The intention of chemotherapy is to kill cancer cells and shrink malignant tumors. It can extend survival in patients diagnosed with various malignancies. However, well-known and unfortunate consequences of chemotherapy are the harsh, potential side-effects (including cardio-toxicity, neurotoxicity, mucosititis, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, cramps and hair loss) that engender harmful problems to the human body. These side-effects can be temporary or cause permanent challenges, and limit dose intensity and the consistent-scheduled implementation of treatment cycles. Some patients undergoing cancer treatment fear the toxic side-effects even more than the cancer.

So, the question is:
Are there any therapeutic approaches that can modulate these harmful effects, whereby
patients can complete their chemotherapy regimens without experiencing harsh injuries to the body?

Answer: YES!

Controlling chemo side-effects

Fortunately, there are several methods that can mitigate the harsh side-effects of chemo treatment. One approach, in particular, is free and doesn’t require a prescription or any kind of medical intervention. That approach is: STRATEGIC FASTING.

I’ve included herein, below, the citation for an insightful five-minute You Tube video, featuring Dr. Valter Longo, Ph.D. (the pre-eminent “fasting” researcher) explaining why cancer cells are more vulnerable to chemotherapy and why fasting makes normal cells more resistant to the effects of chemotherapy. He talks about how an integrative approach is the most powerful approach when fighting cancer, versus exclusively a conventional or alternative approach.

Dr. Dwight McKee , an internationally distinguished researcher and clinician, is trained in immunology and board-certified in oncology and hematology. He is renowned for his sophisticated knowledge regarding integrative care, nutritional science and botanical medicine. I had the privilege to interview Dr. McKee in Hope Never Dies, where he said: 

“I advise patients to fast the day before, the same day and the day after chemotherapy. Water and tea are OK, but it is essentially a fast. The fast appears to cause normal cells to down regulate their metabolism and hibernate. Cancer cells can’t hibernate. This concept reduces toxicity and comes from Dr. Valter Longo’s work at the University of Southern California. I know that fasting works based upon my clinical practice.”

Abundant, convincing, and growing evidence demonstrates that short-term fasting is safe. It protects healthy cells from toxicity while enhancing the efficacy of a variety of chemotherapeutic agents in the treatment of many different tumor types.

Some patients may not have the vitality or energy to engage in such fasting regimens. This potential factor should be assessed prior to implementing a fasting strategy.

Chemo side-effects substantially reduced

A noted case series report described 10 cases in which patients, ranging in age from 44 to 78 and diagnosed with a variety of malignancies, voluntarily fasted prior to and after treatment. Not one of these patients, who received an average of four cycles of chemotherapy drugs, reported significant side-effects from the chemotherapy. This study found that fasting was well-tolerated and associated with a reduction of multiple chemotherapy induced side-effects, compared with patients who did not fast and ate any foods they desired.

I have encouraged several cancer patients to implement a fasting strategy, prior to embarking on their chemotherapy protocol. To their delight, and to the surprise of their oncologists, they tolerated the chemotherapy much better than other patients who did not engage in a fasting strategy — according to their oncologists.

If you are contemplating implementing chemotherapy as part of a cancer fighting approach, I strongly suggest you consider incorporating fasting to help tolerate the potential harsh side-effects, allowing the chemotherapy to do its job without interruption, and without wreaking havoc on your body and organs.

If your doctor is skeptical about incorporating this adjunctive therapy, I encourage you to present them with the studies cited in this post, which recommend and support this toxicity-mitigating approach.

Read more about evidence-based cancer care