Self-Medication: the Treatment of Cancer with Phenergan [promethazine] with or without Calcium

Situation of the Patient:

Individuals struck down with the disease understandably respond with resentment, sometimes anger, at the injustice of their dreadful predicaments. As if the initial diagnosis is not bad enough, to be told, perhaps abruptly, that a treatment has been unsuccessful is a worse experience that may be lurking in store. Cancer patients deserve respect and dignity; the intentions are to spare further anguish, to extend survival, to improve quality of life, and to provide a chance of physical healing.
       Very reasonably, patients want to know if their particular form of malignancy is likely to respond to the procedures described here. Forms of the disease which have displayed sensitivity to Procedure I include non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, cancer of the oesophagus, lung cancer and a chordoma; instances of breast cancer and colorectal cancer, all with secondary spread, also responded. Less experience has been gained with Procedure II, but apart from greater effectiveness no substantial differences are anticipated. Malignancies found to be insensitive are listed under [7], below.
       A small minority, about 2-3%, of patients, find the treatment insupportable. There may be a positive response; there may not. No guarantee of a successful outcome can be given. Sincere apologies are made to those who cannot be helped. On several occasions relapse has followed tumour regression. Patients should be alert to this scenario and be prepared for the worst. In these instances only a single cancer cell needs to have undergone transformation (genetic mutation) into a drug resistant state. Such an event can happen at any time (see [6], below). The tumour will then consist of both sensitive and insensitive cells; after the therapy has killed the sensitive cells off, the insensitive cells gain the upper hand. The best hope then is surgery, but if resistant cells have already spread the outlook is poor.
       Although certain drugs not classified as anti-cancer agents can cause limited injury to tumours by interfering with energy production (see website below for details), only very few are suitable for cancer treatment. Some belong to the group known as phenothiazines, a number of which have been in use for over sixty years. Their diverse uses include the treatment of psychoses, nausea, allergy, enhancement of analgesia and as muscle relaxants.
       Phenergan, the active principle in this form of cancer therapy, is currently used as a paediatric sedative, as an anti-histaminic, and to quell morning or travel sickness. The agent has also been used as an anti-emetic in patients undergoing conventional chemotherapy, but, unlike chlorpromazine (Largactil) whose effectiveness in cancer patients has been anecdotally described in the medical literature (see website below), it is not used for chronic administration. The effects of Phenergan on the central nervous system are less marked than those of most other phenothiazines, which is considered an advantage. The fact that its anti-cancer potential has managed to escape detection in hospitals and clinics is attributed to two factors. First, tumour injury caused by brief adventitious medication with the phenothiazine will naturally be ascribed to simultaneous anti-neoplastic treatment. Second, any benefit will only be transient. Resistance develops when Phenergan is given on an intermittent basis (see Duration of Treatment and Outcome, below). Unpublished experiments revealed that the glucose content of mouse tumours with diffuse necrosis resulting from an attack on oxidative metabolism was significantly higher than in untreated controls, enabling surviving cells to grow more quickly.
       The first doctor - in fact, the only doctor - to administer Phenergan to cancer patients was an Egyptian diabetologist, the late Dr Riad Mahmud. He gave Phenergan, calcium and papaverine in sequence by intravenous injection with the intention of relieving pain. Phenergan was continued orally at 8hr intervals. To his surprise all three patients with pancreatic cancer survived. The procedures described here rely heavily on his experience. Cancer is a serious disease, and its treatment needs to be considered in earnest. The apparently innocuous nature of the protocol should not encourage a flippant attitude. Rigid adherence to the advice is essential. The selectivity of the procedure allows a patient to go about his or her business almost entirely as normal while sustaining the full force of the therapy. Almost; patients need to adapt to the new situation. Mental strain and over-exertion should be avoided.
       The original self-medication protocol (Procedure I) was posted on the web in February 1996. It is included in the book How We Controlled our Cancers (Wesprint Holdings. Subiaco, 2001) which the author, Jill Royce, generously made available in every lending library in Australasia. Details are also to be found in Conventional Cancer Cures: What's the Alternative? (ed. Chris Woollams. Health Issues Ltd, Bath Press, Bath, 2005). Over the years several organisations interested in providing patients with sensible non-orthodox help began to include the methodology on their websites. Patients no longer take the trouble to report back with their experiences, which suggests that the therapy has had a beneficial effect. It follows that no estimate of the number of beneficiaries can be made.
       Procedure I has been modified (Procedure II) with a view to increasing cell kill and shortening the period of treatment. The latter is recommended as the option of choice. The advice should be read through several times before commencing, and read again frequently so as to avoid mistakes. Both protocols may be regarded as simple prototypes in the same light as the earliest primitive cameras, motor cars or aeroplanes. There is a need to be realistic and not to allow hopes to rise too high. Patients are expected to meet the modest costs (currently about £4-£5 a week in the UK) of their treatment. There are no hidden expenses.

Caution:

To date the question of safety has not been an issue, but Phenergan treatment with calcium can cause slight tumour enlargement which may initially cause problems, especially if the disease has reached an advanced stage. For example, in a patient with obstructive carcinoma of the oesophagus swallowing became more difficult on the next day, but gradually returned to normal over the next few weeks. Patients need to decide which procedure to adopt. Difficulty may be encountered in instances where growths obstruct natural functions. In these circumstances Procedure I would be preferable.

Contra-Indications:

The list below is as comprehensive as possible. Cancer patients are unlikely to benefit if:

  1. Steroids are being administered in high doses. This form of interference with anti-cancer activity is unstable. Therapy with Phenergan can be commenced three days after cessation of steroid medication.
  2. Analgesics classified as non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (aspirin, ibuprofen, diclofenac, etc) are being taken. Here the advice is to wait for a week before commencing. Serious pain calls for professional attention. Paracetamol, temporarily and in moderation, is suitable; so are opiates (for example, morphine given on prescription). A TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) device can provide limited measures of relief.
  3. Polyunsaturated (essential) fatty acids are micro-nutrients. They are required for normal health, and some participate in the process of tumour destruction. Scaly skin, especially on the backs of the hands, can indicate that the patient has a deficiency.
  4. There is dietary supplementation with vitamin E, a matter calling for special mention. Most diets already contain amounts adequate for a healthy life style. For individuals free from cancer supplementation (50-100iu daily) is beneficial, offering protection against coronary heart disease. Unfortunately the same beneficial properties are exploited by cancerous growths, which accumulate vitamin E as protection against pharmacological attack.
           Some dietary schedules drawn up for cancer patients include substantial amounts of vitamin E. The wisdom of these recommendations is questioned. While it is known that vitamin E protects against the development of cancer, there is nothing to suggest benefit is to be gained once malignant disease is established. Indeed, several patients receiving supplements (400-1200iu daily) failed to respond to Phenergan. Current advice is therefore to stop supplementation immediately and to wait ten days. Likewise, selenium supplementation above the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is not recommended.
  5. There has been brief or intermittent exposure after the onset of disease to phenothiazines or to certain chemically-related drugs possessing similar anti-cancer properties. In contrast with the situations in [1]-[4], this form of resistance is relatively stable.
  6. Although the cellular division rate for many cancers is between 3-5 days, such is the extent of attrition that many tumours take around two months to double in volume. Multi-drug resistance may arise spontaneously, from radiotherapy, or from treatment with cytotoxic drugs. A mutation in a cancerous cell resulting in partial or complete disablement of the cytotoxic mechanism will influence the growth rate by variable extents depending on its site within the genes. Clones of mutant cells may in consequence show varying degrees of sensitivity to therapy. For example, in one patient with metastatic ovarian disease two calcified cancers remained static over a four-month period. Another grew in volume by 20%; a fourth, by 50%; yet another, considered to be of different origin, doubled twice. Preliminary unpublished data suggest that patients who have not been exposed to radiotherapy have a better chance both of responding positively and also of avoiding relapse.
  7. The disease is prostatic cancer, melanoma or mesothelioma. At the present time it is not known if these early findings reflect the presence of an intrinsic resistance mechanism. The question is discussed below (Scientific Basis).
  8. Two patients with brain tumours (astrocytomas) enjoyed longer survival than expected as a result of Phenergan treatment, but the chances of full recovery would appear to be remote. Anafranil (clomipramine) may be a more suitable drug in such instances, but is available only on prescription. Patients are advised to search the web for advice (Google; enter the words: brain cancer clomipramine).

Toxicological Considerations:

The safety record of Phenergan is phenomenal. Introduced in 1947, the phenothiazine has found application worldwide. The situation in orthodox cancer treatment is dramatically different. For example, in November 2008 the National Chemotherapy Advisory Group in the UK issued a report (National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death) on the role of permitted drugs in the causation of death in cancer patients. Over six hundred who had died within thirty days of receiving chemotherapy were included in the survey. The conclusion was that for a quarter of the patients it was the toxicity of the chemotherapy and not the course of disease that had either caused or hastened death. Moreover, over 40% suffered significant toxic effects from their treatments. The relevance of the findings to the protocol is not to be underestimated.

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