It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to interview your CEO Letrise Carter’s Breast Oncologist. For us, this was a personal joy to have an open discussion with Dr. Eugene Ahn, MD from CTCA -Chicago center. The interview was filled with so much valuable information that we had to create a continuation of the discussion. The first part of the interview was published in the October 2021 issue. Welcome to part 2, with Dr. Eugne Ahn sharing his advice on the benefits of Vitamin D, Covid-19, and breaking down his definition of a Holistic approach with Breast Cancer.
Who is Dr. Eugene Ahn, MD?
Eugene Ahn MD is a dedicated breast medical oncologist who practices in Zion, IL with Cancer Treatment Centers of America Chicago and serves as the Deputy Director of Medical Research for CTCA Enterprise. He is the author or co-author of more than 100 scientific publications. He serves on the board of directors for SIO (Society of Integrative Oncology) and is currently the Co-Chair of the SIO Communications Committee. His peers voted him as one of the top doctors in oncology in the Chicago greater area, and in his free time, he enjoys spending time with his two daughters and wife introducing them to music, the outdoors, and new tech.
SP: Do you believe that taking a holistic approach could help you heal from Breast Cancer?
Dr. Ahn, MD: My definition of holistic is a combination of best conventional therapy with best supportive care (or integrative care) with an emphasis on healing the whole individual, including prior traumas that might be preventing the individual from genuinely thriving. So yes, holistic approaches should be the standard of care, and we strive to do that at CTCA, but in some cancer centers, it literally is impossible due to the limited time and resources given to patients.
SP: What role does Vitamin D Deficiency play with Breast Cancer?
Dr. Ahn, MD: It’s never been more critical. We knew before COVID19 that vitamin D deficiency seems to increase side effects from chemotherapy, including neuropathy, and result in a higher risk of triple-negative breast cancer (the worst subtype of cancer to have in terms of prognosis) with a lesser impact on ER+ breast cancer. Also, it is proven to help keep bones strong/healthy, which is a major issue for patients receiving aromatase inhibitors (which lower bone strength as a side effect). But with COVID19, the research also shows that a similar range of vitamin D25 levels (50-80) is also optimal to reduce the risk of serious illness with COVID19 (i.e., hospitalization, intubation death). So we have been fortunate not to lose any patient receiving curative-intent chemotherapy to COVID19. In fact, if anything, our patients seem to have more limited symptoms, perhaps due to the chemo effects.
SP: You have spoken on a podcast about the benefits of Vitamin D. Can you share how a patient can find out their levels and how this will benefit them in the long run for their overall health?
Dr. Ahn, MD: Insurance historically has been a little stingy in covering vitamin D25 blood tests, but with COVID19, this should be no longer an issue, in my opinion. Ask your primary care doctor or oncologist to check a vitamin D25 level. It’s far better to manage Vitamin D knowing your individual blood levels as ethnicity, weight, diet, and age are just a few things that can impact how well you absorb vitamin D in a given day.
In my personal experience, I found replacing a vitamin D deficiency as very helpful for energy, mental acuity, and reducing the frequency of catching colds/viruses.
SP: With Covid-19, how did you keep your patients from catching Covid while undergoing chemotherapy?
Dr. Ahn, MD: Standard institutional precautions where we screen patients coming into the cancer center for symptoms and do routine COVID19 testing for all patients going through procedures is doing a great job at reducing the risk of patients being exposed to caregivers here. We encourage consistent mask-wearing/distancing and vaccination.
SP: Are you recommending vaccines to your cancer patients? If so, is there a specific vaccine, and why?
Dr. Ahn, MD: I encourage vaccination. Yes, natural supplements like vitamin D25, zinc reduce the risk of getting severe illness with COVID19, but estimates suggest maybe a 50% risk reduction at most. Why not get better odds with an mRNA vaccine which can operate at 90-95% efficacy? We know the vaccines do wane in effectiveness from 5-8 months post-vaccination, but booster shots will be available.
I tend to steer my patients away from J&J and Astra Zeneca due to less efficacy. An inactivated adenovirus is used to make those vaccines. So if you’re looking to technically avoid exposure to viruses in the vaccine, you are much safer in that regard with the mRNA vaccines.
Also, people are afraid of mRNA technology because it is relatively new, but the miracle and significant breakthrough is that it actually works, and this might be the next step to making (finally) personalized vaccines against cancer based on actual cancer in your body – not some generic vaccine that fits all sizes and works on all cancers ( I doubt that type of vaccine would ever be as successful ).
Do you have questions about your Vitamin D levels? Are you concerned about the type of treatment? Are you unsure about which vaccine you should get? Ask your doctor all the questions that are on your mind because no question is a wrong question. It is doctors like Dr. Eugene Ahn, MD who helped give our CEO Letrise Carter a better understanding of her treatment and deficiencies that guided her along her journey that gave her hope and determination to fight to rise above her devastation of being diagnosed with Breast Cancer twice in such a short period. During her journey, she would beat cancer and become a warrior. CTCA gave her more than hope for healing. They gave her understanding, knowledge, and restored the confidence that she needed. She gives a lot of credit to the dedicated doctors, nurses, and specialist team members at CTCA. Thank you to Dr. Ahn for being one of those doctors that helped our CEO/Founder in her Breast Cancer journey.
We strongly believe that early detection can save your life. Be sure to check out YouTube Channel for SIO Society for Integrative Oncology for some very informative webinars at Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) – YouTube. Follow Dr. Ahn on Twitter @eugeneahn, who recommends following SIO @integrativeonc for being up to date on reliable scientific information regarding integrative oncology care. We appreciate Dr. Eugene Ahn, MD taking the time to share his expertise and knowledge with our readers. The first interview is still available in our latest issue of October in either digital or print.