CANCER OF THE LUNG

Eight out of every ten patients with cancer of the lung who do not use Laetrile but choose instead to submit to orthodox therapy, will be dead within one year. Ninety-five out of every one hundred patients with cancer of the lung will be dead five years following diagnosis—if they choose only orthodox therapy(1). The following Laetrile case histories should be viewed against this background.

[(1)CIinical Oncology for Medical Students and Physicians, op. cit., p. 99.]

L118L: Metastatic Cancer of the Left Lung and Pleura and Probable Cancer of the Liver.

This woman was sixty-five years old when her symptoms first appeared in July, 1975. She had left shoulder pain and pain on the left side of her chest. Chest X-rays were normal. Alkaline phosphatase was slightly elevated.

In August, 1975, she returned to her doctor again because of increased left-sided chest pain and pain in her left breast. Chest X-ray was normal. Dorsal spine X-ray taken in left lateral position showed pleural fluid. This confirmed the diagnosis of left subpulmonic effusion (the escape of fluid into an area below the lung).

On September 15, 1975, the patient was hospitalized because of almost constant left-sided chest pain. Admission also showed a nodule on her thyroid. Blood tests revealed a change from same tests six weeks earlier. Significant findings were: hemoglobin 11.2, hematocrit 33, SGOT 100 (lab high normal, 35), alkaline phosphatase 160 (lab high normal, 85), (LO.T.P. 228 (lab highnormal, 18). Her liver was not enlarged.

On September 19, 1975, the subpulmonic pleural effusion was tapped and fluid removed. The fluid contained protein 4.5 gms/liter, serum albumin 4 gms/liter. Cytology on the fluid was reported as being "consistent with well-differentiated papillary adenocarcinoma [cancer]."

The impression at time of hospital admission (September 15, 1975) was "Metastatic adenocarcinoma involving the left pleura and liver from unknown primary."

The nodule on the thyroid was removed and found not to be cancerous. The patient was discharged three weeks later on October 4, 1975.

The patient was hospitalized again from November 3, 1975, through November 7, 1975.

Admission history states in part:

It was decided [during the previous admission] the likely primary site was either the pancreas, or perhaps bowel or lung and it was elected to treat her with weekly injections of 5-EU. After four treatments there was noted some chest discomfort, and X-rays taken about 10 days ago... showed a significant increase in left pleural effusion with small loculated areas of peripneumothorax. She is easily fatigued, and has had shortness of breath, and has noticed an increase in abdominal girth. Because of the treatment failure and an attempt again to locate the primary, she is being admitted for pleural biopsy and instillation of nitrogen mustard into the pleural cavity. On admission the patient’s liver was palpable on deep inspiration two finger breadths below the right costal margin.

Pathology report of the pleural biopsy was negative. On November 3, 1975, however, despite the negative biopsy, 11mg. of nitrogen mustard was instilled into the pleural space because of the previous finding of cancer cells in the pleural fluid. Liver biopsy was negative, but the patient was presumed to have cancer of the liver based on the blood study findings.

Discharge diagnosis was, "Cancer of the lung involving the left pleura and possibly the liver, probable metastatic adenocarcinoma, possibly mesothelioma."

This doctor considered her to have inoperable cancer of the lung and probably cancer of the liver.

She states she received weekly infusion of 5-EU, 800 ing. IV at approximately ten-day intervals from November 14, 1975, through January 14, 1976. The patient stated, "My doctor said that I had about a year to live. Knowing that chemotherapy was not a cure, I decided to try Laetrile, feeling hopeful that it would help."

The patient stopped taking 5-PU on January 14, 1976, and began a program of metabolic therapy including Laetrile on February 3, 1976.

Cancer of the lung patients have an over-all survival time of six to nine months. This includes those who can have their tumor "successfully" removed. Chemotherapy is not considered to cure cancer, only to palliate it. Nitrogen mustard has been shown to increase the median survival of patients with lung cancer at best by only two and one-half months(1). Non-operable cancer of the liver patients are usually dead in six months (2).

[(1) Green, Humphrey, Chase and Patno. Alkylating Agents in Bronchogenic Carcinoma", American Journal of Medicine, 46:516, 1969. Schwartz, Surgical Disease of Liver (McGraw Hill, New York, 1964). Also, Clinical Oncology op. cit., p. 148.]

The patient was readmitted to the hospital in March, 1976, one month after beginning metabolic therapy. Her complaint was severe pain in the abdomen. The diagnosis was compacted bowels. The patient states, "At that time there was found no enlargement of the tumor and no fluid. Doctor wasn’t very pleased with me taking vitamin therapy but was pleased with my condition."

This is a common reaction, particularly among family doctors who may have known and cared for the patient a number of years. They cannot give vitamin therapy any credit because their teachers keep insisting it doesn’t work. So They respond that they do not approve of what the patient is doing, but they are pleased with the progress.

This patient’s symptoms began in July, 1975. Diagnosis was made in September, 1975. Chemotherapy was terminated in January, 1976. Metabolic therapy was begun February, 1976. The patient has responded beautifully and continues with no pain, and in good health. If she were the "average" lung cancer patient, she would have been dead well before the end of 1976. Only twenty per cent of lung cancer patients survive a year, and that, supposedly, is the group on whom surgical removal of the tumor was successful. We were unable to locate survival figures for the patients with more serious inoperable lung cancer, as was the case with this patient, but, presumably, the statistics would be even more unfavorable.

M136TB: Cancer of Both Lungs, Previous Cancer of the Bone

This young man was seventeen years old when his symptoms first began. In December of 1973, he complained of pain in his left knee. X-rays revealed what was first thought to be a torn ligament; later a second doctor decided that the lesion looked like it might be a tumor. The patient states, "When my parents told me the news, my first thought was ‘cancer,’ and that I was going to lose my leg."

The patient was admitted to Union Hospital in Terre Haute, Indiana. Preparations were made to perform a biopsy. According to the patient, an hour before the planned surgery, the surgeon recommended that the patient go instead to Mayo Clinic because there it would be possible to receive immediate confirmation as to whether the tumor was cancer.

The patient proceeded to Mayo Clinic, and on January 16. 1974, the diagnosis of bone cancer being established, the left leg was amputated above the knee. The patient tolerated the surgery well but was advised to have chest X-rays every three months following surgery because of the possibility of cancer reappearing in the lungs.

The reports were negative until May, 1975, at which time two spots were noted in one lung and one spot in the other.

Surgery was performed at Mayo Clinic in May, 1975, and two cancerous tumors were removed from each lung.

The patient was placed on chemotherapy for five months. He describes his feelings about what he went through in this way:

I lost all of my hair. While taking the therapy I had to stay in St. Mary’s Hospital for three days at a time. During those three days, I couldn’t eat a thing and was sick to my stomach constantly. It was pure "hell," and knowing now what I know about the treatment, I wouldn’t encourage anyone to go through it. I would be more proud to die [at seventeen]. While the patient was on chemotherapy, another spot, suspicious of malignancy, showed up on chest X-rays.

It was at this point that the young man and his parents decided to look into Laetrile as an alternative.

The family left Indiana and came to California to the Richardson Clinic for a three-week stay in December, 1975. The young man describes his reaction to the initial course of therapy in these words:

Although I didn’t feel any physical change right away, my mind was more at ease than it had been for some time. I was treated like I was just as normal as anyone walking on this earth—what I mean is, they didn’t treat me like I was deathly sick, but they treated me like I was going to get well.

I feel very lucky to have parents who were able to take me all the way to California.

Since 1975 the patient has adhered to the metabolic regimen, including Laetrile and other vitamins, an animal-protein-free diet, and pancreatic enzymes. Under orthodox therapy, his statistical chance for surviving even one year would have been close to zero. Yet, now, well over a year since he began metabolic therapy, it appears that his disease is controlled satisfactorily. In a letter to us only six months following commencement his metabolic therapy, the patient wrote: Before my leg was amputated, I did lots of skiing, hunting and other outdoor sports. That became almost impossible—but I have learned to do things I thought were impossible. I ride a bicycle, swim, and I can still hunt—I just walk a little dower than I used to. Now that my body is built back up again, I am feeling great. I work forty hours a week and am going to summer school at college. I enjoy fishing and swimming on the weekends and plan other activities through the week. C106MA: Cancer of Both Lungs

This thirty-eight-year-old female had a right modified radical mastectomy in December of 1972. The Post-operative diagnosis was infiltrating ductal carcinoma [cancer] of the right breast and metastatic carcinoma in three of the axillary [under arm] lymph nodes. Examination of the lymphatic system failed to reveal any lymphadenopathy. She had a normal bone scan and normal metastatic bone survey.

A January 9, 1973, letter from the radiologist, to whom this patient was referred, stated in part:

I feel this patient is an excellent candidate for post-operative radiotherapy. Clinically, it appears that younger women with breast cancer seem to suffer a more virulent course despite pathological grading. For this reason, I would be more inclined to be moderately aggressive in treatment planning and plan on treating the internal mammary, paraclavicular, and axillary apex areas as well as the chest wall to a tumor dose of 4500 rads in a five week period utilizing Cobalt. Possible complications and side effects of radiotherapy, including skin changes, esophagitis [inflammation of the esophagus], mediastinal and apical pulmonary scarring [lung damage], have been gone over with the patient and her husband.