Sunday Joke

I spent most of today doing research AND preparing my classes for Tuesday. Ah yes, my new teaching job is about to begin! Well, I haven’t taught languages in any shape or form 😉 for many years, so this will be a challenge. By the way, the job is starting out as part-time, so I won’t be abandoning my blog or research.

While working on my serious research post, I thought I would post a joke. It gave me a giggle, and I hope it gives you a giggle, too, for the sake of those NK cells! 😉 Here goes:

A woman arrived at the Gates of Heaven. While she was waiting for Saint Peter to greet her, she peeked through the gates. She saw a beautiful banquet table. Sitting all around were her parents and all the other people she had loved and who had died before her. They saw her and began calling greetings to her “Hello, how are you? We’ve been waiting for you! Good to see you.” When Saint Peter came by, the woman said to him, “This is such a wonderful place! How do I get in?” “You have to spell a word,” Saint Peter told her. “Which word?” the woman asked. “Love.” The woman correctly spelled “Love” and Saint Peter welcomed her into Heaven. About a year later, Saint Peter came to the woman and asked her to watch the Gates of Heaven for him that day. While the woman was guarding the Gates of Heaven, her husband arrived. “I’m surprised to see you,” the woman said. “How have you been?” “Oh, I’ve been doing pretty well since you died,” her husband told her. “I married the beautiful young nurse who took care of you while you were ill. And then I won the multi-state lottery. I sold the little house you and I lived in and bought a huge mansion. And my wife and I traveled all around the world. We were on vacation in Cancun and I went water skiing today. I fell and hit my head, and here I am. What a bummer! How do I get in?”“You have to spell a word,” the woman told him. “Which word?” her husband asked. “Bisdemethoxycurcumin.”

Well, ok, so the original word in the punchline was Czechoslovakia. But isn’t it MUCH better this way? 😉

Vitamin C Plus Fat Might Spur Cancer

My post title actually belongs to an article I read online yesterday on what happens to oral vitamin C supplements once they are ingested, if fat is present in the upper stomach. The key sentence is: “[…] when vitamin C and nitrites meet in environments with 10 percent fat, vitamin C multiplied the production of cancer-causing nitrosamines by eight to 140 times.” 140 times????? Yikes! Here is the article:

“THURSDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) — When fat is present in the stomach, vitamin C transforms from a cancer-fighter to a possible contributor to malignancy, new research suggests. Researchers at Western Infirmary in Glasgow, Scotland, analyzed the interaction between vitamin C and lipid (fat) in the upper stomach, which is particularly vulnerable to pre-cancerous changes and tumor growth. They focused on changes in nitrite chemistry. Nitrites are present in human saliva and preserved foods. During the digestive process, they can be converted to cancer-causing compounds called nitrosamines, which form in acidic conditions. However, vitamin C usually inhibits their formation by converting nitrites to nitric oxide. But the researchers found that when vitamin C and nitrites meet in environments with 10 percent fat, vitamin C multiplied the production of cancer-causing nitrosamines by eight to 140 times. Without high fat levels, vitamin C curbed the levels of two nitrosamines by a factor of between five and 1,000. And it completely eliminated the production of the other two, the researchers said. Fat remains in the stomach for some time after eating and also makes up the content of many cells lining the stomach, the study authors noted. Writing in the September issue of Gut, the team theorized that this interaction explains why vitamin C supplements have not had significant success in reducing cancer risk.— Madeline Vann”

The study abstract can be read here: http://tinyurl.com/3cjukq The lesson to be learned, I guess, is not to take any vitamin C with meals. Who would have thought?

Curcumin Patient Study and Future Thoughts

The CPS. I have been receiving some stupendous food-for-thought (and also very kind) comments, as well as suggestions and requests that I organize and set up (and I quote) a do-it-yourself trial on curcumin (and maybe other substances as well). This reader takes up Paul’s brilliant suggestion about having (again, I quote) an €˜Open Label Clinical Trial’, which is often used, especially by doctors who have some idea they want to test out on a small group of patients under certain controls, but not the complete formality of a double blind placebo controlled trial of a large group at multiple sites. Such doctors sometimes using primarily their own patient population. Such a trial isn’t intended to prove the efficacy of a substance to the high standards of an FDA approved Ph. II or III trial, but mostly wants to accumulate a mass of controlled data that may show a result that will spark the interest of some other researchers or government agencies to conduct that more regulated and controlled trial to really prove what the substance seems to have shown in the open label trial.

Matters would be easier if I were an MD, of course. Ahhh, if only I could go back in time and study medicine! Drat. However, all drats aside, I am pleased to report that a sort of informal clinical trial on curcumin and MM has been in the works since May. My friend David will soon (in a week or so) be setting up what he has called the CPS, or Curcumin Patients Study, on his website, Beating Myeloma (the link to his website, which also has a MM alternative and complementary treatment discussion listserv, is on the right-hand of your screen, under MM blogs/sites). All CPS participants, i.e. curcumin-takers, will have access to their own questionnaire-type page where they can provide information about their protocols, test results and side effects. These pages will be accessible to the public. Of course, the success of this informal trial depends on the participation of as many curcumin-takers as possible. Once the CPS is available on the Beating Myeloma website, I will be sending out a message to all the curcumin-takers in my growing file, including those who have not reaped any benefits from curcumin, since it is important to know the negative as well as the positive results. Perhaps with the CPS we will be able to figure out WHY some curcumin-takers do better than others. I admit that I have my own theory, but it’s too early for me to post any more about that. Ah yes, a woman of mystery 😉 Besides, I may be completely off track, so what’s the point of speculating? More news: David also plans to set up similar trials for other substances as well. So this will be an exciting period. What I would like to do is put together a summary of the CPS and post it on my blog at some point. I haven’t mentioned the CPS before on my blog, even though I have been involved somewhat in the project as a sort of advisor, because I wanted to surprise y’all! But now that I have been asked to set up more or less the same thing, it’s time to let the kitten, not quite a cat yet, out of the bag.

My future non-ambitious plans. I also wanted to mention that, in addition to being a sometimes very outspoken member of three MM listservs, I have joined a Yahoo Health group, and intend to do more of that in the future, in part to publicize my blog and get the word out about all these promising (in vitro, sometimes in vivo) substances, in part to see what other alternatives are saying and doing. I will also be contacting some of the researchers whose studies and papers I have read. Of course, Prof. Aggarwal knows about my blog, as do my Italian doctors and a couple of very kind U.S. myeloma specialists with whom I have been in correspondence since 2005, but I plan to contact a few more. I have a list of names, now I just have to find the time to do the message-writing. I have also listed my blog in several directories (such as Technorati), both in the U.S. and, more recently, in Italy. The only problem I have run into, since I am a technical zero, is that I cannot figure out how to add (to my blog homepage) the directory button links that some directories require in order to list your blog on their website. I cannot even figure out how to put in a statistical counter! Sigh. Some day I may figure all this out. And yes, I do know that my web page has to be in the HTML mode (and I have gotten that far), but when I try to save the changes, nothing happens. It could be because of the particular blog theme I have chosen. But it’s probably due to my own ineptness. 🙂 I am now going to do some more research into the promising bit of information that Wiroj posted in his blog comment. And thank you so very much for writing, everyone!

Beth’s SCT. Last but not least, my friend Beth is currently undergoing a stem cell transplant, or SCT. I just wanted to mention that things are looking goooood. Her first post-transplant week has ended, and she is doing well. You can check out her progress by clicking on the link to her blog (Beth’s Myeloma Blog) on the right-hand of your screen. Go, Beth!

Voglio Vivere Così, Col Sole In Fronte…

Well, I WOULD have a lot to write about today, based on all the great blog comments I have received, but I am feeling a bit too lazy now. I will post a better post tomorrow. Ah, why am I feeling lazy? Well, this morning I got up before dawn to go to the hospital lab for my blood tests, so I confess to being a bit tired. I try to get there early to avoid the crowds, but even at 6:45 AM there were already 41 people in line in front of me (well, it is a take a number system, so you can sit down once you have a number, it’s really not hard at all, plus I am rereading Gerald Durrell’s books, which I read as a kid but still give me the giggles, so the wait was actually easy). I should be getting my test results (in the mail) by the end of this month. I asked my GP to add a new test called monoclonal measurement or monoclonal dosage (a literal translation from the Italian dosaggio monoclonale ), which should turn out to be the M-spike. I am a bit doubtful only because the nurse was puzzled by this test request and couldn’t find the specific code for it. Well, we shall see what happens.

Today I began my fall experiment: two months on resveratrol. I took my first capsule at lunch. Very exciting. And yes, this will be in addition to curcumin, quercetin and flaxseed oil, except now I have to decide how to take my curcumin: capsules with bioperine (again) or curcumin powder mixed with a fat (again)? Based on Wiroj’s comment (see previous post), I am seriously thinking of trying the powder concoction again. Hmmm. Today I chose the capsules. Lazy…again!

This morning, as I was driving home from the hospital lab, dreaming of a nice hot cappuccino and a pastry that I had just picked up at the Pasticceria Stefania (best patisserie in Florence, conveniently located in my neighbourhood!), I learned that Luciano Pavarotti, the great Italian tenor, had died earlier today. He had pancreatic cancer. Well, that is sad news indeed. I am not an opera fan (I am, however, a HUGE classical music enthusiast), but Pavarotti’s spectacular voice gave me goosebumps. He is probably best known for singing Nessun dorma (from Puccini’s Turandot), but the radio station I was listening to broadcast his rendition of a chirpy song titled Voglio vivere così, which means I want to live like this. Here are a few lines from this pretty song, describing how he (he = the author, who also happened to be a tenor) wants to live, enjoying the simple things in life: Voglio vivere così, col sole in fronte, e felice canto, beatamente… Translation, more or less (I hope!): I want to live like this, with the sun on my forehead, and, in high spirits, I sing happily. Ok, it sounds better in Italian, and this excerpt is out of context so perhaps it’s hard to understand. But that’s how I would like to live, too, happily, enjoying the simple things in life. For the most part, I do. Except on the days I go for my blood tests! 😉

COOL!

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.

A Cure For Every Disease Except Death

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!

Thinking Outside The Box

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.

Cat Nap

Peekaboo, September 1 2007Well, 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! 🙂

Gambogic Acid and Cancer

Post number two of the day. A good friend (grazie!) recently sent me a study on gambogic acid (GA) published in the August 2007 issue of Blood (the abstract can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/2xjgjm). GA is a naturally occurring brownish-to-orange resin called gamboge, which is derived from Garcinia hanburyi, a tree that grows in Southeast Asia. And in fact, this resin has been used in traditional folk medicine for a long time. Sound familiar? Yep. The purpose of the Blood study was to see if GA would suppress the infamous NF-kB. And guess what? It does. My favourite word appears again in this study: apoptosis. The study, which I would be happy to forward upon request, is full of scientific jargon, but the conclusion is clear: GA suppressed TNF-induced expression of cyclin D1, COX-2, and c-Myc, all linked to cell proliferation. [ ] We also clearly provided evidence supporting GA’s ability to potentiate apoptosis induced by TNF, 5-flourouracil (5-FU) and doxorubicin, with effects similar to those reported in tests of a specific inhibitor of NF-κB 21. Overall, our results provided the molecular basis for GA’s antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory effects. So GA can also be used to increase the effectiveness of some chemotherapy drugs. Good to know. There are several studies on GA and cancer, but apart from the above-mentioned one, the first that caught my attention, published in 2004, dealt with the effects of GA on human gastric carcinoma cells: http://tinyurl.com/2potff Remember Bax and Bcl-2? (see my recent Survivin MM with Curcumin post) Well, GA activated Bax and decreased the levels of Bcl-2 in these cancerous cells, a process which may contribute to the apoptosis mechanism. Interesting. Furthermore, GA was found to target malignant cells, not normal ones. Also very interesting. This is confirmed by a study (http://tinyurl.com/ynuc39), published in August 2007, that looks at the apoptotic effects of GA on human hepatoma cells: GA selectively attacks tumour cells, leaving normal ones alone. Another study published in May 2007 (http://tinyurl.com/39ju89) shows that a derivative of GA, called NG-18, markedly induced leukemia HL-60 cells apoptosis. And once again, we read that Bcl-2 was downregulated and Bax was upregulated.

I will stop here, even though there would be a few more studies to discuss. The important conclusion is that here we have yet another non toxic substance that possesses the remarkable ability of distinguishing between healthy and cancer cells. This astonishing fact never ceases to amaze me, even though the above-mentioned Blood study informs us that between 1980 and 2000, as many as 70% of all drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat cancer were based on natural sources. How about THAT?!!!

Vet Visit

Two posts today. First, an update on Puzzola, my seven-year-old cat. My Mom and I took her to the vet yesterday. The upshot is that she does not have kidney stones (phew!), but she does have some small mineral deposits and crystals in her kidneys and bladder, so she will have to be on a special diet and be monitored closely for months. However, the situation is not serious, and we were reassured that she will be okay. Since her last couple of visits to the vet have not been fun at all (!), she scampered away from me when I went to get her to take her to the vet (how do they know???), and I ended up chasing her all over the house, which was not fun for either of us. When I finally cornered and grabbed her, she peed all over me, absolutely terrified. I wish I could have explained to her that I was doing it for her own good! Oh well. However, I must say that when the vet rolled her over on her back, and we held her paws for the ultrasound, she didn’t move an inch, not even when her tummy was shaved. My brave girl!