The Immune Whisper:

Covid-19's Long-Term Impacts on Immunity, Cancer, and Chronic Disease

September 19, 2025

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A Message from Dr. McMillan

My instinct is that we are already living through the consequences of a highly evasive Omicron variant. For some people, the pattern we are likely to see is similar to patients with HIV: deterioration is often slow, progressive, and relentless.

What concerns me most is that the immune damage may not be fully reversible. The critical challenge ahead is twofold:

  • identifying who can still be protected, and

  • recognizing when the damage has already gone too far.

This is where our focus must be if we are to shift outcomes in a positive way.

Dr. Philip McMillan

In this week's September 19, 2025 update:

  • Covid-19: Covid-19's long-term impacts

  • Vejon: This week’s featured Vejon video

  • Health: 'Fat but fit': What the latest study reveals

  • Infographic: The immune whisper

  • News: Medical news in brief

  • Education: McMillan ROOT spike detox protocol

    Read time: 6 minutes

FEATURE ARTICLE

COVID-19

  • Depending on a person's health status, COVID-19 may trigger a multi-stage deterioration process spanning months to years, often undetectable by standard tests.

  • Immune dysregulation disrupts gut bacteria balance, creating inflammatory cycles that cause widely-varying symptoms.

  • Advanced stages may involve rapid muscle wasting, repeated quiet infections, and synchronized multi-organ system shutdown.

  • Early recognition of subtle warning signs could enable intervention before irreversible damage occurs in vulnerable patients.

Why this is important: Understanding post-COVID illness as a progressive, multi-stage deterioration rather than having a binary outcome (status quo/full recovery) fundamentally reshapes medical practice. Early recognition of subtle warning signs - persistent fatigue, immune dysregulation, recurring infections - could prevent potentially devastating organ failure. This framework demands physicians shift away from normal test results as reassurance and instead pay close attention to patients' bodies which, through their history, may document years-long systemic breakdown.

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HEALTH

'Fat But Fit': What the Latest Study Reveals
Author: Rachel Woods, University of Lincoln

  • Underweight people (BMI below 18.5) were nearly three times more likely to die early than the reference group (normal weight).

  • People with "overweight" BMIs (25-35) showed no significant increase in mortality compared to healthy-weight individuals.

  • Fat reserves help the body cope with illness, particularly during cancer treatments and recovery processes.

  • BMI is an outdated tool based on 19th-century data from white European men, inadequately representing diverse populations.

Why this is important: Contrary to widespread assumptions, extreme thinness poses greater mortality risks than moderate excess weight, with underweight individuals facing nearly triple the death rate of those in higher "healthy" BMI ranges. These findings expose critical flaws in our reliance on BMI as a health metric, particularly its failure to account for diverse body compositions and the protective role of fat reserves during illness, ultimately challenging decades of weight-focused health messaging.

INFOGRAPHIC

EDUCATION

McMillan ROOT Spike Detox Protocol

You don’t have to settle for feeling anything less than your best. The McMillan ROOT Spike Detox Protocol is designed to give you a clear roadmap to better health and lasting results. Complete our survey, get the link on submission to book a Check-In meeting with Dr McMillan and start your journey back to health. Note that all meetings are scheduled in UK time.

MEDICAL NEWS IN BRIEF

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

🚥 Drop the Reading Glasses: New Eye Drops Restore Close-Up Vision for Years: Age-related reading difficulties could potentially be managed through a simple daily eye drop routine rather than relying solely on glasses or surgery. This pilocarpine-diclofenac combination demonstrated sustained vision improvements for up to two years in 766 patients, offering a non-invasive alternative that maintained effectiveness across different severity levels of presbyopia. [SOURCE]

🚥 Loneliness Doubles Risk of Physical Pain, Study Suggests: Pain isn't merely physical - loneliness literally hurts, with psychological distress driving most of this connection across 139 countries. These findings demand that healthcare systems treat social isolation as seriously as broken bones, requiring interventions that address mental anguish alongside relationship-building to meaningfully reduce human suffering. [SOURCE]

🚥 Appendix Cancer Rising Among Younger Generation: Young adults face a tripling risk of appendix cancer compared to previous generations, demanding urgent attention to lifestyle factors like obesity, processed diets, and sedentary behavior that may fuel this alarming trend in an otherwise rare disease.

🚥 Acupuncture Is a Safe and Effective Treatment for Chronic Low Back Pain, Research Suggests: Older adults suffering from chronic low back pain - a leading cause of global disability - now have compelling evidence that acupuncture delivers meaningful, lasting relief. This research validates a non-addictive treatment option that reduces both pain and disability while improving physical function, offering hope for the millions seeking safer alternatives to conventional medications. [SOURCE]

🚥 Microbial Allies: Bacteria Help Fight Against Cancer: Bacteria living within tumors produce 2-methylisocitrate, a molecule that enhances chemotherapy effectiveness by disrupting cancer cell metabolism and causing DNA damage. This discovery reveals how tumor-associated microbes actively participate in fighting cancer, potentially leading to personalized treatments that harness patients' unique bacterial communities alongside conventional therapies. [SOURCE]

🚥 Smells That Deceive the Brain: Research Reveals How Certain Aromas Are Interpreted as Taste: Neural integration occurs far earlier than expected, with the insula processing aromas as actual tastes before signals reach higher brain regions. This mechanism explains why sugar-free beverages can taste sweet and suggests our food choices may be unconsciously influenced by environmental odors, potentially reshaping approaches to managing cravings and dietary behavior. [SOURCE]

BOOK NOOK

Set within a child’s nose, ‘Humming Heroes’ features a family of Lymphocytes led by a wise Mother, brave Father, determined Brother, and heroic Baby, confronting invading microorganisms. The story takes an imaginative turn, when a humming melody combines with the Lymphocytes’ song to repel the invaders and restore inner harmony.

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