Vitamins And Supplements To Ease The Pain Of Cancer Radiation

supplements or dietary changes should be introduced before starting radiation treatment.

R-lipoic acid—300 milligrams (mg) daily
Beta-carotene—25,000 international units (IU) or 75 mg daily
Coenzyme Q10—100 to 400 mg daily
Curcumin—up to 3.2 grams daily
Panax ginseng (Siberian)—200 to 1000 mg daily
Green tea extract—725 mg three times daily
Hydrolytic enzymes— papain (100 mg), trypsin (40 mg), and chymotrypsin (40 mg): three days before radiation therapy and continuing until five days after completion of treatment
Kamillosan—10 drops in 1 ounce of water, three times daily (http://www.smallflower.com/).
L-arginine—900 mg daily
L-glutamine—20 to 40 grams administered before starting radiation therapy
Melatonin—up to 20 mg daily
Multivitamin/multimineral supplement (without copper)
N-acetylcysteine—200 to 600 mg daily
Omega-3 fatty acids—1 to 2 grams (g) daily
Probiotics—2x109 Lactobacillus acidophilus daily
Pure honey—20 milliliters (ml), 15 minutes before, 15 minutes after, and 6 hours after radiotherapy
Selenium—200 to 1000 micrograms (mcg) daily
Silymarin—150 to 600 mg daily
Soy extract containing 50 mg of isoflavones—twice daily
Taurine—1000 mg daily
Vitamin A— 8000 to 30,000 IU daily
Vitamin C— 500 mg three times daily
Vitamin E—400 to 1200 IU daily
Whey protein isolate—20 grams daily.


Cancer Radiation Therapy Safety Caveats
An aggressive program of dietary supplementation should not be launched without the supervision of a qualified physician. Several of the nutrients suggested in this protocol may have adverse effects. These include:

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) has been shown to exacerbate radiation nephropathy.
Beta-Carotene

Do not take beta-carotene if you smoke. Daily intake of 20 milligrams or more has been associated with a higher incidence of lung cancer in smokers.
Taking 30 milligrams or more daily for prolonged periods can cause carotenoderma, a yellowish skin discoloration (carotenoderma can be distinguished from jaundice because the whites of the eyes are not discolored in carotenoderma).
Coenzyme Q10

See your doctor and monitor your blood glucose level frequently if you take CoQ10 and have diabetes. Several clinical reports suggest that taking CoQ10 may improve glycemic control and the function of beta cells in people who have type 2 diabetes.
Statin drugs (such as lovastatin, simvastatin, and pravastatin) are known to decrease CoQ10 levels.
Curcumin

Do not take curcumin if you have a bile duct obstruction or a history of gallstones. Taking curcumin can stimulate bile production.
Consult your doctor before taking curcumin if you have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or a history of peptic ulcer disease.
Consult your doctor before taking curcumin if you take warfarin or antiplatelet drugs. Curcumin can have antithrombotic activity.
Always take curcumin with food. Curcumin may cause gastric irritation, ulceration, gastritis, and peptic ulcer disease if taken on an empty stomach.
Curcumin can cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea.
EPA/DHA

Consult your doctor before taking EPA/DHA if you take warfarin (Coumadin). Taking EPA/DHA with warfarin may increase the risk of bleeding.
Discontinue using EPA/DHA 2 weeks before any surgical procedure.
Ginseng

Consult your doctor before taking ginseng if you have high blood pressure. Overuse of ginseng can increase blood pressure.
Consult your doctor before taking ginseng if you take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and/or warfarin (Coumadin). Taking NSAIDs or warfarin with ginseng can increase the risk of bleeding.
Consult your doctor before taking ginseng if you have diabetes. Taking ginseng can cause an extreme drop in your blood glucose level.
Ginseng can cause breast pain, vaginal bleeding after menopause, insomnia, headaches, and nosebleeds.
Green Tea

Consult your doctor before taking green tea extract if you take aspirin or warfarin (Coumadin). Taking green tea extract and aspirin or warfarin can increase the risk of bleeding.
Discontinue using green tea extract 2 weeks before any surgical procedure. Green tea extract may decrease platelet aggregation.
Green tea extract contains caffeine, which may produce a variety of symptoms including restlessness, nausea, headache, muscle tension, sleep disturbances, and rapid heartbeat.
L-Arginine

Do not take L-arginine if you have the rare genetic disorder argininemia.
Consult your doctor before taking L-arginine if you have cancer. L-arginine can stimulate growth hormone.
Consult your doctor before taking L-arginine if you have kidney failure or liver failure.
Consult your doctor before taking L-arginine if you have herpes simplex. L-arginine may increase the possibility of recurrence.
L-Glutamine

Consult your doctor before taking L-glutamine if you have kidney failure or liver failure.
L-glutamine can cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea.
NOTE: Glutamine and Arginine

Many clinical trials utilizing glutamine and arginine resulted in beneficial outcomes for cancer patients, and four clinical trials are ongoing. However, some doctors are concerned that supplemental arginine and glutamine may promote tumor cell proliferation in patients, though this has not been clinically observed and is based solely on laboratory studies.

Lipoic Acid

Consult your doctor before taking lipoic acid if you have diabetes and glucose intolerance. Monitor your blood glucose level frequently. Lipoic acid may lower blood glucose levels.
Melatonin

Do not take melatonin if you are depressed.
Do not take high doses of melatonin if you are trying to conceive. High doses of melatonin have been shown to inhibit ovulation.
Melatonin can cause morning grogginess, a feeling of having a hangover or a “heavy head,” or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea.
Milk Thistle

Consult your doctor before taking milk thistle with tranquilizers such as Haldol, Serentil, Stelazine, and Thorazine. Milk thistle combats the effect of tranquilizers.
Do not combine milk thistle with the blood pressure medication Regitine. Milk thistle combats the effect of Regitine.
NAC

NAC clearance is reduced in people who have chronic liver disease.
Do not take NAC if you have a history of kidney stones (particularly cystine stones).
NAC can produce a false-positive result in the nitroprusside test for ketone bodies used to detect diabetes.
Consult your doctor before taking NAC if you have a history of peptic ulcer disease. Mucolytic agents may disrupt the gastric mucosal barrier.
NAC can cause headache (especially when used along with nitrates) and gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea and diarrhea.
Selenium

High doses of selenium (1000 micrograms or more daily) for prolonged periods may cause adverse reactions.
High doses of selenium taken for prolonged periods may cause chronic selenium poisoning. Symptoms include loss of hair and nails or brittle hair and nails.
Selenium can cause rash, breath that smells like garlic, fatigue, irritability, and nausea and vomiting.
Soy

Do not take soy if you have an estrogen receptor-positive tumor.
Soy has been associated with hypothyroidism.
Vitamin A

Do not take vitamin A if you have hypervitaminosis A.
Do not take vitamin A if you take retinoids or retinoid analogues (such as acitretin, all-trans-retinoic acid, bexarotene, etretinate, and isotretinoin). Vitamin A can add to the toxicity of these drugs.
Do not take large amounts of vitamin A. Taking large amounts of vitamin A may cause acute or chronic toxicity. Early signs and symptoms of chronic toxicity include dry, rough skin; cracked lips; sparse, coarse hair; and loss of hair from the eyebrows. Later signs and symptoms of toxicity include irritability, headache, pseudotumor cerebri (benign intracranial hypertension), elevated serum liver enzymes, reversible noncirrhotic portal high blood pressure, fibrosis and cirrhosis of the liver, and death from liver failure.
Vitamin C

Do not take vitamin C if you have a history of kidney stones or of kidney insufficiency (defined as having a serum creatine level greater than 2 milligrams per deciliter and/or a creatinine clearance less than 30 milliliters per minute.
Consult your doctor before taking large amounts of vitamin C if you have hemochromatosis, thalassemia, sideroblastic anemia, sickle cell anemia, or erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. You can experience iron overload if you have one of these conditions and use large amounts of vitamin C.
Vitamin E

Consult your doctor before taking vitamin E if you take warfarin (Coumadin).
Consult your doctor before taking high doses of vitamin E if you have a vitamin K deficiency or a history of liver failure.
Consult your doctor before taking vitamin E if you have a history of any bleeding disorder such as peptic ulcers, hemorrhagic stroke, or hemophilia.
Discontinue using vitamin E 1 month before any surgical procedure