Breastmilk for cancer and lipase question

[CoBabyMaker]

DHs Grandma has cancer for the 4th time and this time things are not going well at all (The previous times she responded well to treatment). I know that breastmilk can help cancer patients and I was thinking of offering but I have excess lipase issues and I wasn't sure if the scalding would make it ineffective. Does anyone know? I don't respond well to the pump so pumping is a big deal and I don't want to offer what little I can get if it won't help. (Assuming she would like to have it.) Thanks.

[texmati]

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question, but are you local to his grandma? Sometimes the lipase doesnt show up in the milk for hours, so it may not be an issue if you can get it to her quickly.

I do hope that her treatment makes a turn for the better soon.

[CoBabyMaker]

I am local but am often only able to get barelyan ounce at a time so taking over an ounce a few times a day isn't really feasible. If I can get to a point where I am able to get more then I would hope to do that!

[CoBabyMaker]

OK, sort of answering my own question but I thought I'd share.
From some comments on a lactivist blog post:

tanya@motherwearblog | 3:13 PM |

Oh, you got me to open my books again! I'm blaming you for me not getting my work done today...

The component of breastmilk that kills cancer cells is called alpha lactalbumin (or Human Alphalactalbumin Made Lethal to Tumor cells, or HAMLET - cute, huh?). I can't find anything on what happens during pasteurization to alphalactalbumin specifically, but it's a protein, and many of the proteins do survive pasteurization, so I wouldn't assume that it's not active.

I just went to a presentation on this topic and lots of important immunological components of milk survive pasteurization - like the fatty acids, some immunoglobulins, bifidus factor, oligosaccharides, etc. The live cells, like the leukocytes, do die, but so many critical components are there in the same % or close to it.

As far as effectiveness goes, researchers think that HAMLET is the reason why breastfed babies have lower rates of childhood cancers, and some think that it's related to the lowered risk of breast cancer in moms, too.

So, if there is enough to go around (I know that this is the issue), I think it's a great idea for cancer patients. I actually know someone who was in a prostate cancer trial using breastmilk as a therapy.

And the pharmaceutical companies are only a few steps behind. Saw an article last year on manufactured alphalactalbumin being used in a bladder cancer trial...

Sorry for the biology lecture, but, breastfeeding geek that I am, I can't help myself!

I guess I will try pumping and see what I get. If Grandma doesn't want it I can save it for a date night.