Theos-Talk Archives (February 2003 Message tt00314)

I did some editing on the OCR'd typo's in this version.
It's from Dr John R. Lee's current newsletter. Sent it
to Theosophy Study List by mistake, so might as well send 
it to this lest, as well, seeing as all kinds of stuff
is being discussion on this (Theos Talk) "Theosophy" list. 
Hee hee.

=========== 
experts in the field 
EXTRACT OF CHINESE HERB FIGHTS CANCER 
This malaria drug also kills cancer cells. 
by Robert Jay Rowen, M.D. 
These days, it's not uncommon to hear about a therapy or 
nutrient that cures cancer. Problem is, few of them really 
work. I remember when shark cartilage was the new cure 
for cancer because, after all, sharks don't get cancer. I 
work with a group of about 20 different doctors who try 
treatments like this, and we compare our results to find 
out what works and what doesn't. Shark cartilage failed 
our tests miserably! 
While I never recommend my patients treat their cancer 
by themselves, there's now an herb I can recommend 
wholeheartedly that's safe and can be used at home and 
in conjunction with doctor-administered therapies. This 
isn't Just a supplement to help build your Immune system. 
This herb aggressively fights cancer. Just how effective is 
it? Let me introduce you to Donald, a 47-year-old 
mechanic who is in great shape. He had a newly 
diagnosed lymphoma and came to see me Just after his 
oncologist had biopsied the tumor. There was an ugly 
egg-sized mass on the left side of his head with a gaping 
hole from the biopsy and an angry redness from 
inflammation. 
I immediately put him on a derivative of this Chinese herb 
and he took it for two weeks. At the end of that time, the 
lump developed a little depression in the center, but the 
perimeter had grown Just slightly. Dejected that it didn't 
significantly regress, he elected to stop further use of the 
product and take a "wait and see" approach. Pour weeks 
later, I received a call from Donald. The tumor was gone! 
Returning with his wife and a big smile a few days later, I 
couldn't believe my eyes. The skin was smooth, no mass 
was present, and the angry redness was fading fast. 
Artemesi a is a simple plant that grows in South-east 
Asia. I've used it for years to treat intestinal parasites. The 
World Health Organization lauds it as a safe malaria 
treatment. I discovered the cancer con-nection when Drs. 
Henry Lai and Narenda Singh, bio-engineering professors 
at the University of Washing-ton, reported on the active 
agent of this Asian herb (artemMnta). Their report said 
the herb "might provide a safe, non-toxic, and 
Inexpensive alternative for 
cancer patients." What I didn't realize was that artemesia 
is a close cousin to oxygen therapy. Chinese researchers 
said the key to its effects was a peroxide linkage (two 
oxygen atoms hooked together) within the herb's active 
molecule. 
Remember our old friend hydrogen peroxide? All 
peroxides share a common feature. In the presence of 
free iron, they break down to form highly reactive 
oxygen-based free radicals. Malaria is a parasite 
(plasmodium) that infects the iron-rich red blood cell and 
accumulates iron. While the body avidly shields iron in a 
bound-up state (hemoglobin, enzymes, etc.), excess iron 
accumulates in the parasite, and the accumulation allows 
some iron to spill out of the bound state and become free. 
When the artemisinin products contact the iron—boom! 
A huge burst of free radicals is unleashed, virtually 
blowing up the cell harboring the free iron and destroying 
the parasite. 
Some seven years ago, Dr. Lai, aware of the high 
accumulation of iron in cancer cells, wondered if this 
same mechanism might work in cancer treatment. He and 
his colleague, Dr. Singh, conducted experiments in 
laboratory cancer cells documenting a 100 percent kill 
rate of breast cancer cells and leukemia cells in just 
hours. More importantly, it left normal breast cells and 
white blood cells unscathed. 
Then, one year ago, an article appeared in a major 
cancer Journal demonstrating significant artemisinin 
anticancer activity in a wide variety of laboratory cultured 
cancer cells. But astonishingly, cancers resistant to 
common chemotherapy drugs showed no such resistance 
to artemisinin. It does not have the chemi-cal structure a 
cancer cell requires to develop resis-tance! (This was 
reported recently in the International Journal of Oncology 
18; 787-773,2001 by Efferth, et al.) 
I started using the herb's derivatives in my cancer 
treatment program. Donald, mentioned earlier, was one 
of my first cases. 
At about the same time, I continued to follow a long-term 
patient, a delightful 47-year-old female with stage-4 
breast cancer. Diane was diagnosed only two years 
before with the promise of "We got it all" at her 
mastectomy. When she came to me, she had developed 
metastases in her spine, which caused her to limp. A 
cancer-induced fracture in her vertebrae gave her 
significant pain and prevented her from performing the 
duties of her Job. All the conventional doctors could offer 
was full-dose chemotherapy at a horrific toll on the 
qualitv of her life, but thev also confided honestly 
that there was no hope It would lead to a cure. 
She chose alternatives instead, receiving insulin 
potentiation therapy (IPT), high-dose nutritional therapy, 
dietary changes, dendritic cell vaccine, multi-step oxygen 
therapy, and more. All of her symptoms regressed, but 
the CT showed no change. After a short course of 
artemisinin derivatives, she reported back to me that 
physically she couldn't tell she had ever had cancer. She 
felt totally well. The CT scan showed regression but 
there's no way to tell If the remaining lesion was a tumor 
or healing scar tissue. Results like this with absolutely no 
toxicity are simply amazing by any standards, 
conventional or unconventional. 
Carole came to see me with an unsightly, massive, open, 
and oozing cancer engulfing what had been her whole left 
breast. She had been fighting the cancer for two years 
and, convinced on her own that doing conventional 
therapy was a death sentence, she explored nearly every 
option she could. She started an arteme-sia derivative and 
sent me photos one month later showing exceptional 
healing! 
I recently had the pleasure to speak with Dr. Hoang of 
Hanoi, Vietnam, whose family of physicians has been 
using artemisinin for about 10 years to treat cancer. He 
reports that 50 to 60 percent of 400 cancer patients have 
achieved long-term remission utilizing artemisinin 
together with a comprehensive integrative cancer 
strategy. 
Dr. Singh is currently following many cancer patients. 
While not reporting remissions or apparent cures, he says 
all patients are responding and have at least stabilized. He 
has found no type of cancer unresponsive to artemisia 
derivatives in his studies. 
Dr. Hoang recommends treatment for two years. Cancer 
could be like the malaria parasite. If Just one cell 
remains, it can find its way back. Thus, as in malaria, 
although the parasite is cleared in a few days, prolonged 
treatment best prevents relapse. And the beauty of this 
treatment is that it's non-toxic, so you can continue taking 
it Indefinitely with no expected side effects. 
There are three common artemesia derivatives, and one 
must know the properties of each for best treatment. 
Artesunate is water soluble and may be the most active 
and the least toxic, but it has the shortest life within the 
body. Artemether is oil or lipid soluble and has the 
longest half-life. It also has the most toxicity (but this is 
related to rather high dosages, which are unnecessary). 
Its big advantage is that It can cross the blood-brain 
barrier to reach cancers in the 
nervous system. Artemisinin is the active parent 
com-pound of the plant. It has an intermediate half-life, is 
very safe, and also can cross the blood-brain barrier. 
The first two are slightly altered semi-synthetic 
derivatives of artemisinin, the concentrated and purified 
active agent. Dr. Singh reports that a combination of the 
forms may be the very best treatment due to these 
different properties (based on a lab experiment). Thus, he 
feels the best preparation will contain artemisinin and 
artemether to provide a dose of 0.5-2 mg/Kg of each 
form once dally before bed (away from any residual iron 
left in the stomach from the evening meal). Dr. Hoang 
reports that 500 mg twice daily of oral artemisinin by 
itself is the dosage he has been using with great success. 
The product is best taken on an empty stomach with 
some natural fat to enhance absorption. Any iron present 
from residual food may neutralize the peroxides. Milk is 
one of the few foods with minimal Iron. Whole milk, 
cottage cheese, or yogurt have ample fat to enhance 
absorption. Additionally, I believe simultaneous 
administration of cod liver oil (for Its omega-3 and 
vitamin D) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) will as-sist 
absorption, while providing additional therapeutic 
benefits. 
To date, with the exception of patients very near death, 
taking artemisinin or derivatives have stabilized, 
Improved, or remitted every cancer patient I have 
followed. 
Please note that artemesia herb products are not the same 
as the concentrated forms of the derivatives I've described 
here. The highest concentration of artemisinin (the active 
agent) in the raw herb under the best of conditions does 
not even get beyond one-half percent. Furthermore, 
there's concern by Dr. Singh that unscrupulous dealers 
will label artemisinin content without performing a proper 
analysis. Thus, he has tested some products, finding 
perhaps only 10-20 percent of anticancer activity against 
cultured can-cer cells compared to pure artemisinin. 
Allergy Re-search Group (800-545-9960) distributes a 
high-grade artemisinin confirmed by independent lab 
analysis, which I recommend. 
But, remember, it is not a singular therapy. It should be 
used in conjunction with a comprehensive cancer 
management strategy, together with the help of an 
integrative medicine physician or an open-minded 
oncologist. Reprinted with permission from Dr. Rowen's 
newsletter Second Opinion, Atlanta, Georgia. 
-----