The Fungal Theory

I'm one of  those intellectual elves...

I went back and read the original post and realized I was replying to something stated 8 pages ago. 

tl

Impositive, lol...guess we are on the same track, except you are way ahead of me. I read that article earlier as I'm sure you have as well

I've been thinking in regard to fungi being cancer. It doesn't matter that much. For me, they are one in the same...and if they are different...does it matter? They are both deadly.

What's interesting about candida is it's like cancer in that it changes from non-invasive to an invasive cell. Once it becomes invasive it changes it's make up so it spreads to other parts of the body...the same way cancer from a non-invasive state develops a invasive conponent.

Researchers at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research's (A*STAR) Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) have discovered new molecular mechanisms that provide a more detailed understanding of how the normally benign Dr. Jekyll-like fungus known as Candida albicans transforms into a serious and often life-threatening Mr. Hyde-like form.

The fungus starts its 'attack' on a patient by changing its oval shape into a filamentous form, which has thin, threadlike appendages emerging from the cell body. Wang's team, who has been studying C. albicans for more than seven years, was responsible for identifying the master "controller" protein called Hgc1 in 20041.

This "controller" functions like a regulator and tells the fungus when to start the transformation from the harmless oval shape to the infectious filamentous form.

Wang's team found the answer to this question in two proteins called Rga2 and Cdc11. They discovered that they each function like a switch on two different cellular machineries that normally determines cell shape. "The master regulator Hgc1 acts like the 'finger' that flips the switches to start the infection process," said Wang.

"Our findings have uncovered detailed molecular mechanisms which define how these two proteins interact with the master 'controller' to cause infections. This has opened new opportunities for us to investigate further into a new range of therapeutic targets for fungal infections," explained Wang.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/84701.php

So...when candida in our colon maybe harmless, when the enviorment is right, they develop legs or threadlike appendages emerging through the colon into our body, blood and organs. Candida can also find it's way out through a leaky gut and once it develops its threadlike appendages it becomes invasive?

PHR1, a pH-regulated gene of Candida albicans, is required for morphogenesis. [My paper] S M Saporito-Irwin, C E Birse, P S Sypherd, W A Fonzi Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, California College of Medicine, University of California, Irvine 92717. Candida albicans, like many fungi, exhibits morphological plasticity, a property which may be related to its biological capacity as an opportunistic pathogen of humans.

Morphogenesis and alterations in cell shape require integration of many cellular functions and occur in response to environmental signals, most notably pH and temperature in the case of C. albicans. In the course of our studies of differential gene expression associated with dimorphism of C. albicans, we have isolated a gene, designated PHR1, which is regulated in response to the pH of the culture medium. PHR1 expression was repressed at pH values below 5.5 and induced at more alkaline pH. The predicted amino acid sequence of the PHR1 protein was 56% identical to that of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ggp1/Gas1 protein, a highly glycosylated cell surface protein attached to the membrane via glycosylphosphatidylinositol. A homozygous null mutant of PHR1 was constructed and found to exhibit a pH-conditional morphological defect. At alkaline pH, the mutant, unlike the parental type, was unable to conduct apical growth of either yeast or hyphal growth forms. This morphological aberration was not associated with defective cytoskeletal polarization or secretion. The results suggest that PHR1 defines a novel function required for apical cell growth and morphogenesis.

http://lib.bioinfo.pl/meid:8566

Impositive...You're going to have to post all that you're learning from the book. The study of fungi is fancinating. When out and about, I'll get a thought or question about the fungus/cancer connection and come home and google the question, which leads to more questions. I post some of what I'm reading because I think it's paramount that this subject and info is out there. Plus, now that I am seeing that fungi is our overall problem or health enemy, I'm changing the way I see disease and how to keep ourselves fungus free...cancer free.

Presently I strongly lean toward cancer being fungus, I'm searching out information to confirm it so. It's important I have all the facts behind the belief that fungus is the culpret because knowing if cancer is truly fungus would mean how cancer is treated (especially if I'm or a loved one is dx with C).

If cancer is a fungus, I would not choose chemo...because along with chemo comes a compromised immunity which causes candida overgrowth. And if cancer is fungus than you do not want to do anything that's going to cause the cancer/fungus to proliferate.

Barry and impositive, thanks once again for all the research you've done on this (and I definitely look forward to hearing what you learn from that "boring book"! LOL)... this is all really eye-opening.

Barry, it's actually now scheduled for Dec. 15... ("for real" this time!) Thank you so much!

One of my students is suffering with sinus infections. She is on constant antibiotics. I mentioned to her mother that there could be a fungus infection and taking antibiotics could be half the problem. I said I would bring her information on this...and this is why I'm posting some of the info here as well...seeing a connection to what the discussion is here on the fungus theory and cancer.

Sinus Infections and the Candida Yeast Infection Connection

There are two ways to get fungal sinus infections. The first is simply by breathing in fungus (most commonly Aspergillius) and mold spores from the air. They are abundantly present in the environment and will attach to trapped nasal mucus when sinuses are swollen from allergies or bacterial sinus infections.

The second way is connected to overgrowth of "bad" bacteria in our gut - "Candida albicans" - causing "Candidiasis", a rapidly growing yeast infection.

When the delicate balance of our "good" and "bad" intestinal bacteria is upset (see our antibiotics page), our body is then primed for candida yeast infections. The good bacteria can be killed off by one or more of these factors:

frequent or high-dose antibiotics and anti-inflammatories chemotherapy for cancer auto-immune diseases like AIDS, arthritis and muscular deterioration diseases high stress and low cortisol (cortisol is the body's stress response secretion)

In the absence of good bacteria, the bad bacteria, normally present in controllable amounts, can "explode" in number.

http://www.vaxa.com/sinus-candida.cfm

impositive...I met a woman tonight (at a art exhibit) who has been listening to Kaufmann for 5 years! She is also a bc surviver. I would love to pick her brain. I suggested she join our fungus theory thread.

Impositive - this for me has been over the last 5 years. I have also had pain in my mouth that no one knew the cause of - still have it and my smell and taste were bad before chemo - i thought because of the sinus infection - and made worse after chemo. I've had cat scans and mri and all tell  me that there is nothing causing the problem - maybe i'm depressed is what they say

im going to see a naturopath in a couple of weeks

I've been reading this thread without anything to add until now.  Barry, I've had bad problems with post nasal drip for a very long time.  Now I'm wondering if I have fungus in there.  I get some relief from using a netti pot, but I really dislike it and use it only when I feel extremely congested. 

Then last night I was watching a video interview with Cass Ingram, and he was talking about fungus and how it mimics a lot of disease symptoms.  The solution he offers for combatting fungus is oregano oil.  

http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2010/12/08/what-do-you-use-oregano-oil-for/

Y'all might find this interview interesting and informative also. 

ps, I've also been wondering what y'all think about using mushrooms either medicinally or as a food.  Cass Ingram seems very knowledgeable about the ill effects of fungus, yet he also advocates using chaga mushrooms to promote health.  

Althea, I was wondering about oregano oil as I read this thread. I never have gastro-intestinal problems, but after my last surgery, I had something like a week's worth of diarrhea (yuck), off and on. I kept eating yogurt hoping that would get me back on track, but it didn't make much of a difference. Finally I took a few drops of oregano oil in some water. Almost immediately, my GI problems cleared right up, and didn't bother me again.

I know that doesn't have to do with fungus, but a lot of natural substances that are naturally antimicrobial are also antifungal etc. Oregano oil kept popping up into my head throughout this thread but I hadn't had time to research it... thanks for posting that link!

Coconut oil has been known to be an extremely potent anti-fungal against Candida. Many people report feeling better within weeks of taking it to control Candida. In tropical countries where people eat more coconut, Candida infections are extremely rare, even though the conditions in these countries support the growth of Candida.

Coconut oil contains a high amount of lauric and caprylic acid which have powerful antimicrobial, antiviral and antifungal properties. They target the harmful Candida yeast in your body, and leave the good bacteria alone. This helps promote and balance in digestive flora, and heals the body at the same time.