Melatonin, the Body’s Cancer Cure

When my father called me with the news that he had cancer, I was devastated.  He controlled his emotions far better than I, proving himself the eternal optimist.  His prostate cancer was in the beginning stages and he chose radiation therapy instead of surgery.  I would get constant phone updates from him.  One day he told me that the pills he was taking were worth $1000 dollars a day.  Thank goodness the Canadian health care system was footing the bill.  The radiation therapy was hard on him, some days leaving him feeling him more ill than the cancer itself did.

With luck and a lot of prayer he pulled through.  If only I’d known then what I know now, I might have saved him a lot of pain and suffering.

Along with all of the documented beneficial powers of Melatonin you have read about so far, it has another unique feature: 

It can stop the development and spread of cancer.

Scientists all over the world have come to realize that the circadian light and dark cycle seems to have an affect on the ability of the human body to prevent cancer. The human body creates more Melatonin in darkness, less when there is light.  There has been a discovery that in arctic populations who spend months in total darkness, the incidence of cancer is considerably lower than in industrialized areas.[1]    It has also been noted that people who are totally blind show 31% less incidence of cancer than sighted people.[2]

Conversely, it has been found that people who continually work the night shift have a higher incidence of cancer.[3] 

Our mothers told us that a good night sleep is the body’s way of repairing itself.  Research has finally proven what our mothers have known for years.  Melatonin is created at night by the pineal gland.  Melatonin is crucial for the body’s fight against cancer and other forms of physical break down. Scientists have found that people with tumor causing cancers have lower Melatonin levels than healthy subjects.[4]  It may well be the Melatonin that is reducing the onset of cancer. Rats that have had their pineal glands removed show a dramatic increase in cancer cell development, while treating them with Melatonin reduced the cancer occurrence.[5]

While some studies point to Melatonin creating a decrease in all tumor causing cancers, many focus on two cancers that Melatonin is extremely effective at preventing and treating: prostate and breast cancer.  In my research, the only cancer that Melatonin doesn’t seem to be effective against is Leukemia.  Scientific experimentation at the University of McGill in Montreal, Canada has found that the herbal supplement Echinacea Purpurea has a profound effect in helping the body to overcome Leukemia.[6]  Echinacea is yet another substance ignored by the medical community possibly due to the fact that no drug company can profit from it.

Prostate Cancer

As men age their prostate glands becomes more likely to develop cancerous cells, which can become life threatening malignant tumors.  Scientists have shown that the Melatonin levels in men drop considerably as they enter the later stages of life.[7]  Men who developed prostate cancers show a below average production level of Melatonin.  Research suggests that a reduction in Melatonin may be related to the development and growth of prostate cancer.[8] 

To determine the prostate cancer threat in men, doctors test the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in the blood.  Elevated levels of the PSA are sometimes the individual’s first warning that they may have a prostate condition.  Melatonin has been found to reduce the PSA count in the blood of subjects with prostate tumors. Melatonin was also found to have anti-tumor properties.[9] 

Not only does Melatonin seem to stop the proliferation of androgen-specific cancer cells and metastatic tumor growth in the Prostate, but it may also reverse the cancer itself.[10] 

Every year, almost 200,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in the United States and Canada.  This form of cancer is common in North America and Western Europe, but rare in Africa, South America and Asia.  This fact makes me consider that this may be yet another disease that may have a link to our westernized diet and lifestyle.  Every year, hundreds of thousands of men undergo painful prostate surgery and radiation treatments. In the process they use billions of dollars worth of hospitalization and medication. 

Simply adding Melatonin to your vitamin regimen could reduce the cancerous activity in your prostate, or, better yet, reduce your chance of ever getting cancer at all.  That would, however, deny the drug companies and the medical establishment their right to profit from your pain.

Would that be so wrong?

Breast Cancer

Men aren’t alone in benefiting from the anti-cancer effects of Melatonin.  Women as well can reap its benefits.  Blind women, show a marked decrease in breast cancer, while women who work shift work and sleep opposite to normal darkness cycles show an increased susceptibility to breast cancer.[11]   Melatonin is the main hormone whose production is directly dependent on light/dark circadian rhythms.

This has led many scientists to come to the conclusion that Melatonin may be useful in breast cancer therapy.[12] 

Over 200,000 women in United States and Canada are diagnosed with breast cancer each year.  These women will have to choose between the surgically invasive lumpectomy, mastectomy, chemo, or radiation therapies.   Unfortunately, for over 40,000 of these women the disease will prove fatal.

Research has found that Melatonin actually suppresses the growth of existing tumor cells in women.[13]  Further research on breast cancer shows that tumors can be reduced in size and number with the addition of Melatonin to the diet.[14]  

The American Cancer Society’s Webpage at ‘www.cancer.org’ has hormone therapies listed under its heading of Suggestions for Breast Cancer Treatment.  I read the article with interest hoping to see mention of the natural hormone, Melatonin.  Instead of the Melatonin that studies have shown can treat breast cancer, the society lists the following artificially created and patented prescription drugs:  Tamoxifen (sold as Nolvadex) and Raloxifene (an estrogen blocker sold as Evista). 

Not only do these drugs have dangerous side effects, but they are an expensive treatment as well.

A visit to ‘www.drugstore.com’ gives us an idea of just how much the pharmaceutical companies are charging for the treatment sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

Nolvadex         suggested dosage: 20-40mg daily

                        30 day supply @ 40 mgs daily:  $214.76

                        Daily dosage price:  $7.16

Evista               suggested dosage: one 60 mg tablet daily

                        30 day supply @ 60 mgs daily:   $70.99

                        Daily dosage price:  $2.37

Taken long term, these drugs are far from inexpensive.  But if they save a life from cancer, then any price is worth it right?  But what if there is actually little evidence that these two drugs are actually effective at treating breast cancer? 

In 2002, the American Society of Clinical Oncology gathered to review the evidence of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene in treating cancer.  Their report found that data reviewed “do not as yet suggest that tamoxifen provides an overall health benefit or increases survival.”  They further went on to say, “use of tamoxifen combined with hormone replacement therapy or use of raloxifene … to lower the risk of developing breast cancer is not recommended outside of a clinical trial setting.”[15] 

Not recommended outside of a clinical setting?  Yet these are the prescriptions of choice given by doctors to breast Cancer patients all over North America.  These are the drugs supported by the American Cancer Society.

If a group of expert cancer physicians does not fully validate and support the use of these drugs for breast cancer treatment, why are women being told to take them?

Money.

Those snake oil salesmen in the doctor’s office are doing one terrific job.  Doctors today are so overworked by their caseloads, how can anyone expect them to keep up on the last pharmaceutical discoveries and published research.  Instead they may listen to the recommendations of the American Cancer Society, who very well might receive funding directly from pharmaceutical companies.  They may also rely on the research proposed to them in a 5-minute pitch from a professional looking salesman extolling the virtues of their soundly patented drug. 

Can you trust a salesman to always tell the truth?  Your health is not a used car.