The centerpiece of the alternative cancer treatments offered at EuroMed Foundation is insulin potentiation therapy (IPT), which is also called low-dose chemotherapy. Because it is not part of conventional medicine’s approach to treating cancer, most of the patients who contact our Arizona center have a number of questions about IPT.
Read on for a closer look at IPT and how it fits in with the holistic approach we take to cancer treatment at EuroMed.
How is IPT different than traditional chemotherapy?
The low-dose chemotherapy used during IPT is based on insulin’s ability to enhance the effectiveness of conventional chemotherapy. (That’s what potentiation means in this context.)
Cancer cells have many more insulin receptors than normal cells. IPT takes advantage of this, using insulin to drop the patient’s blood sugar just before a chemotherapy treatment. This causes the cancer cells’ insulin receptors to open as they desperately seek sugar. Administering a low dose of chemotherapy followed immediately by glucose (sugar) enhances the effectiveness of the treatment. That’s why a much lower dose is needed than during conventional chemotherapy.
What does IPT feel like during and after treatment?
Patients undergoing low-dose chemotherapy begin the treatment with insulin administered through an IV. This triggers a carefully monitored drop in blood sugar. Such a drop can sometimes bring on mild sweating and a slightly quickened heartbeat.
Those symptoms rapidly disappear within minutes as chemotherapy drugs and glucose are administered. The entire IPT treatment may take up to 2 hours. An advantage of IPT is that patients rarely experience the nausea and other toxic side effects associated with conventional cancer treatments.
Can IPT be combined with other therapies?
Using complementary therapies enhances the effect of IPT, and our doctors create customized treatment plans for patients based on the type of cancer they have. Our doctors evaluate each patient’s medical history and current condition to determine the most effective course of action. That plan may also be adjusted as the treatment continues, judging by a patient’s response to IPT and the other therapies.
Can IPT be used on any stage of cancer?
Yes, because our doctors don’t treat patients with the one-size-fits-all approach common to conventional medicine. We’ve successfully treated Stage 4 breast cancer and many other cancers with IPT combined with complementary therapies. This customized approach gives individual attention to each patient’s condition, targeting the specific type and stage of cancer present.
How does EuroMed optimize IPT’s effect?
IPT represents just part of the holistic approach we take to treating cancer. At EuroMed, we follow the George Protocol, named for Dr. Frank George. The protocol is built on the concept of strengthening the body’s immune system, even as we treat cancer. An immune support system, detoxification, nutrition counseling, and a range of complementary therapies combine to enhance the effectiveness of IPT.
For a more in-depth look at IPT, you can download our free e-book, A Guide to Alternative Cancer Treatments.