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You�re Listening to 103.6FM, Curin� Cancer to the Oldies

WEDNESDAY APRIL 16 2008 10:00 AM

Submitted by punk. Edited By punk.

TAGS: cancer, cure, research, nanoparticles, radio

John Kanzius is a retired radio executive living out his retirement in Florida. He may also be the man responsible for curing cancer. At first, when you read the story of his adventure into medical research, you might think �bullshit.� But that�s only until you read that several major medical research hospitals have taken up his cause, and that John has been raising millions of dollars to help fund research.

John Kanzius has no background in cancer research but might have invented a real cure. He was diagnosed with leukemia, and struck by the idea that radio waves could kill cancer cells.

Radio waves! How? Powerful radio waves can heat metal, so John built a prototype high-powered radio transmitter in his garage, grabbed a hot dog, injected it with copper sulfate, and subjected it to his treatment. The hotdog heated to the point where cells would die, but only in the area of the injection. The rest of the hot dog was the same temperature as it had been before the test.

He nuked a hot dog. Big fuckin� deal, right? Yeah, actually. It kind of is. This device would allow doctors to focus treatment on a single area, neutralizing the targeted cells but leaving the surrounding cells healthy and unharmed.

Kanzius thought he had found a way attack cancer cells without the collateral damage caused by chemotherapy and radiation. Today, his invention is in the laboratories of two major research centers - the University of Pittsburgh and M.D. Anderson, where Dr. Steven Curley, a liver cancer surgeon, is testing it.

To address the issue of injecting patients with metal, John suggested metal nanoparticles instead of chemical solutions. Trillions of nanoparticles can be injected into the body with just a few milliliters of solution.

Enter Rick Smalley, another cancer patient at M.D. Anderson and the man who won the Nobel Prize for discovering nanoparticles made from carbon. As luck would have it, Dr. Curley was called in one day to examine Smalley. Before leaving, he asked him for some of his nanoparticles.

Rick said �ho-ho, good luck with that,� but shut his mouth when Curley called him back and let him know that he and Kanzius had managed to get his vial of nanoparticles to boil in Kanzius' machine. �Rick, you�re not going to believe this. He just blew the smithereens out of your nanoparticles!� Rick paused and then responded: �Holy shit.�

They�ve already shown that the Kanzius machine can heat nanoparticles and cook cancer to death in animals. Dr. Curley with rabbits, and in Pittsburgh, Dr. David Geller demonstrated to 60 Minutes how he used nanoparticles, made from gold, to kill liver cancer cells grown in rats.

Unfortunately, there have been numerous studies that succeed in treating cancer in lab environments and in test animals, but fail in humans. Human trials are about four years away, and right now they can only target focused tumors (no metastasized cancers, yet), but the researchers involved are hopeful.

"Right now it is a little science fiction," Curley agreed. "We�re not quite to the real time yet, but it�s got a lot of promise."

Sadly, John might not be around by the time his invention proves itself. His only option at this point is a bone marrow transplant, which would only prolong his pain and suffering.

"Did you ever say, 'I�m not going to do this anymore. I�m not going to put myself through it,'?" Stahl asked.

"Yes. I said that-only about a year and a half ago," Kanzius replied. "I changed my mind because I think with all the research that�s going on with the institutions, that maybe, I'd like to be around for the first patient to get treated and just have a smile."

28 Comments

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atomicant

Portland, OR

June 2003

APR 16, 2008 09:41 PM

strndniowa said:
This is nothing really new, but is a refinement of current systems...if it works as well as it sounds like it does, then it needs to go forward...quickly...
It has always bothered me when people are told that there is a not proven cure, that could save their life...but it is still in the early stages...and not approved for use...
I'd rather die from the yet to be approved cure then cancer...at least it is a chance...and if I die from that, at least it may give some Data to the researchers to make it work for the next person...

first off, no, this is not a refinement of current systems. radiation and chemotherapy are pretty much a 'scorched earth' method of fighting cancers, and even the so called 'radiation scalpel' is relatively indiscriminate, causing some damage to surround tissues. if this does pan out, it could be pretty awesome, allowing cancer treatment to be almost an out patient treatment.

and the FDA does allow people in certain situations to receive experimental treatments, but in order to verify the data and see just how effective it is, they have to be pretty stringent in their application of criteria for patients.

if you want any old treatment, just head south of the border.

Kindle

Seattle, WA

March 2006

APR 16, 2008 09:45 PM

This is pretty damn amazing. Thanks punk, great story.

OhSoOrdinary

Tacoma, WA

July 2006

APR 16, 2008 10:39 PM

This story made me smile thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis big.

PantherNesmith

Gloucester, VA

June 2006

APR 16, 2008 10:45 PM

That's awesome. I hope it works. This guy should be given an award of some kind.

J24U

Danvers, MA

February 2006

APR 17, 2008 07:14 AM

I really hope the inventor lives to see his ideas pan out big, I really do.

SockPuppet

I'm lost

July 2006

APR 17, 2008 08:09 AM

J24U said:
I really hope the inventor lives to see his ideas pan out big, I really do.

Yes. And that they help him

xfinitex

East Lansing, MI

August 2005

APR 17, 2008 10:52 AM

Good for this guy. I hope that things work out for him and that this actually will work.

RaphaelAdidas

I'm lost

November 2003

APR 17, 2008 12:59 PM

The problem here is going to be getting the nanoparticles to bind to cancer cells only, which is a pretty big obstacle. They've been trying for years to target chemo drugs and it hasn't really worked out.

atomicant

Portland, OR

June 2003

APR 17, 2008 01:16 PM

RaphaelAdidas said:
The problem here is going to be getting the nanoparticles to bind to cancer cells only, which is a pretty big obstacle. They've been trying for years to target chemo drugs and it hasn't really worked out.

as i understand it (and no, i am not in medical school), targeting cells with nano particles is a much easier task than getting the chemo therapy chemicals to bind to cancerous cells.

again, totally anecdotal evidence with absolutely nothing behind it.

Mr_Matt_

Hollywood, FL

July 2005

APR 17, 2008 02:11 PM

So can I have mine medium rare?

punk

Phoenix, AZ

January 2004

APR 17, 2008 06:56 PM

In the video, one of the scientists mentioned attaching proteins to the nanoparticles that would somehow only bond with cancer cells. He didn't really elaborate.

They have some finer points to work out, yet.

PaulNikon

Melbourne, FL

February 2003

APR 18, 2008 02:33 AM

Good news.

Ladybug

Columbus, OH

June 2006

APR 18, 2008 07:58 AM

This would be amazing. Only, I feel bad for the people that have cancer in the next 4 years, before they start human testing. Because they'll know that a cure is on the horizon (hopefully) and they won't be able to receive that treatment.

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