[Real Talk] Lyme Disease + Cancer: Does Borrelia Increase Your Cancer Risk?
by Dr. Bill Rawls
Posted 11/5/20
As to the question of, are microbes associated with cancer, the answer is a definitive, yes!
But what about the question, are all cancers associated with microbes? Here I’m referring to microscopic organisms including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi.
The answer? Well…maybe.
Here’s what the science is showing us thus far, including takeaways from a new study implicating borrelia — the microbe associated with Lyme disease — in breast cancer development, and how to empower yourself to reduce your risk.
The Science Linking Microbes + Cancer
Scientists first began proposing links between microbes and cancer back in the 1800s. In 1886, a researcher named Dr. Doyle isolated spherical bodies thought to be bacteria from a malignant tumor.
This was followed by a scientific paper published in 1907 by Dudgeon & Dunkley, which confirmed that the spherical bodies were a species of staphylococcus (a common skin flora that we all carry). Then, in 1911, a physician named Peyton Rouse, M.D. was able to demonstrate that a certain chicken sarcoma (tumors that occur in bones and soft tissue) was transmissible to other chickens. The transmissible agent was later found to be a virus.
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The earliest documentation of microbes associated with human cancer was in 1964 with the finding of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in a cancer of lymph nodes, called Burkitt’s lymphoma. Epstein-Barr virus is a common virus that most all of us get during childhood and that sometimes causes mononucleosis.
Since then, numerous cancers have been linked to microbes:
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) with cancer of the stomach
A variety of species of mycoplasma with a variety of different cancers
Multiple bacteria with oral cancers
This is, of course, only a partial list. In all, 20% of cancers have been directly linked to various microbes. No doubt, the percentage will steadily grow.
My earliest professional association with the microbe-cancer link was some 30 years ago, when human papillomavirus (HPV) was associated with cervical cancer in women. It totally changed how we screen for cervical cancer.
Women often, however, develop a precancerous state associated with HPV called dysplasia, which in some people never progresses to cancer. It has me wondering if there might be other cofactors involved, such as other microbes.
Ones that would be high on my list include mycoplasmas and ureaplasmas, which are much more common in the genital tract than currently recognized. Studies have shown that these bacteria can facilitate the entry of viruses into cells — it gives evidence that microbes often work together.
The microbe-cancer connection hit close to home several years ago when my father developed lymphoma of the eye shortly after being diagnosed with a toxoplasma infection in that eye. Toxoplasma is a protozoa, a single-celled microbe one step more advanced than a bacteria. It’s commonly contracted from cats or eating undercooked meat.
If a person’s immune system is healthy, toxoplasma typically lives inside cells and stays dormant in tissues without causing any symptoms. Its favorite hideout is the brain. In immunocompromised individuals, it’s been linked to cognitive deficits, depression, and psychosis. Sure enough, I was able to find research that documented an association between toxoplasma and the specific type of lymphoma my father developed.
Ever since my dad’s experience, I’ve been closely following the connections. Before his untimely death due to complications of Lyme disease, Neil Spector, M.D., a friend and oncology researcher at Duke University, mentioned that he was consistently finding bartonella, a common bacteria defined as a Lyme disease coinfection, in a certain type of breast cancer.
In May of 2020, in a study published in the journal Science, researchers found a distinct “tumor microbiome” consisting of intracellular bacteria in each of 1,526 different tumor specimens. The specimens were taken from seven different cancer types including breast, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, melanoma, bone, and brain cancers.
Most recently, an internationally recognized expert on Lyme disease, Eva Sapi, Ph.D., foundborrelia in breast cancer tissue. In 400 specimens of the breast cancer tissue she examined, borrelia was found in a high percentage. Her team also found that borrelia readily invaded breast cancer cells in the lab.
Does this mean that borrelia is the cause of breast cancer? Not hardly. It simply means that microbes in general play a key role in the process of cancer formation. That role is actually not difficult to define.
Microbes’ Role in Cancer Development
The cells that make up our bodies and the microbes that inhabit our bodies live at cross purposes. It’s the difference between the unrestricted growth of microbes versus the restricted growth of our cells.
Microbes like bacteria know only one purpose: Making more bacteria. As long as food is present, bacteria are compelled to keep dividing and growing with no boundaries — dividing continuously is the only way they can survive.
The reason microbes like bacteria must continually divide is to shed internal damage and refresh themselves. When a bacterial cell divides, it regenerates into two new cells — damage to internal parts and the cell’s genetic program is shed, and the new cells start afresh. As soon as those two cells mature, they must also divide.
Most bacteria divide every 2 to 12 hours. Some are especially fast movers: E. coli in the gut, for example, can divide every 20 minutes, which means after 7 hours, one bacterium can become 2.1 million, according to the Microbiology Society.
This pattern of unrestricted growth applies to viruses, protozoa, and yeast, as well as bacteria. As long as nutrients and no other restrictions are present, they will continue to grow unimpeded.
In contrast, our cells are team players. They work in close synchrony with other cells within organ and tissue systems to enable the body to function as a whole.
We have about 200 different cell types, each with a different job. Muscle cells contract muscles. Brain cells transmit signals. Thyroid cells secrete thyroid hormones. Cells in the digestive system make enzymes to digest food. Every cell in the body is working for the good of all the other cells in the body — it’s definitely a one-for-all and all-for-one kind of arrangement.
As team players, our cells must work within the confines of an organ or tissue system. To be functional, organ or tissue systems can only accommodate a set number of cells (aka team players).
Though our cells can divide, they only divide to replace worn out or damaged cells. If the growth of cells became unrestricted like bacteria, the tissue or organ would quickly be destroyed. If that sounds a lot like cancer, you’re right on track.
Why Intracellular Microbes Are the Biggest Concern
Though most of the microbes that inhabit the body are confined to the gut or skin, microbes are constantly trying to get inside tissues of your body. The carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that make up your cells offer a treasure trove of nutrients that microbes can use to survive. Once inside your tissues, your cells offer an exceptionally good food source.
It was through my own experience with Lyme disease that I became acquainted with microbes that specialize in invading and living inside cells of a host. It’s a common strategy that microbes have been honing for billions of years.
By infecting and pirating organic molecules and resources from larger cells (the ultimate dine-in experience), these microbes can survive without having to work very hard. Living inside another cell offers the microbes food and protection from the immune system, other bacteria, and antibiotics.
The infected cell might be weakened, but might not die — at least initially. It’s an easy-living strategy used by many bacteria, some protozoa, yeast, and all viruses. Collectively, they are known as intracellular microbes or stealth microbes.
Borrelia burgdorferi is an intracellular microbe. All the Lyme disease coinfections, including bartonella, are intracellular. Toxoplasma is an intracellular protozoa. In fact, all the microbes that have been associated with cancer are intracellular.
There are many, many intracellular microbes. In my research I was able to identify more than 100 different species of intracellular microbes that could potentially be associated with chronic illness in humans — and that may be just scratching the surface.
The stealth microbe-cancer connection was taken a step further by a study published in 2018 in the journal, Cancer Cell International. The study was significant because researchers were able to experimentally induce cancer formation in eukaryotic cells (cells like ours) with intracellular bacteria.
For the experiment, they used a species of algae. They started by placing the algae cells in the dark, which weakened the cells. Then they exposed the weakened algae cells to an intracellular bacteria common to that species of algae.
In every case, when the bacteria invaded the weakened cells, the cells took on the unrestricted growth common to bacteria and turned to cancer. They were also able to demonstrate that the bacteria had inserted a segment of DNA into the cell’s genome that turned on unrestricted growth in the host cell.
How to Use This Information to Reduce Your Cancer Risk
The good news is that all of these findings bring us one step closer to understanding cancer. And if you understand something, you can do something about it! Knowing that intracellular microbes are a significant part of the problem brings us closer to a cancer solution.
A top priority is keeping the cells of your body healthy — weak cells are targets for microbes. Maintaining cell health puts less stress on the immune system. When the immune system isn’t overtaxed, it can better do its job of keeping the microbes that inhabit the body in check.
What can you do to keep your cells in top condition?
Provide optimal nourishment for your cells with a diet weighted heavily toward fresh vegetables and other fresh food sources.
Minimize your exposure to toxic substances. Toxins can only enter your body in what you eat or drink, the air you breathe, and what goes on your skin. Filtered water, organic food, purified indoor air, and smart choices for skin products go a long way to protect your cells.
Stress disrupts hormones and prevents cells from working together to stay healthy. Though you can’t eliminate all stress in your life, you can find ways to live around it. Make your world small, and focus only on the things that impact your wellbeing directly.
Cells depend on continual flow of water, nutrients, oxygen, and waste removal to stay healthy. Staying physically active increases blood flow, which flushes debris collected around cells and promotes optimal flow.
In the battle to keep your cells healthy, herbs are your best ally. The protective phytochemicals found in herbs suppress intracellular microbes, reduce cellular stress by protecting cells, and balance communication systems in the body so that all cells work together. Many herbs, if not most of them, have documented anti-cancer properties.
It’s a bit unnerving when you think about the fact that we all harbor microbes inside our cells that have the potential to affect our cells adversely. It’s important to note, however, that it’s stressed cells that are vulnerable.
Also key is that a healthy immune system is constantly on the job of taking out cells that have been infected with microbes or that have taken on the unrestricted growth associated with cancer. As such, your best defense against any type of cancer is a healthy immune system. Not stressing your cells is also a good practice.
Keeping your cells and your immune system healthy is a matter of maintaining good health habits. That includes eating a fresh and mostly whole foods diet, minimizing the toxins in your environment, keeping stress down, and staying active.
Beyond good health habits, herbs have extensive value for keeping your immune system healthy. Herbs suppress intracellular microbes, reduce cellular stress by protecting cells, and balance communication systems in the body so that all cells work together.
When all the cells in the body are functioning properly and working together in harmony, good health happens — and cancer risk is low!
Dr. Rawls is a physician who overcame Lyme disease through natural herbal therapy. You can learn more about Lyme disease in Dr. Rawls’ new best selling book, Unlocking Lyme. You can also learn about Dr. Rawls’ personal journey in overcoming Lyme disease and fibromyalgia in his popular blog post, My Chronic Lyme Journey.
REFERENCES
1. Dudgeon LS, Dunkley EV. The Micrococcus neoformans: Its Cultural Characters and Pathogenicity and the Results of the Estimation of the Opsonic and Agglutinative Properties of the Serum of Patients Suffering from Malignant Disease on this Organism and on the Staphylococcus Albus. J Hyg (Lond). 1907;7(1):13-21. doi:10.1017/s002217240003309x
2. Rous P. A SARCOMA OF THE FOWL TRANSMISSIBLE BY AN AGENT SEPARABLE FROM THE TUMOR CELLS. J Exp Med. 1911;13(4):397-411. doi:10.1084/jem.13.4.397
3. Rowe M, Fitzsimmons L, Bell AI. Epstein-Barr virus and Burkitt lymphoma. Chin J Cancer. 2014;33(12):609-619. doi:10.5732/cjc.014.10190
4. Nejman D, Livyatan I, Fuks G, et al. The human tumor microbiome is composed of tumor type-specific intracellular bacteria. Science. 2020;368(6494):973‐980. doi:10.1126/science.aay9189
5. Dong, Q., Xing, X. Cancer cells arise from bacteria. Cancer Cell Int 18, 205 (2018).
6. Faden AA. The potential role of microbes in oncogenesis with particular emphasis on oral cancer. Saudi Med J. 2016;37(6):607-612. doi:10.15537/Smj.2016.6.14048
7. Hieken TJ, Chen J, Hoskin TL, Walther-Antonio M, Johnson S, Ramaker S, Xiao J, Radisky DC, Knutson KL, Kalari KR, Yao JZ, Baddour LM, Chia N, Degnim AC. The Microbiome of Aseptically Collected Human Breast Tissue in Benign and Malignant Disease. Sci Rep. 2016 Aug 3;6:30751. doi: 10.1038/srep30751. PMID: 27485780; PMCID: PMC4971513.
8. Meng S, Chen B, Yang J, Wang J, Zhu D, Meng Q, Zhang L. Study of Microbiomes in Aseptically Collected Samples of Human Breast Tissue Using Needle Biopsy and the Potential Role of in situ Tissue Microbiomes for Promoting Malignancy. Front Oncol. 2018 Aug 17;8:318. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2018.00318. PMID: 30175072; PMCID: PMC6107834.
9. Chmiel R, University of New Haven Professor Makes Great Strides in Lyme Disease, Cancer Research, Sept 15 2020, Office of Marketing and Communications, University of New Haven. https://www.newhaven.edu/news/blog/2020/eva-sapi-research.php
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For more:
SAPI2022AONM_221203_013821 Go here for Eva Sapi’s slides titled, “Potential Connection of Borrelia Infection and Breast Cancer“. She also addresses “Mixed Biofilm in Other Infected Skin Tissues.” There is a particular slide that shows where in the human body that Borrelia biofilm is found.
An inadequacy in sanitizing processes in a biopharmaceutical plant in Lanzhou, China, during July and August 2019, led to the aerosolization of Brucellathat was subsequently spread through wind to nearby settlements and academic institutes, resulting in >10 000 human brucellosis cases, as of November 2020. The leak, possibly the largest laboratory accident in the history of infectious diseases, underlines the particular characteristics of Brucella that have made the pathogen a historical entity in biodefense research and a major cause of laboratory-associated infections. It further underlines the need for enhanced vigilance and strict regulatory interventions in similar facilities.
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**Comment**
Oh goody, the fun just never ends.
Brucella should sound familiar to Lyme/MSIDS patients because it’s a cousin to Bartonella, and like most coinfections has many strains that can cause human disease. It is considered an “eternal” microbe due to the fact its DNA persists for years after clinical cure. Further, in patients that relapse, no statistically significant difference was found in their bacterial load vs asymptomatic patients, indicating yet another stealth pathogen virtually impossible to find or eradicate.
Brucella has infected prosthetic joints, the heart, liver, spleen, intracellularly, and virtually every organ in the body. It can cause arthritis, swelling of the testicle and scrotum, heart issue, neurological symptoms, chronic fatigue, and depression.
And of course, it garners attention for being a biowarfare agent.
Like so many other pathogens in the Lyme/MSIDS army, it requires prolonged, combined treatment that often fails resulting in relapse.
Routes of infection include eating or drinking infected meat or dairy products, inhalation, and through skin wounds or mucus membranes. However, it’s been found in eggs, larvae, engorged females, and in other ticks:
The presence of DNA from several Brucella species were detected in ticks using real-time PCR assay. Histopathological examination showed ticks cause significant damage to skin and hides by inducing degenration of the epidermal layer from basal layer, collagen degeneration with a focal area of necrosis, adjacent subdermal abscess and infiltration of neutrophils. Control of ticks should be given consideration to reduce the severity of hide damage and concomitant losses in the domestic leather industry. Ticks are known as a vector of numerous pathogens; efforts are underway to educate farmers about financial loss of skin and hide due to tick infestation and preventive control measures.
I realize that just finding something doesn’t mean it can be transmitted. This would be an excellent thing to study, but won’t be. Researchers are chasing the golden egg of “climate change,” so we may never completely know if a tick bite could transmit this, but it’s highly probable.
Signs and symptoms look exactly like other tick-borne illnesses. Treatment is often the combination of doxycycline and rifampin for a minimum of 6-8 weeks.
Devin Wethauser shares her story of fighting Lyme disease, Bartonella, and Babesia in an effort to spread awareness.
It all started with the most intense stomach ache I’ve ever had, six days before my sixteenth birthday. That was the beginning of a journey I had never imagined would become my life. My symptoms were random and involved every part of my body, which sent me to over 25 different specialists. In my senior year of college, while under the care of an integrative medicine doctor, my diagnosis of Lyme,Bartonellosis and Babesiosis was confirmed.
I have had almost every symptom in the book, but specifically for Bartonella, I have had and continue to endure headaches, pain behind the eyes, muscle pain, poor appetite, swollen glands, horrible fatigue, random fevers, tachycardia, exacerbation of anxiety and depression, and severe brain fog.
Under the care of my LLMD, I have experimented with so many treatments, which unfortunately for me, have yet to help my conditions. These treatments have included the typical ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, doxycycline, herbals, low dose immunotherapy, and disulfiram. I am now on a combination of dapsone, rifampin, and doxycycline.
I have also developed some difficult mental health issues that made me seek out therapy. This experience, in particular, gave me purpose in my life. I realized that being a therapist, specifically for chronically ill people, is how I take the best of me and my experiences to help others.
The disease has completely changed my life. Since I’ve been sick for over a decade, I don’t remember what it’s like to feel healthy and pain free. I learned that the path I had originally carved out for me was no longer available. I’m not able to work full time as I don’t have the energy to do so. I have also developed some difficult mental health issues that made me seek out therapy. This experience, in particular, gave me purpose in my life. I realized that being a therapist, specifically for chronically ill people, is how I take the best of me and my experiences to help others. I graduated with an undergraduate degree in entrepreneurship thinking I’ll be starting a fashion business. However, now I’m currently working on my graduate degree to become a licensed professional clinical counselor and a licensed drug and alcohol counselor.
The advice I’d share with others is that you must recognize every single person diagnosed with tick-borne infections is going to have a completely different journey. One person will be in remission from doxy while another (me) has yet to get there after trying countless treatments. At times, hope can be fleeting, but it’s important to hang on to that small sliver. I also think it’s extremely important to seek out therapy to process, build perspective and develop tools. Having these illnesses and diseases causes grief and trauma. Using professional help to navigate all this was critical for my journey.
In addition, you will have many non-believers, including those in the medical profession. I recently went to the emergency room for low oxygen saturation. The ER doctor said “you’re too young to be on all of these medications. What kind of treatment is this for LYMES disease? I’m going to cure you tonight.” This is a perfect example of why we need GLA and other organizations to fund research for better treatments. Once there’s a better treatment that LLMD’s can use and prove it works, then we can start educating ignorant doctors like the ER doctor in my story.
The above material is provided for information purposes only. The material (a) is not nor should be considered, or used as a substitute for, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, nor (b) does it necessarily represent endorsement by or an official position of Global Lyme Alliance, Inc. or any of its directors, officers, advisors or volunteers. Advice on the testing, treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a physician who has examined that patient or is familiar with that patient’s medical history.
Devin Wethauser
GLA Contributor
*Opinions expressed by contributors are their own. Devin is currently working as a personal stylist and shopper as she’s completing her Master’s Degree in Counseling and Psychology. In her free time, she binge-watches The Office or Seinfeld, goes fishing, or cuddles with her two Rottweilers named Mack and Biggie.
Marty Ross MD on Top Lyme Treatment Updates of 2022
In the video in the link above Marty Ross MD describes the latest Lyme disease treatment updates in his integrative medicine practice. For more information about the topics discussed in the video article see the following resources:
Dr. Ross’s new book, Hacking Lyme Disease: An Action Guide to Wellness, will be released by early December 2022.
Disclaimer
The ideas and recommendations on this website and in this article are for informational purposes only. For more information about this, see the sitewide Terms & Conditions.
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**Comment**
Dr. Ross discusses peptides. These are not antimicrobials but help the body in fighting off infections and restoring the issues infections cause. Ross as well as Dr. Holtdorf is evidently having a lot of success with them.
Ross also discusses biofilm busters such as lumbrokinase, which helps improve circulation, decrease muscle pain, and improve medicine delivery deep into tissues. Those with hypercoagulation would also do well to check it out.
A golden nugget he discussed was the finding that cryptolepis, a drug normally given for Babesia, also has action against Lyme (in vitro – or the lab, which may not transfer over to the human body or in vivo) This study also found that black walnut, Japanese knotweed, sweet wormwood, ccat’s claw, Cistus incanus, and Chinese skullcap at 1% extracts had good activity against Bb’s stationary phase compared to control antibiotics doxycycline and cefuroxime.
Important note: The minimum inibitory concentration (MIC) values of Artemisia annua, Juglans nigra, and Uncaria tomentosa were quite high for the growing phase of Bb, despite their strong activity against the non-growing stationary phase. On the other hand, the top two active herbs,Cryptolepisand Japanese Knotweedshowed strong activity against both growing Bb and non-growing stationary phase. In subculture studies, only 1% Cryptolepis extract caused complete eradication, while doxycycline and cefuroxime and other active herbs could not eradicate B. burgdorferi stationary phase cells as many spirochetes were visible after 21-day subculture.
Ross states both herbs are helpful for Bartonella as well as diflucan/fluconazole. My LLMD had us pulse diflucan twice a week throughout our entire treatment (5 years). I can say with experience we herxed on this drug, often. It is a known anti-fungal; however, Dr. Hoffman (RIP) stated he believed it did far more than that, and I tend to agree having taken it.
In contrast, the study showed that Stevia rebaudiana, Andrographis paniculata, Grapefruit seed extract, colloidal silver, monolaurin, and antimicrobial peptide LL37 had little or no activity against stationary phase B. burgdorferi. A few years ago all kinds of headlines came out that stevia cured Lyme. Nothing could be further from the truth. Per usual, if something seems too good to be true, it usually is.
Dr. Klinghardt uses a sublingual form of Hyaluronic Acid to fool the cyst forms to open and become spirochetes so they can be killed by antimicrobials. For more on Klinghardt’s treatment: Klinghardt Lyme Protocol.
Hyaluronic Acid is a type of sugar molecule. Many other Lyme literate doctors also use forms of sugar such as Stevia or Erythritol as “cyst busters,” in their treatment regimens. Look for reputable sources of Erythritol as it is most commonly made with GMO cornstarch.
The advice I’d share with others is that you must recognize every single person diagnosed with tick-borne infections is going to have a completely different journey. One person will be in remission from doxy while another (me) has yet to get there after trying countless treatments. At times, hope can be fleeting, but it’s important to hang on to that small sliver. I also think it’s extremely important to seek out therapy to process, build perspective and develop tools. Having these illnesses and diseases causes grief and trauma. Using professional help to navigate all this was critical for my journey.-1-1.jpeg)
Madison Area Lyme Support Group 
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