Cancer Cure 2017: Can Breast Milk Cure Cancer?
Everyone knows that breast milk is best for babies. But new studies reveal that milk from mothers might also be good for cancer patients.
According to reports, scientists accidentally learned about the benefits of using breast milk in cancer treatments when Lund University professor Catharina Svanborg was working on a study about antibiotics.
"We were looking for novel antimicrobial agents, and new breast milk is a very good source of these. During one experiment we needed human cells and bacteria to be present, and we chose human tumour cells for practical reasons," the professor says in an interview with Daily Mail. "To our amazement, when we added this compound of milk, the tumour cells died. It was a totally serendipitous discovery."
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Based on the study, the substance present in human breast milk called Hamlet can attack cancer cells in different ways. First, it could evade the outer defenses in the cells, then focus on the mitochondria and nucleus to cut off its energy so it would kill itself using the process known as apoptosis.
The researcher also believes the chemical reaction between the breast milk's Hamlet and the cancer cell starts once it reaches the patient's gut, where the alpha-lactalbumin protein is being produced.
"There's something magical about Hamlet's ability to target tumour cells and kill them," Svanborg shares.
Other reports also reveal that 64-year-old bowel cancer patient Fred Whitelaw started drinking his daughter's breast milk to be able to beat his illness.
According to his daughter Jill Turner, she began expressing milk for her father after she found out that his cancer returned after being diagnosed in 2015.
"I was devastated when I found out about my dad's diagnosis. I wanted to help him in any way I could and that's when I started to give him my breast milk." She adds, "I was researching online when I came across an article for alternative uses for breast milk."
At the moment, further study on breast milk's effect on cancer treatments is being planned.
