Vitamin B3 & C from Abram Hoffer's website

Excerpts from Vitamin B3 and C from Abram Hoffer's cancer site:

A.S.An elderly woman appeared and when I asked her why she had come she replied that she had cancer of the head of the pancrease. She had developed jaundice. Her surgeon discovered she had a large tumor in the head of the pancreas which occluded her bile duct. He promptly closed, created a by-pass, and when she recovered from the anesthesia advised her that she had about 3 to 6 months to live. She worked in a book store. She had read Norman Cousins book Anatomy of an Illness and thought that if he was able to take so much vitamin C with safety she could too and she began to take 10 grams each day. The next time she consulted her doctor she told him what she was doing. He referred her to me since he was familiar with my interest in megadoses of vitamins. I reviewed her program and increased her vitamin C to 4o grams daily trying to reach the sublaxative level. I had been using multi nutrients for my schizophrenic patients for many years and since I had no idea which, if any, of these vitamins might help I reasoned that she would have a much better chance if she also were to take more than one nutrient. I then added vitamin B-3, selenium, and zinc sulfate. Six months later she called me at home in great excitement. She had just had a CT scan. No tumor was visible. The CT scan was repeated by the incredulous radiologist. Her original bile duct had reopened and now she had two. She remained alive and well until she died February 19, 1999, nearly 22 years after she was told she would die.

Rarely patients make a major contribution to medicine by their interest in a disease and their willingness to try innovative approaches. A.S's recovery changed my professional career and I believe will make a major contribution to the complementary treatment of all cancer patients. Last year at a public meeting I thanked her publicly when I discussed her case before a meeting of Cancer Victors. She added that I had changed her life as well. She has also changed the life of hundreds of cancer patients who became victors, not victims.

By telling her friends, relatives and customers about her recovery she changed the nature of my practice. That first year another five patients were referred. The second case was a man with a sarcoma of the prostate which was invading his pelvic bone. He was advised no treatment was available. His doctor referred him to me and I started him on a similar program. But he was only able to take about 10 grams of vitamin C daily. I asked his doctor if he would mind injecting him with 10 grams of vitamin C twice weekly. After six months his doctor wanted to know how much longer would he need to receive his vitamin C. He told me that the tumor was gone. He stopped the injection. He lived another 9 years and died at age 80, but not from his cancer.

Vitamin B-3. There are two forms. Niacin lowers cholesterol, elevates high density lipoprotein cholesterol and reduces the ravages of heart disease, but causes flushing when it is first taken. The flushing reaction dissipates in time and in most cases is gone or very minor within a matter of weeks. Niacinamide, the other form, has no effect on blood fats (lipids) but is not a vasodilator. There have been 7 international conferences on the theme niacin and cancer. This vitamin is an essential component of the enzyme systems that repair broken DNA molecules. The dose ranges from 100 milligrams three times daily to 1000 milligrams three times daily. Several studies in Detroit have found that the response rate of cancer around the head and neck was 10% on radiation alone but increased to 80% when patients were given large doses of niacinamide. Very rarely niacin will cause obstructive jaundice which clears when the niacin is stopped. For details see my book Orthomolecular Medicine for Physicians.