PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED STAGE CANCER (e.g. cancer is not considered curable, cancer has spread)
PATIENTS WITH INTERMEDIATE STAGE CANCER (e.g. cancer may be curable, limited spread)
PATIENTS WITH EARLY STAGE CANCER (e.g. cancer has not spread, likely curable)
CANCER PREVENTION (e.g. patients with a history of exposure to cigarette smoke, workplace or environmental toxins, or a family history of cancer)
TREATMENTS (tests and treatments not available elsewhere)

Patients with advanced stage cancer

“I have exhausted conventional therapies and no treatments are being offered by my specialists.”

At Medicor we offer cancer therapies that are still undergoing research, and have scientific evidence to support their effectiveness. We focus on gentle therapies that target the cancer without damaging your body or compromising your immune system. Many of our therapies can treat the cancer and also improve quality of life at the same time.

Examples:

vitamin C, high dose intravenous – promotes cancer cell death, improves quality of life, even for patients receiving chemotherapy
dichloroacetate (DCA) – triggers natural cancer cell suicide and blocks glucose metabolism in cancer cells
“Safe” chemotherapy – a kinder, gentler chemotherapy developed by Dr. Ken Matsumura, with high response rate, and low side effects [CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN USA ONLY]
sodium phenylbutyrate – metabolized by the body to “antineoplastons” (discovered by Dr. Burzynski in Texas), can treat cancer by itself or be used to enhance radiation or chemotherapy
Helixor / Iscador (European mistletoe) – natural immunotherapy that triggers anti-cancer immune response
loco-regional hyperthermia (at the Marsden Naturopathic Center near the Medicor office, or at Health Source Integrative Medical Centre for patients closer to the Kitchener area) – enhances chemo, DCA or other therapies

“I am only being offered treatment in a clinical trial, and I am concerned about:
– potential toxicity of the experimental drug
– being assigned to a placebo group (thus not receiving the medication)
– having to stop other medications, vitamins etc. while in the trial”

Clinical trials are a tool for doctors to learn about the benefits and risks of new drugs. Clinical trials focus on gathering scientific information, and sometimes use a placebo group of patients for comparison (who unknowingly receive no medication). Assignment into the placebo group is random. At Medicor, we have access to certain medications that are currently undergoing clinic research. These drugs can be used outside of clinical trials if their human safety has already been established. In this case, Medicor patients will be certain that they are receiving a treatment and not a placebo.

Many new cancer drugs being developed have potential for serious toxicity. This should always be disclosed in detail to patients who express interest in entering a clinical trial. However, data about serious trial dug side effects may be withheld. At Medicor we choose to focus on gentler medicines (often including combinations of natural therapies). We avoid medications that have a significant risk of life-threatening side effects, or that weaken your body or your immunity.

Many of the treatments we use are combination therapies. In our experience, careful combination of 2 or more medicines can often act synergistically (1 medication boosts the effect of the other). Since clinical trials are focused on gathering scientific information about the effectiveness of a single therapy or a specific combination of therapies, no other cancer therapy may be taken at the same time. If treatment medication was being taken which was helping you, it generally has to be stopped. At Medicor we use therapies that are not limited in this way, since we are not currently conducting clinical trials. If in future we become involved in a trial, we will allow patients to receive the same therapy outside of the trial if needed, if we feel it is in the patient’s best interest.

Examples:

combination of Vitamin C (high dose intravenous) with dichloroacetate
“Safe” chemotherapy – a kinder, gentler chemotherapy developed by Dr. Ken Matsumura, with high response rate, and low side effects [CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN USA ONLY]
low dose naltrexone (LDN)
Helixor / Iscador
dichloroacetate (DCA)

“I am receiving palliative care, but I would like something to treat the cancer that can also enhance quality of life.”

Some therapies are designed to treat your cancer, but are generally considered non-curative. These may be labeled palliative, such as palliative chemotherapy. In other cases, palliative may refer to therapies that do not treat the cancer but only provide comfort measures / quality of life enhancements like boosting appetite or controlling pain. We offer therapies that are able to gently treat the cancer without the potential serious side effects of chemotherapy. Since these drugs work in different ways (e.g. blocking cancer cell glucose use, blocking blood vessel growth in tumours, enhancing natural anti-cancer immunity or triggering natural cancer cell death), they are gentler and also enhance quality of life while killing the cancer at the same time.

Examples:

dichloroacetate (DCA)
Vitamin C (high dose intravenous)
Helixor / Iscador

PATIENTS WITH INTERMEDIATE STAGE CANCER

“I am receiving conventional treatment but I am experiencing serious side effects.”

Many patients who receive convention cancer therapies experience serious side effects which compromise their quality of life. Often there are ways to control or eliminate side effects that are not known to most physicians since they may consist of therapies that are non-traditional and are therefore not part of standard medical education. Various natural medicines have scientific evidence to support their benefits in controlling side effects of chemotherapy for example (without interfering with the chemo itself).

“I am receiving conventional treatment which has a low proven success rate and I would like to combine it with something that may enhance the treatment.”

At some point in time, cancer may become resistant to therapy and few treatment options remain. Also, some rare cancers have limited scientifically proven treatment options with low average success rates. We have preliminary evidence which indicates that certain gentle medicines can significantly enhance conventional therapies such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Based on this information (as well as our clinical experience) we may be able to offer you therapies that can be safely combined with traditional treatments. For example, the diabetes drug metformin, and the drug dichloroacetate (DCA).

“I am between treatments and the cancer has regressed or is in remission, but I want to be proactive rather than watching and waiting.”

In some cases when patients are in remission after receiving conventional therapies, treatment is stopped completely and they are told to watch and wait. There are a few possible reasons for this. One reason may be that research may have demonstrated no improvement in survival if treatment was continued while in remission, or the patients waited for a recurrence and then received treatment.

Examples:

dichloroacetate (DCA)
low dose naltrexone (LDN)
Honokiol
Metatrol

“I have a slow growing cancer or concurrent serious health problems and have been told not to take treatment until the cancer gets worse.”

Due to toxicity which is common with conventional therapies, there may be more risk than benefit in treating patients with underlying health problems (like angina, stroke, advanced age, renal failure, heart failure, ongoing infection, organ transplant, bone marrow failure). Also, conventional chemotherapy generally works poorly on slow-growing cancers. In such cases, gentler therapies may be offered which have preliminary supporting scientific evidence for their effectiveness. Oncologists rarely offer such treatments because the formal research involving these drugs may still be in early stages. We have extensive clinical experience using such medicines and can advise if they are safe and potentially effective. The therapies we offer do not weaken the immune system, and in some cases will treat the cancer while simultaneously improving underlying health problems!

Examples:

dichloroacetate (DCA) – suitable for patients with heart failure or angina
low dose naltrexone (LDN) – very gentle and safe, no organ toxicity
metformin – a diabetes drug with anti-cancer properties

PATIENTS WITH EARLY STAGE CANCER

“I have just been diagnosed with cancer and I want to do everything possible to ensure optimal therapy.”

We believe that optimal cancer therapy is more choosing the right operation or getting the right chemotherapy. Cancer therapy should include the entire person and not just the tumour. Traditional therapies are often deficient in that sense. At Medicor we focus on completing your therapy to ensure your physical, emotional, spiritual, financial and social well-being are addressed. We integrate natural therapies and other healing modalities into your care plan. With treatments starting at less than $1 per day, we can find therapies that are affordable for almost anyone.

“I have decided not to take conventional treatment after understanding the risks and benefits.”

Generally, we do not recommend replacing conventional cancer therapies with non-traditional therapies, since conventional therapies have been well-studied and are the most proven treatments available. However we recognize that many conventional therapies have a high failure rate and life-altering side effects. For an increasing number of patients, certain conventional therapies are unacceptable due these issues. We treat patients who review the risks and benefits of conventional therapies in detail with their oncology team, and decline them due to significant risks. We also have a number of non-toxic therapies available to address this need. Patients must already be fully informed of the risks and benefits of traditional therapies before choosing this route. For example, “SEF” Chemotherapy may be appropriate, with preliminary data showing that it offers an excellent chance of response, even for stage 4 cancers.

“I have a rare or unknown type of cancer (unknown primary) and no proven treatment options being offered.”

For certain rare cancers, there may be limited research data available which limits the proven treatment options. Also, when the origin of a cancer cannot be determined (cancer of unknown primary), it may be difficult for the conventional oncology team to choose a treatment strategy. We offer various therapies that are not directed at any particular cancer type, but rather work for a wide range of different cancers. In addition, we focus on gentle therapies that have minimal or no serious side effects, so they may be very worthwhile for patients for whom there is uncertainty in the treatment approach. For example, dichloroacetate (DCA) and “Safe” Chemotherapy have both shown broad spectrum anti-cancer activity in our experience.

CANCER PREVENTION

We believe there are several methods of preventing cancer or reducing the risk of getting cancer. Many things can be done which are simple and cost-effective. These involve reduced consumption or inhalation of cancer-causing chemicals, balanced healthy anti-cancer diet, appropriate vitamin and natural medicine supplementation, healthy lifestyle, exercise, psychological and spiritual well-being, control of inflammatory or auto-immune conditions, prevention and control of viral infections and maintenance of a healthy strong immune system.

Despite the large body of scientific literature which supports these principles, there is surprisingly little focus on comprehensive cancer prevention in traditional medicine in Canada.

With a combined approach of allopathic + naturopathic medicine, we are able to address issue of cancer prevention by creating an individualized plan for each patient. In some cases, we can even recommend therapies that are proven to reverse pre-cancerous changes in the body (e.g. former smokers can reverse the pre-cancerous changes in their lungs).

Examples:

vitamin D (high dose oral liquid or nanoparticle oral spray)
vitamin C (high dose intravenous)
myo-inositol
dichloroacetate (DCA)
low dose naltrexone (LDN)
safety tested electronic cigarettes

TREATMENTS

Medicor Cancer Centres’ unique approach to cancer care allows us to address patient’s varied needs and care requirements by offering tests and treatments not available elsewhere.

Our care approach is based on exploring and offering a multi-pronged treatment plan which combines conventional allopathic and naturopathic therapies with off-label and innovative treatments as needed. Our research shows that many promising cancer treatments do not make it to the mainstream due to numerous financial or administrative reasons. We endeavor to bring many such tests and treatments to our patients in a safe and timely manner. A few examples of our services include.

All patients start with an in-depth integrative consultation with their Medicor naturopathic doctor and physician. We firmly believe that cancer treatment needs to be individualized to each patient’s unique needs. Patients should be able to dictate and make informed decisions about their care. We encourage open discussion with our patients and their families to understand their needs and customize the treatment plan.

Based on the patients’ need we can then organize tests and start treatment. Treatments can include standard conventional therapies which can be augmented with off-label allopathic or natural therapies if necessary.

Many patients choose to complement their existing treatments with other promising therapies, and we have seen encouraging results with different combinations.

Whether you need a specific therapy such as DCA, or live outside Greater Toronto please contact us. We will be happy to accommodate your request.