Cool weather. Cool weather has finally arrived. It was 9 degrees Centigrade in our back yard at 7 AM this morning, and it went up only to 20 degrees this afternoon. Yippee! Ah yes, I am a cold weather person. How I ended up in one of the muggiest hottest cities (during the summer months!) in Italy is beyond me. 😉 Oh but it is such a glorious day today, sunny and cool!

Cool blog comments. I have been getting some really great blog comments as well as some good feedback (both private and public) from the MM listservs these days. Obviously, a different kind of cool from weather cool ! Please, everyone, read Wally’s comment (yesterday’s post) and either post a comment re. his comment (!) or write me a private note. Thanks! Many things occurred to me after reading it.

My blog’s purpose. When a friend pushed me to create a blog about my experience with curcumin, I had no idea where it would lead. I thought, well, why not? I have always enjoyed writing and kept a diary for decades, until I started graduate school and was too busy studying and teaching. So, initially, I saw it just as a sort of electronic diary. Then two things started happening: 1. people were actually reading my blog AND sometimes leaving comments (yahoo!), and 2. I got hooked (on blogging!) once I began spending more time looking up the craziest-sounding natural extracts, from baicalein to gossypin and guggulsterone, and realizing that their amazing anti-cancer, perhaps anti-MM, potential. I started thinking, Why are these non toxic substances not being studied in every single cancer lab??? Where are the clinical trials??? I soon discovered why. Wally’s comment explains it well. Speaking of Wally, he is one of my most stimulating posters. And he asks me tough questions (in private messages until now), such as where do you want to go with your blog? My answer so far has been, more or less, nowhere in particular. And it’s true: when I first started blogging I simply wanted to find a non toxic protocol that would keep me stable and perhaps (I hope!) benefit some others €”those reading my blog pages and my MM listserv posts. But perhaps he is right. Perhaps I should be more ambitious and aim to put a dent in the status quo. I am open to suggestions.

Clinical trials. I have a general comment on this topic. Even if the results of the curcumin-MM clinical trial, so anxiously awaited, are not what we all hope, will that change my mind about curcumin? Of course not. I will continue to take curcumin and I will take anything else that shows promise in vitro and in vivo against MM and has been tested for centuries by populations all over the world, thus demonstrating non toxicity. There has to be a scientific base for anything I take, of course. This is not to say that I don’t have any faith in clinical trials. But I must say that I often base life choices on my instinct (with a factual basis). So far, it has served me well.

Cool MM listserv discussion. This is a related topic. We are having an interesting alternative versus conventional discussion on one of the MM listservs nowadays. One list member told us that her husband’s oncologist had APPROVED his taking curcumin (he has SMM). I was amazed. This would not have happened a few years ago, I am convinced of that. So the word IS getting out. I do have a final suggestion: those who are interested in curcumin or other alternative treatments might think of bringing up this topic with their doctors, family and friends. Spread the word. Show that there is interest in alternative remedies (that work, obviously). That could be a first step. Once doctors realize that many of their patients are taking these natural substances, well, perhaps things might start changing. As I said in a previous post, we can help our doctors think outside the box. It’s not much, but it’s a start. And perhaps my story will stop being anecdotal. Some day.

The title of my post is the translation of an ancient saying (which I loved!) referring to a common Islamic belief that the black cumin seed plant, or Nigella sativa or blackseed, a member of the buttercup family (the Ranunculaceae family), is a panacea for every ailment except aging and death. And everything that I read online yesterday and this morning on different websites would seem to confirm the extraordinary and wide-ranging healing properties of this plant. Wikipedia, for instance, informs us that Nigella sativa has been used for centuries, both as a herb and pressed into oil, by people in Asia, Middle East, and Africa for medicinal purposes. It has been traditionally used for a variety of conditions and treatments related to respiratory health, stomach and intestinal health, kidney and liver function, circulatory and immune system support, and for general overall well-being. In Islam, it is regarded as one of the greatest forms of healing medicine available. So here we have a plant extract that was and is used to treat ailments ranging from asthma to diarrhea, from skin diseases to nervous disorders, high blood pressure, diabetes, worms and parasites. Nigella sativa has antifungal, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities, and also allegedly strengthens the immune system, cleanses the body, purifies the blood, improves blood circulation, and helps us live longer. Strengthens the immune system? Purifies the blood? Helps us live longer? Sounds too good to be true. Ahhh, but this is just the beginning.

In the past few decades Nigella sativa has been under scrutiny for its anti-cancer potential. Nope, unfortunately I found no black cumin – myeloma studies. But I am still looking! Here follows a selection of the many studies examining the effects of Nigella sativa and its various extracts on cancer. A June 2007 study (abstract: http://tinyurl.com/2zksw6), which I was lucky enough to get my hands on, thanks to a good friend (grazie!), informs us that Nigella sativa has immunopotentiation and antihistaminic, antidiabetic, anti-hypertensive, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities. [ ] Furthermore, blackseed preparations may have a cancer chemopreventive potential and may reduce the toxicity of standard antineoplastic drugs. The study looked at the in vitro and in vivo (mice) potential of different extracts of Nigella sativa seeds against several tumour cell lines. The essential oil injected directly into solid tumours inhibited their development, and even decreased their volume after 30 days of treatment. The study concludes: Our results indicate for the first time that intra-tumor treatment of tumor-bearing mice with essential oil may have led to the inhibition of metastasis development [ ]. These results demonstrate either that the essential oil has an anti-metastatic activity in mice or that it inhibits or delays metastasis by rapid reduction of primary tumor volume at the site of induction. [ ] The present study demonstrates that the cytotoxic activity of blackseed extracts is a complex phenomenon depending not only on the nature of the extract and its components, but also on the tumor cell type. An August 2007 study published in “Cancer Research” (http://tinyurl.com/266rlg) examines the in vitro and in vivo effects of one of Nigella sativa’s active compounds, thymoquinone, on prostate cancer, concluding that it “may prove to be effective in treating hormone-sensitive as well as hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Furthermore, because of its selective effect on cancer cells, we believe that thymoquinone can also be used safely to help prevent the development of prostate cancer.” The cytotoxicity of Nigella sativa purified extracts, thymoquinone (TQ) and dithymoquinone (DIM), against a variety of tumour cells had already been examined in 1998 (http://tinyurl.com/33woyf). With very good results, I should add. A 2005 article (http://tinyurl.com/2u9arx) mentions the protective effects of TQ and the volatile oil against the nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity induced by either disease or chemicals. The seeds/oil have antiinflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, antimicrobial and antineoplastic activity. The oil decreases blood pressure and increases respiration. Treatment of rats with the seed extract for up to 12 weeks has been reported to induce changes in the haemogram that include an increase in both the packed cell volume (PCV) and haemoglobin (Hb), and a decrease in plasma concentrations of cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose.” Well, all this is truly remarkable, to say the least. As I do with all the substances on my research list, I checked to see if there was any mention of clinical trials. I was actually not surprised to find only ONE (see: http://tinyurl.com/34kv6e), which tested Nigella sativa on dyslipidemia, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. No cancer trials. Not one! This sounds all too familiar, unfortunately. (Big sigh.)

My own experience with Nigella sativa. My interest in this remarkable plant was sparked at the beginning of 2006, after I read that black cumin seeds had been found in the tomb of Tutankhamen (how about that for a fascinating historical detail?). That reminds me: I have not yet mentioned that the seeds are used in Middle Eastern cooking to flavour breads, cakes, and even alcoholic beverages. And oh, by the way, Nigella sativa should not be confused with the herb and spice known as “cumin,” which is a member of the parsley family (I made that mistake until I looked it up). In April, I took black cumin oil capsules, a total of two grams a day, then I ran out of them and didn’t place another order since by then I had flaxseed oil capsules. However, I wonder if the black cumin oil might have had a positive effect on my good IgG increase in June ? And possibly on the improvement in my rosacea? Hard to say, now. I wasn’t paying much attention to these oil capsules at the time, I confess, since I hadn’t done much research at that point and was using them mainly to enhance curcumin bioavailability. Well, after what I have read in the past two days, I will reorder black cumin oil capsules and test them as a holistic remedy. Soon. In fact, I am going to see if I can grow the plant in my back yard with the rest of my herbs. My Nigella sativa story doesn’t end here!

A recent discussion on one of the MM listservs gave me some food for thought. The issue is: should cancer patients seek out alternative treatments only when they stop responding to conventional ones? Should alternative treatments be a last resort? I think you know what my answer is. 😉

This reminded of when I was confronted with the decision as to whether or not go ahead with chemotherapy in 2005. My Florentine haematologist (who retired in August 2006) had been urging me since early fall to begin two cycles of Velcade and then do an SCT (stem cell transplant) in the summer of 2006. But I wanted another opinion. So Stefano and I spent a few days in wonderful Turin (northern Italy, a city famous for its CHOCOLATE, need I say more?) to consult with a famous Italian MM specialist who looked over my test results and told me to wait, since I still didn’t have any CRAB symptoms. (My friend Don has a great explanation for CRAB symptoms on his website: http://myelomahope.blogspot.com/). At any rate, one doctor tells me to begin chemo, another tells me to wait. What to do? I remember this was a very confusing time for me and my family.

In January 2006, though, I found the curcumin-myeloma studies, wrote to Prof. Bharat Aggarwal at the MD Anderson Cancer Research Centre in Texas, discussed the curcumin protocol with my husband and my haematologist, and began the curcumin protocol. After eight weeks, my IgG had decreased by almost 20%. We were all surprised and elated. My haematologist was among the first to congratulate me (he later told me that he had begun sprinkling turmeric over his food, which pleased me exceedingly!).

I guess the lesson to be learned here is that it might be a mistake to wait until you have no options left. Explore your options. Yes, there are quite a few absurd purported alternative cancer cures out there, but you can learn to distinguish the good from the bad, just as I have. If a substance or treatment has no scientific backing, forget it. Period.

My current haematologist recently told me that she always learns something from me. I consider that one of the most significant things she has ever said to me. Conventional doctors know a lot, for sure, but they don’t know everything. We can help them think outside the box. Just a few random thoughts to end a rather lazy Sunday afternoon.

Well, I am taking the day off. We are puttering around the house, fixing and straightening out things, reading, watching TV and playing with the cats. I took this photo of Peekaboo earlier today. Hey, good idea: it’s time for a nap! 🙂