Natural Killer Cells - Cancer Compass an Alternate Route

“The average American body has 1,000 times more heavy toxic metals than our primitive ancestors. Toxins shut down the ability of the immune system to mount a good battle against the cancer cells. As your cells divide billions of times daily, mistake cells are the inevitable consequence. These mistake cells sometimes grow into cancer cells, which your immune system recognizes as being defective and then gobbles them up like Pac Man. The average adult gets 6 bouts of cancer in a lifetime, yet only 42% of Americans will end up in a cancer hospital. The other 58% had a respectable immune system, which protected the person against defective cells rising up to become palpable life-threatening cancer. Get your immune system working and the end of cancer is in sight.” Patrick Quillin, author of Beating Cancer with Nutrition.

What are natural killer cells?

In the book Anticancer, A New Way of Life, New Edition, author David Servan-Schreiber MD, PhD, writes this about Natural Killer Cells and their ability to target cancer cells: “Natural killer Cells are very special agents of the immune system. Like all white blood cells, they patrol the organism continually in search of bacteria, virus, or new cancer cells. But while other cells of the immune system need previous exposure to disease agents in order to recognize and combat them, Natural Killer Cells don’t need prior introduction to the antigen in order to mobilize. As soon as they detect an enemy they gather around the intruders, seeking membrane-to-membrane contact. Once they make this contact, NK cells aim their internal equipment at their target, almost like a tank turret. This equipment carries vesicles filled with poison. On contact with the cancer cell’s surface, the vesicles are released and the chemical weapons of the NK cells- perforin and granzymes- penetrate through the membrane. The molecules of perforin take the shape of micro-rings. They are assembled in the shape of a tube, forming a passage for the granzymes through the cancer cell’s membrane. At the core of the cancer cell, the granzymes then activate the mechanism of programmed self-destruction. It’s as if they give the cancer cell an order to commit suicide, an order it has no choice but to obey. In response to this message, its nucleus crumbles, leading to the cancer cell’s collapse. The deflated remains of the cell are then ready to be digested by macrophages, which are the garbage collectors of the immune system and are always found in the wake of NK cells.”

A Study of Natural Killer Cells

An investigation of 77 women with breast cancer over a 12 year period reveals how important these cells are in the recovery of cancer. Samples of each woman’s tumor were taken at the time of diagnosis and were then cultivated with her own NK cells. Certain patients’ NK cells did not react at all, as if their natural vitality had mysteriously been sapped. In contrast, the NK’s of other patients went about serious clean up, indicating that they had very active immune systems. 12 years later, at the end of the study, almost half of the patients whose NKs had not reacted in the laboratory study had died. On the other hand, 95% of those whose immune systems had been active under the microscope were still alive.

How to help Natural Killer Cells detect cancer

How can we help NK cells attack cancer? By unmasking them. This is because cancerous tumors have a mucus (fibrin) coating that is designed to protect them from the body’s immune system. This mucus coating works as a cloaking mechanism that prevents cancerous cells from being recognized by the immune system thus making them immune to attack by natural killer cells. The sticky fibrin coating on cancerous cells is about 15 times thicker than the fibrin that surrounds healthy cells. Hot peppers and other similarly “hot” substances such as ginger, horseradish, white onions, and garlic along with protein dissolving enzymes have the ability to dissolve this mucus layer and make the tumor cells become more visible to the immune system.

This video demonstrates how Natural Killer Cells attack cancer cells

How to build up the immune system to begin fighting cancer

It is time that we recognize how important it is to build up the immune system in order to survive a cancer diagnosis. This is done by eating a cancer-fighting diet, supplementing to meet your nutritional needs, detoxing the body, daily movement, managing stress, and living a healthy lifestyle. You can read more about all of these with this link.