FAQ (click on the questions)
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Disclaimer
We do not encourage anyone to take any of the abovementioned substances. NaDCA or DCA should be taken under medical supervision. Everything that is written here are either our personal opinions and our subjective interpretation of data provided by the doctors from the University of Alberta and Medicor Cancer Centres. We do not take any responsibility for possible effects of taking DCA.
Please bear in mind that literature often defines NaDCA as DCA - it is just an abbreviation. If somebody writes about using DCA in humans or animals, it is certain that he or she relates to the neutralized acid - NaDCA.
We feel that it is our duty to inform you about sodium dichloroacetate or NaDCA (abbreviated as DCA or dichloroacetate) and its uses (e.g. the future possibility of using DCA as a treatment for various forms of cancer and trials conducted on humans and animals). On this site not only will you be able to find research data and many articles on the subject of DCA, but also buy the best quality Sodium Dichloroacetate (DCA).
Should you wish to take personal responsibility and use DCA on your own, we insist that you consult your physician. You have to be aware of the fact that not all doctors accept DCA as a drug and it may be prescribed formally only in few countries.
DCA may be described as a compound, a pure substance composed of two or more elements whose composition is constant, or as a simple molecule with two oxygens, two chlorines, and two carbons according to the University of Alberta.
If you are interested in learning more about DCA, feel free to browse the site and look for research publications on the topic. Again, we underline that PureDCA serves educational purposes only. We are not doctors and therefore cannot provide medical advice.
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General
Q.1 Can NaDCA cure my cancer?
NaDCA proved to have a positive influence on the healing of lung, breast and brain (glioblastoma multiforme) cancers. Those effects showed during tests in the test tubes (in vitro). In the case of the lung cancer, the tumor was grown inside a rat - its size reduced after DCA was applied. As for now, the effects of DCA treatment against many other forms of cancer remain unknown. However, mitochondria seemed to be activated in other kinds of cancer as well. Thus, the scientists speculate that NaDCA (DCA) could be efficient in different cancer cases.
Q.2 I am not able to buy sodium dichloroacetate (DCA). May I use dichloroacetic ACID instead?
No! Never use the acid. It is very reactive. Within a short period of time, it could burn your skin. It cannot be used as a drink as well. Thinning it down in water will not help. It would be most unwise to attempt neutralizing the acid on your own. Only an experienced chemist with professional equipment may do this properly. Dichloroacetic acid is only used in the beginning of the DCA production process. Please do not buy DCA Acid for medical purposes. While the term DCA is frequently used in accounts and advertisements in Canada, nobody uses it for these purposes. Journalists often do not know enough about the subject they attempt to cover! You must use the DCA in powdered form - never in acid/liquid form.
Q.3 Should DCA therapy be supervised by an oncologist?
Yes. This is the best option. However, many doctors are afraid of responsibility, or are afraid to admit that they do not know something. An intelligent oncologist will definitely agree to supervise such therapy. Remember, DCA is used to treat patients with lactic acidosis and can be prescribed this way.
Q.4 What is the molecular mass of DCA? How much sodium is in it?
The molecular mass of DCA is about 151. The mass of sodium is about 23. Sodium makes for 15.25% sodium dichloroacetate.
Q.5 Does any clinic offer DCA treatment?
Yes. Currently, we know of two clinics offering such treatment:
-Clinic in Canada: Medicor Cancer Centers in Toronto
-Clinic in Mexico: Chipsa Clinic
Q.6 What is the cost of treatment at Medicor Clinic? What does it look like?
This is a so-called remote therapy. You have to send all required data (including data from medical examination) by fax. A consultation costs $400. After the consultation, drugs, dosages, etc. are prescribed and sent to the patient. The cost is $160-$200 a week. It is also possible to purchase remote medical consultation (by phone). Dr. Akbar Khan is available 24/7 for $800 a week.
If you wish to travel to Toronto, bear in mind that:
- You cannot stay at the clinic.
- During the treatment you will have to rent a room in a hotel nearby or stay with somebody you know.
- Each visit costs $400.
The costs of all essential medical examinations should be added as well.
Q.7 For how long may DCA be stored? In what conditions?
Research on thermically accelerated decomposition of DCA created for oral use showed that half-life in 4°C is a period of about 5 years. It drops to 156 days if the temperature rises to 25°C. The stability of DCA was also watched for a year. It was kept in 4°C. It proved to be stable for the whole year and therefore 1 year is presently the recommended time of storage.
Liquid DCA (dichloroacetic acid) of 99+% purity may remain in its form for years, if it is kept in a dry and cool place. However, the solution of NaDCA keeps its characteristics for 3 months. It should be kept in room temperature and should not be exposed to sunlight.
Q.8 Where can I learn more?
DCA is a new form of treatment. Therefore, the only source of knowledge is the internet. Many doctors first hear of DCA from their patients.
Q.9 Can DCA treatment be used in combination with chemotherapy?
Yes. Current reports from patients using DCA state that the effectiveness of chemotherapies they use improved. A claim that a large number of these reports makes is that the tumor was subject to a complete remission, or that the size of the existing tumors greatly decreased. The reports also inform that thanks to DCA there was a response to chemotherapeutics, while there was no response earlier (when only chemotherapeutics were used).
Q.10 Is your company connected with Medicor Cancer Centres?
No. We are not connected with MCC in any way.
Dosage
Q.1 What doses of DCA should be used?
The daily dosage of DCA is determined on the basis of body weight (in kilograms). When caffeine was added to the protocol, the dosage changed. Presently, the safest dosage should be put between 10 and 15mg/kg/day, with the exception of brain cancer - in this case the maximal dose of DCA is 12mg/kg/day. If higher doses are applied, it is possible that tumors will shrink rapidly - it may cause TLS syndrome. If chemotherapy is used simultaneously, the apoptosis of tumor cells may be so fast that the organism may not be able to excrete the products of tumor disintegration - it may cause TLS and, in the worst case, even death. Moreover, if the tumor is attached to a wall of an organ (a lung, for example), the mass reduction of the tumor may be so rapid that the organism might not be able to restore the missing tissue. Such situation may be life-threatening.
DCA doses may be higher in younger patients. It is caused by the fact that DCA is better metabolized by a younger organism.
Because caffeine was introduced to the protocol, the dosage of DCA was lowered - it helped to prolong the asymptomatic period of administering DCA. Presently, the side effects start showing after 6 to 8 weeks from the beginning of the treatment. Lowering the dosage has also allowed the possible side effects to be controlled. It is important to note that this does not apply to brain cancers, because they are much more prone to caffeine - see the part of FAQ concerning glioblastoma multiforme. The daily dosage of DCA can be dividied into several smaller doses.
Q.2 How to take DCA?
DCA may be easily dissolved in water. A glass of water should be enough. Smaller amounts of water are also acceptable.
You should not dissolve DCA in a hot tea or hot liquid. 8% solutions of DCA may be commissioned in a pharmacy.
In specific cases, a solution of NaDCA may be injected subcutaneously.
Q.3 How should DCA doses be divided?
A daily dose may be either divided into two smaller doses (taken in the morning and in the evening), or it may be taken in its entirety. The doses may be divided in a pharmacy or with a jewelers or laboratory scales with an accuracy reading to 0.01 gram.
Protocols
Q.1 Why is caffeine needed?
DCA activates the metabolic cycle of mitochondria, but it does not seem to be sufficient. To achieve the effect of apoptosis, the reactivated mitochondrial mechanism must be accelerated. This happens thanks to caffeine. If we treat DCA as a key, which starts an engine, caffeine is the gas pedal - it regulates the speed of the engine correlated with the intensity of apoptosis. Therefore, by regulating the doses of caffeine, the doctors regulate the intensiveness of apoptosis.
Q.2 What doses of caffeine should be used?
In most cases, the patients took about 480mg of caffeine, which gives about 12 cups of black tea (assuming that a cup (sachet) holds 40mg of caffeine. The dosage should be used carefully in the case of brain cancers.
Q.3 What source of caffeine should be used?
Tea (both black and green, with the former containing more caffeine) is the most recommended source of caffeine. Drinking coffee is not recommended, because in this case the amount of caffeine is much higher - it may be particularly dangerous with brain cancers. Moreover, coffee, unlike tea, acidifies the organism.
Q.4 What are the suggestions for the DCA-caffeine-B1 protocol + glioblastoma multiforme (brain cancer)?
Patients with brain tumors must proceed with great caution while using the protocol DCA-caffeine-B1.
The doctors observed a very serious response to protocol DCA-caffeine-B1 among the patients with brain cancers. They have been informed that taking large doses of DCA and taking caffeine caused very serious reactions. This protocol may be behind all reported serious side effects from the patients with glioblastoma multiforme. The last report also shows that low doses of DCA (4.4mg/kg) in connection with caffeine (coffee in particular) cause undesirable response, which may lead to life-threatening attacks. With the dosage so low, following symptoms were reported: feeling of burning, disorientation, nausea and headache.
If you have a brain tumor and take DCA, be careful! As mentioned earlier, patients with full remission, used smaller doses of DCA - from 10 to 12mg/kg. Other patients on DCA (those without brain cancer) reported results positively astonished them after they started to take caffeine. However, it seems that the reaction is stronger (in a negative sense) in the case of patients with brain tumors.
In a scientific paper on our site you can find out that there is a research of distribution of adenosine in rats. In this document you may read that the receptors are in the whole body and that Receptor of Adenosine A1 is broadly expressed in the brain.
The high number of receptors of adenosine in the brain may be one of the reasons behind the fact that mixing DCA with caffeine hits patients with brain cancers particularly hard. Therefore it is crucial to remember that if you have a brain tumor and use DCA and caffeine, you have to be careful. It seems that high doses should not be taken (the doses should not exceed 12mg/kg) and that caffeine cannot be taken without risk. The higher the dosage of DCA, the higher the probability of attacks or outbreaks and death.
Q.5 What dietary supplements should be used?
B1 vitamin should be used to prevent side effects and to improve the functioning of mitochondria. Presently, the dosage of B1 vitamin is set from 500mg to 2500mg, depending on the intensiveness of after effects and the dosage of caffeine. The most appropriate dosage seems to be between 500 and 1000mg. The doses of B1 vitamin are so high because simultaneous application of caffeine lowers the amount of this vitamin in the organism.
Acid R (+) alpha lipon acid (ALA) and Omega-3 acid may be used as well. ALA and Omega-3 acids have anticancer uses. Moreover, ALA prevents a side effect of DCA neuropathy. Omega-3 acid may be taken from a dietary supplement or linseed oil, for instance.
Compounding pharmacists also recommend MMS - a combination of a solution of chlorine dioxide and citric acid. This product purifies the organism, kills dangerous bacteria, viruses and pathogens.
Q.1 Are there any side effects of DCA treatment?
Yes, there can be. DCA may cause reversible damage to peripheral nerves. The symptoms include trembling of fingers and toes. The doctors stress again that this damage IS reversible. In order to work against neuropathy you should use the dietary supplements mentioned above.
Other possible temporary side effects include:
- vertigo, depression, fatigue (especially noticeable if DCA is administered with caffeine), weakness (especially noticeable if DCA is administered with caffeine), increased urination, swelling in the ankle area, nausea, anxiety
If the side effects would become hard to cope with, it may mean that the dosage of DCA should be lowered or that DCA should not be administered for a few days.
Side effects observed in patients by the doctors from Medicor Cancer Centers:
Neurological:
Damage to nerves in hands and feet (peripheral neuropathy). Neuropathy usually needs several weeks to develop and if it is detected early, it is reversible. According to the existing literature, neuropathy resulting from DCA treatment on age. In order to prevent and/or reduce the severity of peripheral neuropathy, take a B1 vitamin (benfothiamin or thiamin) and Acid R(+) alpha lipon acid.
Drug intoxication, disorientation, hallucinations, memory-related problems, trembling hands. These side effects seem to be dependent on the dosage and age of a patient. It is in accordance with the existing examination data from the patients.
Gastrointestinal:
Heartburn, nausea, vomiting, indigestion. These side effects may appear during DCA treatment. The doctors prescribe proton pomp inhibitor (e.g. pantoprazole) in order to prevent them.
Other side effects:
Some patients feel pain in the vicinity of tumor(s) during the first few days from the beginning of DCA treatment. This seems to show that the DCA is working.
Most of the reported side effects are of mild or moderate intensification.
Q.2 Does DCA interact with other drugs?
The doctors noticed that the drugs, which cause disorientation or hallucinations may interact with DCA. Among these drugs are cannaboids, benzodiasepines and other medicines that influence the central nervous system. Interaction of DCA with furosemid does not always appear. There are at least two cases, in which such interaction did not take place.
Q.3 What is TLS?
Tumor lysis syndrome, TLS is a serious complication of antitumor therapy, often leading to kidney failure, multiorgan failure and death. Most cases of TLS happen when during chemotherapy of those tumors, which are very responsive to cytostatics (Burkitt's lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, hepatoblastoma, neuroblastoma). It is caused by a sudden disintegration (necrosis or massive apoptosis) of cancer cells, which release large amounts of potassium, uric acid and phosphor.
The excess of uric acid, potassium and phosphor is excreted by kidneys. These amounts, however, are significant enough to cause hyperkalemia, hyperuricemia, heperphosphatemia followed by hypercalcemia. In the acidic kidney urethra environment, the uric acid precipitates and may remain in the organism, stopping the excreting of urine and consequently leading to kidney failure.
Some of the symptoms include: stomachache; anuria, oliguria, hematuria, colic pain; symptoms of hypercalcemia - vomiting, lack of appetite, tetany; symptoms of hyperkalemia - weakness, paralysis, cardiac conduction abnormalities.
Complications: acute kidney failure; ventricular arrhythmia followed by hyperkalemia; heart failure in extreme cases of hyperkalemia.
