Bo Morris Journey with Colon Cancer: Antioxidants and eating right?

One camp holds that taking antioxidants during cancer treatment could interfere with the way chemo and radiation work and diminish their benefits to the patient. This is because radiation and some chemotherapy agents work by generating free radicals, which then kill rapidly dividing cancer cells. Since antioxidants scavenge free radicals, they might interfere with the therapeutic effects of these treatments.

The opposing argument is that oxidation supports the proliferation of malignant cells and may itself interfere with treatment. People who hold this view maintain that antioxidants may counter the harmful effects of oxidation in the malignant process and thereby increase the effects of drugs or radiation therapy to the benefit of the patient. Moreover, they note that some evidence suggests that antioxidant supplements offer patients protection from the toxic effects of therapy.

Donald Abrams, M.D., an integrative oncologist at the University of San Francisco and a graduate of the associate fellowship at the Program on Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona.

For those being treated for a possible cure (meaning that their tumors have been removed and that the goal of chemotherapy or radiation is to destroy any remaining cancer cells): Don't take antioxidant supplements on the day before, the day of, and the day after chemotherapy. Otherwise, it is okay to take supplements.
For patients undergoing radiation therapy: no antioxidant supplements throughout the course of treatment.
For patients with advanced cancer who are being treated in order to prolong survival and relieve symptoms: it is okay to take antioxidant supplements. Because chemotherapy agents differ in their mode of action, it would be helpful to know whether the particular drugs being used work by an oxidative (free-radical-generating) mechanism. Ask the medical oncologist treating you for that information.

Nobel laureate James Watson PhD, January 27, 2013 published that antioxidant levels within cancer cells are a problem and are responsible for the resistance to treatment. “This theory destroys any reason for taking antioxidant nutritional supplements, because they more likely cause rather than prevent cancer.” Dr. Watson states “ this work with antioxidants and cancer is among his most important work since unraveling the double helix of DNA.”

This certainly makes one puzzled that making Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) should destroy antioxidants within cells then drugs that lower antioxidation processes would be therapeutic.

I guess that explains the article from 2009, Cancer res. 2009; 69: 7507-7511. Patients taking metformin and diabetes have a reduced incidence of many cancers.

Dr. Watson warns that recent data suggest untreatable late-stage cancers might be the result of “ its possession of too many antioxidants.

I know without a doubt that God is in control. There is nothing I can do except present my physical nature, at its best, for chemo. I will also exercise and eat appropriately with lower antioxidation. Antioxidation is in our deists throughout, just lowering this is all we can do.

Maurie Markman, MD, national director for the medical oncology at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, states: "It should be noted that antioxidants are a part of our diets and it is most unlikely that a simple approach to somehow removing antioxidants from the body will be a useful strategy in cancer management."

Psalms 103.3: God forgives my iniquities and heals all my diseases.

Here are some more pictures: