During my cancer recovery, I happened upon some well-known and not so well-known ways to fight cancer. It's hard to know for sure exactly which methods work but here are six methods I used for my recovery that I go back to over and. over again.
1. Turkey Tail Mushrooms
If you've seen the 2019 documentary Fantastic Fungi, then you might already know that turkey tail mushrooms or Trametes versicolor—also known as Coriolus versicolor and Polyporus versicolor—are proven to be excellent at combatting breast cancer. Mycologist Paul Stamets talks about his own experiences with using turkey tail mushroom to fight his mother's breast cancer in the popular documentary. Research confirms turkey tail mushrooms:
Contain antioxidants
Boost immunity
Are inflammatory
Combat certain cancers
Improve insulin resistance
Fight HPV
And more
You can drink them as a tea, swallow them as capsules, put powder in your smoothies or soups, or buy tinctures of this powerful mushroom. My functional medicine doctor prescribed these Mushroom Science Coriolus vesicolor to me in 2015—four years before I saw this documentary—and I still take them to this day.
2. Enzyme Therapy
Enzymes participate in nearly all life processes in the body (and in other places like photosynthesis), including immunity. Many diseases are associated with insufficient levels of enzymes in the body.
Wobenzym, in particular, is a German supplement marketed as a joint recovery and inflammation supplement, but when I was going through my cancer recovery, I learned that nearly all of my oncologists and healers were also taking this amazing supplement. Professional athletes like Stefi Graf, Boris Becker, Katarina Witt, Hermann Maier, and Jaromir Jagr take it for recovery and injuries, and it's supposed to be great for arthritis.
It's not FDA-approved and can't be advertised as a cancer remedy, but enzyme therapy is used by many alternative practitioners to treat cancer, and I think it makes me feel better. If I get rashes, achy joints or muscle strains from hiking, surfing or yoga, or feel swollen, tired, or inflammed, I usually buy a bottle and take a lot of pills at a time. (Supposedly you can take up to 30 per day.) You want to take them on an empty stomach and drink plenty of water and electrolytes with them. The recommended dose is 6 per day (or 2 tablets three times per day), with a maximum of 30 tablets per day.
Serrapetase and Nakkitokase are two of my other favorites. I sometimes rotate buying them, since each have their own specialties and differ slightly in the way they combat inflammation in your body.
3. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBT) is another treatment that is somewhat under the radar in cancer recovery, but everyone should know about it — oxygen is helpful for nearly every health issue that exists. At $150-$250 per session, it's not cheap, but the benefits make it worth the money. If I could do any alternative treatment daily, this is the one I'd pick. And it's not just your health that improves with HBT: my hair grows faster and my skin looks healthier and more radiant. If there were such a thing as a fountain of youth, HBT might be it.
High levels of oxygen in your body triggers powerful self-healing combatants like stem cells. Oxygen also reduces infection and boosts your immune system, helping your body fight off your cancer (and almost anything else).
Why isn't HBT more mainstream? Probably because it's expensive (and insurance companies don't want to pay for it), not to mention working with all that oxygen makes it a fire hazard, so setting up a good HBT system isn't cheap. More and more hospitals are developing HBT centers for diabetes and burn victims, and it's been touted as one of the hottest upcoming trends in the wellness industry. So be on the lookout for more wellness centers offering HBT sessions to clients.
4. Electrolytes
My Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor told me to always make sure I drink plenty of electrolytes and recommended Smart Water. Electrolytes dissolve in fluids and carry an electric charge. He said that we don't always hydrate properly just by drinking water. We need to replenish our minerals by getting enough electrolytes to maintain that hydration.
And if you exercise frequently or do a lot of saunas or enemas like I do, you're constantly eliminating important minerals that you need to replenish with electrolytes. Electrolytes are important for the body to function properly and tend to be harder to replace without help as we age. Some important benefits of electrolytes include:
Keeping you hydrated
Maintaining your pH balance
Maintaining your muscle function and heartbeat
Maintaining nerve functioning
Electrolytes found in your body include:
Sodium
Potassium
Chloride
Magnesium
Phosphate
Calcium
While you can get electrolytes from food sources, our soils are generally depleted of important minerals and most of us (especially cancer survivors) would benefit from supplementing our diets with electrolytes, especially if we sweat a lot.
While some people like electrolyte-infused water, I prefer to use a more eco-friendly solution like powdered electrolytes. I also buy liquid fulvic minerals sometimes and supplement magnesium through frequent Epsom Salt baths (make sure they don't have any added fragrance, which is a carcinogen) or Calm powder. If you have trouble sleeping, magnesium is great to take before bed. (I also like HTTP5, which I'll discuss in another blog).
Another way I get important trace minerals is through high-quality salt: I buy Redmond Real Salt or Pink Himalyan Salt, both of which contain important trace minerals and are far healthier than traditional table salt.
5. Chelation Therapy
Chelation therapy is a controversial detox that helps you remove heavy metals from your system through IV, and if you're like me, you might be filled to the brim with heavy metals like mercury (from tuna in sushi), lead (from renovating and living in old houses), or cadmium (from my childhood home and schools where I was exposed to computer parts).
Chelation therapy is becoming more popular as more and more IV bars pop up, and as many of us learn more about the causes of our health problems. If you can't find a good chelation therapist in your area, you can also supplement your diet with chelating foods and herbs like cilantro, garlic, and brazil nuts. Activated charcoal is also another way to detox to your body from heavy metals; here's a great Dr. Axe article you may want to read.
6. Coffee Enemas
Gerson's Therapy, which has been an alternative treatment for cancer for over 40 years, is a huge proponent of coffee enemas. Dr. Gerson believed that the liver is our most important organ for maintaining the body’s biochemistry for health as well as overcoming degenerative diseases, such as cancer in particular. Dr. Axe is also a fan of coffee enemas and has a lot of information information about coffee enemas on his website. He says research shows some benefits of coffee enemas may include:
repairing digestive tissue
cleansing the liver
improving blood circulation
increasing immunity
helping with cellular regeneration
relieving digestive issues, such as frequent constipation, bloating, cramping, and nausea
improving gut health
improving low energy levels and moods (such as fighting signs of depression)
If you're wondering how to perform a coffee enema, here are some good instructions. I do them in an empty bathtub while I'm listening to music or podcasts or meditating. You want to make sure you're taking plenty of electrolytes when you're doing coffee enemas. They can deplete you fast.
While these six methods of fighting cancer aren't your standard protocol for cancer, most scientific research supports these therapies for toxic overload and may work in tandem with conventional western cancer treatments like chemo and radiation (both of which I did as well and can cause toxic overload).
It's important to consult your own physician before taking any supplements or therapies, and be sure to listen to your own body and intuition, only trying what resonates for you.