Can Mushrooms Help During Cancer Treatment
In some parts of the world, mushroom extracts are often used by patients for their medicinal benefits. Theyre packed with vitamin D, which is essential for the immune system.
And their benefits may not stop there. In Japan and China, certain mushrooms are routinely used to complement cancer treatments.
These mushrooms have been around for hundreds of years, says Santhosshi Narayanan, M.D., a physician in MD Andersons Integrative Medicine Center. They’re often used in Asian countries, not only in cancer care, but also to treat infections and other diseases.
There have been more than 2,000 studies focused on mushrooms and cancer in the last 10 years, and Narayanan is conducting a review of the findings.
Heres what she wants cancer patients to know about medicinal mushrooms.
Medicinal mushrooms are not ordinary mushrooms.
There are hundreds of different kinds of mushrooms. Those most frequently studied in cancer research are not usually sold in grocery stores.
The most common medicinal mushrooms are:
Shiitake mushrooms are the only one of these that can easily be bought whole in grocery stores. The rest are often found in powdered forms in health food stores. Sometimes the active ingredient is removed and sold as a supplement.
Mushrooms can strengthen the immune system
Some studies show mushrooms boost parts of the immune system that are linked to cancer.
Most studies show a positive effect on the immune system, but more research is needed.
Hyperthermia Therapy Supercharges Treatment
Hyperthermia is the application of heat to parts of the body to increase blood flow and enhance the efficient delivery of oxygen and nutrients. It also super-charges & enhances our low-dose chemotherapy protocol.
For decades weve witnessed the miraculous benefits of I-Therm as part of a comprehensive cancer treatment program cancerous tumors shrink pain is alleviated neurological conditions improve and healing occurs more rapidly.
Turkey Tail And Specific Cancers
The Turkey tail mushroom has shown to possess anti-tumor activity. This pretty much opened the floodgates regarding more profound research into the mushrooms potential benefits against specific cancers and their debilitating symptoms.
Conventional cancer treatment helps kill cancer cells, but sadly at a cost. Cancer patients are often afflicted by chills, fever, nausea, weakness, and loss of appetite after receiving treatments specific to their cancer type. These symptoms are intense enough to harm the patient’s quality of life during treatment. In fact, some patients withdraw from treatment because of the trauma brought about by the symptoms or end up with bodies that are too weak to continue.
Fortunately, evidence suggests that turkey tails active components PSK and PSP show promise to relieve these symptoms. These compounds can help patients focus on recovery rather than fighting the side effects often experienced during traditional cancer treatment.
Other than PSP and PSK, the other chemical components of turkey tail are essential minerals such as magnesium, manganese, and copper. The mushroom also contains beta-glucans, a type of soluble fibre cited for their stimulatory effects on white blood cells and cytokines. These two can improve overall immunity and reduce the impact of chronic inflammation.
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The Highest Expression Of Cb2 Receptors Is Located On B Lymphocytes And Natural Killer Cells Suggesting A Possible Role In Immunity
Think of CB2 as a steering mechanism for NK cell activity. Up or down as needed.
Remember that NK cells were key to blocking the spread of cancer from cell to cell.
CB2 happens to where CBD has its greatest impact.
As for CBD, there’s an interesting new piece of the puzzle its name is NIK.
Remember the CD8 cells above…which kill cancerous cells?
Turkey Tail And Polysaccharide
| 5-y survival:79.0% versus 72.2% | Mitomycin-C plus long-term administration of oral fluorinated pyrimidines | 1iB |
References
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Turkey Tail Dosage For Cancer
Turkey tail mushroom plays a vital role in cancer treatment. Turkey tail mushroom for cancer is part of the numerous ways people with cancer improve their lives.
In Japan, turkey tail extract is a prescription in oral capsules. This contains 1 g of PSK taken thrice daily. This suggests that the recommended turkey tail mushroom dosage for cancer in Japan is about 3 grams per day.
In many countries, government and health-regulatory bodies have also approved using turkey tail mushrooms to treat cancer. The oral capsules contain 1.08 g of mushroom extract given three times a day.
Therefore, a dose of 3.24 grams daily works when using turkey tail mushrooms for cancer. This dosage, in most cases, is consumed in the form of turkey tail powder.
It is, however, worth noting that the dosage can vary depending on the type of cancer. Below, we will look at what research has to say.
Breast Cancer Dosage
Turkey tail mushroom has been used in clinical trials in women with breast cancer after primary oncologic treatment. In patients with breast cancer, improvements in immune status were observed with a daily dose of 9 grams.
Lung Cancer Dosage
Oral Cancer Dosage
Turkey tail mushrooms prevented human papillomavirus induced cancers of the oral cavity in a randomized controlled trial. The turkey tail mushroom dosage for HPV was two 200 mg capsules for two months. This dose was combined with another medicinal mushroom, Lion’s mane, for patients with oral cancer.
The Main Focus Is On The Latest In Vitro And In Vivo Studies That Present Data Regarding The Anti
See just how involved the endocannabinoid is?
- Anti-proliferation – reduced spread of cancer
- Pro-apoptotic -cancerous or wayward cell suicide
- Cytotoxic – killing off cancerous cells
- Anti-invasive – ability of cancer to gain entry to cells
- Anti-antiangiogenic – reduced ability of cancer to gain blood supply for growth
- Anti-inflammation – systemic inflammation is tied to cancer growth/spread
- Immunomodulatory – the same principles we looked at above for turkey tail!
Before we jump in, let’s understand what makes CBD so special.
We don’t want to just boost or reduce these key pathways in one direction.
First, the body tends to push back and second, there are always knock-on effects.
For example, NSAIDs reduce COX2 which is a pain signaller.
Mother nature likes to multi-task so COX2 also manages pathways in heart function and the gut.
That’s why there can be gut barrier issues and heart attacks from long-term use .
We could go on and on. Even immunotherapies can have pretty significant side effects.
Here’s CBD’s special talent.
It works like a feedback mechanism!
Technically, it’s called an allosteric modulator .
The repercussions of this “support” response are very important with cancer.
Check this out:
- Healthy cell with low inflammation – CBD has no effect
- Healthy cell with high inflammation – CBD reduces inflammation
- Cancerous or pre-cancerous cell – CBD INCREASES inflammation
Read that back over…three separate results depending on 3 different initial states.
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Medicinal Mushrooms For Cancer
Medicinal mushrooms have been used in different parts of the world, especially in Asia, for the treatment of various diseases. The popularity of medicinal mushrooms as an alternative medicine or an adjuvant therapy has been also increasing in cancer patients since many years. In fact, in China and Japan, medicinal mushrooms are approved as an adjuvant alongside their standard of care chemotherapy for cancer patients for more than 3 decades.
More than 100 types of mushrooms are being used for treating various diseases including cancer in Asia. The bioactive compounds present in each type of medicinal mushrooms are different and hence have diverse bioactivities. Some of the common examples of mushrooms which are popular for its association with cancer treatments are Lions mane mushrooms, Agaricus blazei, Cordyceps sinensis, Grifola frondosa/Maitake, Ganoderma lucidum/Reishi, and Turkey Tail.
But do we have studies suggesting that including these mushrooms as part of the cancer patients diet may improve cancer outcomes or help lower cancer risk? Can we use these mushrooms as first line treatment for cancers?
Let us find out from some of the clinical and observational studies associated with some of these mushrooms, especially Turkey Tail/Yun Zhi/Coriolus versicolor Mushrooms, Reishi/Ganoderma lucidum Mushrooms and Maitake/Grifola frondosa mushrooms.
Tgmap Prostate Tumor Model
TgMAP C57/BL6 mice at week 8 and 14 were administered with PSP at 200 mg/kg for 4 weeks or 300 mg/Kg for 20 weeks respectively by oral gavage feeding . Control group were fed with water only for the same period of time. Mice were sacrificed and prostate tissues were collected, fixed in 10% formalin and embedded in paraffin. The whole prostate was cut into 4 µm sections and one in every five consecutive sections was stained with H& E. Histology examination was performed by Dr. K.W. Chan . Statistical difference was determined by Fisher’s exact test and was considered as significant if p< 0.05. Animal ethics was approved by the Committee on the Use of Live Animals for Teaching and Research with the approval no. of 1694-08. All animal handling procedures were carried out according to the guidelines of the Committee on the Use of Live Animals in Teaching and Research , The University of Hong Kong.
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Impact Of Turkey Tail Mushroom Consumption In Breast Cancer Patients
In a study done by the researchers from the University of Minnesota in the U.S., they conducted a small phase 1 clinical study in 11 breast cancer patients who completed radiation therapy to determine the maximum tolerated dose of Turkey Tail Mushroom extract preparation when taken daily in divided doses for 6 weeks. 9 out of 11 breast cancer patients who received either 3 g, 6 g, or 9 g Turkey Tail Mushroom extract preparation completed the study.
The study found that up to 9 grams/day of a Turkey Tail Mushroom extract preparation was safe and tolerable in these breast cancer patients when given post their conventional cancer treatment. They also found that the mushroom extract preparation may improve the immune status in immunocompromised breast cancer patients following standard primary oncologic treatment. However, more well designed large scale clinical studies are required to establish these findings.
Turkey Tail Mushroom Side Effects
For the most part, turkey tail mushrooms are safe when taken in small doses. The recommended dosage is usually around 3g/day for cancer patients. For up to 12 weeks, whole turkey tail mushroom can be taken by mouth in a daily dose of 2.4g. Of course, its always a good idea to talk to your health provider before taking a supplement.
Some people have experienced mild side effects from turkey tail mushrooms even when taking the prescribed dosing. For example, some research study participants have reported having digestive symptoms after taking turkey tail mushrooms. These symptoms include bloating, gas, heartburn, constipation, and dark stools.
In addition, some cancer patients who took turkey tail mushrooms along with chemotherapy experienced symptoms such as vomiting, nausea, and a loss of appetite. It is unclear whether these symptoms are due to the mushrooms themselves or the chemotherapy treatment.
Anyone who suffers from a mushroom or mold allergy should stay away from turkey tail mushrooms since they are fungi.
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Cbd And Cancer Cell Death
Where turkey tail was pretty straightforward , CBD comes at it from so many different angles.
Again, our immune system is like a labyrinth with 100’s of not 1000’s of players.
A quick look at cancer cell death is a perfect example. The technical term for cell death is apoptosis.
First breast cancer:
Inhibition Of Atm Kinase Upregulates Levels Of Cell Death Induced By Cannabidiol And
One other side note…there’s quite a bit of research on CBD to help with symptoms from cancer and treatment.
After all, the most common uses for CBD are pain, sleep, and anxiety. Nausea is another use.
Check out CBD and sleep and CBD and anxiety.
It’s tricky to use other substances like NAC which support glutathione since they might actually counter the effects of chemo/radiation.
Research on CBD shows this effect is selective depending on the state of the cell .
Work with your doctor.
There’s lots of research on CBD and neuropathy from chemo such as:
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Can Turkey Tail And Cbd Be Used With Cancer Treatment
First, always work with your doctor or naturopath with any supplement!
We don’t to diminish the anti-cancer effects of the treatment.
A few considerations become apparent:
- We don’t want to interfere with liver processing needed for medications to work
- We don’t want to undo the oxidative stress occurring in cancer cells
For turkey tail, the Japanese have used it as an adjunction treatment for quite some time now.
A sample:
Cancer Studies On Turkey Tail Mushrooms
- A $2.25 Million dollarstudy, approved by the National Institutes of Health, explored the impact Turkey Tail mushrooms have on the immune systems of breast cancer patients. Using mushrooms provided by Stamets company, Fungi Perfecti, LLC, researchers confirmed that the mushrooms powerfully stimulate the immune system, with no toxicity or side effects. T. Versicolor dose-dependently enhances natural killer cell activity in women with breast cancer in the post chemo-radiotherapy setting.
- In thisstudy, mice bred to develop prostate cancer were split into two groups. One group was treated with PSP, an active component extracted from Turkey Tail mushrooms, and the other group was not. Whereas 100% of the mice that fed with water only developed prostate tumors at the end of experiment, no tumors could be found in any of the mice fed with PSP, suggesting that PSP treatment can completely inhibit prostate tumor formation._
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How To Administer Turkey Tail For Pets
Turkey tail mushroom has many benefits, including boosting immunity, attacking viruses, and potentially fighting cancer.
However, the best way to reap the benefits of this wonder plant is to combine it with other healthful herbs and compounds.
For instance, PET | TAOs Complement Immunesupplement contains shiitake, reishi, and maitake, all of which are excellent beneficial mushrooms to administer with turkey tail.
Complement Immune comes in a tasty, easy to administer soft chew for your pet.
The Two Actually May Work Together Since Turkey Tail Can Slow Down Serotonin Function While Cbd Supports It
Granted, an odd couple but wait till you see the research.
So fascinating!
We’ll dive deep into the immune system which is tasked with detecting and removing wayward cells including pre-cancerous and cancerous versions.
We even have some phase 1 trials to look at with turkey tail.
As for CBD, it’s again a question of immune response but also oxidative stress and more.
Here are the topics we’ll cover:
- A quick intro to cancer
- The immune system and cancer
- How does turkey tail interact with cancer
- How does CBD interact with cancer
- Can turkey tail and CBD be used preventatively for cancer
- Turkey tail and CBD for longevity
- How much turkey tail and CBD to use with cancer
- Can turkey tail and CBD be used with cancer treatment
- What’s the best turkey tail and CBD for cancer
Let’s get started!
One note…work with your doctor and/or naturopath with any supplement especially in light of other treatment.
First, a lay of the land.
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How Do I Take Turkey Tail Mushroom
In traditional Asian medicine, turkey tail mushrooms have often been brewed as a tea. Many people still prefer this option.
It can also be consumed in powder form or even made into capsules. You can add a little turkey tail mushroom powder to a smoothie or make a broth with it. Just be sure to carefully follow the instructions on the package.
Depending on the outcomes of ongoing research, there may be even more options in the future if your doctor thinks it might help you recover from cancer.
Recently, researchers have found that different parts of the mushroom may provide different benefits.
In fact, a 2019 study found that a fermented substrate of the turkey tail mushroom seemed to have unique beneficial components compared with other parts of the mushroom.
Although these results are promising, people with cancer shouldnt try turkey tail before consulting with their oncologist. Its important to discuss your interest in any alternative treatment for cancer with your doctor to make sure its a safe and appropriate choice for your health.
Why Turkey Tail Mushroom Works For Pets With Cancer
Cancer diagnoses are devastating.
Whats worse than finding out your beloved pet has a potentially fatal disease?
Luckily, those looking for proven scientific relief for their pet may find the answer in the turkey tail mushroom.
According to turkey tail cancer research, the fungi have powerful and beneficial medical powers.
Mushrooms are powerful antioxidants, immune and gut boosters, cancer fighters and cancer treatment boosters.
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Prolonging Psp Consumption Inhibits Prostate Cancer Development In Tgmap Mice
The failure to inhibit PIN formation by PSP treatment may due to insufficient dose or treatment length. We therefore tested if a higher dose and longer period of PSP consumption may affect prostate tumor formation using the same model. Five TgMAP mice were fed with 300 mg/kg of PSP for a total of 20 weeks . Four mice at the same age were again fed with water only for the same period of time. All mice were sacrificed at 28 weeks old when prostate tumors were formed, with prostatic tissues collected and sectioned for histology. As shown in Figure 5B, tumors were found in different sections of the prostate gland from all of the mice that were fed with water only. Surprisingly, examination of all of the prostate section revealed that none of the mice that were fed with PSP bare any prostate tumors , suggesting that PSP treatment completely inhibited prostate tumor formation in the TgMAP mice. Meanwhile, whereas three of the PSP-fed mice were found to have PIN, the other two mice were found to have completely normal prostates . Furthermore, consistent with the low toxicity of PSP, long term consumption appears to have no side effect on the mice, as judged by the body weight changes and physical signs . These findings strongly suggest that oral intake of PSP may be a safe and effective chemopreventive agent against prostate cancer.
Effect of PSP on prostate tumor development of the TgMAP transgenic mouse model.