Believe Big Podcast

100-Dr. Francisco Contreras - Ozone Therapy and The Benefits

• Ivelisse Page & Dr. Francisco Contreras • Season 4 • Episode 100

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Today, Ivelisse welcomes Dr. Francisco Contreras, renowned surgical oncologist and Director, President, and Chairman of Oasis of Hope Hospital. Together, they dive into the world of integrative cancer care with a special focus on ozone therapy—a treatment that improves oxygenation, supports immune function, and works alongside conventional therapies to enhance healing outcomes.

Dr. Contreras shares how ozone therapy is administered, its unique benefits, and compelling patient success stories that highlight its role in strengthening the body during cancer treatment. He also opens up about the broader philosophy of Oasis of Hope, which bridges conventional and complementary medicine to provide individualized and compassionate cancer care.

Beyond the science, Dr. Contreras emphasizes the surprising yet critical connection between happiness and health, and he and Ivelisse explore how cultivating joy can impact recovery. The conversation also touches on the limitations of traditional U.S. cancer treatments and how Oasis of Hope offers a more holistic, patient-centered path.

Listeners will walk away with practical insights into how ozone therapy can boost healing, strengthen the immune system, and fit into a broader integrative approach to cancer care.


Learn more about Dr. Francisco Contreras and Oasis of Hope:

https://www.oasisofhope.com/


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Ivelisse Page:

Hi, I am Ivelisse Page and thanks for listening to the Believe Big podcast, the show where we take deep dive into your healing with health experts, integrative practitioners, biblical faith leaders, and cancer thrivers from around the globe. Welcome to today's episode on the Believe Big podcast. My name is Ivelisse Page and I am so thankful to spend this time with you. Today, on the Believe Big podcast, we are thrilled to have as our guest, Dr. Francisco Contreras of Oasis of Hope. Dr. Contreras serves as Director, President, and Chairman of Oasis of Hope Hospital. A distinguished surgical oncologist, he is renowned for combining conventional and alternative medical treatments with emotional and spiritual support to provide patients with the most positive treatment experience possible. After graduating from medical school, Dr. Contreras specialized in surgical oncology at the University of Vienna in Austria, where he graduated with honors. Dr. Contreras has authored 15 books, amazing, concerning integrative therapy. In addition to writing for medical journals, he has also participated in medical conferences around the world. Welcome to the podcast, Dr. Contreras.

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Thank you very much. It's my honor and pleasure.

Ivelisse Page:

Aw. Well, we always like to start the episode on what our guest favorite health tip is. Do you have one that you can share with us?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Yes, and I think it's gonna be a little bit surprising. My, my health tip is to do everything possible to be happy, a happy heart. The Bible says a merry heart is a cure for all. And there's no question that when we're happy, our immune system is also happy and protects us more. There, there are some studies that show that comedians, for instance, live longer and better than anybody else. And I, if you read about the Blue Zones, the most common denominating factor for them living long is because they are gregarious and they're happy. Of course diet plays a role many other things play a role, but the happier you are, the merrier you are, the better you're going to fare and being happy really is, it's like it is a decision, you know, you can be happy in whatever circumstance. Because you choose to be happy. And so that's my tip of the day.

Ivelisse Page:

I love that. And I could not agree with you more. And I saw it actually firsthand when I was battling cancer. I put it on my list to watch co comedies. I unplugged from the news. I did things that brought me life, that made me laugh. And spending time with family, things that bring you joy, you know, like you're saying, reading scripture, all those things really bring you life. So I agree a hundred percent.

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Amen. Good.

Ivelisse Page:

So today we're gonna be talking about ozone therapy, and for those who may not be familiar, can you explain what ozone therapy is and how it works in the body?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Yes. Ozone is a gas that is very unstable. In comparison to oxygen, for instance, oxygen is O2, ozone is O3 or more. And thus it's quite unstable and it releases O2 into the body, especially the bloodstream, you can put ozone directly into the bloodstream but most of us will will draw blood from the patient, ozonate the blood, and then give it back. You can also do eboo, which is a machine where it has a filter, and you can also need a much higher amount of blood. You can also use solutions, for instance, saline solution. That you can ozonate and give it to the patient. You can use ozone topically. Ozone is very irritating to the airway, so it's not a good idea to breathe ozone. So there are some bags that you can, for instance, put it over a foot. A patient that, that has a di diabetic ulcers that's another way you can use ozone intra rectally or intravaginally. So there are many ways that you can use ozone and the purpose is to increase the amount of oxygen circulating in your body. So, for instance, we did a study here where the normal concentration of oxygen in your bloodstream is about 99% to a hundred. And after a treatment of ozone, it went up by 700%.

Ivelisse Page:

Wow.

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

And this is very beneficial for many things because lack of oxygen is one of the main reasons why our tissues will suffer during disease. And so it's used for many purposes. There are, for instance clinics in Russia where they treat everything with ozone, diabetes arthritis, everything they treat with ozone. I think that's a bit too much. But but they have success and I visited them. So ozone, the purpose of ozone is to increase significantly the amount of oxygen circulating, and it depends on what you're using it for. So for cancer, for instance the main reason we use it is to increase the amount of oxygen within the tumor tissue. And you can do aerobic exercise. You can breathe oxygen directly, a hundred percent, and the oxygen concentration within the tumor will not change. But if you use ozone, it will increase and that damages the tumor. And is very good because most, the most effective anti-tumor therapies are oxidative in nature, and you cannot have oxidation without oxygen. And that's why tumors will protect themselves from radiation or chemotherapy or natural anti-tumor agents because there's no oxygen, and then there's no oxidation. So at our hospital, we use ozone very much for the purpose of oxygenating tumor tissue.

Ivelisse Page:

Fascinating. Now, So are there any particular types or stages of cancer where you've found ozone therapy to be especially helpful?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Well, definitely in stage four is where we need a lot more oxygen within tumor tissue because there's gonna be a lot more tumor tissue in that patient. But you can use those on at any stage, even in early stages, it would be beneficial.

Ivelisse Page:

Okay. And how does it strengthen the immune system and, you know, why is it so crucial for someone battling cancer?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Well, the immune system is everything. In fact, it is well known, or it's an open secret that patients that have an immune system working a hundred percent, they will not develop cancer. So working for the immune system is to me the most important thing. And that's why at the Oasis of Hope our immunotherapy, which is called Impact, is probably the most important part of the therapy where we specifically develop a therapy that the immune system is going to attack the patient's tumor. And so, anything that will help the immune system is good and it is well established that because of all of that oxygenation in all of the tissues, that the immune system is going to be positively impacted when you use ozone therapy. That's one. Second, it has a detoxifying effect. And the less toxins you have, the less distracted the immune system is going to be, and thus it, it works as an immune simulating agent.

Ivelisse Page:

I love that. So how do you integrate ozone therapy alongside immunotherapy treatments or conventional treatments at Oasis of Hope, like chemo, radiation, surgery, all those things?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Well, as I mentioned to you because the main therapies are the therapies that are the most effective in killing tumor tissue are oxidative. And so there are some chemotherapies that are oxidative, all radiation is oxidative. But the one that we use the most here is high dose vitamin C. And vitamin C, you know, interestingly it's known as the most effective antioxidant in, in nature, but in very high dosages it converts into an oxidant within the tumor. And so if you have oxygen within the tumor and high dosages of vitamin C, you actually convert the vitamin C into a chemotherapy with no side effects. And so that is one of the main purposes why we use ozone in our hospital, to increase the amount of oxygen so that we can have oxidative stress. It can also be used in combination with chemotherapy, with some, not all chemotherapies are oxidative. But with radiation, there are studies that show that patients that do ozone therapy before radiation will have better outcomes. But here we use it in combination with vitamin C, mainly with very good results.

Ivelisse Page:

That's great. So, you know, a lot of things have risks versus the benefits of them. So, are there any risks of interaction between ozone therapy and traditional other traditional cancer treatments that patients and caregivers should be aware of?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

There's very little contraindications for the use of ozone in combination with just about any therapy in the treatment of cancer. And we've been using ozone here for 30 years in high dosages with very good results and virtually no complications.

Ivelisse Page:

So you've been practicing oncology for many decades at Oasis of Hope, and how have you seen the role of therapies like ozone evolve in integrative cancer care over the years?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Well, there's been a lot of developments and there's new machinery. For instance, the EBOO is fairly new and so you are able to ozonate a lot more blood than with the auto hemotherapy, which has been used for many years. Also, the equipment and devices to ozonate are more effective using this oxygen, and they will also release a lot less ozone into the atmosphere. So there's been a lot of developments, especially from the Germans in the equipment that is now used. And I'm very happy for that. Also, I think that a lot more doctors that are in the alternative realm are aware of this and more and more doctors are using ozone now than anytime that I can remember in the past. And some conventional radiotherapists will recommend either ozone or hyperbaric chamber to patients that are going to undergo radiation therapy. And so those developments are very positive.

Ivelisse Page:

That's great. Yes. I've heard the same I've heard that as well from both worlds, both the conventional and the complementary cancer side. In your book, the Art of Science of Undermining Cancer, you talk about empowering the body's natural defenses. How does ozone therapy align with this philosophy?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Well, as I mentioned before if you can get somebody's immune system to work a hundred percent, the cancer is going to be destroyed. And so ozone is a big part of our therapy, not only because it helps in allowing vitamin C to be very a very effective anti-tumor agent, but also because the oxygenation is going to, as I mentioned before, is going to improve the quality and quantity of, of our defenses. And without that, even if you get rid of the tumor, that's the major problem with radiation and chemotherapy. They can destroy a tumor, but they also destroy the immune system. And even a couple of cells that are left behind are going to come back with a vengeance. So, doing a therapy that at the same time that it destroys the tumor, improves the quality of the immune system is a, it is just a major blessing. And that's why I believe that we have much better results here than in, in many other cancer centers because we're always working for the immune system, not just against the tumor.

Ivelisse Page:

Yes. In your experience, what has been one of the most profound or surprising patient outcomes that you've witnessed involving ozone therapy?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Oh, wow. We have so many miracles here. But with, specifically with ozone therapy, we have a number of patients that are diabetic at the same time. And when we use ozone therapy. Their ulcers are going to be resolved, but using ozone topically in a cream it, it's a little bit difficult to create these creams, but most people that do this is with with olive oil or other oils where they ozonate these oils and the ozone is actually gonna be trapped there. And so they can stay there for a long time. And using these topical creams can be very helpful for ulcerated tumors. And this happens a lot with breast cancer when it's very advanced. And the results of helping women with these ulcerated breast tumors that are very irritating, very painful. Patients lose their possibility of social life because they're very smelly. Just with a couple of days of treatment, the odor goes away, the bleeding goes away, and the tumors start receding. So the topical use of ozone in cases like this are a blessing to many people with ulcerated tumors. And it's very impressive that in such a short time you can get those results. So those are. That's what comes to mind when I think of ozone as helping somebody in dire need of help.

Ivelisse Page:

Yeah. And I haven't heard of it in the form of creams. That's fascinating. Is that something that a physician would have to prescribe or are there places where you can buy?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

No, i'm pretty sure that you could find ozone cream on the web. Nowadays you can find just about everything. We have a source in, in, in Canada that produces a very high quality ozone cream. We call it cream. It's more than an oil than a cream. And you have to keep it cold so that it solidifies. If you don't, it is going to go into a very messy oily substance. But I'm sure that you can find that on the internet and yeah, you send, if you have any type of ulcerated problem, even if it's not cancerous, it's gonna help a lot for diabetic foot or ulcers or people that have very poor circulation. It's a, it is really miraculous.

Ivelisse Page:

Yeah. If you don't mind sending the name of that after our episode, we can add it in the show notes.

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

I'll ask our son to give it to you because we buy it in bulk. Okay. I don't remember the, if it has a commercial name or not.

Ivelisse Page:

Okay. Fantastic. And so what are some common methods of administering ozone therapy and how do you decide which approach best suits a patient's individual case?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Okay, so I mentioned, you know, the most common ones the one that we use here the most is autohemotherapy or the EBOO, where you also need blood that, that you give back to the patient.

Ivelisse Page:

And I'm sorry, before you move on, a lot of people have never heard EBOO. Can you just really quickly share what EBOO is and how that works?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

So, EBOO is a device that has a filter very similar to hemodialysis. And so we connect the patient to this device where it draws the blood from one vein goes through the system, it's ozonated in this system, and then goes back into the patient in another vein. So it's a more involved medical device. This is something that you have to do in a clinical setting that you usually cannot do at home, and that's what EBOO is.

Ivelisse Page:

Okay.

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Then then you have the topical, as I mentioned to you, but also are bags where you can put a whole limb into the patient or you can cover the breast, for instance, of a patient with these bags and actually ozonate them with the gas itself. And the reason you do that as I mentioned before, is that ozone is very irritating to the airways, so you shouldn't breathe ozone. Because again, it's gonna be very irritating. There is the intravaginal and intra rectal for patients that have tumors in the abdomen, for instance, or that have such poor veins that you cannot do the EBOO or the autohemotherapy Then we can insert a probe into the vagina or into the rectum, and then the ozone is going to be absorbed through the abdomen to the bloodstream. And so the amount of oxygen is going to increase, not as much as with the blood that you can ozonate, but it's a good enough possibility. And the other one is ozonating solutions like a saline solution. This is convenient because you don't, many patients are anemic and you, it is just complicated. Also for patients that are Jehovah's Witness, for instance, they have problems sometimes with anything that has to do with the blood. Although these elements are usually accepted. The EBOO and the auto hemotherapy is accepted by the community because it's the same loop and the blood comes back to the patient. And so, we've contacted medical people from the Jehovah's Witness community that will advise patients that is something that is kosher for them to do.

Ivelisse Page:

That's great. That's really fascinating. I've also heard that the ozone therapy, as far as EBOO, has also been used for people with long COVID. Have you seen that at as well?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Yes. We have very little experience with long COVID here. But I've heard that that people can be benefited and definitely I believe it to be true because high oxygen concentration are they kill viruses. They kill bacteria, and so ozone has been used, as I mentioned to you in many clinics to treat infections of any kind, so I don't see why not it should be helpful for COVID patients. But I have no experience with it.

Ivelisse Page:

Yeah. Well, and I wanted to just take the last few minutes'cause you shared that I wanted to let people know as far as Oasis of Hope, your hospital just treats cancer. Is that correct or does it also treat other illnesses as well?

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

No, that is correct. We are specialized in cancer. We believe that many of the things that, that we do could help in other diseases, but we concentrate on, on, on treating cancer only.

Ivelisse Page:

So if individuals wanted to, you know, I believe Gaston who is part of your team at Oasis of Hope said that I believe 75% of the patients come to you from the United States to get treatment because there are things that you can do there that can't really be done in the United States. And so what are some of those things that you find, because at your hospital, you do it all, correct? There's, you have the ability to do surgery. Explain a little bit about Oasis of Hope so people become familiar with it.

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

So we were founded by my father in 1963. So we've been doing this for a long time. I've been the director of the Oasis of Hope now for nearly 40 years following on my dad's footsteps. And we are an integrative oncological center. So we are going to offer our patients whatever we feel is the best for them according to their stage and condition. And so we have everything available, all of the conventional we have available, and just about everything in the alternative realm. We also have available and in many cases it's a combination of the two of them that, that we feel that is the best for, for our patients. So, I think that the advantage that we have here is that you know, I've been asked before, well, what is it? Are you an alternative doctor or a conventional doctor? And what type of medicine do you do the conventional or alternative? I said I just want to do good medicine and I'll choose from whatever part of, of the realm to improve the quality of life of my patients and the, and their longevity. So, we have everything available here at the Oasis of Hope.

Ivelisse Page:

Yeah, that is wonderful. And I hope that one day the United States can follow suit. And I think what a lot of people don't understand is that even though a conventional oncologist here in the United States believe in some of the therapies that we've talked about on this podcast, many of them can't prescribe it or share it with their patients because it's not part of standard of care here in the United States. They can only prescribe chemo, radiation, and surgery.

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

And one of the things that is very puzzling is that we are using, for instance, therapies that were designed and developed in America that they cannot use. For instance, our impact protocol, our dendritic cell vaccine, our dendritic cell based immunotherapy was all developed in America. In fact the developers obtained Nobel Prizes for it. It's not available in America, and it is available in Mexico. In, in, from there, there are some alternatives. For instance, vitamin C was also developed at the NIH and NCI. It's still not available for patients. So patients from America have to come to Mexico to obtain those therapies that are very effective and non-toxic, and they come to Mexico. There are then other elements for instance, LAtrol that has been approved in Mexico, but not approved in America. And so, and in many parts of the world. So the other seven, the other 25% come from the rest of the world. We have patients, we've treated patients from over 50 countries and they come here because they're available in Mexico and not available in their countries.

Ivelisse Page:

Yeah. And we're hoping at Believe Big that one day we can help to change that kind of how we're working with Johns Hopkins right now to complete all three phases of the Mistletoe clinical trial. And so hopefully more of these therapies like, you know, mistletoe therapy like IV vitamin C, can be used in the conventional settings more frequently than they currently are. Dr. Contreras I loved speaking with you today and I would love to invite you back because you, I did hear you at a conference speak about the Dendritic Cells vaccine, and I think it was a, it was one of my favorite talks that I heard that weekend, and I know it would need a complete episode to talk about it, so I would love to invite you back.

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Wonderful. I'd love to do that. Yes.

Ivelisse Page:

Well, great. Well, thank you for joining us. I know that your time is so valuable and look forward to talking to you soon.

Dr. Francisco Contreras:

Thank you very much. God bless.

Ivelisse Page:

God bless. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support our podcast, please subscribe and share it with others. Be sure to visit believebig.org to access the show notes and discover our bonus content. Thanks again and keep Believing Big!