Dr. Colleen Huber, NMD, Medical Director Naturopathic Medical Doctors of Arizona, LLC 1250 E. Baseline Rd., Suite 205, Tempe, AZ 85283 Tel: 480-839-2800; Fax: 480-897-2453

NatureWorksBest.com - Cancer and Remission

How do you treat cancer? I am a primary care physician, a Naturopathic Medical Doctor. I use natural treatments only for cancer and other diseases. That is I use no chemotherapy, radiation or surgery. However, at a patient's request, I do work with surgeons and oncologists, the formal name for doctors who are cancer specialists. And they work with the mainstream treatments, as well as imaging and labs showing what happens with tumors over time. If a patient prefers to work only with me, that is okay too. I can order all imaging and labwork. All of that is usually covered by insurance, or at least would apply toward your deductible in most cases. Medicare is an exception, because Medicare does not yet recognize naturopathic medicine.

How do you work with oncologists? There are 2 types of oncologists in our experience: the old-fashioned kind, those who only know about chemo and radiation and surgery, and who are not interested in natural treatments for cancer. Some have shown a lot of hostility toward natural treatments. They have not been very cooperative with us regarding the patients that we share. And this has been detrimental to the patients' wellbeing, because necessary information such as PET scans, MRI's etc. have been withheld by them. However, there is a new forward-thinking, well-informed and open-minded type of oncologist, and they are taking an interest in the tumor regression and remission that we have experienced with natural treatments. These oncologists have been helpful and cooperative about sharing information from CT scans, PET scans, blood work, etc., and the patient benefits from this shared information. Fortunately, some of our patients have these newer kinds of oncologists. One such oncologist even told one of our patients that he would do what the patient is doing - that is, the natural treatments - if he himself had cancer, and that he had nothing better to offer for this patient's particular cancer. Another specifically recommended our treatments to another patient as the only theraphy. Two other oncologists told our parients to continue our natural therapies. That kind of honesty is very welcome to the patient, as well as to the public. Certainly oncologists do have a lot to offer to cancer patients, often lifesaving help. But when they cannot help, it makes most sense for them to welcome the natural treatments that do make a difference. There is a genuine desire on the part of many mainstream doctors to act with the patient's best interests as a priority, regardless of where that road may go.

What natural treatments do you use? It's important to understand that that depends entirely on the patient. Each of our cancer patients came in with a different type of cancer and even different patterns of metastases. All of our patients come in with malignant cancer in Stages 1, 2, 3 or 4. Yet we have only lost two patients to cancer in the last two years of using these protocols. As for an example of a specific treatment, let's say a cancer patient has lung involvement. Then we will deliver natural treatments to the lungs by way of a nebulizer. This has been helpful with both primary lung cancers as well as secondary metastases to the lungs. What we put in there is a combination of herbs and nutrients, in a form that is tolerable to the airways, and with specific attention to the patients' needs. We also offer intravenous anti-cancer nutrients, such as massively high doses of Vitamin C and other anti-cancer nutrients that benefit normal cells while killing cancer cells. Linus Pauling is the only person in history to be awarded two solo Nobel prizes. His work with Vitamin C and cancer was groundbreaking decades ago. Now we know that we can use much higher doses of Vitamin C than Dr. Pauling did without side effects, and get even better results than he did in his day. Certain herbs have shown a tremendous effect in slowing the growth of cancer or shrinking tumors and inhibiting metastases, so we use those when appropriate. Renée Caisse was a Canadian nurse who worked with the Ojibwa people, and together they put together a formula of herbs that has shown good results for many patients, called Essiac, so we often use that. But certainly not alone. Several other cancer-fighting strategies are available from nature. For example, if a person is very acid, and their blood or urine shows high acidity, then we work extra hard to alkalinize them, because cancer cells only thrive in acid, not alkaline conditions. Dr. Tullio Simoncini is well known for his work with sodium bicarbonate and cancer. He sees cancer as closely related to fungal conditions, which are intolerant of an alkaline environment. So he uses sodium bicarbonate by injection. Although Dr. Simoncini has done groundbreaking work, this is one piece of a very large and complex puzzle. We do need the other treatments as well to be really effective. Several other natural substances will also alkalinize the body. We use some intravenously, and some are taken orally. The ones we like best are the ones that are attracted to the tumors and more active there, with least disturbance to other cells. The different treatments for different patients can be expensive for some patients, which then further limits the number of treatments that they opt to receive.

How successful have we been? In the last three years of using these particular treatments, we have lost only three patients to cancer while still in our care. Of those going into remission, it has taken an average of 4.4 months from when we first met with them to confirmation of total remission (no tumor load left in the body, or in the case of lymphoma or leukemia, normal labs). No one patient whom we have gotten into remission has had a recurrence of his or her cancer.

Does insurance cover any of this? Things are changing very rapidly here. Recently, the major insurance companies have begun to cover naturopathic treatments much more than before, as they realize that we save them quite a bit of money over mainstream medicine. Unfortunately, Medicare is still not covering this. Aetna and Cigna have been somewhat better at covering naturopathic medicine. Others are trying to catch up. Even Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Humana, which never used to cover naturopathic services are beginning to get with the times. The most common objection of the insurance companies to the natural treatments is that they are "experimental." However, many of these treatments have been around longer with a longer history of success than a lot of the chemotherapy drugs. We have recently begun to submit our bills to insurance. Although your payment is due at the time of service, we try to get your insurance company to reimburse you by submitting the proper codes for diagnosis and treatment.

Does the FDA approve of any of this? In fact, the scope of practice for a Naturopathic Medical Doctor in the State of Arizona as well as a number of other licensed states includes the following: primary care practice: (office consults, physical exams, laboratory tests and imaging), natural medicine (nutrition, IV nutrients, herbs, acupuncture, homeopathy, physical medicine, hydrotherapy) as well as mainstream medicine (minor surgery, prescription of pharmaceuticals). For cancer, all treatments that we use are natural substances, not synthetic, and all are available in some form or other to the general public, over the counter. However, the quantities and form differ greatly, if you really want to have a fighting chance against such a vicious disease as cancer. Some of this has to be given intravenously in order to be really effective against cancer. You can't just get enough or the right amounts and proportion and form of these simply by visiting the health food stores. Although for certain items, we ask all of our patients, whether they have cancer or not, to go buy this or that item at the health food stores. We located our office near Whole Foods and Nature's Health and Doctors Nutrition Center and Sunflower for that reason. So yes, it's all legal, all within the scope of practice of naturopathic physicians here in Arizona, licensed by the State of Arizona, with oversight by the Naturopathic Physicians Board of Medical Examiners, and our medical schools are accredited by the US Department of Education. There are 15 states total as well as the District of Columbia that license naturopathic medicine. They are: Alaska Arizona California Connecticut Hawaii Idaho Kansas Maine Minnesota Montana New Hampshire Oregon Utah Vermont Washington Washington, D.C. Puerto Rico Virgin Islands

What happens to the patients? In our private practice, which opened in 2006, we have treated over 500 different individuals. Of these, we have treated over 50 patients for cancer, using hundreds of treatments and have lost only two of the patients in our care to cancer in that time. As for what happens to the cancer patients, first, they start feeling better and their energy comes back. Two cancer patients over 60 years old ride their bicycles several miles a day. This is while being treated by us for cancer. Another went for a 3-mile walk recently, and then another walk on a beach in a strong wind. She had Stage 4 malignant melanoma. That kind of well-being and strength and vitality shown by these patients usually begins within several weeks after we start treating them, long before we have evidence from the CT scans, MRI or PET scans of shrinking tumors. We look for evidence coming back of shrinking tumors or tumors that are no longer there. Sometimes there will be new metastases while the primary tumors are shrinking. But that's okay; we just keep fighting the cancer relentlessly till we win.

Profiles of some of our patients The following dozen cases are listed in no particular order, but are a representative sample of the variety of cancers that are increasingly common today.

Case 1 A man in his forties with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma came to us for natural cancer treatment. He had already been through chemotherapy. With the natural treatments that we have used, he has maintained a high quality of living, active in his work and hiking in the local mountains. He went into remission while continuing the natural treatments.

Case 2 A woman in her fifties had malignant melanoma, which is one of the most dangerous kinds of cancers and the most dangerous of the skin cancers. By the time we met her, it had already metastasized to her brain. This patient chose a combination of surgery, radiation and our natural cancer-fighting treatments, which we continued until she went into remission last year. Today she enjoys an active life with recreational travel.

Case 3 A man in his fifties had prostate cancer and chose only our natural treatments. He did not want to have any of the mainstream treatments. After less than three months of natural treatments, he is now in remission. He continues to ride his bicycle several miles a day and works two strenuous jobs.

Case 4 This is one of the two patients we had who actually died of cancer. It was inoperable pancreatic cancer, and the two tumors had actually shrunk considerably, with one disappearing completely, during the course of our natural treatments. This patient enjoyed a high quality of health, very active physically and feeling good during the first few months of our natural treatments. However, as things started to look very good, there arose different viewpoints about the best way to proceed throughout the healing process, and the initial success turned to very aggressive metastases throughout the body.

Case 5 A man in his fifties with colon cancer chose a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and our natural treatments. Among all these interventions, the patient experienced a reduction in his cancer of 80% from chemotherapy and natural treatments alone, beginning after the initial surgery. However, at the same time, complications from his surgery took him back into the hospital without recovery.

Case 6 A woman in her fifties with breast cancer is considering all options and for right now just receiving our natural treatments and remains stable and well with a high quality of life and activity.

Case 7 A woman in her seventies with breast cancer also considered all her options and decided to just receive our natural treatments. She is now in remission with a high quality of life and wellbeing.

Case 8 A woman in her forties with breast cancer chose lumpectomy and our natural treatments. She is now in remission, and she has resumed an active life with recreational travel.

Case 9 A man in his seventies has lung cancer, which has now reduced in volume more than 90% with a combination of radio ablation and our natural treatments. He is now recovering from the radio ablation and is able to breathe somewhat easier.

Case 10 A man in his seventies with leukemia has been through chemotherapy and a number of natural treatments. Now that we have been treating him for some months, his numbers remain stable. Although not yet in remission, this man's quality of life remains quite high. He is very physically active, and rides his bicycle several miles a day.

Case 11 This patient in her forties has had primary colon cancer, primary ovarian cancer and primary uterine cancer. When she came to us after surgery, there were metastases as well, and her condition was weak, fatigued and delicate. With only our natural treatments, the metastases disappeared and the patient's improved vitality and new robust energy was quite dramatic. Her travel schedule is active. To the best of our knowledge, she is still in remission over a year later.

Case 12 A man in his sixties with lung cancer came to us with constant shortness of breath, even while sedentary. Now in remission after only our natural treatments, plus a well-chosen natural treatment that he had been using for years, he still confounds the oncologists who predicted back in 2001 that he would be dead in three months. His breathing is now much easier. These days he again enjoys recreational travel and fishing.

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The information on this site is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any diseases or illnesses. The statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. If you have a medical condition, consult your naturopathic physician. Consult your naturopathic physician or other qualified health care professional before making changes in diet or lifestyle. © 2008, 2009 Colleen Huber NMD unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.