Avemar: cutting-edge cancer fighter?

It's pricey and awful-tasting, but it just might work!

One of the things Dr. Huber has prescribed to me is Avemar, a fermented wheat germ supplement that has great promise in fighting cancer. I first heard about it through my friend Pattie, who learned about it when receiving care at Cancer Treatment Centers of America. I also received information when I stopped by Avemar’s table while at the Annie Appleseed Conference.

My first impression of Avemar when I took home my box was, “Damn, this is expensive!” My second impression was, “This stuff tastes awful!” Actually, I used another word, but you get my drift. Thank goodness, it is much more palatable mixed with juice.

This weekend, I finally had time to dig through my materials from Annie Appleseed and look at the Avemar data. Since 1996, more than 100 studies were done on Avemar, and it’s pretty impressive. Still, I tend to look past what retailers provide and seek other sources.

One study that I found on Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Web site, http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/69418.cfm, showed that Avemar (known as Ave’ in Europe) increased the efficacy of tamoxifen in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cells. The site points to other studies that showed Avemar has beneficial effects for patients with colorectal cancer, melonoma (when combined with chemo) and pediatric cancer.

Of course, they state that larger studies are needed, but I wonder how much of that is limited to the fact it is a supplement, not a chemo drug. Therefore, it does not have the big money behind it to fund these large studies.

According to an article in Health Sciences Institute’s December 2005 newsletter (which was provided to me at Annie Appleseed by the vendor), Avemar …

• Reduces cancer recurrence – one study of 170 colorectal cancer patients showed a 67 percent reduction in metastasis and 62 percent reduction in deaths in the group who used Avemar compared to the control group that didn’t.
• Cuts off cancer cell’s energy supply by selectively inhibiting glucose metabolism in cancer cells (the higher the glucose; the greater chance of spreading)
• Speeds cancer  cell death by inhibiting the production of PARP, which enables DNA replication of cancer cells
• Exposes “undercover” cancer cells by helping the immune system identify cancer cells for attack by suppressing their ability to generate a surface molecule called MHC-1, which tells natural killer cells not to attack.

All of this information made the cost and taste of Avemar go down a little easier. Cancer is a tricky thing, and I’m not advocating forgoing traditional treatments. I’m calling  my doctor today to make sure I can take Avemar with the Arimidex he prescribed.

Now, my disclaimer: I’m not even close to being a doctor or scientist, so please talk to your doctor and do your own research.