week.​ 

 

 

High intensity focused ultrasound: HIFU (or Histotripsy)causes selective tissue necrosis in a well-defined volume either through   heating or cavitation, without requiring a surgical incision. The  treatment is only FDA approved for liver tumors, although it has been studied for over 10 years, particularly for tumors in the breast, uterus, liver, kidney, pancreas, bone and brain.       

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