Iris Cole interviews Prof. Ido Wolf of Ichilov about the developments in the field of cancer / Walla system!
In the last twenty years, a concept called integrative oncology has developed in the field of medicine, a process of combining measures from the field of complementary medicine with conventional and traditional oncology treatment.
In Israel, this field is developing and today in twelve of the hospitals in Israel there are units that integrate complementary medicine into the array of cancer.
At the Rambam Hospital in Haifa, a new clinic "Tal Rambam Center - Beit Meir, Integrative Oncology Medicine" was opened these days. As part of this integrative service, there is a team of 12 nurses who provide support services to the oncology patients who are being treated at the hospital.
When we talk about integrative oncology, it is important to understand that it is integrative and not alternative medicine.
Alternative is that we are looking for something instead, something else, here we are looking for something that we want to combine.
We want to see how we can combine some of the things found in complementary and natural medicine, from which patients can benefit in terms of improving quality of life and reducing side effects.
There are many treatments in complementary and integrative medicine, the main of which are around nutrition, lifestyle changes, physical activity, sleep, and the combination of other measures such as acupuncture, reflexology, yoga therapy, homeopathy and measures related to body, mind and spirit - these are the measures that are usually found in the integrative units of hospitals.
And there is also treatment for fungi.
Shiitake mushrooms/ShutterStock
"This is a complex subject and like any medicine or treatment, the general condition of that patient, the background diseases, treatments he receives, positive and negative interactions with the treatments, etc., must be included," explains Prof. Frankel.
"So deciding on a combination is not always simple and easy and one must consider carefully before deciding on one treatment or another. You need to know the mushrooms very well to know how to use them correctly."
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What is so special about mushrooms that makes scientists study them for cancer treatment?
There are close to a hundred thousand types of mushrooms in the world, of which only two thousand are edible types.
In Asia and especially in China and Japan, mushrooms were used as a food source and in recent years this use is expanding worldwide.
There are several studies that examined the issue of edible mushroom consumption in people who do not eat mushrooms at all compared to those who routinely consumed the mushrooms as food, in these studies some of which lasted for many years, they found that the mushrooms used as food reduce the risk of breast cancer and the risk of mortality in general.
Mushrooms have active substances, such as beta glucan, selenium, and other substances that can stimulate certain parts of the immune system (they are also antioxidants, which we know have a role in reducing the risk of certain diseases), and they probably also have an effect on reducing mortality.
The beta glucan, the active substance found in the mushroom cells, affects the immune system and leads to a series of events that limit the development of cancer cells in certain situations.
According to the studies, in populations that really consume mushrooms in large quantities, it is seen that the risk of the appearance of certain types of cancer decreases.
It is true that beta glucan is also found in oats and barley, but its effect is different when it comes from certain mushrooms.
In barley and oats, its effect affects reactions in the skin, lowers cholesterol, affects insulin, etc.
When it comes from medicinal mushrooms, it has an anti-inflammatory effect and it increases the action of the immune system, slows down the progress of cancer cells, lowers the risk of metastases and possibly lowers the risk of the disease.
In principle, when we look at the studies that have been done regarding the risk of cancer and the use or consumption of mushrooms in food, we see that there is a connection between a high consumption of mushrooms in food and a lower risk of developing certain cancers."
Which of the mushrooms can be combined in the treatment of cancer patients?
Each patient is an individual and not all What suits one patient will suit another. When a patient comes to me, I want to go over a large number of data with him, talk about his diet, his lifestyle, the mind-body relationship, and also about measures from the field of complementary medicine that can help him. There are many components to preparing a complete treatment plan that they have meaning in terms of survival and the patient's ability to cope with the disease and therefore, just as one decides on one or another medicine, one must decide on such and such additives with the same thoroughness, in order to make sure that first of all we do not harm the patient and later also help him to recover.
Sometimes you can use some mushrooms by relying on On studies that have already been done and raise hints about a certain advantage of certain mushrooms.
Here are a few examples:
Maitake mushroom:
a common edible mushroom, whose active ingredient is the same beta-glucan and antioxidants. In laboratory studies, anti-inflammatory activity and activity that inhibits the development of malignant tumor cells have been observed, as well as in studies on In animals, hints were found that the mushroom concentrate reduces the toxicity of a common co-therapeutic drug called DOXORUBICIN.
Also in other studies on animals, mushroom concentrates caused the maturation of white blood cells and faster recovery after damage to the bone marrow by chemotherapy.
It should be noted that patients who also suffer from diabetes should pay more attention to their sugar balance because this mushroom has an effect that lowers The shiitake mushroom
:
It is also an edible mushroom and is usually used for cooking, but it contains a large number of therapeutic benefits.
Contains a substance called lentinan, a polysaccharide that was discovered to stimulate the immune system, inhibits the growth of cancer cells and also helps reduce the side effects of chemotherapy.
In addition, the shiitake mushroom has been found to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that may be very beneficial in the diet of cancer patients.
In Japan, for example, a preparation made from this mushroom is routinely used to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy.
Reishi mushroom:
a very common mushroom in China, Japan, Korea and other Asian countries.
The mushroom has an anti-inflammatory effect, improves a general sense of energy, relieves nausea from chemotherapy, and has an effect that protects the kidneys.
One of the most important effects of this mushroom is strengthening the immune system.
Mushrooms are nutritional supplements that cause a lot of interest and curiosity in the scientific community, but there is still a great need for more research to introduce them into routine use.
Although, in some cases when the consultation is given by professionals with knowledge and experience in the subject, it is possible to consider using them and adjust this use according to the personal data of each and every patient.
Prof. Moshe Frankel serves as the head of the field of complementary and integrative medicine in the oncology system at the Rambam Medical Center .
He has over 30 years of experience in combining complementary and integrative medicine with conventional medicine, and is an expert with an international reputation in the field of combining complementary medicine and cancer treatment.
He will speak this coming Thursday (2/29) at the 'Crowning Forward - Medicinal Mushrooms' conference of Bara Hamel and will discuss in his lecture questions and considerations related to the use of mushrooms in oncology patients.
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