OsamuMizukami,MD,PhD,DrPH HealthPromotionClinic,Tokyo

Iama doctorofinternalmedicinefromJapan. Ihavemycliniclocatedatthecenterof Tokyo. Ninetypercentofmypatientshaveallsites ofcancer,andmostofthemareadvanced cancerpatients. Myclinicisacomplementaryclinic. Mystandpointisthatchoiceofmeritsfrom conventionalandcomplementarymedicinewould bebeneficialformostpatients. Thepurposeofmyclinicisthatdifficult patientscanhavetheirownhopes.Isupport themasmuchaspossible.

Ibecameawareofthelimitationsof conventionalmedicinefromthetimeIwasa medicalstudent.Iwasdisappointedatthe factthatconventionalmedicinecouldntcure advancedcancerpatients. Thisawarenesshasledmetoalongterm studyhowtotreatadvancedcancerpatients, anduseofcomplementarymedicineinmy practice. Ihavetreatedmorethan4,000patientswith advancedcancerinthelast35years,using conventionalandcomplementarymedicine.

CancerisaNo.1causeofdeathinmycountry.The numberofJapanesediagnosedwithcancerhasbeen increasing.Thisincreaseisespeciallypronounced amongthesocalledcancersoftheWest suchas colon,pancreas,prostate,breast,andovarycancers. Thistrendhasbeenattributedtoawesternizationof thetypicaldietinJapan.Mycountrywasheavily influencedbytheUnitedStatesafterWorldWarIIand wetoohavedevelopedafondnessforbeefsteakand hamburgers. Japanboaststhelongestlifeexpectancyintheworld, andthisisthoughtduetohealthyJapanesediet. However,Japaneselifeexpectancycouldfallinthe comingyears.

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stom ach col on l ung lver i pancreas breast ovary uterus

 ConventionaltreatmentsinJapanare

surgery,chemotherapy,andradiation liketheothercountries. DeathfromcancerinJapanhas increasedannuallyandhas quadrupledinthelast50years. Halfofthepatientsdiefromcancer. Advancedcancerisdifficulttocure usingsolelyconventionaltreatments.

Conventionalcancertreatmentsmaynegatively impactpatients qualityoflife. Thesetreatmentsaresometimesdangerous. Postsurgicalmortalityratescanbe1%to3% dependinguponthesiteofthecancerand surgeons abilities. Mortalityratesduringchemotherapycanbe3%to 5%,andpatients qualityoflifeisnegatively affected.Chemotherapycandeterioratebone marrow,kidney,liver,lungandheartfunction. Radiationtherapyisassociatedwithadverse reactions,someofwhichmaybelifethreatening.

Theconventionalwisdomisthat considerableprogresshasbeenmadein cancertherapy,butalotofthe availabledatadonotsupportthis characterization.Bytesting,wecan detectearlystagecancerthatis curable,butwecanfindlittle progressinadvancedcancertherapy. Thenextslideillustratesthelackof progressinadvancedbreastcancer survivalratesoverthepastcentury.

Newcancertreatmentmethodsareneeded outsideofconventionalmedicine.Thisneed isonereasonwhycomplementarymedicinehas becomesopopularinmanydevelopedcountries. Approximately70%ofJapanesecancerpatients arereportedlyusingsomekindof complementarymedicine,suchasacupuncture orChineseherbalmedicationsincombination withconventionalmedicine.Themajorityof thesepatientsdonottelltheirdoctors abouttheiruse,becausemostJapanese doctorsareskepticalaboutcomplementary medicine.

 Itwouldbeidealtocureadvanced

cancerbyonlynaturalremedy. However,itisverydifficultto cureadvancedcancerbyonly naturalways.Becausethespeedof cancercellproliferationistoo hightostopbythenaturalways. Inmostcases,conventional treatmentisneededtoalleviate thecancercellproliferation.

Ifirstlearnedaboutpropolis20years agowhenIwasinUS,andIbecamevery interestedinthisbeeproduct. AfterItookpropoliseveryday,Iam freefromflusyndromewhichoften attackedme. Mythen73yearoldfatherwas diagnosedwithendstagepancreatic cancer16yearsago.Iadvisedhimto takepropolisforcancertreatmentand hetookwaterextractedpropolis.He diedayearlater,butexperiencedno painorseveresymptoms. Ihavesincefeltthatpropoliscould beaneffectivepartofcancer treatment.

Sincemyfathersexperience,Ihave beenusingpropolisascomplementary medicineformorethan500patients withadvancedcancer. WhydoIusepropolis? Morethan1200 academicpapersare availableonpropolisfromaroundthe world.Propolisthushasmore scientificsupportcomparedtoother supplements. Theresearchhasshownthatpropolis possessesmanyanticancerproperties.

Propolishas 1. Directanticancereffect 2. Immuneenhancingeffect 3. Antioxidanteffect 4. Antiangiogeniceffect 5. Antiinflammatoryeffect 6. Antiviralandantibacterialeffects 7. Tissueregeneratingeffect 8. Chemoprotectiveeffect 9. Radioprotectiveeffect

Propolispossessesmanydirectanti canceragents. Caffeicacidphenylester(CAPE) increasestheCD4(+)Tcellsubset,IL 2,IL4andIFN inmice.CAPEalso preventsmetastasistothelungsin breastcancerrats. Propolisinducesapoptosisofhuman melanomacellsinvitro.

 Almostallcancerpatientshave

reducedimmunityforyears. Propolishasamacrophage enhancingeffectinvitro. Propolisactivateslymphocytesand improvesCD4/CD8inmice.

 Freeradicalsincreaseincancer

patients,andthisincrease stimulatescancercellproliferation whichcanresultinrecurrenceand metastasis. CAPEandArtepillinChaveastrong antioxidanteffect. Propolispreventslipidperoxidation. Propolisexhibitsastrongeranti oxidanteffectcomparedtovitaminE inratswithcerebralinfarction.

 Whenevercancercellsproliferate,

angiogenesis(neovascularization) occurstoincreasetheblood supplytothesecancercells. Propolisexhibitsananti angiogeniceffectinvitroandin vivolikeachemicalanticancer agent:Avastin.

 Canceritselfhasinflammatory

propertieswhichleadtoabattle betweencancercellsandimmune cells. Antiinflammatoryagentssuchasthe CoxIIinhibitorareusefulin cancerpreventionandtreatment. Propolisexhibitsantiinflammatory effectbothinvitroandinvivo.

ThetypeBandChepatitisvirusescancause hepaticcellcarcinoma. HIVcausesAIDS. Helicobacterpylori isariskfactorfor stomachcancer.HalfoftheJapanesehave pylori infection,andmanyofushave sufferedstomachcancer. Propolishasantiviralandantibacterial propertiesinvitroandinvivo,andthese propertiesareusefulincancertreatment. Propolisshouldhelppreventdeathfrom infectiousdiseases(onethirdofpatients withadvancedcancerwerereportedtodie frominfectiousdiseasessuchaspneumonia duetodeterioratedimmunity)

 Ifregenerationofcancertissue

occursfaster,recoveryfrom cancercouldoccurfaster. Propolisstimulatestissue regenerationinvivo.

 Manyanimalstudiessuggestthat

chemotherapyaccompaniedbythe useofpropolisdecreasesadverse reactions. Propoliscombinedwith chemotherapyhassynergetic effectscomparedtoonly chemotherapyinvitroandinvivo.

 Manyanimalexperimentsshowthat

radiationtherapyaccompaniedby theuseofpropolisdecreases adversereactions. Propoliscombinedwithradiation therapyhassynergeticeffects comparedtoonlyradiationin vitroandinvivo.

Ihavetreatedover500patientswith advancedcancerusingpropolis. Thesepatientssufferedavarietyofcancers includinglung,stomach,colon,prostate, breast,ovaryandpancreascancer. Wemustacceptthefactthatcancerpatients willsimultaneouslyundergomultiple therapiesincludingbothconventionaland complementarytherapies. Thustheeffectofpropolisalonecannotbe measuredinsuchcancerpatients.Itisnot ethicalformetohavedoubleblindtests amongadvancedcancerpatients.

Mostcancerpatientsundergoconventional treatment,butIrecommendtheuseofpropolisas complementarymedicine. Patientswhotakepropolistendtoexperiencea betterqualityoflife,lesspain,lessfatigue, andimprovedappetite. Thesurvivalperiodofpatientswhotookpropolis tendedtobelonger,sometimesdouble,tripleor 10timeslongerthanexpected. Asmallnumberofpatientshavehadtumorsshrink tosomedegreewithoutconventionaltreatment. Afewpatientshavehadtheircancer(1cmorless indiameter)completelydisappearwithout conventionaltreatment.

Patientsusingpropolisincombinationwith chemotherapyorradiationtendtoexhibit bettertreatmentresultsandlessadverse reactionscomparedtoonlyconventional therapy. Ihavebeenusingethanolextracted,30% (w/v)ofBrazilianpropolisderivedfromthe Baccharisdracunculifoliaplant. Althoughmyusualrecommendeddosefor propolisis10ml3g)ofpropolisaday,I havebeenusing30ml(9g)ormorein patientswithadvancedcancer.

Twopatientscomplainedofamildskin rashaftertakingpropolis.These individualswerehypersensitiveto chemicals.Patientswithallergies mustbetreatedwithcare. Afewpatientscomplainedofstomach distressaftertakingpropolis especiallyonanemptystomach. Nootherseriousadversereactionswere reported.

 Ihaveseenmanyincrediblecancer

casesusingpropolisforyears. TodayIwillshowyoumy impressive6cancercases.

A46yearoldfemalewithhepatitisC whosubsequentlydevelopedhepaticcell carcinomacametomyhospitalin1998. HerliverCTrevealed3tumorsof1cm indiameter.Irecommended10ml(3g) ofpropolistobetakendaily. Herlivertumorshadcompletely disappearedonCTtwomonthslater,and hertumormarker,feroprotein,was withinthenormalrange.Shehasbeen ingoodhealtheversince.

A52yearoldfemalewasdiagnosedwith scirrhoustypestomachcancerbymein 1997.HercancerbelongedtostageIIIand hadanestimated1yearsurvivalrateof only10%. Sheunderwentatotalgastrectomyandthe cancerwasfoundtohavemetastasizedto theperitoneum.Aftertheprocedure,she tookadailydoseof10ml(3g)of propolis. Shehashadnorecurrenceinthe12years sincetheprocedure.

A49yearoldmalewasdiagnosedwith stomachcancer(stageIII)in2006.Hewas advisedtoundergosurgery,butdecided againstit.Hetook30ml(9g)ofpropolis for6months.HisstomachXrayshowedno changes. Hethendecidedtoundergosurgery,buta gastroscopyperformedonedaybeforethe procedurerevealednoabnormalities.His biopsyshowednocancercells.Thesurgeons saidthiswasamiracle.Thesurgerywas thuscanceled.Heisveryhealthyat present.

 A46yearoldmalefracturedhis

pelvicboneandwasdiagnosedwith multiplemyeloma(stageIV)in2003. Hisestimated5yearsurvivalrate was25%. Hetook45ml(15g)ofpropolis everydayduringhospitalization.He underwent4cyclesofchemotherapy, butexhibitednoadversereactions includingleucopenia(lowWBC counts).Hehasbeenincomplete remission.

 A81yearoldmalewithurinary

bladdercancerwastoundergoan endoscopicprocedurein2006.He took12capsulesofpropolis(6g)a dayfor1month. Cystoscopywasperformedjustbefore theprocedure.Hiscancertumor completelydisappearedafterfoam likesubstanceexcretionfromhis urethra.Heishealthyatpresent.

A57yearoldfemalewasdiagnosedwith ovariancancer.Ovaryanduterusresections wereperformedin1990.Chemotherapy followed,andsheexhibitedhighfever, diarrhea,andleucopenia(lowWBCcounts). Thecancerwasfoundtohavemetastasizedto thececumin2002,andshestartedtotake 6ml(2g)propolis.Sheunderwentasecond procedure.Sheagainunderwentchemotherapy, buthadnoadversereactions.HerCA199has beenreducedandisnowwithinthenormal range.Sheiscurrentlyingoodhealth.

Cancerprevention,especiallyprimary prevention,iscriticallyimportantcomparedto secondaryandtertiaryprevention. Itiswellknownthatsimpleuseofvitaminsand mineralscouldntpreventseveralsitesof cancer. Propolisisthoughttobeeffectiveinprimary cancerpreventionbecauseofitspropertiesof directanticancereffect,immuneenhancing effectandantioxidanteffect. Propolismaybeusefulforcancertreatment, sincepropolishasmuchpossibilitytoprevent cancer.

Moreclinicalstudiesareneededtodeterminethe efficacyofpropolis. Propolistakenbypatientswithadvancedcancer undergoingchemotherapyorradiationseemsto enhanceeffectivenessandleadtofeweradverse reactions. Propolistakenaloneseemedtoleadtobetter qualityoflife,prolongationoflife,and completeremission. Highdosesofpropolisintherangeof10gormore adaymaybemoreeffectiveinpatientswith advancedcancer. Iamconvincedthatadailydoseofpropolis preventscancerandthatincreaseduseofpropolis byhealthyindividualsishighlyrecommended. Evenadvancedcancerpatientsshouldhavehopeof recoveryusingpropolis,becausewecantlive withouthope.