The Dog Cancer Survival Guide (51 page)

Even though I designed Apocaps for use in dogs, Dr. Johnson-Delaney clearly finds it beneficial for her exotic patients, and continues to offer Apocaps. She made a point of reminding me that Apocaps, like anything else, is not appropriate for every case (for example, it is not as effective in ferret lymphoma as it is in other tumors). She always discusses the pros and cons of different treatments, and makes sure the client understand everything, even asking them to sign a consent form for non-traditional therapies. She is comfortable offering Apocaps not just because they seem to have helped these exotic pets, but also because she has not seen any toxic or adverse side effects as of this writing. Owners tell her Apocaps is palatable (the animals take it without a problem), and they see their animal’s general attitude, activity, and appetite pick up while on Apocaps.

Let’s look at some of the therapeutic agents in Apocaps, including three of the heavy-hitting supplements I have recommended for years: luteolin, curcumin and apigenin.

There are literally dozens of
in vitro
studies demonstrating luteolin’s Terminator-like apoptogen effect on cancer cells. It’s very impressive to see what this bioflavonoid – a plant pigment found in celery, green peppers, artichokes, peanut hulls, and chrysanthemums – can do to cancer cells in test tubes. The challenge for me was to make it more bioavailable, so that it would work
in vivo
, in living bodies. According to published
in vitro
studies, here is what luteolin is capable of:

• Luteolin induces apoptosis in cancer cells in vitro. Through multiple mechanisms, luteolin turns on natural cell death in cancer cells, causing them to commit suicide.
  
• Luteolin starves cancer cells by interfering with glycolysis (the breakdown of sugars). If cancer cells can’t break down sugar, they can’t absorb it and they go hungry.
  
• Luteolin shuts down fatty acid synthase, a system of enzymes that are involved in metabolizing fatty acids for energy. When this system is tuned down, cancer cells lose energy and starve.
  
• Luteolin sabotages the ability of a cancer cell to replicate its DNA, making it unable to multiply.
  
• Luteolin cuts cancer cells off from the blood supply by blocking angiogenesis (the making of new blood vessels), which makes it harder for them to feed themselves or metastasize.
  
• Luteolin shuts down “self-stimulating” communication in cancer cells. One of the first steps a cancer cell takes when it wants to multiply is to manufacture chemical messengers called autocrine agents. The production of these agents stimulates the cell and/or its neighbors to multiply faster. Luteolin slows the autocrine process, rendering the cancer less capable of multiplying itself.
  
• Luteolin decreases inflammation, which, as we have learned, is a central mechanism in cancer development and progression.
  
• Luteolin boosts the effects of both chemotherapy (cisplatin and doxorubicin) and radiation therapy.
  

“I started one of my older girls on Apocaps after a diagnosis of mammary cancer. She had the tumor removed and I had purchased Dr. Dressler’s Cancer Survival Book (which is excellent). I was already using many of the natural products he suggested at the time. When Apocaps became available I was able to stop many of them and just give her the Apocaps. That was about a year ago. Besides still being cancer free at over eight years of age, I noticed that she started having more energy, was happier, was picking up toys and running around the house with them, was able to frolic with our youngest Leonberger and had an overall better and happier attitude toward life. Apocaps was the only change. When I got a diagnosis of osteosarcoma on a couple littermates of one of my other girls, I chatted with Dr. Dressler and he recommended that I start my girl on a lower dosage of Apocaps and I have seen a similar, although not such a drastic change, in her. However, we have been able to get weight off her because she is exercising well and has more energy. I have just started an older male on the product as well - too soon to see any change in him, but will keep you up to date!! To date, I am overall pleased with the product. Wish it could come down in price and come in larger bottles.”

– Beverly J. Travis posted this story on Amazon.com on February 23, 2011

As you can tell, luteolin is a very potent anti-cancer agent on its own, and it can help both radiation and chemotherapy do their jobs more effectively. So why isn’t luteolin widely used? There are a few reasons.

“We’ve used about everything Dr. D recommends to induce apoptosis. Along with a lot of other supplements, we give Angus three Apocaps at mid-day and we cycle Artemisinin 4 days a week, giving Essiac & Transfer Factor on the other three nights at bedtime. Along with breakfast, he gets K-9 Immunity (medical mushrooms), Colostrum Plus, Krill Oil, IP-6, Indol-3-Carbinol, Beta Glucans, Probiotic Complex and a couple Veggies for Life tablets. Along with dinner, he gets Turmeric, a Quercetin/Bromelain capsule, a Carnitine/Co-Q 10 mix, Milk Thistle, D-3, Red Clover, Astralagus, Alpha Lipoic Acid. Other things that have been mixed in from time to time include garlic, green tea extract, digestive enzymes, pine bark capsules, etc.”

– Al Marzetti, Raleigh, North Carolina

One is that it is not easy to find luteolin. It’s a tiny chemical compound found in parts of plants (peanut hulls, artichokes, and chrysanthemums). It is just not a common supplement.

Another reason is that it’s a naturally occurring substance, which makes it hard for pharmaceutical companies to patent. If they can’t patent it, they can’t make as much money off of its use as they can other drugs.

On top of this, there is little research on luteolin in the United States, although there is a firestorm of luteolin research in China.

The fourth reason it’s not commonly used is: while it kills cancer cells
in vitro
, it can’t do it so as effectively
in vivo
(in the body) when given by mouth. Luteolin is broken down in the intestines and in the liver and often doesn’t even reach the cancer cells.

This lack of bioavailability is a major challenge I had to overcome when I designed Apocaps. Eventually I found the right combination of techniques to boost luteolin’s bioavailability. I call it the Trojan Horse, because the combination distracts the body while sneaking luteolin into the bloodstream – and soon thereafter into cancer cells.