Vitamin C Adjunct to Cancer Treatment

One of the most well-established antioxidants known is vitamin C, and its health benefits have been demonstrated over time for preventing and treating infectious diseases. Research has also shown that vitamin C is cytotoxic to cancer cells when administered by IV in high doses and has several heart and cardiovascular benefits. Many believe it is a very useful supplement that should be included in most cancer treatment protocols.

You need to have a very high concentration of vitamin C in your blood to kill cancer cells effectively. The only way to obtain these extreme levels is through IV administration. Bypassing the digestive tract with IV administration results in blood levels up to 500 times higher than you can achieve through the oral route. Vitamin C’s ability to target cancer cells has to do with the generation of hydrogen peroxide, which kills the cancer cells. The vitamin C breaks down quickly.

Vitamin C has other benefits for cancer, such as lowering inflammation in your body. It helps lower pro-inflammatory cytokines and C-reactive proteins that correlate with a reduction in tumor size. A 15-year-long research project called RECNAC (cancer spelled backward) was completed by Riordan, which showed vitamin C was selectively cytotoxic against cancer cells. Further research has been done by scientists at the Lewis Cantley of Weill Cornel Medicine in New York that found high doses of vitamin C help kill and eliminate colorectal cancer cells with specific genetic mutations. Even further studies have shown that high-dose vitamin C can help slow the growth of prostate, pancreatic, liver, and colon cancer cells.

Vitamin C is best known for its ability to combat infectious disease, highlighted in Dr. Thomas Levy’s book, “Curing the Incurable.” In combination with thiamine (B1), vitamin C and hydrocortisone have also been shown to be helpful in the treatment of severe sepsis and septic shock. Your heart, blood vessels, lungs, and eyes also benefit from vitamin C. This vitamin can help in the following ways:

• Decrease the risk of postoperative atrial fibrillation after heart surgery, thereby
  reducing the risk of stroke and heart failure.


• Reduce high blood pressure by protecting your body’s supply of nitric oxide.


• Reduce your risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease among smokers.


• Prevent heart attacks by reducing inflammation.


• It protects your vision by improving the function of your retinal cells and reduces
  your risk for cataracts by fighting oxidative stress.

Getting your glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase ( G-6 PD) checked beforehand is essential. This enzyme is in your red blood cells and needs to maintain membrane integrity. If you are a G-6 PD person, high-dose Vitamin C can be very dangerous and even cause death.

The suggested dosage for vitamin C is 25 to 75 grams intravenously, which is 300X the normal amount you’d get from eating a healthy diet. We all need 300 to 400 mg/dl to achieve selective cytotoxicity against cancer cells. Eat a balanced diet rich in vitamin C with varied whole foods to avoid causing a nutritional imbalance.

Dr. Fredda Branyon