LAETRILE VS. CHEMOTHERAPY: THE CHOICE IS YOURS

By blog owner.....

In 1950 after many years of research, Dr. Ernest T. Krebs, Jr., a biochemist and a researcher who first discovered B-15, isolated a new vitamin that he numbered B-17 and called laetrile (Griffin, 1997). Laetrile, also known as Amygdalin or nitriloside, is a natural chemotherapeutic agent found in over 1,200 plants, particularly in the seeds of common fruits such as apricots, peaches, plums, and apples. In the 1970s, laetrile started gaining popularity as an anticancer agent and a few years later, more than 70000 people reported to have been treated with laetrile (Wong, 2008).
Today, laetrile occupies a position on the "front lines" of alternative cancer therapies. It is found that laetrile is effective on people that have active cancer, but that is not its only function. Its non-toxicity permits its use indefinitely in the prevention of cancer and metastasis. Somehow, a highly publicized clinical trial conducted by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in 1981, failed to prove that laetrile was ineffective and toxic (“Study Says Laetrile”, 1981).

Meanwhile, conventional cancer therapy such as chemotherapy always becomes the first choice of most doctors when it comes to treating cancer. But is chemotherapy really safe? According to Dr. Ulrich Abel, a cancer biostatistician, many people died after receiving chemotherapy every year (Day, 2009). Conventional therapy is failing. Meanwhile in the world of natural medicine, people are cured of cancer every day. Laetrile is one of the natural medicines used as an alternative to cancer treatment.

This controversy surrounding laetrile has been around for quite a while and it is believed to have positive effects on cancer patients. For that reason this study is done in order to expose the public especially cancer patients to the effectiveness of laetrile as a treatment for cancer. The consumption of laetrile (vitamin B17) in cancer therapy treatment is more effective than chemotherapy treatment due to its efficacy in alleviating cancerous metastasis and its capacity to boost the body defense system against cancer.

One of the significant benefits of laetrile is it effectively executes the cancer cells by gently killing the cancer cells without harming the normal surrounding cells. Laetrile selectively kills the cancerous cells, inhibits growth of tumors and stop metastasis all at once. Laetrile molecule comprises two units of glucose (sugar), one benzaldehyde and one of cyanide. All these units are tightly locked together as a large group of water-soluble, non-toxic, and sugary compounds (Griffin, 1997).

Laetrile literally poisons the malignant cancer while nourishing all the rest. This is due to natural toxicity of vitamin B17 as it contains compounds cyanide and benzaldehyde that will attack cancer cells directly. Besides, it is important to bear in mind that cyanide and benzaldehyde are very poisonous in nature. However, laetrile is chemically non-active and has definitely no effect on normal living tissue when it is in natural state (as all units are unlocked) (Griffin, 1997).

To illustrate on how effective is the laetrile, here is how it works. Basically, cancer feeds on sugar (Cancer Loves Sugar, 2009). The sugar (glucose) in the laetrile surrounds cyanide.  The cancer draws in the sugar. Griffin (1997) explains the cancer cells contain large quantities of the enzymes beta-glycosidase. This enzyme breaks the laetrile down and immediately cyanide and benzaldehyde will combine synergistically to produce at least hundred times more poisonous than either of them do separately to destroy and kill the cancer cells.

Moreover, the effectiveness of laetrile when reacts with beta-glycosidase has been supported by a scientist, Dr. Dean Burk, head of the Cytochemistry Department of the National Cancer Institute when he quoted that when laetrile was added to a culture of cancer cells, "The cancer cells died like flies until none were left!" (How Does Laetrile Work? section, para.10). Meanwhile, the normal cells in human contain an enzyme called Rodhanese will "neutralizes" the laetrile (Griffin, 1997). This enzyme does not allow the laetrile to release the cyanide and simultaneously protect the neighboring normal cells. Thus, laetrile only serves as glucose to healthy cells providing energy. It can be seen that only the cancer cells are specifically targeted and destroyed, yet the normal cells are not affected.

In comparison to laetrile, chemotherapy is not really effective in reducing cancer as it harms and poisons both the cancer cells and the normal cells too. According to Griffin (2001) chemotherapy is mostly not specific as it acts by killing cells that divide rapidly and it cannot distinguish between cancer and non-cancer cells. Instead, it acts to distinguishes between fast-growing and slow-growing or non-growing cells. Consequently, it kills not only the cancer cells that are dividing, but also destroy other normal rapidly dividing cells such as digestive tract cells, reproductive cells and bone marrow cells (The Underlying Causes Of Cancer, n.d).

Additionally chemotherapy has never been shown to have curative effects for cancer. In an interview in 1994 by Laura Lee, Dr. Moss reported that chemotherapy was effective in only two to four percent of all cancers (“Ralph Moss on Chemotherapy”, 2009). This leaves some 96% to 98% of other cancers, in which chemotherapy doesn't eliminate the disease. In contrast, laetrile is effective regardless of what kind of cancer the patients contracting (Worldwithoutcancer.org.uk, 2001). In fact, approximately 80% of chemotherapists and oncologist would even refuse it if they were to suffer cancer based on a survey done by McGill Cancer Center (Day, 2001 as cited in Christian Brothers, n.d). Therefore, it is obvious that the respective respondents did not dare to receive that particular treatment as they personally realized the facts that chemotherapy is detrimental and threatening their life. They know the veracity as they are the ones who treat and always by the side of their patients at all times watching the cancer drugs fighting the cancer in a horrible way.

Hence the laetrile demonstrates that it is effectively deadly to cancer cells without jeopardizing healthy cells as it breaks down at the cancer cells and releases its poisons only to the cancer cells compared to chemotherapy which kills cells indiscriminately and is less effective.

Another benefit of laetrile is it is able to boost the body immune system. Our body defense system consists of two lines of defense against cancer. The body’s first line of defense is formed by two enzymes which are trypsin and chymotrypsin. They are secreted by the pancreas (Binzel, 1994). However, for an individual who consumes a large amount of animal protein, large amounts of trypsin and chymotrypsin will be utilized to digest the protein. It is possible that this individual will use up all or almost all of the enzymes for digestive purpose. If there is nothing left over for the rest of the body, this individual has lost his first line of defense against cancer. The same case similar to those who suffer diabetes as they are susceptible to cancer since their pancreas are not able to produce both types of enzymes to defend against cancer (Griffin, 1997).

Fortunately, nature has provided us the solution by offering a second line of defense. The second line of defense is made up of substance known as nitrilosides (Binzel, 1994). As nitrilosides is found vastly in laetrile, it is suggested that laetrile is able to play role in strengthening and retreating defense body system. In a study, researchers using cell cultures found that laetrile stimulated the immune system by assisting white blood cells to interfere with and destroy the cancer cells (Laetrile/Amygdalin, 2007). It can be seen that as more white blood cells interfere with cancer cells, there is more chances for cancer cells to be disrupted. Not only that, in another study, it is found that laetrile cooperates with human antibody to increase the human antibody’s cancer cell-killing ability by 36 times greater than antibody do without the presence of laetrile. This is because antibody that binds at the cancer cell stimulates high rate of laetrile breakdown at the cancer cells (Laetrile/Amygdalin, 2007). Consequently, it results in high production of cyanide which is quickly taken up by the cancers and kills them.

While laetrile strengthens and improves the body immune system, chemotherapy in contrast deteriorates and weakens the body defense system. This is because chemotherapy could surpass the body’s first line of defense and it could lead patients to suffer Acute Pancreatitis (Eltookhy & Pearson, 2006). Acute Pancreatitis is a condition in which the pancreas becomes inflamed and unable to produce certain kinds of enzymes including trypsin and chymotrypsin (Palande, 2010).  It means that, while chemotherapy is administered to cure cancer, it is in fact harms the body by destroying the main defense against cancer itself as both enzymes are the important factors in the body’s first line of defense

Furthermore, when patients receive chemotherapy treatment, they may face a high risk for developing infections and the patients’ body may be less able to fight infections once they develop. This is because chemotherapy affects the body’s immune system by lowering the number of white blood cells produced in the body. Not only that, if white blood cells fall below a certain level, the patients will have a condition called neutropenia. In this condition, the white blood cells level is extremely low and makes the patients vulnerable to infection which is the cause of death in many patients on chemotherapy (Managing a Low White Blood Cell Count (Neutropenia), 2010). So here again, chemotherapy obliterate the defense component that originally assigned to resist the infection by cancer cells.

Conclusively, this leads us to believe that laetrile is a better treatment for cancer compared to chemotherapy due to its excellent immunological effects on cancer patients.

Despite having impressive outcomes in healing cancers, there are some studies show that laetrile is neither safe nor effective as it is claimed laetrile has the tendency to kill normal cells and cause death. Many opponents believe that cyanide and benzaldehyde contained in laetrile is lethal to living organisms (National Cancer Institute, 2010).

Yes, cyanide and benzaldehyde are poisonous if only they are released or freed as pure molecules or not bound within other molecular formations. Nevertheless, cyanide and benzaldehyde are only formed and produces first by beta-glycosidase which is solely found in cancer cells. It means cyanide and benzaldehyde formed only afflicts and attacks the cancer cells and it would totally not threaten the normal cells. Furthermore, the normal cells contain an enzyme called “Rhodanese” which would neutralize the cyanide.

Yet, it is still argued that the excess cyanide and benzaldehyde escaped from laetrile could not be neutralized enough by Rhodanese. However, researchers of The Imperial College in year 2000 have reported that if any cyanide escapes from the tumor into the bloodstream, it would be rapidly broken down into thiocyanate which is perfectly harmless and neutralized by the liver and expelled from body via urine (Day, 2001; Henderson, 2000). Meanwhile, excess benzaldehyde will be oxidized to benzoic acid which is important in vitamin B12 production. It is also believed that benzaldehyde has anti-rheumatic, antiseptic and analgesic properties which helps reduce pain in cancer patients (Henderson, 2008). Thus, it can be seen that laetrile should not be entirely blamed for its “toxicity” as it only lethal and harmful to the cancer cells. In fact, it promotes health by having several positive side effects.

Public especially cancer patients might also speculate that if laetrile is a better cure for cancer, why oncologists or chemotherapists are still proposing chemotherapy instead of laetrile treatment. The truth is public have to know that chemotherapist and oncologists are subjected to Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) restriction on the usage and significance of chemotherapy by FDA. They have to follow the guideline given by FDA and are bound to their rules (Kehr, 2006).

In addition, laetrile has been labeled as a hoax and quackery by the FDA, the American Cancer Society and the American Medical Association. Since laetrile comes from nature, it cannot be patented and it will never be officially approved by respective organizations no matter how effective it may be. Plus, many researches have been done in order to prove that laetrile is not effective and poisonous to human body (Lewis, 1977). However, a study done by Krashen (2009) revealed the inaccurate report of the effect of laetrile which shows that laetrile in reality had been falsely publicized nationwide.

It may seem like laetrile is “unproven” but many patients has been cured and it has been proven both safe and effective in actual clinical trial. No matter how hard laetrile opponents try to give bad impression on laetrile, it is still supported by many scientists around the world. The scientists have conducted many tests and they found out that laetrile truly has the ability to cure cancer (Griffin, 1997). Laetrile therapy is banned in USA while other countries such as Germany and Mexico legalize it (Day, 1999). Griffin (1997) further illustrate that the Oasis Hospital in Mexico which has treated thousands of cancer patients had found out that patients with stage four cancers had much higher survival rates if they were treated with laetrile therapy. Therefore, it can be concluded laetrile still remains as an option to cancer patients.

In conclusion, laetrile is more effective than chemotherapy in dealing with cancer as it effectively kills the cancer cells and is able to enhance the body immune system against cancer.

The effectiveness of laetrile can be seen when laetrile is acted upon by the enzyme beta-glycosidase, it breaks down into its constituents which is cyanide and benzaldehyde which will selectively kill the cancer cells. More noteworthy, both poisonous components would not jeopardize the normal cells and if they do, the enzyme Rhodanese will play its role to neutralize the cyanide and benzaldehyde. Besides, the body defense systems of the cancer patients will be improved as laetrile provide a second line of defense. Laetrile is reported able to assist white blood cells to interfere with and destroy the cancer cells. It is also found that laetrile cooperates with human antibody to increase the cancer cell-killing ability by 36 times by increasing the production of cyanide to effectively kill the cancer cells.

As laetrile could bring a new hope for cancer patients, they are encouraged to utilize laetrile as a preventive way to fight against cancer. In Islam, seeking cure is an obligation. Saving of life or improving quality of life is a must. We as Muslim should do our best in order to prevent diseases and illnesses and attain a healthy life. Our body is a divine trust (amanah) from Allah which we are obliged to preserve it. “O you who believe! Betray not the trust of Allah and the Messenger, nor misappropriate knowingly things entrusted to you.” (8:27). Therefore, it is our responsibility to keep our body healthy as it is a trust from Allah. 

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