I am an Obstetrician Gynecologist who has diagnosed premenopausal women with aggressive breast cancers. Then it happened to me! I developed a skin fungal infection that spread to my breast and invaded into the breast tissue through the gland openings in the nipple. Within a couple of days a 3 cm hard painful mass developed. I treated the infection with antifungals - the pain and size of the mass decreased, but I couldn't clear it up. I saw another physician and had a mammogram and biopsy that showed invasive cancer - all within several weeks of the infection developing. The infection and cancer were so aggressive, the cancer spread to my chest wall by the time I completed the staging tests and could start chemotherapy.
I had always been struck by how the malignant breast tumors in the premenopausal women I had diagnosed looked exactly like breast infections (mastitis) in nursing mothers - red, inflamed, painful masses. I experienced first-hand that these inflammatory breast cancers actually are infectious. The presence of estrogen in premenopausal women makes them aggressive and fast-spreading.
I started chemotherapy with weekly low-dose Taxol. The cancer responded slowly and steadily to the chemo, but the pain and inflammation of the breast mass continued to spread. The pain spread to my left arm with palpable nodes in the armpit, then around my ribcage to my shoulder blade. Enlarged lymph nodes became visible on my CT scans inside my ribcage and down my spine. These enlarged nodes were not interpreted as cancer.
I knew this spreading pain and inflammation was the infection spreading through me. The chemotherapy was not treating it. Women with Stage 4 breast cancer die during treatment because new metastases develop that are unresponsive to treatment. I knew that when this infection reached a susceptible organ like the liver or brain, it would transform into new cancers and I would quickly die.
I discussed my concerns with my wonderful oncologist, including the fact that a fungal infection had caused my cancer, and requested treatment for the infection along with the cancer treatment. God bless him, he listened! I was astounded, because he practices evidence-based medicine and there is nothing in the medical books linking infection with breast cancer! He felt there was enough evidence of infection from my symptoms and my exam to prescribe treatment.
He started me on oral antifungal agents, metronidazole then fluconazole. These slowed the spread of the infection and decreased the pain, but the infection continued to spread and I developed numbness of my fingers and feet (nerve damage is a side effect of oral antifungal agents). So my oncologist had me talk to an infectious disease specialist and we agreed on starting Caspofungin (Cancidas). It is an intravenous antifungal agent with an excellent side effect profile typically used in ICUs for patients rapidly dying from fungal infections in the bloodstream.
I want to be absolutely clear that I am not writing this blog to sell any product. I am writing because I have survived 2 years with aggressive Stage 4 cancer and am doing so well there is no end in sight for me. I cannot bear that there are many women out there with my same disease who are dying. I have to do what I can to help EVERYONE with hormone-dependent cancers survive and thrive as I have.
Caspofungin is manufactured by Merck Labs and I have no connection to them except having been treated with their drug.
Having said that, Caspofungin saved my life. My oncologist cautiously prescribed it for me twice a week instead of daily doses as it administered to ICU patients. For 2 weeks the pain in the left side of my ribcage flared up terribly and the most painful spot alongside my spine ruptured! The pain was excruciating. Then the pain began to die down. Then it disappeared, for the first time in 9 months of treatment. I put on weight for the first time since developing cancer and my energy levels dramatically improved. The improvement in my health and quality of life was amazing.
I continued on the Caspofungin until my insurance (BC Anthem) refused to continue covering it. Since it is an intravenous drug, it is expensive to administer. My symptoms began to recur. At this point my wonderful oncologist recommended I see a Chinese physician who had helped a number of his patients.
This Chinese physician explained to me that the herbal teas that are prescribed in Traditional Chinese Medicine are another delivery system for pharmaceuticals. The pharmaceuticals are administered in their raw form. He carefully created a formula with potent antifungal agents that also treated the side effects of my chemotherapy, including the high blood sugars resulting from the steroid I received with my chemo doses.
I brew the teas (very bitter!) and drink a dose 3 times a day. Once again, I have steadily improved with total resolution of my pain symptoms, increased energy and stamina and weight gain with normal blood sugar levels. The Chinese teas have been even more effective than the Caspofungin with no side effects.
I have laid awake many nights anticipating my imminent death from cancer. While I've laid there, reliving my life, my education and training and my care for my patients, it has become clear to me that all cancers start as an infection. If you make the assumption that cancer starts as an infection, all the mysteries concerning cancer and its causes become crystal clear.
Why is it that a woman's lifetime risk of ovarian cancer is cut 50% if she has her Fallopian tubes tied? Because the tubal ligation blocks the Fallopian tubes, blocking the access route for infectious organisms to reach the abdomen and pelvis from the vagina. If the cause of ovarian cancer were genetic, tubal ligation would have no effect.
Why are babies born with cancer? Because they were infected in the womb.
Women in Japan have much lower rates of breast cancer than American women. When Japanese women relocate to the US, their risk of breast cancer quickly rises to the same risk as American-born women. Their genetic inheritance is unchanged, but their diet and environment become the same.
It is well-known that viruses cause cancer. Human papilloma virus causes cervical cancer. Ebstein-Barr virus causes Burkitt's lymphoma. From my personal experience, I know that fungal infections cause cancer as well. I believe the hormone-dependent cancers - breast, prostate, colon, ovarian, testicular and melanoma - are all caused by fungal infections. I will describe my reasoning further in future posts.
The great news is that effective treatments, such as Caspofungin, already exist. Medical research needs to be done to prove the connection between fungal disease and cancer. With this proof, effective treatment can be administered to cancer patients immediately.
To cure cancer, we must treat its etiology, not just the endpoint of the disease process. The cause and the potential for cure have been right under our noses all along.
