For this post, I will first describe the work of the late Dr Nicholas Gonzalez and the metabolic diet, supplements, and detoxing therapies that he utilized in order to heal people from cancer, and then move on to Dr Linda Isaacs who has continued on with this work at her New York clinic.
Dr Nicholas Gonzalez
Dr Gonzalez graduated from Brown University with a degree in English literature before pursuing premedical studies at Columbia University and receiving his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1983. It was during a postgraduate immunology fellowship under the guidance of Dr. Robert A. Good that he was asked to review the work of William Donald Kelley, a controversial dentist/ alternative practitioner who had cured himself of pancreatic cancer and was said to be successfully treating other cancer patients.
Kelley had developed his comprehensive diet and detoxing program back in the 1970’s, which consisted of metabolic diets that were based upon individual body type, along with high doses of supplements and pancreatic enzymes, as well as detoxification protocols that were used to clear the body of toxins.
Kelley had treated thousands of patients, but despite his success stories he endured endless harassment by a host of government agencies who claimed he was practicing medicine without a license and guilty of “other charges”. “He’s a dentist – not an MD, therefore he should not be treating those with cancer” were the claims. The harassment didn’t seem to matter though, because his methods had an astonishing success rate of over 90% for those who followed his program exactly as prescribed. Kelley kept meticulous records so that he could back up his statistics with factual records. You can read more about Kelley’s work in the links at the bottom of the page.
It was during this review of the program that Gonzalez found Kelley’s work to be so promising that he quickly came to the realization that he could no longer practice conventional medicine and began pursuing his new career as a practitioner of metabolic interventions. He states, “I started going through his records and even though I was just a second year medical student, I could see right away that the cases were extraordinary. Patients with appropriately diagnosed pancreatic cancer, metastatic breast cancer in the bone, metastatic colorectal cancer who were alive 5, 10, 15 years later under Kelley’s care with a nutritional approach.”
Kelley’s work is based on the Trophoblastic Theory- in the early 1900’s, Embryologist, John Beard, proposed that pancreatic enzymes represent the body’s main defense against cancer, which he presented as the Trophoblastic Theory of Cancer and is described as follows: When a human egg is fertilized, it produces a collection of quickly dividing cells which give rise to the blastocyst (or pre-implantation embryo). The blastocyst has a surrounding layer of cells which are known as the trophectoderm, and is made up of individual cells called trophoblasts. These trophoblasts are responsible for protecting the developing blastocyst and attaching to the wall of the uterus to become the placenta. During this attachment process, the trophoblasts express invasive qualities similar to that of cancerous cells as they will invade other tissues and induce their own blood supply. Trophoblasts, however, will cease these invasive activities once the placenta is in place and then they will differentiate into other cell types. Beard observed that trophoblast invasiveness begins to decline about the same time that the pancreas of the developing fetus begins to function on its own, leading him to theorize that the maternal pancreatic enzymes may have played a role in containing the trophoblastic invasiveness within the uterus up until that point. Beard wondered if some of these cells—carrying the same latent tendencies—might have escaped during this process and spread throughout the body of the fetus to pose a risk of cancer development later in life when enzyme production declines for any reason. If his theory is true, then the addition of pancreatic enzymes could play a role in either limiting or eliminating them elsewhere in the body. Dr. Beard worked long before the advent of molecular biology and human genetics, so he was unable to experimentally establish that pancreatic enzymes had anticancer effects, but he published several papers and a book about his theory between 1902 and 1911.
As Dr. Beard had before him, Dr. Kelley also asserted that trophoblasts and cancer cells have a common origin in primordial germ cells. Dr. Kelley maintained that cancer was initiated when primordial germ cells migrated to a point in the body already weakened by toxic exposure and nervous system imbalance. With these presumably compromised sites, the germ cells met no opposition from the immune system and initiated an aggressive invasion of normal tissue, creating malignancy.
Dr Linda Isaacs, M.D.
Dr. Isaacs received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kentucky, and graduated with a major in biochemistry and received her medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1985. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center at New York University Medical School, and is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. After that, she worked alongside Dr. Nicholas J. Gonzalez for the next 24 years. The two collaborated on research projects, published three articles in scientific journals, and wrote the book titled The Trophoblast and the Origins of Cancer. Since his untimely death in July of 2015 Linda has dedicated herself to continuing the work that they were so passionate about.
The Gonzalez/Isaacs Program
The program incorporates many of Dr. Beard’s and Dr. Kelley’s key points into their dietary and detoxification regimens. This includes prescriptive diets that are based on a theory of autonomic dominance, high doses of pancreatic enzymes and supplements, along with coffee enemas to detoxify the liver
The Diet Plans for various cancers- there are ten basic diets that range from largely plant-based, raw foods diet to an Atkins-type red-meat diet where people may be eating fatty red meat two or three times per day depending upon the type of cancer that the patient is suffering from and their metabolic profile.
- Solid tumors– Dr Gonzalez stated, “we divide patients into different metabolic categories, depending upon each patient’s particular genetic, biochemical and physiological make-up. In this model, patients with solid epithelial tumors, such as tumors of the lung, pancreas, colon, prostate, uterus, etc. do best on a largely plant-based diet. Such patients have a metabolism that functions most efficiently with a specific combination of nutrients that are found in fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, and with minimal to no animal proteins.”
- Cancers of the blood or immune based cancers– On the other hand, some patients with the blood or immune based malignancies such as leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma do best on a high-animal protein, high-fat diet. These patients do extremely well with a diet based on animal products, with minimal to moderate amounts of plant based foods. The particular design of the diet again depending on the individual patient’s metabolic make-up.
Supplements- Individualized supplement programs with vitamins, minerals, trace elements, as well as glandular extracts from animals such as liver and thymus, help to help repair the patients damaged organs. He says that these nutrients serve to improve the overall metabolic function of his patients.
Enzymes– Dr Kelley and Dr Gonzalez both believed that people are suffering from cancer because of a malfunctioning pancreas which is no longer producing enough enzymes to break down the protein encapsulation, or fibrin, that surrounds cancerous growths. To address this he would prescribe large amounts of pancreatic enzymes in order to break down this protein layer. He says that. “every cancer patient takes large quantities of pancreas product in capsule form, which we believe provide the main anti-cancer action. They consist of proteolytic (or protein-digesting) pancreatic enzymes. A lot of the digestive enzymes that you find at the store use plant-based enzymes such as bromelain from pineapples and papain from papaya. They have a digestive capability, however, they are useless against cancer. Plant-based enzymes will not digest a tumor. You have to use animal-based enzymes. We use the enzymes derived from the pancreas of a pig, because a pig pancreas is most like the human pancreas. For years, endocrinologists have used pig insulin to treat diabetics because of all the commercially available animal sources, pig insulin was most like human insulin in terms of the amino acid sequence. Pig pancreatic enzymes are most similar to human pancreatic enzymes of all the commercially available sources.”
Coffee enemas– As a result of the high doses of enzymes, many tumor particles are released into the bloodstream which can overload the body and liver with toxins. In order to address this overload in an efficient manner he would prescribe coffee enemas, liver flushes, and colon cleanses to neutralize and quickly eliminate the toxins from the body. You can read more about them with the link at the bottom of the page.
An example of the Gonzalez/Isaacs healing regimen for a patient with pancreatic cancer:
- The diet emphasizes fresh raw fruits, raw and lightly steamed vegetables, and freshly made vegetable juice daily. The diet protocol relies on plant-based sources such as unprocessed cereals, nuts, and seeds and whole-grain products such as Ezekiel bread and brown rice. The patient may eat one or two eggs daily, organic whole-milk yogurt daily, and fish two or three times a week, but no red meat or poultry.
- Nutritional supplements that include a variety of vitamins, minerals, and trace elements. Also prescribed are certain freeze-dried organ concentrates such as thymus and liver that are derived from range-fed beef or lamb.
- Patients take 50 – 60 pancreatic enzymes per day on an empty stomach so they can specifically target cancerous tumors by breaking down the protein coating that surrounds them. This can be achieved by taking 7 tablets upon waking, 7 tablets one hour before every meal, 7 tablets two hours after every meal, and an additional 7 tablets taken one hour before bedtime. Dr Gonzalez formulated pancreatic enzymes with the help of a vendor in order to offer large quantities of enzymes at a reasonable cost to his patients, they can be found here: Nutricology Pancreas, Natural Glandular Enzymes.
- Several coffee enema are performed per day to detoxify the liver which can become overloaded with tumor debris and toxins.
- You can read more about specific diet and supplement plans for specific cancers with this post.
Dr Gonzalez authored several books about his therapies
- One Man Alone An Investigation of Nutrition, Cancer, and William Donald Kelley
- What Went Wrong: The Truth Behind the Clinical Trial of the Enzyme Treatment of Cancer which chronicles the failure of the National Cancer Institute / NIH funded clinical trials that were conducted to test his nutritional treatments in patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer against standard chemotherapy. In this first-hand account, Dr. Gonzalez reveals how poor trial design and poor implementation of his protocol helped to undermine this promising project. This occurred by allowing people who were too sick to eat, let alone swallow the large amounts of supplements and enzymes that are required to do the protocol into the program. When these very ill individuals died prematurely, the study was halted and his protocol was deemed a failure. The book also discusses two official government investigations that have confirmed Dr. Gonzalez’s allegations that the study was not properly supervised or implemented from the start. You can read more about his reaction to the study.
- This DVD explains the different diets he prescribed for the various metabolic body types: Different Diets for Different Types
- His latest book was released posthumously, Nutrition and the Autonomic Nervous System: The Scientific Foundations of the Gonzalez Protocol
Dr Gonzalez on treating cancer with his protocol
Testimonials:
Sarah Ann Cooper heals from pancreatic cancer under the care of Dr Isaacs protocol
Carey Reading heals from terminal Burkitt’s Lymphoma with this protocol
Kim Thacker heals pancreatic/liver cancer with a protocol based on the Kelley program
Clinic Information
Linda L. Isaacs, MD
36A East 36th Street
Suite 1A
New York, N.Y. 10016
Phone: 212-213-3337
Fax: 212-213-3414
Link to Dr Isaacs clinic
Additional Resources:
Read more about specific diet and supplement plans for specific cancers
Enzyme therapy by Dr Nicholas Gonzalez
Q & A with Dr Gonzalez about his therapy
What does the coffee enema do for cancer patients?
More on coffee enemas and how they help the liver
Link to information on the Kelley diet for cancer
Find these products online:
Nutricology Pancreas, Natural Glandular (Pork), Capsules, 720-Count
Different Diets for Different Types on the Gonzalez Protocol DVD