About Treatment Trials & Vitamin C

[mlzd]

My father was diagnosed with prostate cancer 7 years ago. He's had radiotherapy, hormonal therapy and one chemo. We are in the process of finding out other means of helping him cope with the disease including pain management under hospice care and participation in treatment trials. We have a lot of apprehensions about the trial though, knowing that taking a new not-widely-tested drug could be very risky. Our family is afraid that the side effects would be too much for him to handle as he's gotten older and weaker although he is still ambulatory. To be frank we are afraid that letting him join a trial could make his life more miserable than it is now leaving him wanting to die earlier. We are trying to decide whether we should focus on the management of his pain or finding a good chance to cure him. What is your opinion on this? Also, would it be ok for my father to take megadoses of Vit C?  I am aware that there is an ongoing clinical trial for a new combo drug (vit C & K3) for prostate CA.  The daily intake is supposed to be 5000mg of vit C & 50mg of vit K3. Since ascorbic acid may be bad for the stomach, a buffered version of C (sodium ascorabate) would be better when taken in megadoses. I know this for a fact since I'm taking this C at 2000mg-3000mg per day and it has cured most of my health complaints. But I don't have cancer so how about my father's case? Do you think it's safe and not contraindicated with the rest of his regular CA drugs because it's only a vitamin? Thank you very much for your opinion!

[Ash Tewari, MD, M.Ch.]

Your questions are not easy to answer.

There are always risks associated with any treatment.  Risks vary depending on the type of treatment.  Mainstay pharmacologic treatments undergo rigorous evaluation in a multi step fashion to establish their safety, their tolerability in humans and their ability to treat the intended disease. Despite these safeguards, it is impossible to know for sure how an individual patient will respond or what reactions they may have even in FDA approved treatments.  

The decision to enter an experimental trial should be made by a patient after completely understanding the potential risks and potential benefits of the proposed treatment.  Your father should be familiar with the treatment protocol and understand the role of placebo treatment in the control group.  Your father should be aware of previous trials as well as previous studies examining the side effects Also, your father should discuss the trial in depth with his physician

After you completely understand the proposed study, you should weigh the benefits and potential risks.  Understand, however, that not all experimental treatments lead to improvement in health or cure.  The decision to enter a trial is one you must make with the consultation of your doctor.

While there is evidence that dietary supplements can impact prostate health, I would advise against beginning any supplements or medication without first discussing it fully with his doctor.  Herbal supplements and vitamins are frequently not considered “medications” by patients but they may interact with prescription medications and lead to adverse effects.  This risk may be exacerbated by your father’s poor health and other medical conditions.

First consult with your doctor before beginning any medications, supplements, vitamins, extracts, tonics or any remedy purchased from a questionable source.

AT

[mlzd]

Thank you very much for that response. Our family will surely consider everything you said. Best regards!

mlzd