Mel Gibson, Joe Rogan and Ivermectin: Can It Really Fight Cancer?

Killing Cancer: Exploring Non-Conventional Therapies and Emerging Science in Oncology
In Killing Cancer, Mark Swarbrick examines more than two dozen alternative and integrative cancer therapies, including ivermectin, fenbendazole, curcumin, fasting, ketogenic diets, medicinal mushrooms, and more, drawing on scientific research, emerging evidence, and reported recoveries.

Available in Paperback, Kindle eBook, and Audio Book. Only $3.99.

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Scientific research on ivermectin and cancer goes far beyond anecdotal reports. Laboratory and animal studies have found anticancer activity across numerous cancer types, including breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancers, as well as leukemia. Researchers have reported that ivermectin can inhibit cancer-cell growth, reduce tumor size in animal models and, in some studies, make cancer cells more susceptible to other treatments. Pasted text

What makes ivermectin particularly interesting is that it appears to attack cancer through several different mechanisms. Studies have found that it can trigger apoptosis—the process that causes damaged or abnormal cells to self-destruct—and interfere with signaling pathways cancer cells use to grow and survive. Research also indicates that ivermectin can disrupt cancer-cell metabolism, increase destructive oxidative stress within cancer cells, affect cancer stem cells and alter the tumor environment in ways that may make cancer more vulnerable to the immune system. Pasted text

Ivermectin may also work alongside established cancer treatments. Some studies have found that it can make resistant cancer cells more responsive to chemotherapy and radiation. Taken together, the evidence presents an intriguing picture: ivermectin has demonstrated measurable anticancer activity through multiple biological mechanisms and across multiple forms of cancer, making it far more than an Internet rumor that began with Mel Gibson and Joe Rogan. Pasted text

Fenbendazole, often called “FenBen,” is an inexpensive antiparasitic drug primarily used in veterinary medicine. It is closely related to mebendazole, a drug approved for human use, and both appear to attack cancer through many of the same mechanisms. Researchers have found that these drugs can disrupt microtubules that cancer cells need to divide, trigger programmed cell death, interfere with cellular metabolism, increase oxidative stress, inhibit the formation of blood vessels that feed tumors, and potentially reduce cancer-cell migration and spread. Pasted text Pasted text

The story that brought fenbendazole widespread attention was that of Joe Tippens. In 2017, Tippens had small-cell lung cancer that had spread throughout his body. He reported cancer in his neck, lung, stomach, liver, bladder, pancreas, tailbone and elsewhere, with a life expectancy of about three months. After a veterinarian friend told him about fenbendazole research involving cancer, Tippens began taking the drug along with curcumin and CBD oil while also participating in a clinical trial. A few months later, his PET scan showed no evidence of cancer. Most remarkably, according to Tippens, his oncologist told him that he was the only patient in that clinical trial to experience that kind of response. Tippens subsequently reported continuing to receive cancer-free scans, and according to his account, he remains cancer-free today. Pasted text

Fenbendazole itself has not undergone human cancer clinical trials because it is a veterinary drug, but its close relative mebendazole has reached early-stage human trials. Meanwhile, laboratory and animal research has continued to demonstrate anticancer activity from this family of drugs. Pasted text The Tippens story is therefore not the only reason fenbendazole has attracted attention: there are identifiable biological mechanisms and a substantial body of laboratory research behind the interest.

Cancer Patients Are Reporting Success With Ivermectin and Fenbendazole

Mel Gibson’s three friends are far from the only people reporting remarkable results. Across the Internet, cancer patients and their families have described tumor regression, remission and diagnoses of no evidence of disease after using ivermectin, fenbendazole or combinations of the two. Entire online communities have developed around these treatments, and physicians such as Dr. William Makis have collected numerous patient accounts involving ivermectin and fenbendazole cancer protocols. Pasted text

In Killing Cancer, I include several examples. One man reported using ivermectin and fenbendazole as the foundation of his treatment for bladder cancer and, after three months, receiving a finding of no evidence of disease. Another woman reported that her husband had stage-three-plus colorectal cancer, began taking ivermectin, and was subsequently found to be cancer-free. These reports do not stand alone, but are part of a much larger collection of similar accounts from cancer patients. Pasted text

Anecdotal evidence should not simply be dismissed because it is anecdotal. Medicine has long used unusual patient outcomes to identify patterns, generate hypotheses and point researchers toward treatments worthy of further investigation. When laboratory research is already demonstrating anticancer activity and patients are independently reporting remarkable outcomes, those reports provide another reason to investigate ivermectin and fenbendazole seriously rather than simply waving them away as stories. Pasted text

A 2026 Study of Ivermectin and Mebendazole in Cancer Patients

Killing Cancer: Exploring Non-Conventional Therapies and Emerging Science in Oncology
In Killing Cancer, Mark Swarbrick examines more than two dozen alternative and integrative cancer therapies, including ivermectin, fenbendazole, curcumin, fasting, ketogenic diets, medicinal mushrooms, and more, drawing on scientific research, emerging evidence, and reported recoveries.

Available in Paperback, Kindle eBook, and Audio Book. Only $3.99.

Buy Now on Amazon