I rarely write about cancer because the relationship between cancer and vitamins is obscure at best. My impression is that cancer patients are more willing to experiment with vitamins than patients with other conditions. Over all, it seems to me that there is strong support for the idea that vitamins increase the survival time between the onset of cancer and death. But that’s cold comfort if you have cancer. There are many reports of vitamins causing spectacular cancer cures, but the effect is not general. You have to be extremely lucky for vitamins to cure your cancer.

I hope I’m not the first person to write my next words. That said, despite extensive reading and networking, I came to this realization on my own – not through reading.

I believe the dominant causes of cancer are common chronic diseases. Carcinogens, of course, also cause cancer. The good thing about known carcinogens is that you can know if you’ve been exposed to them or not. It’s the link between chronic disease and cancer that I’ve heard little about. Turns out, obesity, hypertension, heart disease, cavities, osteoporosis, and sleep disorders are all known to be linked to higher cancer risk. Cancer caused by cavities and osteoporosis is particularly unappreciated. Few people take teeth cavities seriously. Most consider cavities to be a normal part of aging. In fact, before the advent of modern antibiotics, cavities were a life threatening condition. Dentists do not cure cavities – they remove cavities. Most people with osteoporosis don’t even know they have it. Advanced x-ray techniques that are still not regularly used indicate that osteoporosis (or osteopenia) is astonishingly common. The sad truth is that few adults over the age of 40 (and at much much higher risk of cancer than individuals <30) are in outstandingly good health. Way more than half of adults over 40 are taking one or more prescription medications for a chronic condition. A large fraction of the remainder have cavities or osteopenia, are obese, have trouble sleeping, have troulbe with hormones, or have some other health problem not typically treated with a drug. How many of the lucky few in excellent health are diagnosed with cancer as their very first health problem? I'm sure there are a few - but I'm certain a much lower percentage of this population contracts cancer. Vitamins clearly prevent and reverse a number of the common chronic conditions associated with increased cancer risk. The most prevalent of these conditions that vitamins and antibiotics not only prevent, but reverse, are osteoporosis and heart disease. So – if you’re in excellent health, this column is great news. You have less reason to fear cancer. Everyone else has more reason to be afraid, and even more incentive to give vitamins and antibiotics a try. Here’s the simple antibiotic/vitamin protocol: an antibiotic like tetracycline continued for at least one month
regular full-body sunshine as close as possible to noon
2000 mg of vitamin C two, three, or four times per day (more so long as you remain comfortable)
10,000 IU vitamin A pills, twice per week
250 mg time release niacin once per day
One per day 50 mg tablet of enteric coated TTFD (a special thiamine supplement)
One B-50 B-complex tablet twice per week

The antibiotic needs to be obtained from a physician. Sunshine is the biggest pain in the neck. I lie about one minute face down, face up, and on each side (4 minutes total) at the summer solstice (UV index 9 at latitude 40) and 4 minutes on each side at winter solstice (UV index 3). If you refuse to get in the sun, it is possible to use sunlamps. You should be able to get help at a tanning salon. Some salons can tune their lamps to get you maximum vitamin D in a minimal amount of time with minimal tanning (not the usual request, but they can do it). You can also take vitamin D supplements – but these are un natural and frequently cause uncomfortable side effects. If you choose the supplements, I recommend 4000 IU/day for effectiveness. Any more runs a really high risk of bad side effects. Any less runs a really high risk of being ineffective. I don’t like the supplements because even 4000 IU/day runs a really high risk of side effects as the weeks and months go by.

If this treatment isn’t obviously working after one month, it will not work and should be discontinued. If it is obviously working, you need a strategy to finish the treatment. I believe it will be rare to need the antibiotics for more than 3 months. The following doses of vitamins are typically more than sufficient to maintain good health in the absence of environmental insults (which occur far more frequently than we would like in the form of viruses, bacteria, and injuries).

the sunbathing I recommend but just once a week is enough
2000 mg vitamin C every day
250 mg time release niacin once per week
10,000 IU vitamin A once per week
50 mg enteric coated TTFD once per week
One half of a B-50 B complex tablet twice per week

If you among the majority of adults over 40 suffering from osteoporosis, osteopenia, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, poor mental health, and/or a sleep disorder, you have much to gain and little to lose by giving vitamins and antibiotics a try. Each day you live with conditions, the odds go up that you’ll be diagnosed with cancer.

Steve