Laetrile: Exciting, controversial treatment against cancer. by William B Stoecker
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But perhaps the most exciting and controversial treatment, one completely shut down by our dear government, is laetrile. Much has been written about laetrile by the FDA and the elite media, and most of it appears to be untrue. Laetrile, also called amygdalin, or vitamin B-17, is found naturally in apricot and peach kernels and bitter almonds (almost impossible to find), and to a lesser degree in the seeds of other fruits of the rose family like cherries, plums, and apples. It is also present in limited quantities in millet and in sorghum molasses. If you don't mind the risk of alcoholism, it is present in amaretto liqueur and in peach and apricot brandies. Regular almonds contain very little. In 1952 Dr. Ernst T. Krebs believed that cancer is a nutritional deficiency, and laetrile can prevent it, or, in heavy doses, cure it. At the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Kanematsu Sugira had very good results in preventing and treating cancer in mice with
laterile, as did his colleagues Dr. Elizabeth Stockert and Dr. Lloyd Schoen. But the top management stopped their research and put out a story that it was ineffective. The institute is controlled by the Rockefellers, and one executive was a close associate of President Carter.
The substances containing laetrile (which can also be synthesized) also contain small amounts of cyanide, used by the FDA as an excuse for banning it, but there is no evidence that anyone has ever been harmed by laetrile or poisoned by eating apricot pits. Cancer cells, in fact, contain a substance that unlocks the cyanide (bound to other compounds and thusly rendered fairly harmless); other body tissues produce the enzyme rhodanese, which neutralizes the cyanide. So if it is not dangerous, why has the use of laetrile and even any further research with it been banned by the FDA?
The FDA claims that cure rates in human patients are so low as to be meaningless, but there has been too little research to provide truly meaningful statistics. Since laetrile, unlike chemotherapy, only kills malignant cells, it may not visibly shrink tumors, which are composed mainly of benign cells. Most people who have tried laetrile have done so only as a last resort, when they were already nearly dead from cancer and from the chemotherapy; even so, some have been saved by it, and even those whose organs were already too damaged have reported a pronounced lessening of pain. Mr. Griffin and other proponents of laetrile suggest a small daily dosage as a preventive (I would suggest also a low daily dosage of vitamin D and selenium, both known cancer preventers). For those who fail to take the preventive and contract cancer, there is strong anecdotal evidence that a much larger dose, perhaps combined with heat and low dosage, whole body radiation, might
cure most cancers. But no one knows for sure, as the FDA does not allow research.
One final and ironic note. Senator Edward Kennedy, the leftist hero of Chappaquidick, held hearings in 1977 titled "Banning of the Drug Laterile From Interstate Commerce by the FDA," a ban he supported. He is presently (February, 2009) dying from cancer.
William B Stoecker
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