A new way of understanding growth cancers

My intention in writing this article is to share with you some important new thinking about the environment in which growth cancers may flourish. This post is based upon training which I have undertaken with the inspirational Dawn Waldron and Emma Beswick of Lifecode Gx in connection with the empowering Metabolics genetics report. Dawn has a Substack called “Uncoupling Cancer” which is built around sharing “empowering science, nutrition and lifestyle information to help you make a full and fabulous recovery from breast cancer”. After 20 years of practise as a nutritional therapist who specialised in working with clients with breast cancer and 28 years following her own recovery from breast cancer, Dawn has dedicated herself to understanding and sharing her research around what drives cancer and what to do about it. I follow Dawn’s work closely and highly recommend her Substack which you can find at www.dawnwaldron.com.

In Dawn’s extensive experience, what is the number one symptom reported in the three years leading up to a diagnosis of cancer?

Fatigue.

Fatigue is a signal from your body that you need to make changes.

Let’s understand why.

How is energy made in the body?

Do you remember, from biology lessons in the dim and distant past, that we have batteries called mitochondria which create energy from the food we consume? If you revised very thoroughly, you might also recall that there is an electron transport chain within the mitochondria and the food we consume generates an electrical charge across the mitochondria which results in the release of energy (ATP) when we are active. So far, so good.

But what happens if we eat more food (fuel) than we use as energy? Then we are not drawing down the electrical charge to use as energy and so the electrical charge hangs around in the mitochondria causing havoc (a.k.a oxidative stress). Much the same as us, mitochondria can only cope with so much stress before they throw in the towel and go on strike. In response to too much oxidative stress, the mitochondria downregulate energy production in order to protect themselves from damage. This is where fatigue comes from. 

How does this relate to growth cancers?

“The cause of cancer is an environment that continuously and erroneously shouts “GROW!”, Professor Nick Lane, “Transformer”.

If we consume more fuel than we use as energy, this excess energy has to go somewhere, otherwise we’d end up exploding. When the mitochondria downregulate ATP production to protect themselves, this results in a blockage further up the energy production cycle. This blockage triggers epigenetic changes which favour growth in the wrong place and at the wrong time. What is so astonishing and difficult to comprehend is that this growth is now being analysed as an ancient conserved mechanism which comes into play to protect us, as opposed to damage us. This raises the possibility that one day it might be possible to re-educate cells and to encourage them to switch from “growth” mode to a non-malignant state. If you’d like to read more about this, I recommend Philip Ball’s wonderful book “How Life Works”.

What shall we do with this information?

Our aim should be to be metabolically healthy. This means that our food intake is matched to our energy needs, so that we feel well and energised, with normal blood pressure, and excellent blood sugar stability. We should be able to concentrate well throughout the day, we should be able to tolerate exercise and recover well, we should be able to sleep soundly and wake up refreshed. 

Fatigue and exhaustion should not be ignored. We should respond to our body’s distress flare and investigate which adjustments we can make as to how we live to rediscover our energy and well-being. 

In forthcoming articles, I will make some suggestions as to useful starting points. If you would like personalised advice, please do book a free Zoom call using the button below and we can discuss working together.