For many, surgery to remove tumors or organs that have been affected by cancer may seem to be the most benign of the “Big Three” conventional cancer therapies. Make no mistake, however, it is a highly-invasive procedure and comes with its own risks and needs for rebuilding the immune system post cancer surgery.
What Cancer Surgery Does to Your Body
Invasive surgery for breast cancer and other forms of cancer affects the body in various ways. Research has shown that it can have a detrimental effect on the immune system by significantly reducing the number and production rate of Natural Killer cells. It also causes the body to go into a trauma state. During this state, the body automatically secretes growth factors with the aim of facilitating a healing response. These same factors, however, can also catalyze cancer cells to grow and spread.
Another major concern about surgery is that during this invasive procedure, the natural barriers in the body that would normally keep a cancer tumor contained in a particular area of the body or organ is breached. This breaching may enable cancer cells to leak past natural barriers and spread to other parts of the body system. It should be noted that this concern exists for those who are considering breast cancer biopsy as well.
The most shocking news, according to studies conducted at Tel-Aviv University in Israel and others, is that surgery may actually cause cancer tumors to spread. Sometimes this happens at a rapid rate. Cancer cells tend to be “sticky cells.” They have a Velcro-like substance on them that allows them to adhere to each other as well as to the walls of blood vessels. According to Bill Faloon, director and co-founder of Life Extension Institute, the sticking and binding characteristic of cancer cells may increase by up to 250% after surgery.
Natural Protocols to Heal After Cancer Surgery
Nature never ceases to amaze. Here are some of the wondrous natural substances & modalities that you can consider adding to your healthy breast protocol after breast cancer surgery. These can also be used by anyone who is on the healing path with cancer:
#1 Chaga Mushrooms. Prepare for your surgery by boosting your immune system beforehand. Medicinal mushrooms are some of the best substances you can include in your healing toolbox for their immune-boosting properties in general. According to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, chaga mushrooms, used for centuries in Europe as an immune system stimulator and digestive aid, can be especially effective for boosting Natural Killer cells, reducing fatigue, reducing inflammation, and brain health. Other substances that boost NK cells (those cells whose job it is to hunt out and destroy pathogens like cancer) include garlic, milk thistle, sulforaphane (from broccoli sprouts), and curcumin.
#2 Modified Citrus Pectin. Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) is a type of polysaccharide that comes from the cell walls of citrus fruit and is most commonly known as a source of dietary fiber. It can also lessen the “stickiness” of cancer cells that could be exacerbated with surgery and may lead to cancer metastasis. Evidence-based research has shown Modified Citrus Pectin to have a direct effect on prostate, lung, and breast cancers and other studies have found MCP intake to decrease cancer cell adhesion by up to 95%. Many experts suggest taking MCP for up to a year after cancer surgery.
#3 Omega 3 Fatty Acids. Reducing inflammation is one of the most important (if not THE most important) thing you can do to boost your overall health after radiation. Omega 3 Fatty Acids are key polyunsaturated fats and include α-linolenic acid (ALA), found in found in plant oils such as coconut oil and flax oil, as well as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), found in fish such as salmon. It is now common knowledge that Omega 3s have many health benefits, including decreasing inflammation, which helps decrease cancer recurrence risk overall.
#4 Bromelain. Bromelain is an enzyme complex found in pineapple. It has been shown to be a strong anti-inflammatory and can also help to curb the formation of heavy scar tissue after an accident or surgery.
#5 Eliciting the “Relaxation Response.” Stress can cause dis-ease through kicking in the “fight or flight” response and raising stress hormones. But when a person is deeply relaxed is when the heart rate lowers, muscles relax, digestive activity (and thus immunity) improves and the parasympathetic nervous system can do its job of true healing. After surgery, do what you can to elicit the “relaxation response” as much as possible. Avoiding stressful thoughts, conversations, and people. Practice Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), meditate, use calming essential oils like lavender in a diffuser or topically, and engage in light, targeted massage to lower your stress response overall.
Surgery should not be taken lightly. It is a highly invasive procedure that will put your body in a state of shock during the procedure and for weeks following it. For years, studies have shown that “primary tumor removal may result in sudden acceleration of the metastatic process.”
If you are recovering from cancer surgery or are preparing for it, take note of the ways mentioned above that you can speed up recovery and help keep cancer from returning as you heal. Help your body through eliciting the relaxation response and, most of all, do all you can to stay on a healing path (or a healthy breast path if you are recovering from mastectomy, lumpectomy, or biopsy) in the months and years following surgery.
Has someone you care about (recently) undergone cancer surgery and may be helped by this information? If so, please share. There are also two articles in this series with tips on detoxing and repairing the body post-chemo and post-radiation therapy.
- Chemotherapy Detox: How to Rebuild Your Health after Chemo
- Radiation Detox: How to Rebuild Your Health after Radiation Therapy
Article Summary
Invasive surgery for cancer affects the body in various ways. Research has shown that it can have a detrimental effect on the immune system by significantly reducing the number and production rate of Natural Killer cells.
Another major concern is that the natural barriers that normally keep a cancer tumor contained in a particular area of the body or organ may be breached, allowing cancer cells to spread to other parts of the body.
According to studies conducted at Tel-Aviv University in Israel and others, surgery may actually cause cancer tumors to spread.
There are a number of wondrous natural substances that you can adding to your healing protocol after cancer surgery. These include:
- Chaga mushrooms
- Modified Citrus Pectin
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- Bromelain
- Eliciting the “Relaxation Response”
Great article. I assume the comment about risk of cancer spread by biopsy also applies to biopsy of the prostate which I agreed to before I knew better. Ended up with an infection from the biopsy procedure which took 2 x 3 day spells in hospitals to get rid off plus about 3 months before fully recovered. At least time in hospital was well spent giving me opportunity to research and develop a natural strategy to deal with the confirmed cancer confined to the prostate (at least before the biopsy!!!??) I keep away from hospitals and Doctors apart from arranging 3 monthly PSA tests which have been decreased by my natural strategy from the levels which prompted the biopsy. Thanks to TTAC for it’s contribution to my strategy.
To, surgery should be avoided at all costs, especially if someone has cancer, because surgery does not cure a person from cancer, but causes it to spread to other parts of the body. I have heard that salmon is very good for your breasts. I eat salmon on a regular basis. I also eat pineapple every two weeks. Which stores can you get chagra mushrooms in Ottawa, Canada?
You are so right in what you say it all seems to be cut it out. poison it or nuke it. CanadianChaga.com sells Chaga caps and the US Gov PUB MED says it is anti Cancer so it may be a good place to start
wish i had know this during the years i had four lumpectomy and then a removal of one breast i now feel half a woman and only after the removal did i begin to hear about the co.rrect way to deal with it. I HAVE SINCE RECENTLY HAD 4 LITERS OF FLUID DRAIN FROM MY LEFT SIDE AND now they want me to go back and they say they will find something that they can do to correct the fact they found come cancer cells in the fluid;;, i say there is always cancer cells I TAKE ESSIAC VIT B12 C D . ZINC .SWEDISH BITTERS ANY FURTHER ADVICE THE FEAR IS THE WORST I SAY I DO NOT Have any but??? once you have had it and dealt with it so badly through lack of awareness you feel vulnerable I AM 85 AND DO NOT WANT ANY MORE TROUBLE VALERIE
Hi Valerie,
The best advice we can give you is to consult with one of the doctors/experts that we interviewed in our Global Quest Series. Here is a link to get their information: https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/experts-info-sheet/
The DHA form of Omega-3 is found, not only in salmon, but also in other fatty fish. Good examples are sardines, anchovies, and herring. If one must buy canned fish, these are better choices than tuna.
Also, make sure the salmon you buy is wild. Farmed salmon does not have the same health benefits as wild salmon does. Warning: most salmon served in restaurants is farmed. Atlantic salmon is more often farmed while other species like sockeye are more often wild. Look for the species on the label in the store.
I had a partial Whipple procedure done on 11/17/15, for Stage 4 Inoperable pancreatic cancer, following chemo for mionths that was making me sicker and weaker. (Before TTAC’s “The Global Quest”!). After finding 4 more positive spots on my liver and 2 pos. Lymph nodes, I underwent chemo again-with a huge difference- at home, alternative therapies I had been doing with the chemo, which helped alleviate the bad side effects of chemo! As of 9/4/16, I am in remission!! Thanks for the wealth of info I and my family have been able to access and use in our daily lives! Keep it up!!
The partial Whipple I had on 11/17/15 was the most painfull surgeries I ever had-and I’ve had 5 others. It has taken me a long time to recover, but I’m nearly back to where I was pre diagnosis/ Stage 4 Inoperable pancreatic cancer 4/2015. It has been an experience!! Wish I’d found you guys sooner!!!
I had surgery for a tumour in my foot January 2018. In a ct scan from August 2018 it had grown back and was 4.5 cm x 4.7 cm. I went to RSO (full spectrum cannabis oil for 60 days and reduced size by 85%. So another 30 days oil and all should be well. Not quite. My foot has not been healing from surgery, l now find out they inadvertently left surgical clips in my foot ( year and a half now), during this time they have run me through an mri twice.
So now they say the foot is probably not repairable.
Run from surgeons!