The fish oil group also lived significantly longer. Melatonin extends life in advanced lung cancer . Italian researchers studied 63 people with matastatic lung cancer who were considered untreatable because they no longer responded to standard chemotherapy. After one year, the survival rate in the melatonin group was significantly higher. A pilot study by the same researchers also showed that melatonin boosts the effectiveness of the hormonal drug, tamoxifen, in treating advanced breast cancer.
Supplements reduce the toxicity of chemotherapy .
Cisplatin, used to treat ovarian cancer, can cause kidney damage, suppression of infection-fighting white blood cells, and a need for blood transfusion. Those taking glutamine experienced significantly less diarrhea, and were able to eat more normally. Vitamin E oil heals mouth sores caused by chemotherapy . In addition to nausea and fatigue, chemotherapy can also cause other side effects, among them painful sores in the mouth. At the VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C., researchers studied 18 people with a variety of cancers who developed mouth sores from chemotherapy.