[ambicapter]

Tim Ferris' Tools of Titans has a section from a doctor (not oncologist) who recommends fasting the days before chemo treatment. Supposedly it sensitizes the cancer cells to the chemo. I'm hesitant to give advice to cancer patients on the internet but there's more recommendations (in my book it's pg. 32-33). He also mentions keto diet, exogenous ketones, metformin, dichloroacetic acid, and finally hyperbaric oxygen, rapamycin in "modest, intermittent doses" and finally sequencing the tumor to see if a checkpoint inhibitor could be effective.

Again, recommendations from a health guru book and not an actual doctor, that I'm just copying here in case it helps. I have no experience with cancer other than a close relative passing away when I was much younger.

[rgbrenner]

It sounds like a really bad idea for a Stage IV cancer patient to fast. In later stages they frequently already have substantial weight loss... and in the last few weeks, people actually stop eating entirely as the body starts to shutdown. Death usually occurs when the weight loss reaches 30-40%.

Encouraging them to stop eating seems like it would just accelerate death.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5114624/

[jsperx]

I just went through 6 cycles of 5-day IV chemotherapy (AIM) and I fasted for all of them, for a total of over 35 days of water-only fasting during the last 5 months. I can’t find the PubMed link right now but there were small studies that looked like healthy cells would go into kind of a suspend/preserve mode that lessened side effects, whereas cancer cells still experienced the intended cytotoxicity. I tolerated the treatments quite well, lost hair of course but only vomited twice during the whole time. Lost weight each time but was able to put it back on quickly during the following week for each cycle, though I do want to watch body composition (don’t want to trade muscle for fat).

Did it make a difference in effectiveness? I actually have my follow up scans tomorrow to find out. As you can imagine, I really really hope so.

https://news.usc.edu/29428/fasting-weakens-cancer-in-mice/

[rgbrenner]

I'm not a doctor. Ive just spent a lot of time looking into this (as im sure you have) because a close relative died from Stage IV lung cancer.

There are studies on fasting with chemo.. and depending on the type of cancer its either effective or ineffective. My comment was specifically about the end stages where cachexia is common (from my link above):

"Cachexia is associated particularly with cancer where the prevalence can reach 50–80% in advanced malignant cancer."

And all of the advice Ive found says fasting is not recommended for patients with cachexia.

It sounds like it was fine in your case though because you were able to regain the weight. Best of luck with your scans.

[drunkenmagician]

All the best - Cancer sucks!

[krashidov]

Best of luck to you!

[bluecheese452]

Good luck!

[chasil]

There have been studies that p53 can be reactivated by fasting.

In the context of chemotherapy, couldn't that be a quantitatively useful benefit?

"Fasting improves therapeutic response in hepatocellular carcinoma through p53-dependent metabolic synergism"

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35061544/

[ggfdyjgfth4455]

I am not a doctor. It is very sunny in the middle east (skin cancer?). Fasting is part of their cultural/religious tradition.

[chasil]

Sorry that you were down voted.

I did upvote you.

[ambicapter]

In the book he recommends against in cases of muscle wasting (cachexia), yes.

[maxk42]

Certain hard cancers are known to depend on blood sugar for growth as they can't metabolize anything else. It makes sense that a keto diet, therefore, would slow tumor growth, and I've heard of oncologists recommending it. Keto diets prevent prevent elevated blood sugar naturally. It's not a silver bullet but when it comes to cancer you've got to take every advantage you can get.