Pancreatic Cancer - Has anyone had experience with Metabolic Oncology?

Thank you for sharing your story and the words of encouragement.

I am hoping that if we can throw everything at this cancer that has shown some efficacy in killing cancer and cancer stem cells, my husband will live several years into the future.

I am trusting the Lord Jesus Christ to give us the strength needed to walk through this and I pray the same for you.

Beth

They can also give you a bag of fluids after the pump is unhooked. I did that every time and it really helped.

hi- I too am researching how a healthy diet can "starve cancer." I have ordered Jane McCLellan's book. I also read "Eat to Live" by dr. Fuhrman which encourages a plant based diet.
Question: you say metformin helps. Could you elaborate? Does he have diabetes?
The drs. told my husband he was diabetic when he went to the hospital w itching and Jaundice, and found the tumor. His glucose was 430. He's been on insulin for 4 months, not metformin. He has a continuous glucose meter on his arm. With a changed diet and loss of 55 pounds (a healthy loss as he was overweight), his blood sugar is much better now. I think his insulin dosing was too high, and I asked twice about reducing insulin, and dr agreed. Doseage has been reduced by 35%.
He just finished cycle 7 of folfirinox. I too tried to find evidence about what a change in diet could accomplish to "starve the cancer." The drs don't seem to want to pursue that path! Few focus on nutrition. At best, most have said 4 words: "Eat Fruits and Vegetables" (Or Eat Mediterranean diet). Some drs have told others I know with pan can to "eat whatever they want." I feel like diet is the one thing we can control, so he (and I) gave up all alcohol and red meat, and try not to have sugar, desserts and processed foods/carbs. The sugars appear to be the worst in "feeding the cancer." He still eats dairy, although I've read that's bad too. His overall health has improved--lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, lower glucose, lower LDL, lower triglycerides. Minimal belly fat. I want to believe the new diet makes him better able to handle the chemo, and hopefully not encourage growth on the tumor.

Hi k13,

We were prescribed metformin due to an elevated A1C and elevated glucose (diabetic range) level, however, insulin was still in the normal range. This was not an issue until we started the diagnosis of PC which is common. We did not get to the jaundice point. Our metformin was prescribed by our GP.
I have been reading much about diet (keto, plant based, supplements, IV's, starving cancer). I had a stack of 3 x 3 sticky notes with information provided to me by others, research I had done, info from support group PC folks, YouTube, TikTok on a lot of topics and reported cures. It was pretty overwhelming. Not wanting to miss something, I decided to make a comprehensive word document with all the questions and approaches I thought seemed reasonable. I brought that into our Oncologist to talk through them (yesterday). I suspected since he had practiced at John Hopkins, University of Chicago and his current hospital; even if he may not want to go against the standard of care he must have seen the results of patients who went down different paths. Surprisingly, he was very open and thoroughly explained his view on each and every one. On the diet topic he said a balanced diet is all you need to do but focus on protein #1. Starving cancer is not the answer according to him. You can risk putting your loved in a weekend state that he may not be able receive treatment. We spent 9 days in the hospital just from the cumulative effects of chemo and luckily, we did get back, but I could clearly see what he was saying here.
Anyway, I would put all your questions in writing and go over this with your doctors. It will make you feel better, and you will get a comprehensive opinion of your husband with his current health conditions. Lots of people try to help. Lots of info on the internet, but those people are not walking in your shoes. Let the experts help you and feel good about the decisions.
Best,
Kathy

To those of you who were asking me about why Metformin. We decided to start on it as soon as we read the starving cancer book. My husband is not a diabetic. We are taking Metformin as part of his cancer treatment protocol and have got the ok as well from our Oncologist. According to Jane McClelland and Care Oncology, Metformin helps starve the cancer cells of glucose as well as block the IGF-1 and mTOR (a key enzyme for cell division). It also boosts good bacteria in the gut thus improving immunity as well as provide other benefits. We are taking it to starve his cancer cells of some of the key factors they need to grow and multiply.

The How to Starve Cancer book and Metabolic Oncology is not about fasting. It is about using existing medications that have minimal negative side effects to starve the various ways that cancer feeds itself. Intermittent Fasting is also mentioned as an additional technique to provide better outcomes. Metformin is one of the key existing drugs that attacks multiple pathways that cancer feeds itself. That is why we are using it.

Thank you so very much for your responses and insights. I am praying that by attacking my husband's cancer with Folfironox, High Dose IV Vitamin C, Metformin, Low Dose Aspirin, and a handful of other medications we can significantly beat the survival outcome with Standard of Care treatments only. We want to hit it and keep on weakening it and then let Chemo kill it - along with its stem cells.

Hope this helps.

Beth

Well said. Thank you for sharing your story

I'd like to add some resources here that outline the research thus far from evidence-based medical sources.

From Mayo Clinic
- High-dose vitamin C: Can it kill cancer cells? https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cancer/expert-answers/alternative-cancer-treatment/faq-20057968

Answer From Karthik Giridhar, M.D. (updated Jan 2022)
"Interest in using very high doses of vitamin C as a cancer treatment began as long ago as the 1970s when it was discovered that some properties of the vitamin may make it toxic to cancer cells. Initial studies in humans had promising results, but these studies were later found to be flawed.

Subsequent well-designed, randomized, controlled trials of vitamin C in pill form found no such benefits for people with cancer. Despite the lack of evidence, some alternative medicine practitioners continue to recommend high doses of vitamin C for cancer treatment.

More recently, vitamin C given through a vein (intravenously) has been found to have different effects than vitamin C taken in pill form. This has prompted renewed interest in the use of vitamin C as a cancer treatment.

There's still no evidence that vitamin C alone can cure cancer, but researchers are studying whether it might boost the effectiveness of other cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, or reduce treatment side effects.

There are still no large, controlled clinical trials that have shown a substantial effect of vitamin C on cancer, but some preliminary studies do suggest there may be a benefit to combining standard treatments with high-dose IV vitamin C. Until clinical trials are completed, it's premature to determine what role vitamin C may play in the treatment of cancer."

- Is it still worth pursuing the repurposing of metformin as a cancer therapeutic? (British Journal of Cancer) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41416-023-02204-2

"Over the past 15 years, there has been great interest in the potential to repurpose the diabetes drug, metformin, as a cancer treatment. However, despite considerable efforts being made to investigate its efficacy in a number of large randomised clinical trials in different tumour types, results have been disappointing to date. This perspective article summarises how interest initially developed in the oncological potential of metformin and the diverse clinical programme of work to date including our contribution to establishing the intra-tumoral pharmacodynamic effects of metformin in the clinic. We also discuss the lessons that can be learnt from this experience and whether a further clinical investigation of metformin in cancer is warranted."

When considering complementary, alternative or off-label approaches to treatment, be open-minded yet skeptical. Learn about the potential benefits and risks. Talk with your oncologist.

as @kathy2000 mentioned, there is a risk of weakening yourself when you need strength to fight.

A very reputable oncologist 3 weeks ago described cancer cells to me as like the anti-Superman cells, or human cells on steroids: They will find a way to get sugar from your body regardless of what you do, and you'll probably starve yourself before you starve a cancer. And my question to him was in the specific context of pancreatic cancer cells, which obviously originate in the main organ of your body that regulates sugar.

My 85-year old dad just spent 3 weeks in the hospital and 3 weeks in rehab after starving himself (not deliberately) while on immunotherapy for mesothelioma. The metabolic "crash" was pretty widespread. Other factors were at play, but it was eye-opening and heart-wrenching.

With that said, this paper https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28092686/ links glucose metabolism to distant metastasis of PC, and this paper https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2021.630972/full discusses three popular diets (ketogenic, Mediterranean, low-sugar) in the context of PC.

@beth77 , regarding Jane Mclelland's book: I always read the negative Amazon reviews first when a book is controversial. It can help pinpoint some of the real weaknesses that positive / non-critical reviewers overlook. I realize her book is about a lot more than simply "starving cancer" in the dietary sense, so that's fine. I'm relieved you've got a qualified medical team helping you with implementation of it.

Regarding "evidence-based medicine" in general: The published results practitioners and clinicians base treatment decisions on are coarse, large-scale statistics that may not apply to "outlier" patients. They're playing the odds (rightfully so in the absence of other data), but that's where additional considerations (patient performance status, genetic mutations, sheer will to live, etc) come in to play. When patients are running out of options, I wish doctors were more open to off-label experiments, but rules in the USA make that pretty difficult,

Thank you all for your continued comments and insights. Since the Standard of Care for Pancreatic cancer doesn’t give us the lifespan answer we are looking for, we are determined to try any and all things that look potentially promising. What can it hurt? We will hit this cancer from all directions AND do Chemo. Goal is to weaken the cancer cells and reduce their protections so that chemo can wipe more out. Only time will tell the outcome, but by taking a highly active role in supplementing the chemo, it is something we can do to help ourselves.

BTW. My husband has spent the last two weeks in the hospital recovering from severe dehydration caused by diarrhea and a total loss of appetite. He is currently getting a feeding port installed in his stomach. This will help him get the nutrition he needs while completing his chemo course. He is getting stronger now ans we are hopeful. May God bless you all with wisdom and full knowledge of Him.

Beth

Thanks for sharing your very difficult story. Prayers to you for healing. Your courage is admirable.