Hi,

She has switched to Palbociclib / Ibrance and letrozole two months ago, in order to get a break from xeloda side effects, and not miss the deadline for availability of ibrance under compassionate basis in Canada. Eventually it will be available here for everyone, but right now it isn't, as the provinces work out funding. All her tests and scans up to the end of xeloda have been good, and tumor markers continued to fall. We always implemented the oil of oregano during her time off.

Now that she is on letrozole continuously and ibrance for 3 weeks in a row, with a week off, we dare not touch the oil of oregano, as it is a strong inhibitor of cyp2c9, cy3a4, which is needed for both drugs.

Unfortunately we saw some rise in tumor markers after her first month in ibrance. Tomorrow we go in for the two month checkup, and will get further blood test results. Hopefully we don't see signs of progression of the cancer. If we do, its likely the end of ibrance, and I would prefer back to xeloda. I'll keep you posted.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26907089

Eur J Nutr. 2017 Apr;56(3):1303-1316. doi: 10.1007/s00394-016-1181-5. Epub 2016 Feb 23.

Oregano demonstrates distinct tumour-suppressive effects in the breast carcinoma model.

Kubatka P1, Kello M2, Kajo K3, Kruzliak P4, Výbohová D5, Mojžiš J2, Adamkov M6, Fialová S7, Veizerová L8, Zulli A9, Péč M10, Statelová D11, Grančai D7, Büsselberg D12.

Author information

Abstract

PURPOSE:

There has been a considerable interest in the identification of natural plant foods for developing effective agents against cancer. Thus, the anti-tumour effects of oregano in the in vivo and in vitro breast cancer model were evaluated.

METHODS:

Lyophilized oregano (ORE) was administered at two concentrations of 0.3 and 3 % through diet. The experiment was terminated 14 weeks after carcinogen administration. At autopsy, mammary tumours were removed and prepared for histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis. Moreover, in vitro evaluation in MCF-7 cells was carried out.

RESULTS:

Low-dose ORE suppressed tumour frequency by 55.5 %, tumour incidence by 44 %, and tumour volume by 44.5 % compared to control animals. Analysis of rat tumour cells showed Ki67, VEGFR-2, CD24, and EpCAM expression decrease and caspase-3 expression increase after low-dose ORE treatment. High-dose ORE lengthened tumour latency by 12.5 days; moreover, Bcl-2, VEGFR-2, CD24, and EpCAM expression decrease and caspase-3 expression increase in carcinoma cells were observed. Histopathological analysis revealed a decrease in the ratio of high-/low-grade carcinomas in both treated groups. In vitro studies showed that ORE decreased survival and proliferation of MCF-7 cells. In ORE-treated MCF-7 cells, an increase in cells expressing sub-G 0/G 1 DNA content and an increase in the percentage of annexin V/PI positive MCF-7 cells were observed. In vitro, both caspase-dependent and possible non-caspase-dependent apoptotic pathways were found. The deactivation of anti-apoptotic activity of Bcl-2, a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, and the activation of mitochondrial apoptosis pathway were observed in the ORE-treated MCF-7 cells.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results demonstrate, for the first time, a distinct tumour-suppressive effect of oregano in the breast cancer model.

KEYWORDS:

Angiogenesis; Apoptosis; Cancer stem cells; Cell proliferation; MCF-7 cells; Mammary carcinogenesis; Oregano; Rat

PMID:

26907089

DOI:

10.1007/s00394-016-1181-5

It's called "Joy of the Mountains". Certified organic, and reasonably priced ($30 for 30 ml).

I bought a bag of 1000 empty gelatin capsules at a local health food store. They look like what you get many supplements in, only they are empty and you pull the two halves apart. They are for filling with whatever. They were cheap. I put 10 drops in each capsule, then put the two halves together. It saved my wife having to taste the oil of oregano. She does say she burps it up a bit though.

I hope you get good results. Let us know if you see any change. It's vital to not take it while on any drugs that it could interact with, and possibly vital to cycle it, as taking it continuously in high doses might cause GI tract problems, as its a strong natural antibiotic. People take it for all sorts of infections. The reason my wife started on it was because we thought she had an intestinal tract infection. Turned out it was ascites from her liver problems. Disappointed the Onc didn't clue into that considering her metastasis was to her liver.

There are some reasonably common foods, like grapefruit, and not so common like star fruit, that inhibit some drug metabolism pathways.  As well, some herbal / natural remedies also potentially inhibit drug pathways.  Before my wife takes any herbal remedy, I always research 1)potential estrogenicity (if that's a word), 2) known drug interactions 3) metabolic pathways, in particular, cytochrome pathways of both the drugs she is on, and the herbal remedy, to make sure the herbal isn't a strong inhibitor of the needed pathway.

Both xeloda and oil of oregano, which both inhibit cy2c9, may also depend on the cyp2c9 pathway, and if so, there's a possibility that the xeloda may not metabolize properly and do its job if combined with oil of oregano.