April 2023 Update: Care Oncology in the US is defunct but MeakinMetabolicCare.com has all they offered and far more!
In my last big post I was all fired up about the metabolic theory of cancer and my fire has only intensified. I’m so lucky that immediately on the heels of that post I was able to meet with the team at Care Oncology Clinic, a group that specializes in exactly this type of treatment intended to complement traditional therapies. Their protocol relies on the off-label effects of common medications. The same way I used to take Benadryl for sleeping instead of allergy relief, they use metformin for cancer instead of diabetes.
They’ve received regulatory and ethical approval in the UK and are currently offering this treatment as part of a Phase 3 clinical trial to gain full FDA approval. This is Phase 3 because these drugs have already been proven safe (Phase 1) and effective (Phase 2).
Care is nonprofit and make their compounds and research completely open to the public. Best of all, while I was willing to fly to any of their UK, New Zealand, or US locations, they offer teleconsultations and are able to ship the medications to any location within those countries (thanks again, Hendriks!).
To sum up: Hooray! End of July when I’m traveling to the Mayo Clinic I’ll be able to pick up my first 3-month supply and will start the Care Oncology protocol in addition to my lorlatinib by 1 August.
Care Oncology Metabolic Protocol
The Care protocol is designed to shut down the various metabolic pathways I talked about in my previous post while supporting other functions. The drugs included are:
- Metformin
The very same drug diabetics take to lower blood sugar. I’m especially eager for this as it will allow me to start eating a bit more protein. Until now, I’ve had to limit my protein in addition to my carbs to keep my blood sugar low. - Statins
This will help reduce the fatty acid fuels available to cancer. As an added bonus, my cholesterol is through the roof secondary to the lorlatinib and my oncologist has wanted to put me on it, anyway. - Doxycycline
A common antibiotic that works by interfering with the ability of bacteria to produce proteins that are critical to them. There’s evidence the same mechanism can block the metabolic pathways of cancer, as well. - Mebendazole (alternating with Doxycycline)
An old-school anti-parasitic medication that blocks parasites’ ability to absorb sugar and does the same for cancer. It also inhibits pyruvate kinase, a key enzyme in the glycolytic pathway which is dominant in cancer cells
I can’t tell you how excited I am nor how eager to get my hands on these drugs. With the lorlatinib still working like a champ I feel even more confident in the chance to prolong my life many many years.
More Reading
- Recently featured in The Economist with a great exposure on how research into these off-label drugs isn’t even supported by governments or non-profits.
https://www.economist.com/international/2019/02/28/repurposing-off-patent-drugs-offers-big-hopes-of-new-treatments - Many resources at the foundation that started it all and my new source for all cancer-related donations (scroll down)
https://foundationformetaboliccancertherapies.com/
6 comments
Thanks for the continued giving Maggie. Your vulnerability, honestly, caring, and humility is outstanding. You very much remind me of my beautiful wife, who is taking this journey also. Blessings, gratitude, and all the positive energy to you.
Thank you so much, Jason! You and your wife are exactly the reason I expanded this blog to include my research. It’s so hard even for someone with our wellness backgrounds to pull together all the information. Trying to do it in the terrifying face of a new diagnosis is even harder. I have no doubt in my mind that you and Nic will overcome this challenge together and serve as an inspiration for others.
I have a question . You mentioned you do water fast and my question is if you take this daily protocol do you take without food ?
I personally do take the protocol along with other physician-prescribed medication, on my water fast days. Some may experience stomach upset if they don’t take the pills with food.
In addition to water fasting 1-3 days a week, I also fast daily until around 2pm. I take 1000mg metformin and 100mg mebendazole, along with other supplements and drugs, on an empty stomach at around 7am each morning. It hasn’t been an issue for me the past year plus but it’s different for everyone.
Best!
Maggie
Do you have any evidence that these protocols would work for other types of cancer with completely different histologies, like uterine clear cell carcinoma, for instance? What you discuss and the details of your journey all seem to relate to your specific kind of cancer which is nothing like mine. Plus I would not want to be taking doxy or any statins for the harm they generally do unless it was the lesser of two evils (harsh platinum chemo drugs, for instance vs on-going course of an antibiotic that also kills the good bacteria) and it actually applied to my kind of cancer. I think your website is a great chronicle of your journey and research but not sure how much, except your own tenacity and follow thru, applies to entirely different cancers, per se. I mean some things are kind of universal like all cancer cells thrive on glucose so keeping all types of glucose out of your diet, not just sugar itself, makes sense and intermittent fasting is regarded as an excellent health regimen for centuries. But, obviously the platinum “standard of care” kick ass heavy side effects types of chemo cocktails recommended for my cancer would not have done for your brain cancer, for instance. Thanks for any clarity you can add or any blog posts specifically you can point to that addresses this question.
Hi Clare! This is a wonderful perspective that brings up many good points that aren’t addressed in this article. Specifically, which metabolic therapies are appropriate for which types of cancer. I realize that answer is scattered throughout the blog and you inspire me to make a definitive post. For now know that, by definition, any cancer that shows up on a PET scan exhibits the Warburg effect and should be, in theory, responsive to metabolic therapies.
– Most but not all cancers qualify for the Care Oncology Protocol referenced in this article but each individual would need to check with the clinic to determine if they are eligible for the trial. If eligible, these drugs are intended to be taken IN ADDITION to the standard of care unique to that individual. I know they’ve published results showing success with breast cancer, blood cancer, colorectal cancer, glioma, lung cancer, gynecological cancers like cervical and ovarian, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, and sarcoma on their website.
– The research to date for a ketogenic diet (a foundational metabolic therapy) is discussed here – https://cancerv.me/2019/10/11/keto-for-cancer-benefits-and-downsides/ While much research needs to be done, it has shown positive results for all solid tumor cancers except kidney cancers and melanoma.
– Stress reduction, toxin reduction, fasting and nutritional therapies discussed elsewhere in this blog are relevant to all cancer and, indeed, all disease. Any therapy that stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system will strengthen the immune system as this is the “rest-and-digest” part of the autonomic nervous system responsible for healing.
You are absolutely right that anything specific to my ROS1+ NSCLC is unique to me. I’ve segregated these posts under the “Medical Updates” category which is the only category where you’ll find discussion of treatments unique to my cancer (my experience with crizotinib, lorlatinib and stereotactic brain radiation).
I hope this helps!