ca125 rising again & herbs that affect this #?

[Setter]

I was reading in another note you said "CA125 can have variation in value based on the lab assay and certain herbs affect the liver,"  what are those certain herbs?? I am taking several herbs and just finished my 7th DOXIL , my CA125 is now 118 last month it was 108!  I am taking ZEOLITE do you know anything about that herb?  I also take astragalus, red clover, wheatgrass, pau d'arco, royal jelly, CO Q-10, hawthorn berries, melatonin, vit D, matanx, shiitake and maitake mushrooms, seasonal rescue, carnivora and vit E just to name a few.  I am stage 1c ovca this is my 3rd round of chemo no measurable tumor but CA125 keeps going up?  Do these herbs I mentioned make my CA125 GO UP??  Which ones are you talking about that do have this reaction to the CA125?? thank you so much

[alanpvegas]

The safest one to take is Maitake D-Fraction from Maitake Products Inc (maitake . com).  Their product, Grifron Pro Maitake D-Fraction is in FDA Phase II clinical trials for breast and prostate cancer.  That's the only supplement that can boast that claim.  Further it has a longstanding safety history which allowed it to bypass the typical Phase I level and go straight to phase II.  The only interaction would be if you are allergic to mushrooms.  The Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer center allows this product to be used by all their cancer patients with all chemos (except radiation).  The way it works also means there is no way it can 'interfere' with other chemos.  Further, it has shown synergetic effects with chemo's in the past.

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Hi There,

This is an area that has not been well studied. Many years ago, I took care of a woman with ovarian cancer whose CA 125 kept rising. Her CT scan did not show any tumors. Finally I performed a laparoscopy to evaluate for cancer recurrence. There was no sign of recurrence. On further questioning, she was taking multiple herbs but she did not know the names of them. I suggested that she stop these herbs. Within three months her CA 125 went to normal. Since then, when I see an elevated CA 125 in the absence of cancer recurrence, I wonder if a person is ingesting substances that are causing inflammation or liver dysfunction.


Many herbs can be toxic to the liver, including chaparral, germander, kava kava, pennyroyal oil, and plants that contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Ca 125 can go up with Liver dysfunction .

I do not know if that is what you are experiencing. i worry about the number of herbs that you are taking in conjunction with chemotherapy. I consider herbs just other medicine that are unrefined. There can be drug-drug interactions that can cause toxic side effects
take care