6 minute read

Should I take aspirin for cancer?

You might have seen in the news this week that Scientists believe they have discovered how taking aspirin can stop cancer metastasis (spreading). Metastasis is the biggest cause of most cancer deaths, and so this could be a really important discovery.

Before you stop reading this and run down to the chemist, however, there’s a few things that you should probably consider first:

• Testing was performed in animals, and they don’t yet know if it applies to humans;
• It isn’t known if it could work for all cancers or just some;
• Early testing suggests it’s likely to be more effective when cancer is diagnosed at stage 1 or 2 and may not work for advanced cancers;
• There’s valid concerns about how safe it is to take aspirin every day and this comes with some pretty hefty risks (despite existing data showing that people who were already taking aspirin were more likely to survive cancer diagnosis).

So you’re definitely going to want to think long and hard about this and whether it’s a road that you want to go down. My recommendation is to do your research and look at both the dangers and the benefits (you’ll find plenty of evidence for both). You could also talk to your doctor because, even if they’re likely to advise against it, I find there’s often something to be gained from the conversation. Certainly, I never do anything I think has the potential to be unsafe or cause harm.

What I personally found interesting about this research though is down to how they think aspirin can help – And it’s all to do with T-Cells! T-cells are a wonderful part of our immune system that can hunt out cancer cells… BUT, platelets, those things that stop bleeding, suppress T-cells, making it harder for them to destroy the cancer. Remarkably, it looks like aspirin could be set to change that.

I was already aware of the potential of the body’s immune system as a weapon to kill cancer and, after having chemotherapy for six months, when it came time to resume treatment, I pushed to have immunotherapy (I currently have Pembrolizumab every six weeks).

Not only that but, the way my Oncologist described how my cancer spread, and indeed why many people’s cancer comes back even years later, was basically to say that cancer cells can, and do, break away from the original tumour and, sometimes (not always), those cells find somewhere else in the body to attach themselves where they grow like seeds. Taking aspirin could stop that.

Worryingly, one of the things known to cause this breakdown of cancerous cells  happens to be chemotherapy. In fact, that’s how chemotherapy works and, whilst I don’t know, I suspect this is one of the reasons people choose not to have it because, essentially, what we’re saying here is that the treatment for cancer can… cause cancer! 

Of course, that’s not always the case, and it probably almost definitely saved my life. For many, it remains an effective cancer treatment, and often, the reason it doesn’t work is because cancer cells grow abnormally, dividing and multiplying without limit. Chemotherapy simply can’t always kill every cancer cell, and, in other cases, cancer cells can enter a dormant or resistant state and become unresponsive to treatment. This is why doctors can’t always tell you for sure that you’re cured.

One of my aims when I started this blog was to get people thinking differently about cancer. I find that there’s still a lot of stigma attached to it, and there’s definitely a lot of misinformation, particularly surrounding treatment, which can make it really confusing and difficult to make key decisions about your own health and what path to choose.

That doesn’t mean you should take the things I say as fact though. At the end of the day, it’s just my opinion based on everything I’ve read and observed in my own life. The difference is that at least I’m honest about it. I thought about providing links to various sources, but really, first, there would be hundreds, and ultimately I want you to reach your own conclusions.

I pity the fool

One thing I do want to share with you, and this is for anyone who is already having immunotherapy or due to start, is that taking a cheap over-the-counter antihistamine every day can actually improve the effectiveness of the treatment by unleashing. .. yup, (Mr) T-cells (regrettably, they’ve had minimal effect on the survival of chemotherapy-treated patients).

This is according to recent research from the University of Texas MD Cancer Centre, where it was discovered that high histamine and HRH1 levels, often found in cancer patients, correlate with poor immunotherapy response. Like aspirin, clinical trials are still needed to prove this. However, unlike aspirin, antihistamines are generally safe to take.

You should talk to a doctor before taking antihistamines if you have any of these conditions: Diabetes; Enlarged prostate or urinary retention; Epilepsy; Heart disease; High blood pressure; Glaucoma; Hyperthyroidism. Or if you’re pregnant or breastfeeding.

I’ve taken an antihistamine since I started having immunotherapy because, well, I might not otherwise live long enough for the studies to be completed but, more than that, for me the potential benefit outweighs any risk (when taken sensibly).

So far, I’ve seen a really good response to the treatment, and whilst I’m not saying this is solely because I take an antihistamine, it is possible that it has improved the outcome. If nothing else, it’s an inexpensive approach with minimal side effects and exciting preclinical findings.

Not all antihistamines are the same, though, and you should choose an H1 antihistamine such as Cetirizine or Loratadine (don’t forget to check for any known drug interactions with existing medication, including cancer medication). Happily, these often tend to be the cheapest. They’re non-drowsy, and they block the histamine from binding to the cells.

Living with cancer can be really scary. I know it can. But I also know that any little thing you can do to take control of your own situation can feel really empowering. That’s why I believe that having the right information is vital because, the more informed I am about the decisions I make affecting my life (because that’s what it is above all else), the better I’m able to cope and live well with cancer every day.