How One Cancer Survivor Triggered Interest in Repurposed Anti-Parasitic Drugs

Joe Tippens never planned to discover a potential remedy that he credits with saving his life and thrust him into the spotlight among notable cancer survivors. The 67-year-old businessman told The Epoch Times he just wanted to beat a type of cancer with an extremely low survival rate.

In August 2016, Tippens was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer with a fist-sized tumor. After undergoing chemotherapy and radiation five times a week in Houston, the large tumor in his left lung was eliminated. However, Tippens said the treatments came closer to killing him than curing him.

When he returned home to Oklahoma after the New Year, he received devastating news. His oncologist told him he had zero chance of surviving for more than a few months.
“In January of 2017, my PET scan lit up like a Christmas tree and I had wide metastasis everywhere, including in my neck, bones, pancreas, and liver,” Tippens said.

Finding a Lifeline

Facing a prognosis of three months to live, Tippens heard an intriguing story from a veterinarian he knew: A scientist with terminal cancer reportedly cured her lab mice and then herself using fenbendazole, an antiparasitic drug.

The story was the beginning of what eventually became the “Joe Tippens Protocol.”

Note: The Joe Tippens Fenbendazole Cancer Protocol has been gaining rapid interest over the past years following some fenbendazole advanced cancer success stories.

Fenbendazole, used for 30 years to treat intestinal parasites in animals, has not received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for human use, meaning doctors cannot prescribe it for people. However, with a terminal diagnosis and nothing to lose, Tippens decided to try it alongside his conventional treatments.

Tippens found that Panacur, a trade name for fenbendazole, was sold over the counter at outlets that carry veterinary medications.
Starting in the third week of January 2017, Tippens began taking the canine medication, Panacur, 1 gram per day for three consecutive days per week. After four days without the medication, which contains about 222 milligrams of fenbendazole per gram, he would repeat his three-day routine. Three months later, Tippens was cancer-free.

His protocol also included Theracurmin, a form of the active compound in turmeric, and CBD, an extract of cannabis which does not cause intoxication.

Scientific Support and Mechanisms

Dr. William Makis, an oncologist and cancer researcher based in Edmonton, Canada, has studied Tippens’s approach and treats cancer patients worldwide, primarily through telehealth.

“I’ve had several patients declared cancer-free after doing the protocol for a number of months,” Makis told The Epoch Times. “What made [Tippens’] situation so powerful is that he cured himself of a cancer that is very aggressive—small cell lung cancer—and he had a terminal diagnosis.”

According to Makis, the family of anti-parasitic drugs that includes fenbendazole, mebendazole, and albendazole works well—scientists have found at least 12 ways the medications can fight cancer.

The effectiveness of the drugs stems from key similarities between parasite and cancer cells: both have the capacity for autonomous survival and proliferation, resistance to cell-death pathways, and the ability to circumvent the host immune system.

Anti-parasitic drugs appear to fight cancer through multiple mechanisms:

• Boosting protein called p53: P53 is a tumor suppressor protein that helps kill cancer cells.
• Blocking glucose uptake: Cancer cells depend on sugar for energy and growth.
• Disrupting microtubules: These cellular structures are crucial for cell division of cancer cells.
• Affecting mitochondrial function: Depletes cellular energy, increases oxidative stress, and blocks a critical pathway that regulates cell growth of cancer cells.

Researchers at the Stanford University Medical Center have reported several case reports, using fenbendazole to cure Stage 4 cancer cases, Makis said. The series of case reports was published in 2021 in SciTechnol, an online, London-based publisher of scientific journal articles.

A thought-provoking review citing animal studies published in 2024 in Anticancer Research Journal concluded that fenbendazole affects energy metabolism—mainly by increasing the levels of p53 and affecting pathways that control sugar uptake. It ultimately starves cancer cells and causes them to die with minimal harm to normal cells.  The researchers concluded that fenbendazole’s effects on energy metabolism “could lead to significant advances in cancer treatment.”

Some preliminary research also suggested potential anti-cancer mechanisms for fenbendazole. A study published in Scientific Reports in 2018 by researchers in India found that fenbendazole “may be evaluated as a potential therapeutic agent because of its effect on multiple cellular pathways leading to effective elimination of cancer cells.” Specifically, fenbendazole interferes with microtubules involved in cell division.

A 2016 study published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications found that ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug approved for human use, shows promise against glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer known for treatment resistance. The drug kills glioblastoma cells and inhibits blood vessel development. In laboratory and mouse studies, ivermectin triggers cancer cell death and significantly reduces tumor growth.

Recent research has shown that a combination of fenbendazole and diisopropylamino dichloroacetate, a compound used to treat hepatitis, has shown some anticancer properties in cell cultures and animal studies. Combined, the drugs kill lung cancer cells more effectively than either drug alone.

Makis has found that combining fenbendazole with ivermectin can increase the protocol’s effectiveness.

“When you combine them, you go from attacking cancer in a dozen ways to attacking cancer in two dozen ways,” Makis said. “I have found it very reasonable to include both of them in protocols if there is pre-clinical research that each of them has an effect [on] that particular type of cancer. Whenever you have a specific cancer, I want to look at the body of research to see if there is a proven effect of either ivermectin or fenbendazole for that type of cancer. If there is, then I share that research with my patients.”

Makis has treated patients with various cancers—from common types like breast, prostate, colon, and lung cancer to rarer forms such as cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer) and sarcomas (soft tissue cancers). “I’ve had several patients declared cancer-free after doing the protocol for a number of months,” Makis said.

Although Makis has been recommending ivermectin and fenbendazole for cancer treatment, he acknowledges that many doctors refrain from this practice.

Doctors are very hesitant to help cancer patients with repurposed drugs because of repercussions from the medical boards, Makis said.

“On the other hand, you have doctors who are willing to help patients with repurposed drugs but no experience with oncology,” he said.

When asked whether he recommends that cancer patients consult with an integrative physician who approves of those treatments, Makis said it is good for a patient to have a relationship with a doctor who has experience with oncology.

“It depends on the physician’s background,” Makis said. “Some doctors have extensive experience, after seeing cancer patients for many years.”

Patient Success Stories

Donna Leland, 64, a show host on the national Moody Radio Network, was diagnosed with Stage 3 cervical and endometrial cancer in April 2023. She underwent a hysterectomy but declined the recommended chemotherapy and radiation.

“I had seen the outcome for other people who had gone that route,” Leland told The Epoch Times. “Some had gotten all cleared, but then the cancer came back. I know it diminishes your own immune system’s ability to fight off disease.”

Leland told the doctor she did not want those treatments and asked for another option. But she was offered nothing else.

“I knew there had to be a better way than to fry everything. I just said, ‘I’d rather die than fry.’”

Leland began taking fenbendazole and ivermectin. She also found support from Terry Harmon, a chiropractor and functional medicine physician in Kentucky.

Harmon says more than 100 of his patients have reported positive health benefits from using fenbendazole or ivermectin.

“The reason so many people are finding success is twofold,” Harmon told The Epoch Times. “It is addressing infections. It helps the body heal and get stronger. There is research showing this combination helps the body’s ability genetically to kill cancer and prevent cancer from growing and spreading.”

Leland said she had confirmation of the effectiveness of these alternative treatments from studies on ivermectin, fenbendazole, and other anti-parasitic drugs. Mebendazole is another anti-parasitic drug that both Makis and Harmon recommended as an effective cancer treatment.

One year after her hysterectomy, Leland said she is healthier than she has ever been, partly because of her continuing use of anti-parasitic drugs for preventive purposes.

“After being checked every three months for evidence of cancer, my oncologist continues to declare me cancer-free.”

“I feel like I’m 20 years younger,” Leland said. “God has been faithful to lead me on this journey.” 

Global Impact

The Tippens Protocol has achieved significant international reach, particularly in China, where a translated blog has garnered more than 20 million views. This has led to an estimated 70,000 followers of what’s affectionately called the “Uncle Joey Protocol.”

Despite opportunities to monetize his discovery, Tippens has refused all financial gain.

“I have had search engine experts who have told me I could monetize this blog to the tune of $25,000 to $30,000 per month,” he said. “I can’t do that for a simple reason: I have hundreds of people who have told me the reason they believe me and trust me is because I am doing all this and not monetizing it. The second I monetized it, I would be just another guy out there hawking product out on the Internet, trying to make money.”

Tippens warns about fraudulent Facebook pages that falsely use his name to sell substandard drugs.

Regulatory and Medical Challenges

The FDA confirmed that it has not approved “drug products containing fenbendazole for use in humans,” said Lauren-Jei McCarthy, FDA press officer, in a statement to The Epoch Times. It has not gone through the rigorous testing and clinical trials required for drugs intended for human use. Fenbendazole is approved by the FDA as an antiparasitic drug for use in animals. It is commonly used to deworm dogs, cats, horses, and cattle.

Ivermectin, while FDA-approved for human use against parasitic worms, is not approved for cancer treatment. Health care providers may prescribe ivermectin to fight cancer as a repurposed medication. Both medications are available without prescriptions and are routinely purchased for veterinary use.

Makis, who has been at the cutting edge of advocating for holistic treatments that include the repurposed drugs, said he believes we are in a revolutionary era of effective cancer treatments.

“This is the first time in several generations there is a strong movement for true medical freedom, to allow for exploration of treatments that don’t benefit any big company,” he said.

Serious side effects from fenbendazole and ivermectin are rare, Makis said.

“I have seen moderate side effects, which include unpleasant visual symptoms, some dizziness, and fatigue,” Makis said.

Tippens is encouraged by ongoing research into other FDA-approved drugs that might be repurposed for cancer treatment.

“Because of my story, I think there are other efforts in research in the anti-parasitic category,“ Tippen said. ”There are seven sister drugs to fenbendazole. One medical group has used mebendazole in their protocol. I think I’ve started at least opening people’s brains to something.”

Source: https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/cancer-patients-recover-by-taking-repurposed-anti-parasitic-drugs-5813009

Related: Potential Role of Fenbendazole and Ivermectin in the Treatment of Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer: A Compilation of Case Reports and Mechanistic Insights (2025)

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