Cancer

*** These are actual unsolicited testimonials in our files. They are not to be considered as a claim of medical efficacy and should be considered as anecdotal in nature. You should always consult your physician before beginning any treatment program. ***
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KAREN JOHNSON, MY TESTIMONY
My name is Karen Johnson and I want to tell you how the Market America nutritional products have helped me in my battle with breast cancer. On July 1, 1997 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My surgeon found a ductal carcinoma with lymph nodes involved. My cancer was aggressive so we chose an aggressive postoperative plan. This included twelve chemotherapy treatments and 25 radiation sessions. Before starting treatments I learned that I should be taking nutritional supplements, including vitamins A, E, and C, selenium and COQ-10. With over-the-counter supplements I was taking close to 20 tablets each day. I was holding my own for the first few treatments but not feeling energetic at all and sleeping a lot. I put Rip van Winkle to shame! Chemotherapy has a cumulative effect on the body, so it took longer to bounce back from each treatment. A friend called me to ask how I was doing since he had seen my name on our church prayer list. We talked about my treatments and the vitamins and minerals I was taking. He told me about isotonic forms of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that have helped other people. And I am so glad that we had that talk! I asked my doctor about taking the Market America Isotonix supplement products. He said that these products wouldn¹t hurt me but made no comment about how they might help me. I began taking large doses of OPC3, Isochrome (which contains COQ-10) to protect the heart, MultiTech Vitamin, Vitamin B12 Complex and Vitamin C - which I put in my sports bottle. I also drank the Aloe Vera Juice and took the Oxygen Plus capsules. Aloe Vera helped my healing process and Oxygen Plus contributed to antioxidant buildup. It helped free my system of the toxins which chemotherapy produces. I was in a battle and I finally felt that I was giving my body the nutrients and anti-oxidants needed to help me win. Chemotherapy is designed to kill cancer cells. At the same time it kills healthy cells. We need to stimulate healthy cell growth and detoxify harmful waste. Now when your appetite is off, it is difficult to get this nutrition from food. Even on a good day I can¹t eat that much broccoli and fish! So it¹s important to add supplements in a form that is quickly absorbed by the body. I knew I was doing the right thing nutritionally. I noticed a gradual increase in energy. I asked my husband what he thought. He saw me in comparison to others undergoing chemotherapy. I seemed to bounce in, get the treatment and then bounce out as though going in for a flu shot rather than a chemotherapy treatment. Although I did rest a lot, I could rally to a full day of activity when necessary such as shopping or going on a holiday. He told me to keep on doing what I was doing because it was working. After chemotherapy I underwent 25 radiation treatments. The chemotherapy intensified the radiation burns. In fact some areas were second degree burns. During treatment the clinic provided a gel to be applied to the burn area during the weekdays. But on the weekends I used the Ultimate Aloe Gel with Emu Oil for deeper penetration and Allantoin to promote healing and skin rejuvenation. I was still drinking Aloe Vera juice plus taking the nutrients. I was healing from the inside and healing from the outside. Three weeks after my last radiation treatment the doctor examined my skin. He said I must be a quick healer because my skin had healed in three weeks like he would expect after three months. I knew my recovery was due to a combination of things but most of all it was from giving my system the tools it needed to repair damage. I continue to take large doses of Isotonics, Ultimate Aloe Vera juice and Oxygen Plus to build my immune system. I am not able to take drugs such as tamoxafin, which might prevent recurrence. I have been asked if I have a plan, since there are no drugs available for my situation. I have a powerful plan. It includes loving each day God gives me, balancing my diet, and building my system through Isotonix, Aloe and Oxygen Plus. I feel great. I have the energy to enjoy life. And I feel confident that my plan is the right one.
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I would just like to tell you my experience with OPC-3.

In February, 1998, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Fortunately, it was non-invasive and was microscopic in size. It was removed in total and it was decided my treatment would be very close follow-up. My oncologist and surgeon were both in agreement that radiation would not be necessary at this time. I have been taking Tamoxifen to reduce the risk of recurrence. At the time of the diagnosis, I had been on estrogen replacement therapy. I was immediately taken off estrogen replacement therapy and shortly thereafter I started getting hot flashes...very debilitating hot flashes. It changed my whole lifestyle, believe it or not. I suffered for many months, until our friends Monty and Michelle mentioned OPC-3. In learning more about it, I was told it was very good for cancer patients, as it killed free radicals that everyone has in their bodies. It is the free radicals that cause numerous problems and diseases, including cancer. So, I thought I would try it as another preventive measure to reduce my chances of recurrence of cancer. No one mentioned it would help hot flashes, and I didn't see it in any brochure that was published at that time.

I started taking it and within 2 weeks, I noticed an amazing reduction of my hot flashes. They significantly decreased in frequency and severity. I couldn't believe it. Up until then, I was getting them almost every 15 - 20 minutes and so severe I felt I couldn't even breathe. I had a ceiling fan over our bed and a 24" fan next to the bed blowing on me all night. My husband was freezing even though he was wearing flannel pajamas, was covered with a sheet, a blanket and a comforter, and I was roasting. But after taking the OPC-3 I didn't need the fans and I could function like I used to. It was like a miracle. My husband is very grateful.

I also have Reynaud's Phenomenon, which is the blood vessels and capillary's in my fingers would go into spasms when my hands got cold....from washing vegetables and walking down the refrigerated and freezer section in the grocery store to going outside in the winter. At the beginning, when I saw my doctor about it, he said there was nothing that could be done, other than keeping my hands warm. I have had it for about 15 years and it has gotten progressively worse. All eight of my fingers would get white, and so cold they were numb because there was no blood flow. When my fingers started warming up, they would hurt and tingle. I have just noticed, there is a marked reduction in the numbness and when my fingers get cold, all of my fingers are no longer affected. They may get a little colder than other people's, but the severity has diminished significantly. I didn't know OPC-3 would help this problem. I haven't seen it mentioned in the brochures. Maybe I am the first one to notice it. OPC-3 never ceases to amaze me. I'm a believer and will take it forever. Who knows what problems it is preventing from even getting started.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My husband thanks you too!!

Ellen Pope
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I have a customer that had Cancer the Chemo made him go into Kidney failure.His eyes and skin was yellow. The doctor said he had to start Dialysis and would be put on the transplant waiteing list. He started takeing 8 capfulls of opc-3 and within 3 days he was feeling better. The whites of his eyes were white again within 3 days it took about 2 weeks for his skin to look ok. When he had his 4 month checkup his blood work was real good. The Doctor can't beleive how good he is doing.

Velma Short
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Vitamins Show Promise In Improving Cancer Treatment
February 24, 1999 (NYT Syndicate)

-- While the role of antioxidants in preventing disease has received much attention, some researchers think the vitamins may also improve cancer treatment. Giving cancer patients high doses of beta-carotene and vitamins C and E may protect their healthy cells from the onslaught of tumor-killing treatments like chemotherapy and radiation, say Denver researchers. Further, they contend, the antioxidants may bolster the effectiveness of standard cancer therapy.

No studies on humans back up these ideas, but in animal studies and experiments on cancer cells, antioxidants have shown promise, according to a report in the current issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.

Kedar N. Prasad, lead author of the report, said more definitive data will come from a current trial of the effects of antioxidant treatment on cancer patients. Already, though, Prasad and his colleagues at the Center for Vitamins and Cancer Research at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center believe antioxidants may become an important cancer weapon.

Antioxidants have been studied as disease fighters because they prevent cell damage from oxygen molecules known as free radicals, which are produced during normal metabolism. One recent study suggested that an antioxidant found in tomatoes might explain the link between tomato consumption and lowered risk for some cancers.

In their experiments, Prasad and colleagues found that high doses of multiple antioxidants can not only protect normal cells during cancer treatment, but can also help fight back tumors. Together with diet and lifestyle changes, antioxidants may improve standard cancer therapy, they reported.

Another antioxidant researcher, however, thinks Prasad's team is jumping the gun. While the new report is "exciting and provocative," it really only forms the base for further research, said Jeffrey Blumberg, a professor of nutrition at Tufts University in Boston.

"I think antioxidants are terrific," Blumberg said, noting that there is "compelling" data on antioxidants' benefits for the heart and eyes.
Evidence of the vitamins' link to cancer prevention is not as strong, he added.

According to Prasad, antioxidants have garnered little enthusiasm among oncologists partly because they worry that the vitamins might actually protect cancer cells from free radicals generated during chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

"But," said Prasad, "these vitamins are very selective." Normal cells, he explained, are programmed to pick up a maximum level of the vitamins and nothing more, which protects them from an antioxidant overdose. Cancer cells, however, accumulate the vitamin to levels that may be high enough to stunt their growth or even kill them, according to Prasad.

Based on their experiments, as well as their observations of some cancer patients receiving antioxidants, Prasad's team recommends that cancer treatment include doses of vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene.

But making cancer-treatment recommendations at this point constitutes a big leap, according to Blumberg. Experiments on cell cultures, he said, aren't enough to provide a "rational scientific basis" for such recommendations.

Still, the Colorado team's results show antioxidants may have a role beyond just the prevention of disease, Blumberg said. Clinical trials, he added, should explore the possibility.

Journal of the American College of Nutrition (1999;18:13-25)

Copyright 1999 The New York Times Syndicate. All rights reserved.

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