Cancer is a very complex disease and needs to be attacked on every front.  Be sure to include some nutrition option at any time it is OK with your doctor.

Find and work with an oncology nutritionist/dietician.  Carefully consider at each meal what your are getting in that meal that will fight cancer.  Again, the American Dietetic Association has an “oncology dietetic practice group.”

       ANTI CANCER DIET AND HEALTH RECOMMENDATIONS;

From the National Cancer Institute:

 Selected Vegetables/Sun's Soup;

 http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/vegetables-sun-soup/patient/allpages/print

  From the Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center:

Nutrition to Reduce Cancer Risk;

http://cancer.stanford.edu/information/nutritionAndCancer/reduceRisk/

How to protect yourself against cancer with food;

 http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/cancer_broch.html

 Eat to Beat Cancer

 http://www.amazon.com/Eat-Beat-Cancer-Research-Scientist/dp/158063088X

 Cancer Proof Your Diet (Includes recopies.)

 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0675/is_n5_v8/ai_9010370

    OTC medicines which may have anti-cancer benefit;

One NSAID tablet a day (Aspirin (enteric coated) or Ibuprofen, preferable liquid capsule.)

One Tylenol a day

The following is what we have found that the preponderance of science that we have found recommends.  Use the following lists of ours and the lists we reference with URLs only as starting points to do your own research to take to your doctor.  There are some lists which have possibly questionable recommendations and one such list is the “Six Foods That Fight Cancer” from FoxNews, where the first item recommended is folate with reasoning to smokers (which may not apply to non smokers) and pancreatic cancer prevention (a very serious but low probability cancer.)  Folate supplementation may be beneficial, but it is questionable if  folate deserves being on a general cancer top six foods list.  If you are a smoker or have a family history of pancreatic cancer folate supplementation is probably justified.

However, referring to folate; Researchers are continuing to investigate whether enhanced folate intake from foods or folic acid supplements may reduce the risk of cancer. Until results from such clinical trials are available, folic acid supplements should not be recommended to reduce the risk of cancer.”  There is some very promising evidence about folate preventing cancer, but if one has clinical cancer folate supplement use may be very questionable. One anti-cancer therapy dumps folate from the body.  We would suggest checking other lists and seeing if they also recommend folate at the least.

 http://folicacid.level1diet.com/folic‑acid‑info.html

Our first specific recommendation is to go to the following link where the doctor who is the vice president in charge of nutrition for the Cancer Treatment Centers of American has an book which about 3/4 the way down the page (listed under “NUTRITION THERAPY IMPROVES OUTCOME IN CANCER TREATMENT”) is the results from a West Virginia Medical School study of bladder cancer and five nutrients.  The link gives the amounts ,taken in the study, which were proven quite effective.  (We know of no reason to limit anti cancer nutrients to those five, but those five are at least a good starting point, with your doctor’s approval.  We did find some reservations about the vitamin A recommendations and would especially discuss that with a doctor first (It may be that the recommendation is actual vitamin A and not the precursor Beta-carotene that is brought into question by some studies as we have mentioned. In any case, the nutrients listed cut cancer recurrence more than in half!  We would also strongly suggest at least some minimal level of the other science suggested nutrients given in the link;  Fish Oil, Selenium, Quercetin, Ginseng, Green Tea, Dark Grape juice, Pink Grapefruit juice, Broccoli, Bell peppers, Pomegranate juice, Soy, and additional vitamin E (which includes the gamma-tocopherol form all added to those five nutrients (again with your doctors approval.)

http://www.immunopower.com/article.html

Our suggested first six nutrients to definitely research list would be:

1) Turmeric (Curcumin)

2) Vitamin D

3) Green Tea

4) Resveratrol (Dark Grapes)

5) Selenium with vitamin E

6) Melatonin

There are many others worth researching and discussing with your doctor.  For example, even vitamin K could be very important against cancer, but make sure to discuss vitamin K in detail with your doctor if you have or are subject to any kidney disease.  Vitamin K can be very important against cancer, but may impact kidney disease.  “-- growth arrest‑specific gene 6 (gas6) is a unique vitamin K‑dependent growth‑potentiating factor–“-- studies has revealed the in‑vivo roles of Gas6 and its receptor Axl in the progression of various kidney diseases–“   On the other hand; “ Patients with mouth cancer who were pre‑treated with injections of K‑3 prior to radiation therapy doubled their odds (20% vs. 39%) for 5 year survival and disease free status.”  Note; the common form of the vitamin K, namely K1, may be safe for kidney patients but may not be as beneficial against cancer.  All these questions need a specific answer from your doctor.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15199298&dopt=AbstractPlus

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDN/is_3_8/ai_107835437

From the American Institute for Cancer Research; “Foods That Fight Cancer”

http://www.aicr.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dc_foods_home

From the Diet Channel; Cancer Fighting Foods: General Info

http://www.thedietchannel.com/Cancer‑Fighting‑Foods.htm

From the Journal of Nutrition, an extensive list of nutrients used by cancer patients (that is not evidence that all the nutrients actually are effective) and more importantly as a point to start research; “ Mechanisms of the chemopreventive action of botanical dietary supplements and clinical trials”

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/131/1/179SADVANCE \d4

Note, all the recommendations herein assume cancer is the main concern and there is no primary disease state of cancer or any other clinical disease.  If there is any clinical disease state check with your doctor before changing your nutrition in any major way.  There may, for example, be a tradeoff if cancer is the main concern but you also have cardiovascular problems and you want the cancer fighting benefits of large amounts the good fats.  Again, check with your doctor first always if you have any major disease state. (This would be vital if one is undergoing chemo or radiation therapy for cancer.  There could be major benefit or a problem of chemo interference, for example.)

ADVANCE \d4All of the following are scientifically shown at some level to be beneficial in preventing and cancer fighting in general.  (This should not be taken to mean that extreme quantities of any single nutrient should be consumed.)  The most important nutrients or factors are in bold font.  There is no particular order to the list which also includes some things to generally avoid.  Before using this information and before even checking with your doctor, check other websites and do some research and confirm what is recommended herein.  Unless multiple sites agree on the benefits, do not follow any recommendation, including those herein.  There is science to support our recommendations, but science is not fully consistent or without error and only a preponderance of evidence should determine adjunct nutrition.

For example, we do not recommend using Chromium since we found the following buried in the link report about sugar and cancer and speaking of Chromium; “ It appears that even the ligand, picolinate, may be genotoxic.”   We have not found direct evidence good or bad relative to cancer.  What we found is not much, but it is enough for us to list Chromium as something to avoid unless prescribed by a doctor.  Chromium also affects blood sugar which may be good or bad depending on the situation.  Control of sugar is probably best done by diet control which minimizes simple sugar intake.

http://faculty.washington.edu/ely/JOM1.html

Check/research such findings and recommendations for yourself before acting on any recommendation, nutrition can be powerful, you life may depend on it.

 

In addition to generally good nutrition:  

Get about 15 minutes of sun exposure a day (do not get a sunburn)

Exercise at least a little every day (Exercise controls a substance which is bad, called "Insulin Like Growth Factor".)  Every little bit helps.

Avoid bright light in the evening!  (Yes this is based on science and biochemistry.)   

       Consume, eat and drink the following (a balance of all of them would be best, fresh, organically produced or grown if possible);Tomato products (together with some form of oil; tomatoes may be the one food better consumed in a prepared form for better absorption.  Works best with vitamin E and Lutein.

Broccoli

Dark grapes or Dark grape juice or red wine.

Bell peppers (mostly the red ones)

Green Tea (Don’t just take and EGCG supplement.)

Some form of probiotic (Very important together with fiber.) ADVANCE \d4

Fiber (Dark Rye bread for example. (Works powerfully with a probiotic, much more than just digest bulk and regularity or intestinal or cardiovascular health.)

Flaxseed (not Flaxseed oil alone which is bad with the good lignans removed.)

Turmeric (Very strong scientific evidence of a wide range of types.)

Pink Grapefruit or at least the juice (check with your doctor first if you choose to consume a lot, it can make medicine effects stronger.)

Apple cider (the more cloudy the better)

Tangerines and Limes

Pomegranate Juice

Cranberry juice

Blueberries

Raspberries

Blackberries

Strawberries

Watermelon (A good source of lycopene.)

Eat Oranges (eat the white part also.)  We do not recommend drinking large quantities of orange juice.

Beans (peanuts are actually a type of bean.)

Cold water fish (salmon, trout, mackerel) and other good fat sources such as; Olives; olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil; cashews, almonds, peanuts, and avocados.

Butter and cheese in reasonable amounts are OK (butter contains four types of cancer fighting substances not found in any other food in quantity, check with your doctor on cardiovascular concerns if you consume a lot.)

Organic milk is OK (2% or whole (dependent on age and health) is OK, but not skimmed. (Avoid high quantity productionized milk.)  The case is clear for colorectal cancer; “Platz et al (1) estimated that >70% of colon cancer risk is preventable through a combination of dietary and lifestyle changes.”

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/83/3/527

There have also been other studies that indicate that dairy products protect against colon cancer, and other which seem to show a bad correlation to dairy products.  If there is any bad correlation, it is probably for two reasons; vitamin D in the dairy is not sufficient to balance the calcium or the dairy is not naturally produced and lacks the nutrients it should have and contains antibiotics and other bad substances.  A report on the proteins in dairy show that they are probably cancer protective (at least in organically produced dairy products (avoid skim milk where much of the beneficial proteins have been removed): “Epidemiological and experimental studies suggest that dietary milk products may exert an inhibitory effect on the development of several types of tumors.”  The study in particular examined the proteins found in whey.  Other studies confirm this finding, for example; “ Case reports are presented which strongly suggest an anti‑tumor effect of a whey protein dietary supplement in some urogenital cancers.”  (Our emphasis.)  If one consumes any dairy product, they need extra vitamin D to balance the calcium tying up that vitamin from other functions.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=2025891

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=PubMed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=11205219&ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlus

Male smokers should probably avoid bad fats and consume dairy products.  “--higher dairy intake had a statistically significant reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer than lower dairy intake (HR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.40–0.85).”

http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/137/7/1821

Over-The-Counter medicines and vitamins;

Most individual vitamins are OK at up to 2 times the MDRS (we did not find any science which would recommend multivitamins in general and especially not those which are in hard tablet form or contain Iron or high levels of Beta Carotene not from natural sources.)

The science is pretty clear, in any case, that one should not use multiple vitamins beyond the recommendations on the bottle, and if one is taking extra individual vitamin  only take a multiple every other day if it is a high dose multiple.  Multiple vitamins are not at all the same as selected anti cancer multiple nutrients, and are often not properly balanced (even major brands), since they try to give some of every vitamin and typically give too much of some and not enough of others.  They are best limited to an every other day, fill in use, to be sure you are getting a little of every vitamin.  (Men should not take a multiple with a lot of calcium in it and too much vitamin A/Beta-carotene can interfere with vitamin D and be harmful.)    

Take extra: 

It should be well understood that there is no reason to believe that supplement pills produce all the same benefits as natural foods, but certain nutrient elements probably need to be supplemented in most diets (certainly if one is fighting clinical cancer.)  There are many beneficial nutrient elements found only in certain foods.  Vitamins are just the bare minimum elements needed to avoid rapid disease onset. 

The following should be considered in addition to the food elements recommended above;

Vitamin A only with vitamin D (available that way in supplements.) The best way to get retinoids is from some vegetable like carrots.

Get vitamin B complex, in part via a probiotic (we would not recommend a high dose vitamin B complex such as a B-50 or B-100.)

Vitamin D (at least 2.5 times the MDRS unless you are getting a lot of sun exposure.  Possibly a lot more than that with your doctor’s approval.  Short sun exposures every day.)

Vitamin E at least 400 IU and probably 800iu or more (must include high gamma or succinate form and be taken with selenium.)  High gamma form available naturally in peanuts, walnuts, pecans.  (Also alpha-tocopherol which does have some anticancer benefit and is good for cardiovascular health when used in combination with synergistic nutrients.)

Vitamin C as a supplement only with also taking vitamin E; otherwise get vitamin C only from food.

Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide) (Do not take a timed released supplement.)

Vitamin B6

Quercetin

Zinc (do not exceed 50 mg supplement per day.)

Calcium (women supplement 1000mg, men no more than 400mg without fairly high vitamin D.  (Women also need more vitamin D, men even more so.)  Magnesium supplements should be included even at these levels of calcium.)

Alfalfa (available in tablet form.)

Omega-3 fish oil (available in capsules)

Selenium (200 micrograms per day, do not exceed, and 100 microgram per day if you have type II diabetes or significant risk of that) and take that with vitamin E.  (“Animal studies suggest that selenium, particularly in combination with vitamin E, may lower blood sugar levels over time and reduce the risk of complications (such as kidney and blood vessel diseases) associated with diabetes.”  So selenium may together with vitamin E actually be helpful for diabetics even at the higher dose.  Get a doctors advice.

Cinnamon (Yes just regular cinnamon.)

Melatonin (TAKE THIS ONLY LATE IN THE DAY, NEVER EARLY IN THE DAY.  IF YOU HAVE ANY HORMONE RELATED CANCER MAKE CERTAIN YOUR DOCTOR APPROVES MELATONIN USE.  MELATONIN IS VERY EFFECTIVE FOR SOME TYPES AND POSSIBLE HARMFUL WITH OTHERS)

Echinacea “-- it appears that combination therapy in which one agent is Echinacea and the other, a non-toxic and non-immunosuppressive agent (thus eliminating virtually all modern chemotherapeutic laboratory-derived concoctions) has great advantage at least in leukemia treatment.”   Sandra C. Miller, PhD, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, McGill University

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1193558

Astragalus; From the NIH; “A few studies have shown potential benefits for using Astragalus--in combination with another herb, glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum)--as an adjunctive therapy for cancer. In general, however, these studies were not well designed.”  Many other cancer studies are also not well designed, that only raises a question and is not a negative.  The NIH goes on to say; “Astragalus may interact with medications that suppress the immune system, such as the drug cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan, Neosar) taken by cancer patients–“ Think about that, cancer drugs are suppressing the bodies ability to fight cancer!?  Where is the study of possible benefit of taking Astragalus with that drug as a cancer treatment?

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/astragalus/

     Generally avoid;

Avoid taking an excess of vitamin A/Beta-Carotene (get what you need from say carrots which also contain alpha-carotene, Lutein, and zeaxanthin which are all beneficial against cancer.

Avoid Copper supplements unless approved by a doctor, or possibly if consumed with a lot of green tea and or Turmeric!  Copper biology is extremely complex and decisions on copper require a nutritionally trained doctor’s expertise. (Take copper only with zinc, if copper is needed.)  There is some evidence that copper works with the green tea component EGCG in attacking cancer.

Avoid L-arginine supplements (unless prescribed by a doctor.)  We would suggest, however, keeping a lookout for development and availability of any new treatment based on Nitric Oxide or D-Arginine.  L-arginine is very potent, but it is a double edged sword and it could cure cancer or make it worse depending on the amount and the balance of a person’s nutrition.  We would suggest, however, having an in-depth discussion with the doctor if there is any proposed use of Nitro Glycerine or any nitrate therapy for any reason if one has or has had clinical cancer.  This nutrient is a constituent normally in the body which the body generates by breaking down protein, but very high levels of it would be abnormal if ones digestion is normal.  On the other hand, there are a few studies like the following which make it worthwhile researching the very latest on L-arginine and cancer; “L-arginine stimulates host defenses in patients with breast cancer.”  The link to this quote follows along with other links to take to your doctor.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8310409&dopt=Abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=9052446&ordinalpos=3&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=1671995&ordinalpos=8&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

Avoid Chromium supplements.

Avoid Iron supplements unless you are a menstruating women.

Avoid too much calcium, especially if you are a man, unless you get a very high level of vitamin D.

     Women on high calcium should also be sure to get extra vitamin D and magnesium.

Avoid SAM-E supplements.

    Foods to Avoid or minimize as much as possible;

Refined sugar in large amounts.

Salt in substantial amounts.

Red meats (beef and pork)

Grilled or other seared meats

Bacon and other processed meats

Corn oil (it may be wise to minimize corn itself also. Be especially watchful of genetically modified corn.  Corn can also be contaminated by a very dangerous fungus which may cause esophageal cancer.)  Corn oil may be involved in more than one type of cancer.  “--dietary corn oil promotes colon cancer by inhibiting the tumor suppressor gene p53‑mediated mitochondria‑dependent apoptosis–“ If corn oil inhibits p53 at all, that raises a serious question about bad effects of corn oil for many types of cancer where p53 is determinate.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=PubMed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=9251171&ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlus

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15522837&dopt=AbstractPlus

Avoid; Refined carbohydrates (potatoes, white pasta, white bread.)

Avoid; Artificial sweeteners in significant amounts.  (We have found no evidence for carcinogenesis at low levels.)

Avoid most types of margarine which contain questionable fats and bad fats which can contribute to cancer.

Avoid; Peas

Avoid; Mango

Avoid; MSG (Monosodium Glutamate)

Avoid: Fluorinated water if you have clinical cancer.  The issue is not clear but best to avoid such water since there is doubt.

   Beneficial in almost, but not all cases, check for the latest science;

Soy products (Generally very beneficial. A concern for one type of breast cancer.  A concern about genetic engineering of crops.  In most types of cancer, more than worth a small risk if your doctor approves.)

   The Jury is still out on:

Note: There are a number of other vitamins, foods, and herbs for which there is significant evidence that they may be important in preventing and fighting cancer.  We have only listed above those elements which are fairly easy to implement in a routine way of living and those whose efficacy is the strongest in the science studies we have found.  There are other nutrients as well which will probably help.

 Other possible substances, still being researched, for which there is, nevertheless some scientific evidence that they enable the body to some degree to fight cancer and which might work synergistically with other nutrients  and that are worth being considered and researched:

EGCG (As an isolated known potent substances in green tea is highly probable to be of major benefit in fighting almost all cancer.  As an isolated substance EGCG there is, however, some small amount of uncertainty in the case of prostate cancer and breast cancer of particular sub-types, but those cases appear to be isolated.  Green Tea as a whole is very beneficial.)

As previously noted, but very important to consider, there are reports like; “Green Tea Polyphenols Thwart Prostate Cancer Development At Multiple Levels” and one would conclude that the net effect of EGCG when with the other phenols in green tea is probably very positive and it may be that while EGCG is it not beneficial as an isolated chemical substance is some cases, at the same time it may be highly beneficial combined with other substances in green tea itself and the net for green tea as a whole is very good in fighting the cancer even in this case.

This would argue (and there are other arguments pointing on the basic idea) as being what one might run into if the intake is isolated substances from the nutrient and not the nutrient not consumed as a whole.  Where possible, the whole natural nutrient should be what is consumed. 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041201081443.htm  (Note this article is not only very positive, but even addresses the question about Erk1/2 questioned by

the first article.)

At the basic molecular level, it can be seen how (in part) that green tea fights cancer.  All cells have a structure and cancer cells have to tear down the structure of other cells and build aberrant structures of their own.  In the following link, it is partially explained how green tea inhibits that process: “Green Tea Extract Modulates Actin Remodeling via Rho Activity in an In vitro Multistep Carcinogenic Model”

http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/11/4/1675

(The above is generally what is the type of information found when a given study seems questionable in some element, other studies show a net positive effect of the following nutrients when consumed naturally (as much as possible), but again, prudence calls for more investigation where there is any known possibility of a bad effect.  (Of course, bad effects even from foods are nothing new. The variation from person to person is why some people have certain food allergies and others do not.  Fortunately, none of the studies we have found have reported any strong negative effect of the nutrients in the large majority of cancers (assuming they are not used in extreme well beyond the levels studied.)

Milk Thistle (Silibinin)

The large majority of studies of Silibinin from milk thistle are very positive like the following and if one is to get vitamin D from sun exposure (limited sun exposure is strongly correlated with reduced cancer risks), taking Milk Thistle is probably very wise.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12230878&dopt=Abstract

The story is, however, not complete on milk thistle.