Cancer patient, 67, ‘beats the disease with the help of TURMERIC’ after five years of chemo failed
A WOMAN diagnosed with blood cancer has beaten the disease with the help of turmeric.
Dieneke Ferguson, 57, was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2007 after complaining of high blood pressure, according to a report in the British Medical Journal.
Within 15 months of her diagnosis her cancer, myeloma had progressed to stage three - which means the disease had started to spread.
Dieneke underwent several rounds of chemotherapy and in October 2009 had stem cell transplant, but the treatments didn't work.
In 2011 she began taking daily doses of curcumin, a key component of the spice turmeric, after another two rounds of stem cell therapy failed.
Dieneke took eight grams of curcumin each night on an empty stomach.
A few months later she began a weekly course of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, which involves breathing pure oxygen in an enclosed chamber that mimics higher than atmospheric pressures.
Over the last five years her cancer has remained stable and her blood counts are within the normal range, doctors report.
She has also maintained a good quality of life during this period, according to the report.
Curcumin is a micronutrient derived from the herb turmeric, and has been used as a traditional Indian medicine for centuries.
Curcumin is a natural antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and has analgesic properties, according to the BMJ report.
More recently, it has demonstrated an ability to slow or inhibit cell growth in a wide variety of tumour cells, including myeloma.
It has also been found to help alleviate a range of other health problems.
Since she began taking the curcumin Dieneke has maintained her daily dose.
About 5,500 people are diagnosed with myeloma every year in the UK.
WHAT IS MYELOMA?
Myeloma is a cancer that begins in the plasma cells, a type of white blood cell which is made in the bone marrow.
Plasma cells form part of your immune system.
Normal plasma cells produce antibodies, also called immunoglobulins, to help fight infection.
In myeloma, plasma cells become abnormal, multiply uncontrollably and release only one type of antibody known as paraprotein, which has no useful function.
Unlike many cancers, myeloma does not exist as a lump or tumour.
Most of the complications arise from a build-up of abnormal plasma cells in the bone marrow.
Treatment is often aimed at controlling the symptoms of myeloma with a combination of drugs.
It is the second most common form of blood cancer, but only represents about two per cent of all cancers.
It has an average survival rate of five years.
Treatment is often aimed at controlling the symptoms of myeloma with a combination of drugs.
In Dieneke's case doctors believe it is the first recorded case of a patient recovering by using the spice after ditching conventional treatments.
But they said more research is needed to determine if curcumin could be a future treatment for the disease.
Dieneke's doctors, from Barts Health NHS Trust, said in the report: "A small but significant number of myeloma patients consume dietary supplements in conjunction with conventional treatment primarily to help cope with the side effects of treatment, manage symptoms and enhance general well-being.
"Few, if any, use dietary supplementation as an alternative to standard antimyeloma therapy.
"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in which curcumin has demonstrated an objective response in progressive disease in the absence of conventional treatment."
Several studies have found curcumin to have a positive effect on disease.
A 2016 review, published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, found that turmeric extract could help minimise the symptoms of arthritis.
CANCER PATIENTS WHO OPT FOR ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO DIE
There are many reasons people may opt to use alternative or natural therapies.
But there is little evidence to suggest they work.
All medical treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy for cancer, have to go through vigorous testing to prove they work before they are made available to patients.
Alternative therapy is not subject to the same testing.
The lack of regulation also means some alternative therapies could be harmful or cause unwanted side effects.
And choosing alternative therapies, or shunning treatment all together, can prove fatal.
Cancer patients who opt for alternative treatments over chemotherapy are twice as likely to die, according to a recent study from the Yale School of Medicine.
Many alternative treatments, such as homeopathy, are based on the idea the body can heal itself through exposure to highly diluted substances that cause an illness.
But July NHS officials launched a consultation to scrap homeopathic medicines saying they are a “misuse of scares funds”.
Alternative therapies can, however, be used alongside traditional medicine.
For example, many people find peppermint oil or ginger to be a successful remedy for nausea which is a nasty side effect of chemo.
Some research has even shown turmeric could could help prevent Alzheimer's by stopping the accumulation of proteins thought to cause the disease.
A 2008 study also found that turmeric can help lower cholesterol, therefore helping to prevent serious health problems like heart disease and stroke.
But Dieneke's doctors remain sceptical.
"Whether such effects are observed in patients with active disease remains to be seen," they wrote.
"The fact that our patient, who had advanced stage disease and was effectively salvaged while exclusively on curcumin, suggests a potential antimyeloma effect of curcumin.
MORE ON CANCER
"She continues to take daily curcumin and remains in a very satisfactory condition with good quality of life.
"This case provides further evidence of the potential benefit for curcumin in myeloma.
"We would recommend further evaluation of curcumin in myeloma patients in the context of a clinical trial."
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