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Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice


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Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice

David McRaney

Issue date: 1/23/07 Section: Opinion

 

 

 

EDITORS NOTE:

 

Since the original publication of this article we have been inundated with responses from the public at all walks of life. It is important to note that research is ongoing with DCA, and not everyone is convinced it will turn out to be a miracle drug. There have been many therapies that were promising in vitro and in animal models that did not work for one reason or another in humans. To provide false hope is not our intention. There is a lot of information on DCA available on the web, and this column is but one opinion on the topic. We hope you will do your own research into the situation. So, we have added links to resources at the end of this column. If you are arriving here form a linking website like Fark, then those links will not appear because they tend to grab only the text. For those visitors, here is a link to the original research: http://www.depmed.ualberta.ca/dca

 

END NOTE

 

Scientists may have cured cancer last week.

 

Yep.

 

So, why haven't the media picked up on it?

 

Here's the deal. Researchers at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada found a cheap and easy to produce drug that kills almost all cancers. The drug is dichloroacetate, and since it is already used to treat metabolic disorders, we know it should be no problem to use it for other purposes.

 

Doesn't this sound like the kind of news you see on the front page of every paper?

 

The drug also has no patent, which means it could be produced for bargain basement prices in comparison to what drug companies research and develop.

 

Scientists tested DCA on human cells cultured outside the body where it killed lung, breast and brain cancer cells, but left healthy cells alone. Rats plump with tumors shrank when they were fed water supplemented with DCA.

 

Again, this seems like it should be at the top of the nightly news, right?

 

Cancer cells don't use the little power stations found in most human cells - the mitochondria. Instead, they use glycolysis, which is less effective and more wasteful.

 

Doctors have long believed the reason for this is because the mitochondria were damaged somehow. But, it turns out the mitochondria were just dormant, and DCA starts them back up again.

 

The side effect of this is it also reactivates a process called apoptosis. You see, mitochondria contain an all-too-important self-destruct button that can't be pressed in cancer cells. Without it, tumors grow larger as cells refuse to be extinguished. Fully functioning mitochondria, thanks to DCA, can once again die.

 

With glycolysis turned off, the body produces less lactic acid, so the bad tissue around cancer cells doesn't break down and seed new tumors.

 

Here's the big catch. Pharmaceutical companies probably won't invest in research into DCA because they won't profit from it. It's easy to make, unpatented and could be added to drinking water. Imagine, Gatorade with cancer control.

 

So, the groundwork will have to be done at universities and independently funded laboratories. But, how are they supposed to drum up support if the media aren't even talking about it?

 

All I can do is write this and hope Google News picks it up. In the meantime, tell everyone you know and do your own research.

 

PLEASE READ THE EDITOR'S NOTE AT THE TOP OF THIS COLUMN, AND PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINKS TO OTHER DCA RESOURCES LISTED DIRECTLY UNDER THIS COLUMN.

 

This is a column of opinion written by Printz Executive Editor David McRaney. Comments can be sent to printz@usm.edu

 

Links to additional information:

 

http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8548706

 

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10971-cheap-safe-drug-kills-most-cancers.html

 

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2007/01/in_which_my_words_will_be_misinterpreted.php

 

http://www.depmed.ualberta.ca/dca/

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichloroacetic_acid

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As Chris Rock said "...the money is in the medicine thats how you get paid on the comeback..." He said the last one that they cured was Polio and they are still kicking themselves for that one.

 

I see your point, and I guess its feasable to think that in such a capitalist culture as we have, if there's no payday at the end then there's really no motivation to do the R&D time on a drug. I hate to think of it but there is ALOT of money to be made in the treament of Cancer. If there is a cheap, easy, alternative drug out there that could literally desimate that market its scary to think of the 'ulterior motives' of some powerful companies/people that might not want this to happen.

 

And this is all under the assumption what this article says is true. Afterall, everything you read on the intenet is true... no?

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As Chris Rock said "...the money is in the medicine thats how you get paid on the comeback..." He said the last one that they cured was Polio and they are still kicking themselves for that one.

They did not cure polio.....

 

That is a lie that has been told to bolster vaccine sales!

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Just read a study on DCLs use as a metabolic therapy. It helped the problems, but the side effect was peripheral nerve damage. I couldn't find if it was painfull damage or numbing damage.

The question is is it motor or sensory damage. On top of that any nerve out side of the cord is peripheral.... the means any nerve that runs any organ/tissue, not just arms and legs.

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The question is is it motor or sensory damage. On top of that any nerve out side of the cord is peripheral.... the means any nerve that runs any organ/tissue, not just arms and legs.

yessir. I'm wondering what part of the nerve is damaged. My dad had issue with his axons loosing their mylen(sp?) coating during chemo (or radiation). The result was pain rather than numbness.

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You know, Rick, for a man of God and being a doctor yourself, you have a rather negative and bleak outlook.

 

What they've discovered here is a way to kill cancer without killing the patient. That, in itself, is a breakthrough. What some of you are missing is the fact that if there's the slightest chance for something this big, why isn't it a big deal? It's needs to be for them to get the proper funding to improve results. For example, finding ways to lessen current side effects, etc. It's this kind of thinking (Rick, lol) of blowing something off before giving it a chance that buries many experiments and discoveries. The rest are buried by greedy capitalism. Those that won't make money hand over fist, of course. :mad:

 

People sicken me.

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You know, Rick, for a man of God and being a doctor yourself, you have a rather negative and bleak outlook.

 

What they've discovered here is a way to kill cancer without killing the patient. That, in itself, is a breakthrough. What some of you are missing is the fact that if there's the slightest chance for something this big, why isn't it a big deal? It's needs to be for them to get the proper funding to improve results. For example, finding ways to lessen current side effects, etc. It's this kind of thinking (Rick, lol) of blowing something off before giving it a chance that buries many experiments and discoveries. The rest are buried by greedy capitalism. Those that won't make money hand over fist, of course. :mad:

 

People sicken me.

Did you ever stop to think why we have so much cancer in the U.S.? This is NOT a global problem, it is an American problem. The best way to deal with cancer is to stop it before you have a problem. I would venture to say that Cancer is nearly 100% preventable, yes I said it... nearly 100%. The problem is with how we, as Americans live our lives. Our diet has the largest factor in our immune system response to cancer cells.

 

What most people including Dr's fail to realize is that we all have cancer every day. Everyday we develop between 100 and 10,000 cancer cells. The difference between someone who has a tumor, and those that don't, is the immune system. We have the ability to fight cancer, the problem is most people run the immune system into the ground then the scratch their heads and say.... I got cancer? That is like running your car lean one to many times and wondering why you got a hole in the #1 piston.

 

I am not against new treatments, unless the people we love are used as guinea pigs. That is what happens time after time in our medical system. We rush drugs to the market with little research, people die, and patients eagerly will wait in line for that drug. Just look at any of the newer drugs that have pulled off the market.

 

I am realistic about this stuff because I work in this field, and see people come into my office with 18+ medications, and they wonder why they are sick. I know there will be some that disagree with me, but the medical profession has not cured a single thing in the history of their profession. Although they have done much good in the are of trauma care and acute disease management they have done nothing for health care... only sickness care.

 

BTW. if you want to learn about nutrtion look up Westin Price, Royal Lee, Francis Pottenger.

 

This is a good start.....Click

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Damn rick. I approve this message.

I will submit that this is mildly different, as the drug has been ingested by humans for years. Appropriate dosage is a huge question mark, but at least the side effects are documented. Some traditional treatments have debatably worse side effects.

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Damn rick. I approve this message.

I will submit that this is mildly different, as the drug has been ingested by humans for years. Appropriate dosage is a huge question mark, but at least the side effects are documented. Some traditional treatments have debatably worse side effects.

Points taken....

 

The dosage is the question, all drugs have toxic levels and as you approach that level the side effects can be very bad. Just take asprin for example, at low doses it is acceptable, at higher levels your kidneys die, or you bleed.

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Rick, i have to agree with you. Ive said it for years, people today only get sick for two reasons:

 

1. They rely on medication to suppress the symptoms

2. They constantly worry about being sick

 

I grew up with my Mom and 4 sisters, and i can tell you what off the shelf medication to take for almost anything. However, myself, and my dad, have been sick only a couple of times in the last decade. i always believed that when i got sick, it was somehtig new going around, and because i didnt use medication, i developed immunity to the most common strands of any virus. the last time i was sick, i had pnamonia, and fought it for 9 weeks with no medication because it really just felt like a really bad cold. When i finally went to the doctor because the last thing i had eating was chicken from a chinese restaurant, and the bird flu was starting to travel to the US, my mom actully questioned it, the doc told me, "You know Nick, im going to guess you dont take a whole lot of medicians do you... because if you did growing up, you'd probably be dead right about know." He did give me something to help clear my lungs of fluid, but thats it. 2 weeks later i was fine... the day after that i ended up getting meningitis (sp?), and you know what worked for that? Exceedrin Migrain. Other than that, and having the 24hr stomach bug twice, i havent been sick in the last... 15yrs? My opinon is, unless you have blodd coming out of places there shouldnt be... fight it off as long as you can. give your body a chance to defend itself and let it get stronger.

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Rick, i have to agree with you. Ive said it for years, people today only get sick for two reasons:

 

1. They rely on medication to suppress the symptoms

2. They constantly worry about being sick

 

This might be why I'm almost never sick. I almost never take medicine and I don't ever think about getting sick. About the only things I take on occasion are claritin or something similar if my allergies are really bad and I can't breathe, or if I truly am sick and can't sleep well, I'll take some NyQuil to help me sleep. :)

 

I've thought for years that Americans are also too worried about "anti-bacterial" this and that. Some bacteria is good. Gives your body practice fighting things off. If you don't give it that chance to practice, it's no good when you really do get something bad... :(

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The only medicine I take is sweet sweet alcohol, and that's in moderation (especially when compared to many on this site! :p). I treat wounds and take a decongestant every now and then, my last notable illness was Mono back in middle school, though I did get a wicked cold a couple months ago. I attribute that to getting old. :)
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As Chris Rock said "...the money is in the medicine thats how you get paid on the comeback..." He said the last one that they cured was Polio and they are still kicking themselves for that one.

 

And I think what Mr. Rock failed to mention, my brother, is that a black man nearly had the Polio vaccine perfected but couldn't get the industrial establishment to fund him.

 

The question is is it motor or sensory damage. On top of that any nerve out side of the cord is peripheral.... the means any nerve that runs any organ/tissue, not just arms and legs.

 

Um, what are brain cells considered then? Out side of the cord. Symantics, I know.

 

V8KILR, darm near everything you've said is dead on.

 

Bill.

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Um, what are brain cells considered then? Out side of the cord. Symantics, I know.

 

V8KILR, darm near everything you've said is dead on.

 

Bill.

Um, I dont know.... part of the CNS? :D

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