This is the conclusion reached in an article published in JAMA Oncology in September 2015.
No mention is made of nutritional status or lifestyle habits in the article, only of rate of hospitalization.
There are plenty of unanswered questions. Is Chemotherapy safe? Chemo is certainly associated with significant potential serious unintended effects, illness which we in the medical community call “morbidity”.
What are your options?
If patients in the real world are seven times more likely to be hospitalized because of their chemotherapy than patients who are in a clinical trial, does this mean that chemo in the real world is more dangerous? Patients are more ill? Oncologists do not monitor the patients as closely? Problems which might have been solved early spiral out of control if there is not close observation?
Chemotherapy in and of itself is a dangerous proposition. We are giving cellular poisons to a person with cancer, in the hopes that the cancer cells will die before we kill the person. Given the alternatives – generally death if nothing is done to treat the disease – most people will opt for taking the chance on chemo, in the hopes that they will survive, preferably with a decent quality of life.
And there is the rub. Quality of life.
Hair loss… vomiting… diarrhea… immune system suppression and potentially lethal infections… anemia… low white counts… brain fog…
Is there no other way?
Nutritional changes are one way that cancer patients have found to change the course of their disease.
It is probably safe to assume that most patients follow the Standard American Diet – high in animal products (red meat especially), processed foods (microwave-ready, fast foods, convenience foods, snack foods), high in carbohydrates (bread, pasta, sugar, sodas), low in plant phytonutrients (vegetables and fruits).
Once the diet is modified to eliminate chemicals, sugar and other carbohydrates, it is quite remarkable how much healthier and more resistant the body becomes.
If the diet modification is accompanied by an effective lower dose of chemotherapy – since the cancer cells really do need to be eliminated – then quality of life does not suffer so much.
Insulin potentiation low dose chemotherapy (IPTLD) is one way to accomplish this goal. Read more here if you would like to learn more about IPT.
The Arizona Center for Advanced Medicine is part of an ongoing IRB approved clinical trial measuring the quality of life in patients who are using IPT chemotherapy. The endpoint of the trial occurs five years after enrollment and the start of IPT low dose chemotherapy.
Feel free to give us a call at 480-240-2600 to discuss the possibilities. We offer a free 15-minute phone consultation with one of our practitioners. Our staff will be happy to give you a tour of the facility.