Vitamin C, when administered in high doses by intravenous (I.V.) infusions, can kill cancer cells. Vitamin C interacts with iron and other metals to create hydrogen peroxide. In high concentrations, hydrogen peroxide damages the DNA and mitochondria of cancer cells and shuts down their energy supply and kills them outright. Best of all — and unlike virtually all conventional chemotherapy drugs that destroy cancer cells — it is selectively toxic. No matter how high the concentration, Vitamin C does not harm healthy cells. Do not attempt to use this treatment by yourself. This treatment must be used under the direction of cancer experts who are based at a clinic. The Vitamin C by I.V. treatment is generally used for cancer, but it can also be used to cure MDM-1, NDM-1, and Ebola. Two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling, along with Dr. Ewen Cameron of Scotland, did a scientific study proving that 10 grams of Vitamin C, given by I.V., could extend the life of advanced cancer patients six-fold.
However, there is currently an entire field of research called orthomolecular medicine which is devoted to natural treatments, especially Vitamin C, and their effect on disease. “Vitamin C is thought to act as a pro-oxidant inside the cell in high concentration, and some hydrogen peroxide is formed which is rapidly disposed of by catalase in a normal cell,” said Dr. William Wassell. “Since cancer cells have a deficiency or lack entirely of catalase the peroxides kill the [cancer] cell.” There are several clinics in the United States that use this treatment. Bright Spot For Health, a large research clinic in Wichita, Kansas, was the home of a great deal of research on Vitamin C by I.V. The original research was done by the late Dr. Hugh Riordon. In cancer, Riordan et al. (1995) demonstrated the likelihood that Vitamin C was an effective anti-tumor therapy as long as high enough concentrations of it could be achieved inside the tumor(s). These researchers also concluded that oral Vitamin C supplementation was unlikely to produce blood levels of Vitamin C high enough to have a direct killing effect on a given tumor.
Later, in studying a certain line of cancer cells and the ability of Vitamin C to kill those cancer cells, Casciari et al. (2001) elegantly demonstrated this point. They showed that the rapid intravenous infusion of Vitamin C as sodium ascorbate in combination with alpha-lipoic acid was effective in reaching Vitamin C levels that were toxic to the cancer cells. They also showed that a fat-soluble analogue of Vitamin C, phenyl-ascorbate, was able to kill cancer cells effectively at a dose roughly three times lower than seen with unaltered Vitamin C. Vitamin C was first suggested as a tool for cancer treatment in the 1950s. Its role in collagen production and protection led scientists to hypothesize that ascorbate replenishment would protect normal tissue from tumor invasiveness and metastasis (McCormick, 1959; Cameron, et al., 1979). Also, since cancer patients are often depleted of vitamin C (Hoffman, 1985; Riordan, et al., 2005), replenishment may improve immune system function and enhance patient health and well-being (Henson, et al., 1991).
Cameron and Pauling observed fourfold survival times in terminal cancer patients treated with intravenous ascorbate infusions followed by oral supplementation (Cameron & Pauling, 1976). However, two randomized clinical trials with oral ascorbate alone conducted by the Mayo clinic showed no benefit (Creagan, et al., 1979; Moertel, et al., 1985). Most research from that point on focused on intravenous ascorbate. The rationales for using intravenous ascorbate infusions (IVC) to treat cancer: If large amounts of Vitamin C are presented to cancer cells, large amounts will be absorbed. In these unusually large concentrations, the antioxidant Vitamin C will start behaving as a pro-oxidant as it interacts with intracellular copper and iron. This chemical interaction produces small amounts of hydrogen peroxide. Because cancer cells are relatively low in the intracellular antioxidant enzyme catalase, the high dose Vitamin C induction of peroxide will continue to build up until it eventually lysis the cancer cell from the inside out.
This effectively makes high dose IVC a non-toxic chemotherapeutic agent that can be given in conjunction with conventional cancer treatments. Based on the work of several Vitamin C pioneers before him, Dr. Riordan was able to prove that Vitamin C was selectively toxic to cancer cells if given intravenously. This research was reproduced and published by Dr. Mark Levine at the National Institutes of Health. Only markedly higher doses of Vitamin C will selectively build up as peroxide in the cancer cells to the point of acting in a manner similar to chemotherapy. These tumor-toxic dosages can only be obtained by intravenous administration.THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! YOUR PATRONAGE ALLOWS US TO SUPPORT THESE CHARITIES & MOREThe IP address used for your Internet connection is part of a subnet that has been blocked from access to PubMed Central. Addresses across the entire subnet were used to download content in bulk, in violation of the terms of the PMC Copyright Notice. Use of PMC is free, but must comply with the terms of the Copyright Notice on the PMC site.
For additional information, or to request that your IP address be unblocked, For requests to be unblocked, you must include all of the information in the box above in your message.Dr. Lemmo is considered a leading expert on the use of intravenous vitamin C (i.e. ascorbic acid, ascorbate) and cancer. He has given well over 17,000 infusions of vitamin C-based treatments to people with cancer beginning in 1999. As a consequence, he has pioneered a unique and customized protocol that may differ from other physicians, which Dr. Lemmo has found to optimally help his patients with cancer, live stronger, support and harness the immune system, and improve the quality in their lives. Dr. Lemmo has discovered that the classic high dose-model of administering vitamin C-based treatments is not typically needed and may in fact be detrimental or harmful for some. Of course there may be some exceptions. Earlier in his career, Dr Lemmo was using doses upwards to 150,000mg or 150 grams of vitamin C in select patients.
However, he had also found that higher-dose treatments can place the body in an increased state of stress and actually further exhaust the body over time – more is not necessarily better for every patient or cancer case. It is important to customize the therapy whenever possible. Other physicians who have been using vitamin C-based treatments in people with cancer over time are also noticing a similar trend. Experience can be crucial in this area. Dr. Lemmo’s work has been discussed throughout North America, bringing him to Arizona in February 2012, where he was invited to speak on the subject at the inaugural Naturopathic Oncology Conference. His ongoing work has begun to influence the model on how intravenous vitamin C-based treatments are used in cancer. Of course, not all would agree with such an approach. While the more standard oncology community feels that such treatments should not be combined with either chemotherapy or radiation, a growing body of data is showing that this recommendation is incorrect..
Dr. Lemmo’s experience demonstrates that a combination approach allows for a “synergistic-effect” to, for example, enhance chemotherapy while at the same time protecting the body (i.e. decrease negative side-effects). Case after case is demonstrating how the effectiveness and tolerance of chemotherapy can be improved when taken together with intravenous vitamin C treatment. Radiation is showing a similar trend, however the data is much more preliminary or experimental. Dr Lemmo believes that the greatest benefit of vitamin C lies in its combination with conventional treatment or other therapies versus using each one on its own. Those oncologists who are may be considered more open-minded have supported this trend and refer patients to our centre for this approach when needed or when asked. Cancer cells respond very differently to intravenous vitamin C than when compared to the body’s normal cells. For example, a cancer cell makes a rather rapid and sustained increase in hydrogen peroxide in response to vitamin C which results in a “rusting-effect” known as oxidative damage (i.e. this is how some of the more classic chemotherapy agents work to kill cancer along with radiation therapy).
Normal or healthy cells do not respond this way with vitamin C. This phenomenon makes intravenous vitamin C a very unique and targeted treatment unlike any other chemotherapy-like medicine. It is important that each intravenous treatment be tailored to the individual patient and particular situation. Protocols are adjusted based on how the patient is feeling, the type of cancer(s), conventional treatments they are receiving, and what is financially feasible over time as well. Supportive ingredients alongside the vitamin C appears to assist in enhancing the effectiveness of the treatment which includes supporting and harnessing the immune-system (i.e. immuno-oncology). Typically, a person could receive 2-3 treatments per week and the duration depends on how a patient responds and tolerates the treatment. In the beginning, it is advised that a person try a treatment cycle for at least 8 weeks to help assess the potential benefit of treatment. Doses are started low and gradually increased to better customize a person’s individual tolerance.