Healing Liver Cancer Naturally with Fucoidan and AHCC

The Liver

The liver is the largest solid organ in the human body and plays a vital role in regulating many life processes. In an average adult the liver weighs approximately three pounds and is about the size of a football.

The liver plays a major role in the composition and circulation of blood; therefore, it impacts all body systems. Some of the liver’s many jobs include:

Making proteins to help blood clot to stop bleeding if you are cut or injured

Removing waste from the body,

Making bile, a yellowish-green fluid needed for digestion and absorption of food and vitamins

Breaking down and storing many of the nutrients that are absorbed from food by the intestines

Storing vitamins, minerals, in particular, iron

Purifying blood by breaking down and removing medications and poisons, such as drugs (medication), alcohol and nicotine

Making hormones, proteins and enzymes

About Liver Cancer

Liver cancer is tough to treat, and it’s on the rise. Now among the top 10 cancers diagnosed in the U.S. each year, it’s the third-deadliest cancer in the world.

A few natural extracts that may help halt the disease's advance are: 

1) Fucoidan

2) AHCC (Active Hexose Correlated Compound) 

3) Agaricus blazei Murill

In a healthy liver, normal cells grow, divide, and die in a controlled manner that is regulated in the body. Liver cancer is a disease where cells divide and grow in an abnormal, poorly controlled manner. In cancer, the balance of cell growth and death is disturbed.

Cells that continue to grow and divide unchecked become a malignant mass or tumor that can affect how an organ works. The original site of the abnormal cell growth is called the cancer’s primary site. In liver cancer, the primary site is the liver. Even when the liver cancer is found in areas outside the liver, such as the lung, the disease is still called liver cancer.

Abnormal or unchecked cells can also grow to invade nearby organs and structures. Cancer cells spread and invade organs by traveling to other structures in the body by way of the lymphatic system and the blood stream. This spreading is called metastasis.

Some factors that increase the risk of liver cancer are:

Cirrhosis – a disease of the liver that is caused by liver cells being damaged and replaced by scar tissue. It can be caused by alcohol abuse, chronic infection via hepatitis B and C, fatty liver and other causes of liver disease. This is the most important factor.

Aflatoxins – is a harmful substance made by certain types of mold.

Family history

Alcohol and tobacco

Symptoms of liver cancer

In its early stage many people with liver cancer will have no symptoms. As the cancer grows it may start to cause symptoms, including:

Pain in the upper right part of the abdomen, which may extend to your back and shoulder

Swollen or bloated stomach

Unexplained weight loss

Loss of appetite or feeling full without eating

Feeling weak or very tired

Nausea and vomiting

Unexplained fever

Jaundice, yellow discoloration of the eyes and skin

Ways to reduce the symptoms, side effects and ways to treat liver cancer

1.Consume Immune System Enhancers like Brown seaweed extracts (Fucoidan) and medicinal mushrooms (AHCC, Agaricus blazei)

a) Fucoidan

Brown seaweed supplements may contain several types of compounds with potential health benefits, including carbohydrate-like compounds called polysaccharides, polyphenols and carotenoids. For example, fucoidan -- a brown seaweed polysaccharide -- may be able to block the spread of cancer cells from one tissue to another, according to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

In addition, fucoidan may stop the growth of cancer cells. Data from clinical studies suggest fucoidan can strengthen immune response in humans. In addition, several recent studies have illustrated that brown seaweed extract (fucoidan) may have the capability of inhibiting and even treating cancer. Seaweed therapy may even outperform chemotherapy.

The most recent study from Brazil’s Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte found that two fractionated polysaccharides from brown seaweeds inhibited the process of tumor angiogenesis – more specifically a tumor’s development and maintenance of blood vessels in order to grow.

Many studies have explored the use of seaweed in the fight against several liver conditions, including liver cancer. Various therapeutic compounds from brown seaweeds, especially fucoidan, are able to induce apoptosis through different pathways and molecular mechanisms. Several studies indicated that fucoidan was able to induce apoptosis, inhibit angiogenesis, and suppress metastasis of liver cancer in vitro and in vivo. This review highlights the importance of brown seaweeds (fucoidan) in the fight against liver cancer.

Fucoidan extracts (Cladosiphon okamuranus and Undaria pinnatifida), have shown to have anticancer effects in ongoing research in many countries around the world. In addition to its anti-cancer, anti-viral and immune-enhancing properties, Fucoidan may also help reduce blood pressure and blood sugar. Animal studies have shown that Fucoidan is also a natural anti-inflammatory agent. The use of liquid fucoidan extracts or encapsulated extracts is highly suggested and preferably ORGANIC Fucoidan extracts.

Reference: http://www.amazon.com/Optimized-Fucoidan-capsules-Exclusively-Control/dp/B016EFMPK2/ref=pd_sim_121_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=513m0DqhwiL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR140%2C160_&refRID=1CQQYVF03EXWSZPK9GNT#customerReviews

b) AHCC (Active Hexose Correlated Compound)

Active hexose correlated compound, or AHCC, is a proprietary medicinal mushroom extract intended to strengthen the immune system. AHCC is the world's most researched specialty immune supplement, supported by over 20 human studies and by more than 100 pre-clinical in vivo and in vitro studies. It is utilized by over 1000 healthcare facilities worldwide to reduce the incidence of infections in both healthy and immune-compromised patients, improve cancer patient outcomes, decrease chemo side-effects, help control HPV infections, manage viral loads in Hepatitis-C patients and help those with liver disease. The extract is marketed as a complement for cancer patients, particularly those undergoing chemotherapy. It is also suggested for prevention of recurrences among patients who have been treated for cancer as well as for the promotion and maintenance of good health.

According to the AHCC Research Association, there are many studies that show the benefits of Active Hexose Correlated Compound, but one study of patients with liver was cancer presented at the XXXIII Congress of the European Society for Surgical Research. One landmark AHCC trial enrolled 269 patients with liver cancer. Following surgery, about half of the patients took AHCC and about half did not.

Reference: http://www.amazon.com/Optimized-Fucoidan-capsules-Exclusively-Control/dp/B016EFMPK2/ref=pd_sim_121_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=513m0DqhwiL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR140%2C160_&refRID=1CQQYVF03EXWSZPK9GNT#customerReviews

The results obtained showed that:

At the end of the ten-year study, only 34.5% of the AHCC patients experienced a recurrence in their cancer, compared with 66.1% of the control group.

Similarly, while 46.8% of the patients in the control group had died at the end of ten years, less than half that amount — 20.4% — of those in the AHCC group had.

AHCC not only prolonged survival of advanced liver cancer patients, it also improved various parameters of quality of life, including mental stability, general physical health status and the ability to have normal activities.

No side effects were reported with the use of AHCC.

Fucoidan and AHCC seem to have a synergistic effect against liver cancer. From blocking the spread of cancer to other organs to enhancing the response of the immune cells in a weakened system, these two ingredients improve the response on the liver cells.

c)Agaricus blazei (Agaricus blazei Murill) contains beta glucans, a group of polysaccharides (complex sugars) believed responsible for this mushroom's immune-boosting effects. Research has shown that Agaricus has anti-tumor and anti-viral activity, as well as moderating effects on blood sugar and cholesterol. Oncologists in both Japan and Brazil use this mushroom in treatment protocols. It is sold in the U.S. in dried form as well as in extracts.

2.Fucoidan in combination with AHCC and Agaricus blazei Murill may help alleviate the side effects caused by the chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy is a treatment of choice for cancer that is locally advanced or metastatic (spread to other organs). These drugs can have an effect on the cancer by stopping the growth of cancer cells or their ability to multiply.

Natural Alternatives to Alleviate the Side Effects of the Chemotherapy in Liver Cancer Patients: Fucoidan and AHCC (Active Hexose Correlated Compound)

Chemotherapy is fraught with side effects, which range from psychologically distressing to life-threatening. In addition to being able to fight cancer directly, Fucoidan and AHCC also alleviates many of the side effects of chemotherapy, including:

Hair Loss: Doctors noticed that chemotherapy patients taking AHCC did not lose their hair. Subsequently, an in vivo study found that mice treated with AHCC were protected from chemically induced hair loss.

Nausea: Clinical studies in Korea and Japan have indicated that AHCC remarkably improves symptoms of nausea and vomiting in cancer patients.

Bone Marrow Suppression: Chemotherapy can inhibit bone marrow function, which is life-threatening because the body’s key immune soldiers — the white blood cells — originate in bone marrow. Fucoidan and AHCC has been shown to raise the white blood cell count of cancer patients.

Liver Damage: One of the major drawbacks of chemotherapy is that it kills healthy cells in addition to cancer cells. An in vivo study found that while rats given chemotherapy experienced large increases in liver enzymes (indicative of liver damage), those given chemotherapy plus Fucoidan or AHCC had normal levels.

3.Nutritional Tips

Liver cancer patients should try to achieve the following:

Consume enough calories to correct or prevent weight loss and improve nutrition

Restrict the sodium in your diet to 2,000 mg (one teaspoon) per day if you have swelling in your legs or feet or if you have a buildup of fluid in your abdomen

Consume small frequent meals and bedtime snacks to prevent long periods of going without food.

Consuming adequate calories and protein will help with liver cell regeneration and improve liver function