“Understanding Cancer: How Your Body Fights and What Helps It Heal

What is Cancer?

Cancer is probably the most feared of all diseases. It is rapidly becoming the number one cause of death in North America and is on par with heart disease. Cancer will, at some point, touch every one of us either directly or indirectly.

Our bodies are made up of millions of cells that perform many different functions. As we go through daily living and as we age, cells die and reproduce to replace damaged or old cells. When we are not taking care of our health, these reproducing cells may be signaled to reproduce abnormally.

This is the beginning stage of cancer—when abnormal cellular growth occurs. Every one of us has cancer cells growing in our bodies at any given time, but these cells most often do not grow into full-blown cancer tumors or disease.

Our bodies are remarkable in many ways. We have natural killer cells and mechanisms that are able to detect these cancer cells, hunt them down, and eliminate them. Other complex bodily processes also take care of these cells—but only if the body is healthy. There are many ways the body is designed to heal itself from injury, infection, abnormal cellular growth (pre-cancer), and even full-blown cancers.

The major concern arises when the body fails to detect these abnormal cells, or when the cancer cells become so overwhelming that full-blown cancer is the result.

The best analogy to explain cancer growth is “the soil and the seed.” Cancer essentially needs an unhealthy cellular microenvironment—such as unhealthy tissue, blood, or organs—and this is the “soil.” Conversely, cancer cannot grow in “healthy” soil.

The cancer cells are the “seed,” and they, in simple terms, float around and implant themselves in the tissue microenvironment. Cancer cells (seeds) are the product of an unhealthy lifestyle that leads to cellular mutation. They thrive in unhealthy soil and will flourish, but in healthy soil they will die.

Unhealthy Soil

Below are examples of what may contribute to “unhealthy soil”:

Inflammation

Chronic diseases of any kind, including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, lung disease, autoimmune conditions, gastrointestinal issues, kidney disease, and liver disease.

Infection

Chronic infections such as GI infections, poor bowel habits, H. pylori, UTIs, STDs, EBV, hepatitis, Lyme disease, long COVID, gum disease, and poor oral health.

Environmental Pollutants

Chronic exposure to heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, plastics, petroleum products, radiation, commercial chemicals, beauty products, air pollution/particulates, wastewater/sewage, and pharmaceuticals.

Mold

Chronic exposure to pathogenic molds in foods such as grains, fruit, nuts, and cheese, water-damaged homes, and soil.

Hypoxia (lack of blood flow)

Lack of exercise, poor circulation to deep capillary beds, and obesity.

The most common causes of unhealthy soil and cancer risk are inflammation, infection, environmental pollutants, and mold. All of these chronic conditions damage the tissue microenvironment.

The Seed and the Fertilizers

The analogy of the seed (cancer) is that it cannot grow without some help. The examples above show how we may be preparing our cellular microenvironment for the seed to take root. “Fertilizers” (carcinogens) can cause cancer to grow more aggressively in unhealthy soil. Below are a few examples:

Chemicals

Acrylamide from high-temperature cooking of meats, nitrates, alcohol, and tobacco.

Sugar

Processed carbohydrates, excessive carbohydrates, and simple sugars.

Foods

Processed foods, dyes, preservatives, chemicals, excess salt, excess dairy (high IGF-1), excess red meat, fried foods, excess seed oils.

Lifestyle

Recreational drug use, chronic stress, lack of exercise, poor nutrition, inadequate sleep, and excess sun exposure.

Inflammation

Inflammation is an example of how cellular damage occurs over time and prepares the soil to become unhealthy. We can absolutely reduce chronic inflammation so that cancer does not “seed.”

Strategies to Reduce Overall Inflammation:

Exercise
Hyperbaric chamber
Supplements such as Vitamins C, D, K
LDN (low-dose naltrexone)
HDVC (high-dose vitamin C)
Remove toxins – sauna/binder therapy
Injectables – NAD, glutathione for mitochondrial support
Balance hormones – estrogen, progesterone, testosterone
Balance insulin – become insulin-sensitive; metformin; exercise
Proper diet and nutrition – Mediterranean diet
Limit alcohol
Balance adrenal function (adrenal salivary hormone test)
Lose weight
Antioxidant supplements – curcumin, quercetin

Infection

Chronic infections damage the soil and prepare the tissue microenvironment for cancer.

Strategies to Eliminate Infections:

Blood tests
GI (stool) tests
Balance the gut microbiome
Treat infections with Biocidin, colloidal silver, oil of oregano, and other natural products
Treat aggressive infections with antiparasitics, antifungals, or antibiotics
Remove infected teeth/root canals
Maintain oral health – brushing, flossing
Probiotics

Environmental Pollutants and Mold

Chronic environmental pollutants and pathogenic molds damage the soil and prepare the tissue microenvironment for cancers.

Strategies to Eliminate Environmental Pollutants and Mold:

Environmental pollutant profile (EPP) and mold testing
Detoxify – sauna and binder protocol
Reduce exposure – commercial products, foods, beauty products, household products, water-damaged sites, high-mold foods
Antioxidants – milk thistle for mold aflatoxins, resveratrol, zinc, melatonin, CoQ10
Glutathione – supports toxin removal from tissues
Probiotic support
Vitamins/minerals – magnesium

Cancer Treatment

The treatment for cancers is multifaceted and can be complicated depending on the type of cancer. Western medicine relies heavily on traditional chemotherapies, radiation, surgery, and immunotherapies. Integrative and naturopathic medicine focuses on a combination of natural therapies and/or Western medical approaches.

With any cancer diagnosis, it is best to get several opinions and make an informed decision for your treatment plan. If you need help putting all the pieces together, Dr. Karen Freeze can help guide you.

On a final note, cancer—and all disease—is best kept at a distance through a proactive lifestyle long before it gets out of control. It is never too late to start living an “anti-cancer” lifestyle today! At Freezewellness, we offer an integrative approach to medicine that focuses on getting to the root cause of disease, assisting your body in healing, and preventing cancer.