Dieneke Ferguson heals from Multiple Myeloma with high doses of bio-available Curcumin
Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells. These are white blood cells that produce infection-fighting antibodies. Myeloma cells prevent the normal production of these antibodies, leaving your body’s immune system weakened and susceptible to infection. The multiplication of myeloma cells also interferes with the normal production and function of red and white blood cells. Myeloma cells commonly produce substances that cause bone destruction which leads to bone pain and/or fractures, and having abnormally high amounts of these dysfunctional antibodies in the bloodstream can cause damage to the kidneys. Myeloma is not curable with conventional means and most people die within three to five years of diagnosis.
Dieneke Ferguson was first diagnosed with multiple myeloma back in 2007. She underwent three rounds of chemotherapy as well as four failed attempts to harvest stem-cells for a stem-cell transplant. In November 2008, two of Dieneke’s vertebrae collapsed due to the myeloma. By May 2011, she was told that there was nothing else that could be done medically to treat the cancer and she was given one year to live.
Dieneke explains, “I had been on all sorts of toxic drugs and the side-effects were terrifying. At one point I lost my memory for three days, and in 2008, two of the vertebrae in my spine collapsed so I couldn’t walk. They injected some kind of concrete into my spine to keep it stable.” She adds, “Yet, despite all this, nothing worked: there was just too much cancer — all my options were exhausted, and there was nothing else I could do.”
In 2011, Dieneke decided to try something different. She had been visiting some online supports groups and had read that taking high doses of curcumin might be helpful for patients with meyloma. She decided to try it since she had nothing to lose. After researching dosage information and doing some experimentation, she eventually worked her way up to taking 8 grams of a bio-available form of curcumin. This form would allow for much higher absorption rates into the bloodstream. The brand she took was Doctor’s Best Curcumin (C3) with the addition of bioperine. She says the key ingredients to look for are the 3 types of Curcumin which should be labeled as C3 with the addition of bioperine, which is black pepper that also helps the curcumin to absorb better.
Dienke says that she took the dosage all at once on an empty stomach during the evening hours, but she says that because everyone is different, this may not be the best way for you to take it. She recommends that people start their supplementation plan slowly and build themselves up to taking the higher dosage.
Dieneke followed this dosage schedule:
- 1 gram of curcumin was taken for the first week
- 2 grams of curcumin for the second week
- 4 grams of curcumin for the third week
- 8 grams of curcumin were taken by week four
Dieneke reports that her cancer cell counts began to stabilized and then began decreasing in number. She says, ‘I told my oncologist I was taking it and he was very interested, especially when it apparently made such a difference.’ says Dieneke, 67, who lives in North London.
A few months later she started having weekly hyperbaric oxygen treatments, which involves breathing pure oxygen in an enclosed chamber. HBOT increases the amount of oxygen in the blood and is used to promote healing from various illnesses (including cancer) and as a means to fight infection.
Dieneke’s recovery was so extraordinary that it made the pages of the eminent British Medical Journal as a one-off case report of how a natural ingredient was keeping cancer at bay. Jamie Cavenagh, professor of blood diseases at London’s Barts Hospital and co-author of the report, said, ‘Dieneke’s is the best response I have observed and it is clear-cut because we had stopped all other treatment. When you review her chart, there’s no alternative explanation other than we’re seeing a response to curcumin.’ Five years later, Dieneke’s cancer cell count remains negligible.
Dieneke continues to take 8 grams of the bio-available Curcumin daily to keep the cancer from returning.
More on the benefits of curcumin
Curcumin is the most active constituent of turmeric. It promotes apoptosis (or cancer cell death) and can halt angiogenesis (which is the development of new blood supply for cancerous tumors), and it can reduce the inflammatory cancer micro-environment. In addition, it has the ability to block estrogen mimicking chemicals and increase overall immunity of the body. One of the powerful things that curcumin has the ability to do that chemotherapy and radiation cannot is to specifically target cancer stem cells, which is where all cancer begins.
Studies regarding curcumin and cancer
- In 2001, scientists discovered that turmeric dampens the inflammation cascade that can occur within the body, thereby stopping the proliferation of cancer in its tracks.
- In 2002, scientists began unraveling how turmeric selectively worked against cancer cells. They found that cancer cells produce “transcription factors” which protect them against cell death. Turmeric’s active ingredients include a host of compounds known as curcuminoids. Collectively, they attack the cancer’s transcription factor, and restore the cells’ natural ability to commit suicide (apoptosis) . Unlike conventional treatments, turmeric strengthens healthy cells, while removing cancerous ones with laser-like precision.
- Early in the 1990s, the University of Texas’s M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston, reported that the anticancer effects of turmeric were found to be “staggering.” After sprinkling a pinch of the spice on cancer cells in the lab, researchers found that it blocked a crucial pathway required for the development of skin cancer, prostate tumors, as well as other cancers.
- Further studies at the University of Wisconsin reported that turmeric blocks a type of cancer fertilizer known as VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor). Without this growth factor, cancer cells are unable to thrive and eventually commit cell suicide.
- Epidemiology studies reveal that populations who consume the most turmeric also have the lowest rates of prostate cancers. India has twenty-five times less incidence prostate cancers than men in the United States. The average intake of turmeric in the Indian population is 2-2.5 g/day, providing about 60-200 mg of curcumin.
- A study found more than 200 citations for turmeric and cancer and more than 700 for curcumin and cancer. It was noted that in the handbook Phytochemicals: Mechanisms of Action, curcumin and/or turmeric were effective in animal models in prevention and/or treatment of colon cancer, mammary cancer, prostate cancer, murine hepatocarcinogenesis (liver cancer in rats), esophageal cancer, and oral cancer. The author of the study said that the effectiveness of the herb against these cancers compared favorably with that reported for pharmaceuticals.
In regards to supplementation with curcumin
The standard dose for curcumin is 400 to 600 milligrams daily, but when dealing with cancer or other chronic illness, this dose can go as high as 4, 6,or 8 grams daily. As reported, “phase I clinical trials, using massive doses of curcumin (up to 8 g/day for four months) in human volunteers, “did not result in discernible toxicities.” Dieneke’s dosage was 8 grams per day, which she continues to take without ill effects.
Unfortunately many supplemental formulations of curcumin are unable to cross from the digestive tract into the bloodstream, so when purchasing look for Bio-available BCM Curcumin, which allows for higher even higher absorption rates than the C3 brand used by Dienke.
Update: Dieneke was told in 2011 that she had only one year left to live. Myeloma is one of the hardest cancers to treat but she beat that deadly diagnosis. She passed away in September 2020, nine years later from ovarian cancer. While Dieneke did not mention anything about incorporating an anticancer diet plan, I believe it should be the foundation of any healing protocol as it takes a multifaceted approach to heal for the long term. Please read this post for more information on adopting a whole foods diet for optimum nutrition.
Additional Resources
Long term stabilization of Multiple Myeloma achieved with curcurmin
Dieneke’s story was featured in this article
Listen to Dieneke’s story in the last 7 minutes of this radio program
Find these products online:
Doctor’s Best Curcumin (C3) with the addition of bioperine