Ann Fonfa: In March of 1997 while I was on the complete Gerson program, I developed new tumors on the chest wall (after mastectomy). Naturally I was very concerned. I consulted with the doctor in Mexico and with other advisors and did a lot of reading. I decided to take high dose Vitamin A. You may have heard of retinoids-an analogue of Vitamin A used experimentally in conventional therapy with head/neck and lung cancer. It has also been looked at in conjunction with breast cancer. It works there so I took that leap of faith. I was warned that Vitamin A could be toxic to the liver, BUT read a paper that indicated that vitamin toxicity is fully reversible. And compared to the toxicity of chemotherapy, it seemed like a good option. I went to the holisitic pharmacy and purchased Vitamin tablets for $8.00 a bottle. I began taking 300,000 units for the first 7 days.(Based on the protocol of Dr. Issels, of Germany and Mexico). Blood tests were to be taken every 5 weeks to check the liver. For the rest of the month I took 150,000 per day. At day 21 I noticed a reduction in the (already small) tumor. It had begun to shrink. By the next day, it was clearly smaller. I called Mexico and we were rejoicing. I went to see the NYC based oncologist whom I occasionally saw for blood work. He turned away from me after I showed him my small "miracle" and told me to get dressed and meet him in his office. I guess he was frightened by this success. I felt abandoned. However, the tumor continued to reduce, although some days it seemed a bit smaller or a bit larger-not a totally direct progression of reduction. Fourteen months later I asked my surgeon to remove this lump and tell me the pathology. It came back 1)well differentiated-this is what Vitamin A can do and is GOOD.2)very few malignant cells-also GOOD. 3)The estrogen and progesterone receptor had tripled from 30% to 90%. (A sign of disease progression is when the receptor status goes down). No conventional doctor would tell me that this was all good, but I knew that it was. However another tumor had grown while the first was reducing. Obviously not responsive to Vitamin A. I was told that the company that imports Maitake mushrooms had been given an FDA approval for a clinical trial, so I began taking this product. I followed the directions on the bottle, using a full dropper at least once a day. Afer using 4 bottles of the D-fraction, I ran out of the product. This was the end of October, 1998. In early November, I noticed that the tumor was shrinking. I went back on to the mushroom extract. There did come a point at which it shrank no further, but it reduced by more than 80%. Tumor reduction has NOT been correlated with increased survival either in conventional therapy or alternative BUT it still felt good. If I can succeed using these methods, I am sure others can as well. Vitamin A is currently used for head/neck and lung cancers. It is also experimentally used for breast. I increased Vitamin E and C and Selenium during this period to balance out the extra A. 1600 E (I used a liquid form of both E and A after that first month, supposedly more easily absorbed and released from the body), 400 mcg of Selenium and about 3 grams of Vitamin C as powder in my juice. Good luck FYI, more tumors occurred a few years later so I began using Chinese herbs and they have all been gone since 2001 with no return. But I have been diagnosed, as a result, as being a Stage IV patient. This was reconfirmed by an 'integrative oncologist' in February, 2006. Go figure. Update on Ann's Protocol 11/99 back to Vitamins and away from Chinese herbs Update on a Maitake D-fraction Study Results of an in vitro study 3/00 clinical trial information Maitake Products Inc. Link to company site-offering 15%discount if you mention Annie Appleseed Project (NO we do not get a cut but sure could use the $$$) Vitamin A Information International Health News, February, 2001 Retinoids (analogue for Vitamin A) used in Treatment 9-cis retinoic acid, 13-cis and many more variations used to 'kill' cancer cells Melatonin & 9-cis Retinoic Acid Additive Effects on Bca cells ER negative Tumors and Retinoids Cancer Res, 11/02 Reverting ER- Pheotype in HER-s-Overexpressing BCA COX-2 Inhibitor: Maitaike Mushroom J Agric Food Chem, 12/02 Maitake Products Named Research Sponsor Sloan Kettering InnoVision Communications eNewsletter, April 2005 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.