The Metabolic Approach to Cancer
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Between 1990 and 2019, cancer in individuals under 50 years of age increased by 79%, making it increasingly a disease affecting younger populations.
For more than 75 years, we have been waging the “War on Cancer.” While some progress has been made, much of the focus has remained on the tumor’s location, size, and growth. The primary goal has been to develop targeted therapies and map the human genome for genetic clues to cancer. However, the “magic bullet” cure we have sought has remained elusive, as we continue to rely on invasive and toxic therapies primarily like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
This therapeutic focus actually has its origins in the 1860s, during the early days of scientific medicine (post-1847). When Louis Pasteur discovered the relationship between germs and disease, medicine shifted to focusing on the idea that a “magic bullet” could be found to target disease. Pasteur’s colleague, Claude Bernard, had a different perspective, emphasizing the importance of the “soil” (the body’s environment) over the “seed” (the disease). Bernard believed the body’s terrain was more important than the germ itself in determining health outcomes.
The growing interest in integrative and functional medicine today reflects Bernard’s thinking. On his deathbed, Pasteur is said to have admitted, “The soil is everything, and the seed is nothing.” This perspective highlights the importance of addressing the underlying environment in which diseases like cancer develop, rather than focusing solely on the disease itself.
At Eternity Medicine’s Las Vegas based medical clinic, we focus on the whole body — the “soil” or terrain, not just the “seed.” We know that cancer is often preventable, yet the battle frequently begins only after significant damage has occurred.
Since the work of Otto Warburg in the 1930s, we have recognized that cancer is primarily a metabolic disease, largely driven by diet and the toxic environment. Excess sugar, processed foods, alcohol, and environmental toxins disrupt the delicate balance of our microbiome and mitochondria, setting the stage for the development of cancer. These factors have disrupted the 3-billion-year relationship between our cells and their environment.
The impact is stark: 80% of the calories now consumed by Americans come from ultra-processed foods, further exacerbated by our increasingly toxic surroundings.
Using our I.N.T.E.G.R.A.L. Health model and the principles of epigenetics (which focus on factors above the gene level), we aim to address the root causes of cancer. This approach is effective both at preventing cancer and supporting individuals who have already been diagnosed.
Contact our Las Vegas Cancer Specialists today to book an appointment.