For many women, the fear of breast cancer recurrence never fully goes away. Even after completing treatment, the worry lingers: What if the disease comes back?
That fear hits especially hard for women of color. Breast cancer incidence rates are similar across racial groups, but Black women are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages and are about 40% more likely to die from the disease than white women, according to the American Cancer Society. Researchers say these disparities stem less from biology and more from systemic factors: unequal access to quality care, delays in diagnosis, treatment toxicity and barriers to long-term survivorship support, the National Cancer Institute reports.
Sylvie Beljanski, president of the Beljanski Foundation and CEO of Maison Beljanski, believes part of the answer to recurrence lies in a type of cancer cell that rarely comes up in patient conversations: cancer stem cells.
Cancer stem cells and recurrence
In a tumor, not all cancer cells are the same. Some are mature, while others are embryonic-like, with the ability to self-renew and generate new cancer cells as the disease spreads.
These embryonic-like cells — cancer stem cells — can survive chemotherapy and radiation.
Chemotherapy works best against rapidly dividing cells, which is why it can shrink tumors. But cancer stem cells often divide more slowly and have defense mechanisms that let them dodge treatment, stay dormant in the body for years, and later fuel recurrence or metastasis.
“About 20% of breast cancers will metastasize. One out of six women will experience a cancer relapse,” Beljanski said. “Even worse than hearing you have cancer is hearing that the cancer came back when you are exhausted, have lost your hair, and feel you have done everything right and do not know where to turn anymore.”
Beljanski thinks patients should learn about cancer stem cells from the start.
“People should learn about cancer stem cells on day one of diagnosis,” she said. “Because chemotherapy is not destroying them, doctors tend not to speak about them, and people hear about cancer stem cells when the cancer is back.”
A foundation born from legacy
Beljanski’s path into cancer research started not in a laboratory but in a legal archive.
A French attorney working as a legal associate in New York at the time, she was stunned to learn that both her parents — Mirko Beljanski, a molecular biologist at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, and Monique Beljanski — had been arrested by the French government. As she reviewed court records, she said it became clear the case centered on dismantling her father’s scientific work.
“The more I was looking at the legal file, the fishier it was,” she said. “It was really about destroying evidence. I was not going to let that knowledge disappear, because knowledge about helping people with cancer should belong to everybody.”
Her father’s research focused on two plants — Pao pereira and Rauwolfia vomitoria — which he believed contained compounds capable of selectively targeting cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. He also developed RNA fragments derived from E. coli K12 to support white blood cell and platelet production.
According to Beljanski, these compounds have been used as dietary supplements in Europe since the 1980s. After moving to the United States, she founded Maison Beljanski(formerly known as Natural Source International),and later established the Beljanski Foundation in 1999 to support scientific research into her father’s work.
The foundation has funded multiple preclinical studies and one clinical trial at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, which suggested the RNA fragments could help patients at risk of chemotherapy-related thrombocytopenia.
“We were not only able to confirm what my parents had found, but we were able to take it further with more modern methods to understand how these compounds work,” she said.
Targeting cancer stem cells
The foundation’s research now focuses on cancer stem cells.
“They really target cancer cells,” Beljanski said. “You can see it because they are fluorescent, so under the microscope you see that they localize in the cancerous cell.”
Laboratory studies funded by the foundation have examined ovarian, pancreatic and breast cancer stem cells.
“They attack cancer cells at every stage, including cancer stem cells,” she said. “They localize in the nucleus of cancerous cells and induce apoptosis.”
Clinical trials and access barriers
The extracts have not undergone large-scale clinical trials for cancer treatment. Beljanski attributes this to regulatory and financial challenges facing dietary supplements, which are not permitted to claim they treat or cure disease under U.S. law.
“It’s very difficult to have clinical trials with dietary supplements,” she said. “You cannot have a study showing you are curing cancer patients, and these trials are extremely expensive.”
The plant extracts are available as dietary supplements through Maison Beljanski. Like all supplements in the United States, they are not FDA-regulated as pharmaceuticals and cannot make medical claims.
When asked how her research might address documented outcome disparities for women of color, Beljanski focused on biological mechanisms.
“I am not aware of a difference as a level when we are using those plant extracts between people of color or Caucasian,” she said. “The rationale of the way the products work is by making the difference between cancer DNA, healthy DNA, and I don’t think it has anything to do with the genetic makeup of people.”
But while the compounds may function similarly across populations, women of color face real barriers to accessing integrative cancer care. The National Cancer Institute notes that conversations about complementary and integrative approaches often depend heavily on patient self-advocacy and provider willingness — a dynamic that’s even more challenging for women of color. Black and Hispanic women are more likely to work multiple jobs and face competing priorities that make it hard to schedule appointments for complementary therapies, the Kaiser Family Foundation reports. Most insurance plans don’t cover integrative treatments, leaving patients to pay out-of-pocket costs that can exceed $2,000, a 2022 study in JCO Oncology Practice found.
Showing up with knowledge
Beljanski encourages patients to be proactive. All research funded by the Beljanski Foundation is publicly available on its website for patients to review and share with their doctors.
“If you have a doctor who says, ‘No, don’t take anything with chemotherapy,’ you can point to those studies showing the synergy of action,” she said. “You can say, ‘Well, why not? Because the science says there is a synergy of action.'”
She acknowledged that not all providers are open to integrative conversations.
“When you have a serious disease like cancer, you want to have as much knowledge as possible and a doctor with whom you can share this knowledge,” she said.
Survivorship, perspective and caution
Beljanski stresses that the plant-based extracts are not a cure-all.
“It is part of the approach to fight cancer, and I think it is an important tool,” she said. “Is it a solution to everything? No, I do not think so.”
Her focus is on giving patients time.
“These plant extracts are going to help you at the cellular level and give you time,” she said. “Now, what do you do with this time?”
Understanding the broader picture
Beljanski was clear that the extracts address only one piece of a larger puzzle.
“We are flesh and mind, and those little plant extracts are definitely going to help you at the cellular level and give you time,” she said. “Now what do you do with this time? It’s really important to learn how to take care of yourself, to understand why cancer came in the first place. Why did you get sick in the first place? Do you have some emotional issues or some underlying toxicity? You have to understand what is going on in your life and address it, which may not be easy. It may take time and be a challenge. But you will be supported by those plant extracts along the way.”
She believes addressing root causes matters as much as destroying cancer cells.
“When people develop cancer, there are some reasons. You have to uncover the reason,” she said. “What modern medicine is doing is addressing the symptoms, burning, cutting cancer cells without addressing the cause. And I do believe that looking at the cause is the first step to have a full remission.”
Looking ahead
Building on positive results from breast cancer stem cell studies, the foundation is now funding research on prostate cancer stem cells.
“Based on the very positive results that we have observed with this new research on breast cancer stem cells, we are now looking at funding a study on prostate cancer stem cells,” Beljanski said. “One out of five men will eventually experience cancer relapse when it comes to the prostate. So, if we can show that there is a possibility with natural plant extracts to make a difference, let’s do it.”
Reflecting on her father’s legacy 30 years after his death, she added: “I am extremely grateful for this legacy because it has given me the opportunity to be helpful, to make a difference, and to have a life that has been meaningful.”
The Beljanski Foundation also hosts conferences to educate and raise funds for integrative cancer care.
“The Beljanski Foundation is funding this research through public support” she said. “We are hosting conferences to raise money, including our upcoming conference in San Diego on June 26-29, called the Beljanski Integrative Cancer Conference.”
FTBOU’s role: education, not endorsement
For The Breast of Us does not endorse any single treatment approach. We share emerging research — like the Beljanski Foundation’s work on cancer stem cells — not to tell you what to do, but to help you ask better questions and advocate more effectively for yourself.
Whether this research eventually becomes mainstream medicine or remains in the integrative space, the issues it raises matter: Why aren’t patients routinely told about cancer stem cells? What options exist beyond standard protocols? And how can women of color — already facing systemic barriers — have informed conversations about complementary approaches?
Here’s what we want you to take from this story:
You deserve complete information. Cancer stem cells contribute to recurrence. You have the right to understand them from day one, not when cancer returns.
Your questions are valid. If you bring research to your oncologist and they dismiss it without engaging, that tells you something about that provider. You deserve a care team that respects your questions.
There’s no single right path. Some patients pursue every available option — conventional and complementary. Others focus solely on standard treatment. Your choice is valid when made with accurate information.
Access matters as much as biology. Even promising research doesn’t help if you can’t access it, afford it or find providers willing to discuss it.
At For The Breast of Us, we exist to help you navigate these conversations — informed, empowered and supported.
Questions to ask your oncologist about cancer stem cells
- What is my individual recurrence risk based on my cancer’s characteristics?
- What is being done to address cancer stem cells in my treatment plan?
- Are there clinical trials focused on preventing metastasis?
- How will we monitor for early signs of recurrence?
- Are you open to discussing published research on complementary approaches?
If your provider dismisses these questions, consider seeking a second opinion or finding a provider aligned with shared decision-making.
Resources
Information on The Beljanski Integrative Cancer Conference can be
accessed here integrativecancerconference.com.
Beljanski’s book, Winning the War on Cancer: The Epic Journey
Towards a Natural Cure, is available through major online retailers,
including Amazon, as well as through Maison Beljanski’s website.
For more information, visit beljanski.org
To order any products, visit maisonbeljanski.com
Additional resources on breast cancer disparities:
