[ExI] Calorie restriction assists chemotherapy

[David C. Harris]

spike wrote:
> ...
> currently have two (extended) family members undergoing cancer treatments
> including radiation and chemo, but neither have ever done CR, and I am
> pretty sure neither would be open to the idea unfortunately.
>   
The article describes not CR, but total fasting (well, presumably 
water), which is not hard to maintain for the 2 day period.  We probably 
evolved to sustain fasting frequently, and not to have 3 feasts a day 
every day.
> It seems to me that different types of tissue would react differently to a
> particular level of toxin, so the medics would need to estimate the ratio of
> muscle, bone, flab and other to get the dose right.  If the flab level is
> way low, that job would be easier?
>
> spike
>   
This is cooler than an overall change of sensitivity by all cells.  This 
changes the ratio of sensitivity between the healthy cells and the 
cancerous cells.  Imagine if the healthy cells became very inert and 
immune to the poison (chemo), but the cancer cells were killed by a high 
level of chemo.  Shazam!  Cancer cured!  Probably won't be that good, 
but it makes it easier to poison the cancer and save the healthy.

  - David