Dementia and cancer ?

By Deerefly2U Friday, September 05, 2008

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We all know someone with dementia - EODAT, AD, FTD, etc. - or we'd not be on here.

But NO ONE I know with dementia also has cancer. How about you?

Silly question , but why is it that people with dementia don't seem to get cancer as often ?

Put another way, does any one you know that has cancer ALSO have dementia? Probably not, right?

So, is this because cancers get replicating in humans who's immune systems are compromised, while people who's immune systems are superstrong resist cancer, but have a protein-folding proclivity caused by their own ( hyperactive?) immune systems?

So where are the professionals researching this question?

Remember Dr. Virginia Livingston-Wheeler's book titled "Conquest Of Cancer" ? She discovered early-on that TB positive reactors seldom got cancer. She next presumed that TB stirred up those folks' immune systems, and so abnormal cells, including many classified as cancers, got snuffed by white blood cells and killer T cells before they could become a replicating health hazard. Next she gave cancer patients TB, knowing she sould cure TB with anti-biotics. And finally, she began using cells from a patient's tumor or serum to grow anti-bodies specific to that type of cancer, and inject those back into the patient. So, read her book! ( Just because some oncologists want to protect their turf by posting her on "Quackwatch" doesn't mean her methods should not be emulated, improved, expanded. )

Back to AD and other dementias - if spiking up one's immune system can help beat some cancers, would dampering it prevent some of the prion manufacturing, miss-folding and mal-absorption problems we call AD, ALS, PD, etc?

Comments (8) | Add comment

Sue

9/ 8/08 3:06pm

Thanks so much for your post. Welcome to our community. Great question - I am hoping you get great response from our members and our experts.

For more posts and articles on Alzheimer's research, checkout our links here.

As well, checkout the Basics of Alzheimer's Disease .

All the best, sue

Anonymous

12/27/08 1:09am

My mother was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in April 2008 and now has finally been diagnosed with Alzheimer's .....She has had symptoms of Alzheimers since 2005

Deerefly

12/27/08 1:33pm

Thanks for replying! Your's is the FIRST to note someone with BOTH AD & Ca. I'm sorry your Mother has the double whammy. Having either would give a person the other, and some of us caregivers both!

Except that almost NO ONE seems to come down with both! Why?

My guess is that true AD ( as contrasted with cardio-vascular/circulatory caused demential, TIA/stroke caused dementia, brain trauma caused dementia) is an immune system reaction, or over-reaction, which affects the way that person's body chemistry re-absorbs certain proteins, like Beta-Amyloid plaques and Tau tangles.

OK, if one's immune system is spiking, peaked and even over-reacting ( enough to perhaps cause dementia of the AD type ) , that immune system would be so strong it would recognize and target most cancers. The very auto-immune reaction that targets abnormal and potential replicating cancer cells and sends killer T cells to eat them may , unfortunately, be responsible for a plaques and tangles accumulation in the brais.

Thus, no cancers, but Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type instead.

And the folks with no AD type dementia may be the ones who have cancers.

My "theory" doesn't explain your mother's double whammy though, does it? Perhaps her dementia looks like AD but is actually caused by a cardio-vascular insufficiency? less blood circulating to her brain? Perhaps because her colon cancer has constrained her physical activity? ( which would combine with stress that cancer also brings on a person, and bring down her immuneo-reaction ) Or because anesthesia from surgery, or chemicals in the Chemo cocktail have had unexpected consequences on her immune system ?

My "victim" has always had an incredibly strong and complete immune system; a full spectrum "full court" body defensive system. No cancers! But she has this strange plaques and tangles accumulation going on in her brain. Her MRI shows atrophy ( synapses zapped out ) on the left side of her brain, and most of her right side functioning has been slowly lost. All other systems seem normal for her age. She has no sign of trauma, stroke, or vascular disease.

She's 73, and this is our 14th year coping. Now she can no longer walk, talk, feed herself or keep herself clean - so we do all that for her. Stage 7 of 7. So it's late in the game for us. But maybe the immune system and how it reacts holds the key for others.

I'm intrigued by the apparent absence of cancers in most who have Dementia of the Alzheimer's Type . Why don't cancer and AD show up together in patients, at the same general rate? Why are most with cancer free from DOAT? Why are most with DOAT free of cancers?

I recall Dr. Virginia Livingston-Wheeler ( her book was titled "The Conquest of Cancer" ) noted that patients with any TB , active or history or positive TB reaction seldom had cancers. She knew she could cure TB, so ( among her early experiments) she gave cancer patients TB to spike their immune systems and defeat the cancers, then she administered drugs to defeat the TB.

So, are folks with DOAT also those with huge immuno-response systems? Thus no cancers?

Jenie

11/19/09 11:42pm

my dad has liver cancer and one of the symptoms is dementia( technically called - liver encephalopathy) The liver can no longer filter out the impurities and they invade the brain. He can tell you the year, the president and such but he is way off on (for instance) how his mom died, he has forgotton what walmart is, he comes up with way out situations about his surroundings. It is just hit or miss on what he remembers.

debradesmoines

12/16/09 4:25pm

Yes, my mom has both, and was diagnosed at about the same time. They have both progressed steadily, but her treatment for cancer has been so hard on her physically. In recent weeks Dad took her to Colorado to spend time with my daughter and her family, a trip that only moved her much further along with both illness's. The change in enviroment, has been emotionally confusing, and the higher altitude physically stressful. Even worse, she keeps reliving the news that she has rare cancer and there is nothing else they can do. She is having some serious anxiety and fear about the cancer and is not having any peace or serenity in her last days of life.

Kristine

12/16/09 9:58pm

Debra,

Something that I found helpful (unfortunately after my dad passed) is called the "10 absolutes" at the Alzheimer's Hope page: http://www.alzheimershope.com/?gclid=CPCLsYHoo5wCFRwpawodXTtQjQ Actually called "Jo Huey On The 10 Absolutes." This gives you different sscenarios of the way we tend to react and the way that would be more helpful to the patient and to ourselves. It's not easy to train your brain to react in the most helpful manner! I found the reading to be very informative.

I hope you find it helpful.

nyki

1/17/10 7:57pm

My nan was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease and a Vascular dementia a few years ago, she is currently awaiting tests for lung cancer as a scan for persistant pain in her ribs revealed a shadow and fluid on her lung. I will confirm this when we have the test results.

Cold Hands

3/31/10 5:00pm

My remaing parent has dementia & cancer, of those who are close to them one is coping ok, the other not due to relationship issues. Although they have both illness' we should listen to what they want, difficult though it may seem. Both are not good, but equally a dignified end to one's journey is also important...one if it is agressive will hasten their journey, whilst they still know who people are...the other well...

Dementia and cancer ?

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