Dr. Alex Petrushevski - 'Cancer: combining traditional and metabolic treatment paradigms'

Dr. Alex Petrushevski graduated from the University of Tasmania in 2008, attaining Honours in the MBBS. He has worked in various teaching hospitals in two states, including working for several years within Sydney Cancer services, and had his research published in an International journal during this time. His postgraduate qualifications include the Fellowship of the College of General Practitioners and the Diploma of Child Health from Sydney University.
He currently works in general practice in addition to practising within Sydney Low Carb Specialists. He is passionate about preventative health, improving the lifestyle of his patients and treating chronic diseases without medication if possible. Having seen the immense benefits low carbohydrate nutrition has provided for many of his patients in general practice he is keen to share this exciting cutting edge medical therapy with more patients.
Please consider supporting Low Carb Down Under via Patreon. A small monthly contribution will assist in the costs of filming and editing these presentations and will allow us to keep producing high quality content free from advertising. For further information visit; / lowcarbdownunder

[@midwestribeye7820]

Thank for this information. My mother is currently battling cancer. She is very careful with what she eats and keeps her carbs under 10/day.

[@awilliamwest]

My attempt to summarize: Otto Warburg (1956) (fermentation / lactate) / Thomas Seyfried (later -- mutations are downstream from the metabolic dysfunction, which is due to defective mitochondria) suggested that cancer is a metabolic disease. Cancer cells need glucose. Can we starve them using a ketogenic diet? Not quite; they can also use glutamine. Can we block glutamine? No, it is essential in the body, and blocking it causes toxic effects (or glutamine inhibitors are themselves toxic.) But prior attempts at blocking glutamine were done without restricting glucose. Now we try "Press-pulse": Press = calorie-restriction or KD. Pulse = acute (temporary) disturbance of glutamine availability, through glutamine inhibitors or chemotherapy Adjuncts: Hyperbaric oxygen, hyperthermia, insulin infusion (to force blood sugar down during chemotherapy and other pulse-stressors), vitamin C, other.. [breast cancer case-study starts halfway through] [KD is apparently not standard of care in Australia; it apparently cannot be prescribed or maybe not even recommended, but perhaps just suggested as "probably harmless"] [Remainder is mostly about how to optimize KD for effectiveness]

[@lizandhercat1618]

Excellent overview of a challenging topic. Thanks, Doc Alex.

[@jackwardrop4994]

I feel this is going to prove true. Cancer is mostly a metabolic problem. It’s not hereditary.

[@pianoboy7839]

It is hereditary in some instances, but not in MOST cancers. Still, about 15% of cancers are hereditary, due to the inheritance of predisposing mutations.

[@davepeterschmidt5818]

​@@pianoboy7839 That may be true, but that doesn't preclude it from being a metabolic disease. A predisposition to a certain metabolic condition that often leads to cancer can certainly be genetic.

[@cassieoz1702]

Also, be wary of conflating genetic with hereditary

[@edithnell227]

It's worth listening to Andrew Scarborough, 10 year survivor of Glioblastoma with keto diet.

[@DavidVelasquez9]

Living with an incurable disease is so hard, but you just have to live life day by day as it goes by (Cancer sucks)...

[@mariechelnokova5298]

Bravo Dr! It’s very brave of you to discuss alternative, less invasive techniques that could be easily implemented by people to help themselves.

[@1timbarrett]

Excellent content, clearly explained. Thank you.🙏

[@jayahn9399]

Thank you for your presentation, most comprehensive up to now about the best cancer treatment.

[@hermandejong4309]

Thanks for your brave attitude! It is necessary to have this metabolic choice. Now 70 I've been doing keto for my blood-pressure for 8 years and have some benign skin-cancers basal cell carcinoma on my scalp that caught me on a stressful moment. I had heard that high dose vitamin C could reduce it and I tried before my operation with 7 gram, three times a day after I tested how much (9 G) would give me diarrhea an I did it for about 2 weeks and the wound completely healed. I did show it to my dermatologist that it had healed but for security he removed it anyway. I also have enlarged prostate and the keto diet did make it some better but recently I heard that dairy contains growth factor (Igf-x) and should be avoided and so I stopped with yogurt but still use butter as I think this protein is mainly water soluble, not fat, and yes within days it completely reduced the pain and it slowly gets better with peeing.

[@scoobtoober2975]

Very cool. Mine was enlarged, not diagnosed. Fasting, the one meal a day timing shrunk it quite a bit. I'd suggest going high butter, low protein to get rid of body fat too. Look up fire in a bottle guy youtube. He talks about hibernation, emergence and cultures around the world and their food makeup and body fat makeup. Very interesting. Nice work on the vitamin c skin stuff. I may need that. I'm 40 but squashed my life span down the past few years with bad food choices. Corn oil blew me up and my stomach was dying. I think prostate or flow can be from excess fat surrounding those areas too. I suggest walking and nose breathing for stress relief that can ease swelling of all areas. I'm not a dr. Be well Oh and wim hoff method for breath work, but check with your dr if you have heart condition or anything else.

[@scoobtoober2975]

Also ment to add i think coffee or caffeine can mess with it and other parts with circulation. My hands and feet suffer on it. Cracks and bleeding and thickening. Off coffee they heal right up. This is in winter in a dry place. And they still healed up in a few days. I think constriction of blood vessels is very bad.

[@marjoriechisholm-larouche6680]

I was ketogenic and lost 60 lbs for 4 years prior to my breast cancer diagnosis, I honestly thought being in ketosis would have prevented cancer.

[@cassieoz1702]

That cancer likely existed 8-10 years prior to the diagnosis. A 'standard' keto diet is not what is being discussed here. A therapeutic KD with low-ish protein is quite different. Doing a normal KD my GKI rarely goes below 3. I have to really work at it and fast to get GKI in the 1 range

[@joannekerr8839]

This was a vitally important talk - thank you

[@rond5323]

Thank you; very clear; strong incentives for me to be less vague in my metabolic management; If I ever need to trouble an oncologist, I hope I find one as evidence based as you! Good luck with your puzzles! And keep sharing please. You gained a little ongoing Patreon donation for lowcarb downunder. (Zero Ads is good). Thanks!

[@ken3marcus]

Thank you for this great information!

[@laurahiggins8594]

Is it good or bad to do follow-up CT Scan and/or MRI with contrast.....while on a 24 to 72 hour fast? My thought was it would help light up cancer but maybe it clouds things because the normal cells over-react to resurgence of glucose?

[@mariaelenadieguez5211]

Thank you for your presentation, it’s very helpful and I will share it with my oncologist who is slowly but eagerly receptive to this data. And I agree with you, getting the research dollars to be funneled into this and other promising breakthroughs is VERY IMPORTANT. How do we do this? The pharmaceutical industry has a tight grip on the money and the research and they don’t like to share. Please, how do we get this movement going so that the research money gets distributed to other protocols besides the SOC? Thank you 🙏

[@heywoodjakissme6939]

Excellent presentation.

[@iss8504]

Incredible story

[@ozzyzee1770]

Great presentation!

[@markherhold3800]

This is the future of Cancer management...

[@juvenalbranco2411]

Excelente explanação. Gratidão imensa.

[@MsSilver41]

Great information. Disgusting that no one will fund studies that give life . Makes you wonder about institutions who are refusing funding .

[@jaktao6044]

Good talk!

[@Anlitheron]

Why are many Oncologists adding high dose steroids to the treatment? It completely reverses any help a keto diet by the patient could have.

[@mpoharper]

I had to take it after developing pancreatitis from opdualog. Was on for 7 months before I was able to wean with pancreatic enzymes. Oncologists only understand prednisone to reverse harm.

[@user-nj9nl5uy6d]

Succinct, excellent, so helpful!!

[@billytheweasel]

What’s the reason our 2 medical oncologists and 1 radiation oncologist denied the Warburg effect and denied that insulin is anabolic too?

[@ekondigg6751]

Since PET scans rely on the Warburg effect, I think their denial could be classified as "wilful ignorance".

[@pabeader1941]

Lack of self research. Just parroting old training.

[@defeqel6537]

Would be interesting to see if Wim Hof's breathing method had an impact on cancer, especially together with a KD, since (AFAIK) it places an additional stressor on cells by changing blood oxygen and pH levels in rather rapid succession. I'm not sure it's an overall healthy thing to do though.

[@scoobtoober2975]

Dear doctors. We've mentioned fasting to several cancer patients as a lay residential neighbor. Two of them asked their doc and both said if you fast you will not be treated at all. Ever. That is so sad. WTF this is bogus and needs addressing here in the states. Charlie foundation is one reference for them but they don't have anyone close.

[@kathydicioccio6094]

Two oncologists told a family member not to fast or go keto because it would improve her heath and interfere with chemotherapy. She did get surgery. She dumped them. Eighteen months later no cancer markers. Managing Mr C will never end.

[@marilynroper5739]

Great talk- good info and we’ll presented. Any thoughts on high DHA oil for tumours?

[@Sourdoughgirl]

I was excited to read the topic then disappointment when no new info was given. Oh well...

[@JeffBarron1]

what is important, is the growth in main stream medical practitioners getting on board. an old and slow moving truth is finally gaining traction

[@emese-tundetorok1135]

Mom diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer with lung metastasis she is also type 2 diabetic for 2 months now I try to gide her through ketogenic diet. Labs are coming back good and better but she does chemo to. I am a little bit worried about the glucose levels she has 2 pills during the day and insulin at evening but we have no guidance from GP or diabetic doctor how to adjust the dose. I hope I'm doing the right thing.

[@timagination1295]

You need to get a GP to support monitoring as ALL treatments have potentially life threatening side effects! 1st do no harm!

[@krzcho]

No word on the sun/red light to stimulate mitochondria?

[@cassieoz1702]

The research is still pretty weak and often overstated. Definitely needs more study though

[@btudrus]

Why not to use intense excercise instead of insulin to get the BG down? (Doesn't insulin "help" the cells to get more of the chemotherapy agent in? I mean not only the cancer cells but also the healthy cells as well...)

[@iss8504]

Exercise drives glucose into cells do that isn't how you starve cancer cells.

[@ekondigg6751]

Intense exercise will never get blood glucose down below normal, except momentarily for primarily glucose burners when they run out of glycogen and go hypoglycaemic - which doesn't happen when primarily fat burning (especially in ketosis), because the body strives to keep the glucose level pretty constant. Adding extra insulin (in this case) messes up the regulation and forces the glucose level down below normal.

[@emese-tundetorok1135]

Well I don't know how can one do "intense exercise" under chemo. My mom was pretty active all times now she's not she can't because of the chemo what makes her weak . She's type 2 diabetic. She's on ketogenic diet for 2 months now. In Romania treatment is still the old fashioned one. Nobody talkes about these things what I hear in these videos.

[@cassieoz1702]

Intense exercise can raise BGL as it mobilises muscle glycogen. This has been seen frequently in keto/carnivore athletes wearing CGM

[@prins424]

Even in deep ketosis, the body still maintains a certain blood glucose level. It is possible to significantly lower it without problems. Could it be helpful to temporarily lower this in combination with other pulse strategies?

[@T-aka-T]

See Thomas Seyfried on that. That's his approach. Press-pulse approach.

[@homeforfjfonderie2865]

Dr. P mentions an added insulin bolus on treatment days, to drive blood glucose even lower

[@kathydicioccio6094]

Professor Thomas Seyfried is the expert on this. Look him up because it may save your life.

[@justjane1639]

Hyperthermia reminds me of Coley's toxins--swept under the rug years ago.

[@emsea1658]

With all due respect, had to watch this at 0.75x

[@ken3marcus]

I watched it at 1.25

[@cassieoz1702]

​@@ken3marcus me too but it was better than most things ive watched. I find i have to watch most American presentations on 1.5X as they're frustratingly slow.

[@lb3598]

What does 3:1 fat:protein ratio mean? grams or calories?

[@cassieoz1702]

Grams

[@ken3marcus]

What about metformin for lowering blood sugar?

[@kathydicioccio6094]

I read it can help but if the doctor tries it off label he can get in trouble.

[@Norman_Gunstan1]

❤😊

[@pepper419]

You talk about limiting dairy but it's all fat so what's what's wrong with butter, cream and cheese? It's all natural fat.

[@T-aka-T]

Butter yes, but cream has lactose, as does cheese. Plus inflammatory for some. And more-ish, with those opioids!😊

[@ekondigg6751]

In this (cancer) context, it's probably due to growth factors in milk. We don't want to encourage cancer growth. Two dairy exceptions: butter being 82% fat is unlikely to contain any significant amount of growth factors, and well-matured cheese is not going to have any due to the fermentation process.