Breast Cancer

Do You Have Questions?

Call Us 780-757-8378

General information

Breast cancer is classified based on the status of three receptors: the estrogen receptor (ER), the progesterone receptor (PR), and the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2, also called ERBB2). Standard and Naturopathic treatments both change depending on receptor status.  Triple negative tumors are often aggressive and have a poorer prognosis. 

Three percent to five percent of all women who have breast cancer have mutations in two genes: BRCA1 and BRCA2 – eg. 51% risk by age 50.

After gender and age, a positive family history is the strongest known predictive risk factor for breast cancer.

Prevention: Alcohol, obesity, smoking and birth control use are well established as risk factors.

We recommend folate supplementation of at least 600 micrograms per day may protect women who consume at least one alcoholic drink per day.

At our clinic we offer the 2/16α Estrogen Metabolite Ratio as part of a urinary estrogen profile to screen for levels of protective and harmful estrogens for breast cancer prevention. Also, our Naturopathic doctors can also see the Estrogen breakdown patterns using DUTCH Urinary hormone testing.

Screening

Physical activity appears to have a protective effect, as well as modest fruit and vegetable consumption.

The USPSTF  (United States Preventive Services Task Force) 2009 recommends biennial screening mammography for women aged 50 to 74 years. The decision to start regular, biennial screening mammography before the age of 50 years should be an individual one

The USPSTF has found insufficient evidence to recommend for or against teaching or performing routine breast self-examination however our Naturopaths have seen a number cases of breast cancer in our Edmonton patients that were found from women performing a self breast exam therefore we recommend this as a screening tool.

Our Naturopathic Doctors do not currently recommend thermography screening as an alternative to mammography; we have seen cases of breast cancer clearly missed by patients undergoing thermography, the sensitivity of thermography is 25%. Thermography can be helpful if the patient has fibrocystic lumps however.

A recent large Canadian trial showed no mortality benefit for performing annual mammograms in women aged 40 to 59 years; screening also leads to overdiagnosis and overtreatment: for every 2,000 women invited for screening throughout 10 years, one will have her life prolonged; but ten healthy women who would not have been diagnosed if there had not been screening, will be given a breast cancer diagnosis and be treated unnecessarily with the possibility that their cancer would not have led to death or sickness. It is thus not clear whether screening does more good than harm. 

Canadian Task Force on Preventative Healthcare recommends for women aged 40–49 against routinely screening with mammography. For women aged 50–69 years routine screening with mammography every 2 to 3 years and for women aged 70–74 recommend routinely screening with mammography every 2 to 3 years.

On mammography if there is a suspicious mass, biopsy is always performed. Our Naturopathic doctors typically add modified citrus pectin (MCP) as a supplement prior to biopsy or surgery to reduce metastasis risk as fine needle aspiration biopsy has the potential to create micro-metastases into a near by lymph node.

Surgery

Surgery (mastectomy and lumpectomy) with adjuvant chemotherapy and/or hormonal therapy is the mainstay of treatment for early-stage breast cancer.

Our Naturopaths recommend surgery in most cases where the disease is not yet disseminated with distant metastases. This is often the best chance for cure; however, we support our patients through surgery with natural agents, such as the MCP mentioned previously – to reduce risk of spread, amongst other agents such as high dose green tea extract. 

Our Naturopathic Doctors also prepare our Edmonton patients nutritionally to better tolerate surgery and improve immune function and healing with nutritional IV Therapy prior to and after surgery. We use high potency vitamin and mineral IV Therapy with IV Vitamin C. We also give oral immune boosters such as coriolus mushroom as well as mistletoe which we give as a subcutaneous injection and/or intravenously. Both of which are supported by a multitude of clinical trials demonstrating improved survival when these are integrated with standard therapies.

A 2012 review analyzed Coriolus efficacy from 13 clinical trials and found that Coriolus in patients with breast cancer, gastric cancer, or colorectal cancer treated with chemotherapy, had particularly impactful effects on the overall 5-year survival rate. A 2006 journal article analyzed previously published data of randomized and non-randomized studies on mistletoe therapy with breast cancer and found profound effects of mistletoe in particular is patients with distant metastases (Stage IV) therefore we always discuss Mistletoe use especially in patients battling with disseminated disease.

Hyperbaric Oxygen may be of benefit postoperatively as it has been well studied in the context of tissue healing. 

Radiation

Radiation is commonly used after surgery; usually to the breast and axilla (armpit) lymph nodes.

Our Naturopaths often prepare our patients for radiation primarily by adding in natural radiosensitizers such as curcumin which can make tumor cells more sensitive to radiation while protecting normal cells. Curcumin orally can reduce radiation dermatitis in breast cancer patients as evidenced in a 2013 human trial. Although the mechanism of action is potentially complimentary, we do not administer IV Therapy such as IV vitamin C concurrently with radiation treatments; we wait a minimum of two weeks until after radiation is over before IV Vitamin C administration.

Hyperbaric Oxygen has been extensively studied for Delayed Radiation Injury. For instance, in a 2016 clinical trial  57 women treated with Hyperbaric Oxygen for late radiation-induced tissue toxicity.  Before Hyperbaric Therapy, patients had severe complaints of pain in the arm/shoulder (46 %), swollen arm/hand (14 %), difficulty to raise arm or move it sideways (45 %), pain in the area of the affected breast (67 %), swollen area of the affected breast (45 %), oversensitivity of the affected breast (54 %). 

After Hyperbaric Treatment,  severe complaints were reduced dramatically in the majority of patients. The authors concluded "HBOT for radiation-induced late tissue toxicity was valuable and revealed a significant improvement in the related complaints." Our Edmonton clinic has two Perry Hyperbaric Chambers.

Hormonal Therapy

Often times, in Estrogen positive cases (pre-menopausal) Tamoxifen is usually suggested. Tamoxifen use appears to have good efficacy: reductions in recurrence and mortality associated with 5 years of tamoxifen use is up to 47%. Our Naturopathic Doctors usually integrate therapies alongside Tamoxifen. We use natural estrogen modulating natural therapies. At our clinic our Naturopathic doctors always add high dose melatonin to tamoxifen as a 1995 clinical trial demonstrated synergy from this combination. We also take precautions to reduce tamoxifen side effects such as hot flushes, elevated cholesterol, altered liver function and elevated risk of blood clots. We also mix integrative IV therapies alongside tamoxifen (see below) - IV Therapy with IV Vitamin C or Lipoic Acid are considered non-competitive. 

We most commonly see Anastrazole (an aromatase inhibitor) suggested to our Edmonton patients to reduce estrogen levels in post menopausal patients. The Naturopathic approach is similar to that with tamoxifen: we further reduce estrogen load in the body and with Anastrazole, bone mineral density can become an issue which we support with added vitamin D, and calcium at a minimum.

In HER2-positive tumors, trastuzumab (Herceptin) is used; Naturopathic Doctors can augment Herceptin with Gamma-Linolenic acid “GLA” (a fatty acid found in evening primrose, borage and black current oil) as there is evidence that GLA reduces Her2 protein levels. A 2016 article found that Mistletoe can be co-administered with Herceptin with complementary effects.

Once again, with both anastrazole and Heceptin IV Therapy such as IV Vitamin C and IV Lipoic Acid are considered non-competitive and complementary. 

Chemotherapy

Doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide are commonly used starting chemotherapies in breast cancer.
Paclitaxel, Docetaxel and Capecetabine (Xeloda – oral) are very commonly seen being used on our Edmonton patients. 

However, there are many other drugs and combinations of drugs used in breast cancer that are beyond the scope of this site. Our Naturopaths approach each integrative oncology patient on a case by case basis and recommend therapies with regards to your specific chemotherapy regimen.  

Paclitaxel (Taxol) and Docetaxel (Taxotere) are taxane class medications originally derived from Yew trees. Aside from breast cancer, these are also used in other cancers as well. Our Naturopaths are fairly careful with taxane medications as a some herbs can adversely interact with liver metabolism of these medications however there are a fair amount of natural therapies that can improve anti-cancer actions and reduce side effects of these medicines.

Nerve damage and chemotherapy resistance are common issues with taxanes that we augment with integrative therapies. One of our favorite taxane additions is melatonin, which was previously mentioned for compatibility with tamoxifen. IV Therapy with IV Vitamin C can be apparently be co-administered with taxanes as it is judged to be compatible and synergistic as evidenced in a 1999 clinical trial where co-administration improved the efficacy of mitoxantrone, cyclophosphamide and paclitaxel.

Xeloda (Capecitabine) is a popular medication because it is taken orally and its said to have less hairloss associated with its use. Again, as with the taxanes, there are numerous natural therapies that can be safely co-administered. For instance, our Naturopaths may suggest co-administration of melatonin and curcumin with xeloda to improve efficacy. We sometimes combine curcumin with 5FU (relative of xeloda) in colon cancer Vitamin B6 can be used to reduce nerve damage.

In general, our Naturopathic Doctors often recommend Mistletoe application with many chemotherapies either as a subcutaneous injection or as part of IV Therapy treatment. A 2009 clinical trial demonstrated an improved quality of life and less tendency towards low blood counts from a few common chemotherapies in breast cancer patients. It is extremely common for patients to miss chemotherapy sessions due to low blood counts and mistletoe is a well established option for improving chemotherapy candidacy through improved blood counts.

One study looked at data from 125 breast cancer (stages IIa to IIIb) 53 of which treated with IV Therapy. 7.5g of IV Vitamin C in addition to standard therapy (chemo and radiation) was given for at least 4 weeks.

IV Therapy with Vitamin C resulted in a significant reduction of complaints induced by the disease and chemo-/radiotherapy, in particular of nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue, depression, sleep disorders, dizziness and bleeding tendency.

The authors concluded "i.v. vitamin C was shown to be a well tolerated optimization of standard tumour-destructive therapies, reducing quality of life-related side-effects." 

Advanced Therapies: Mistletoe

In terms of improving immune function our Naturopathic doctors often work with injectable mistletoe which is given subcutaneously or as part of an IV Therapy treatment.

Mistletoe is an extremely cost effective intervention that has an excellent track record in a number of different cancers. In 2001, an article was published looking at 10,226 cancer patients with 1668 patients treated with Iscador (a brand of injectable mistletoe) and 8475 who had taken neither Iscador nor any other mistletoe product (control patients). In a pool of 396 matched pairs, mean survival time in the Iscador groups was roughly 40% longer than in the control groups.

Mistletoe is extremely cost effective and although it is an injectable product we teach patients and their family members to self-administer it at home. It is usually given three times per week however, that may lessen depending on individual responses. IV Vitamin C and Mistletoe are complimentary non-competing therapies and we can administer the Mistletoe intravenously at on days of IV Vitamin C infusions.

A 2006 journal article re-analyzed previously published data of randomized and non-randomized studies on mistletoe therapy with breast cancer. In the non-randomised studies: Patients that had already received mistletoe (Iscador brand) therapy were compared to controls with a greatly reduced risk of death across all the mistletoe groups.

Mistletoe was evaluated in three groups:

Group 1: Breast cancer with local recurrences and no metastases (42 pairs)
Group 2: Breast cancer with only lymphatic metastases (55 pairs)
Group 3: Breast cancer with distant metastases (83 pairs)

Group 1: Hazard ratio - 0.52 – that is, the relative risk of dying was 48% less.
Group 2: Hazard ratio - 0.27 - that is, the relative risk of dying was 63% less.
Group 3: Hazard ratio 0.53 – that is, the relative risk of dying was 47% less.

Overall, the survival of patients receiving mistletoe treatment with Iscador is longer in these studies.

Advanced Therapies: IV vItamin c

A 2013 study by Anderson demonstrated improved survival rates with Alternative IV Therapy. IV Vitamin C was administered to Stage IV breast cancer patients alongside a wormwood derivative called Artesunate (see Artesunate page); we often work with the parent compound Artemesinin. 

Case reports from a group in Sinagpore describe four separate breast cancer cases with clear improvements from IV Vitamin C IV Therapy; all four cases were Estrogen and Progesterone positive. These reports indicate that IVC is a feasible option to be used as a standalone in breast cancer treatment however our preference is to co-administer with wormwood derivatives because of the results from BIORC described above.

In two review studies by Takahashi (2012) and Bazzan (2018) IV Therapy with Vitamin C was administered to a group of cancer patients, with breast cancer representing the largest patient group with improved quality of life demonstrated in both studies. 

Data from Deblasi (2017) suggested strong synergy between IV Vitamin C and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. 

Artesunate and IVC in Stage IV Breast Cancer patients

Advanced Therapies: Metabolic approach

There is data to support the use of a metabolic approach in Breast Cancer. 

Coadministration of Coq10 to breast cancer patients taking tamoxifen resulted in decreased angiogenesis markers in the blood (new blood vessel growth in tumors) in a 2008 clinical trial¹⁸.

In a study of CoQ10, alongside fatty acids and low dose antioxidants, in 32 breast cancer patients (where tumor spread to lymph nodes in the axilla), it was reported that: none of the patients died during the study period (the expected number was four.) None of the patients showed signs of further distant metastases. Quality of life was improved (no weight loss, reduced use of pain killers) and six patients showed apparent partial remission¹⁹. 

In a follow-up study, two patients who had breast cancer remaining after surgery were treated with high doses of coenzyme Q10 for 3 to 4 months. It was reported that after treatment with high-dose coenzyme Q10, the cancer was completely gone in both patients²⁰. 

In a third study led by the same researchers, 3 breast cancer patients were given high-dose coenzyme Q10 and followed for 3 to 5 years. The study reported that one patient had complete remission of cancer that had spread to the liver, another had remission of cancer that had spread to the chest wall, and the third had no breast cancer metastasis found after surgery²¹

 In "Paleolithic ketogenic diet (PKD) as a stand-alone therapy in cancer: Case studies", a 2019 publication, two case studies were looked at in detail that followed the PKD diet. One of which was a 46 year old female who was initially diagnosed with invasive ductal Breast cancer in 2013 who experienced a recurrence in 2018 despite hormonal therapy (liver and hip metastases). 

Using the PKD diet (an aggressive ancestrally based Ketogenic diet) alone for 5 months she experienced regression in the the size and metabolic activity of the metastases. 

The report also briefly describes a 43 year old female breast cancer patient stable on PKD for a total of 69 months with no chemotherapy, surgery or radiation used²². 

At our Edmonton clinic one of our favorite metabolic agents is IV Therapy with Alpha Lipoic Acid which has appreciable benefit in numerous cancers in conjunction with a Ketogenic diet and metabolic agents like CoQ10. Our Naturopathic doctors have a special interest in IV Therapy administration in Edmonton. Hyperbaric Oxygen is a strong synergist with the metabolic approach.  

Do You Have Questions?

Call Us 780-757-8378