At this point in my discussion of side effects, it’s important to provide articles that discuss the potential of protecting the human body, in part, from the oxidative damage of toxic therapies both chemotherapies and radiation therapy. It’s impossible for me to say whether or not I would have taken broad-spectrum vitamin-mineral- antioxident supplementation during my conventional therapies. I didn’t know enough at the time. I do believe that this broad-spectrum supplementation helps me in the healing process of all of my side effects now.
The debate between those who believe and those who don't believe in supplementation before, during and/or after myeloma therapies will continue for some time. I will continue to post articles on this site and send information to members who ask for it on this topic.
The link below is to an article that talks about a drug, amifostine, that may help prevent side effects while making the tumor more susceptible to the radiation therapy. If you are considering radiation therapy, be sure to ask your oncologist about this therapy! “Our research shows that adding amifostine to radiation therapy helps reduce side effects while at the same time making the radiation treatments more effective at killing the cancer cells,”
Amifostine Makes Radiation More Effective, Eases Side Effects
Along the same lines, the link below is to an article discussing the possible benefits of dietary antioxidants and their effect on chemotherapy and radiation. In this review, the author proposes that an active nutritional protocol that includes high doses of multiple dietary antioxidants and their derivatives (vitamin C, -tocopheryl succinate, and natural ß-carotene), but not endogenously made antioxidants (glutathione- and antioxidant enzyme-elevating agents), when administered as an adjunct to radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or experimental therapy, may improve its efficacy by increasing tumor response and decreasing toxicity A number of clinical studies have already demonstrated beneficial effects of antioxidants in ameliorating side effects of chemotherapy. More theoretical work on the chemistry of antioxidants and chemotherapy drugs suggests that antioxidants might improve therapeutic efficacy of antineoplastics by counteracting aldehydes that impede the passage of cells through the cell cycle.
Antioxidants and Cancer Therapy: Furthering the Debate
The debate over the effects of dietary antioxidants before and during both chemo therapy and radiation therapy will be debated for some time. However, I continue to supplement and exercise regularly to heal my nerve damage. Dietary antioxidants and human cancer. “While clinical studies on the effect of antioxidants in modulating cancer treatment are limited in number and size, experimental studies show that antioxidant vitamins and some phytochemicals selectively induce apoptosis in cancer cells but not in normal cells and prevent angiogenesis and metastatic spread, suggesting a potential role for antioxidants as adjuvants in cancer therapy.”
Dietary antioxidants and human cancer
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