The Truth About Essiac

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The Truth About Essiac

 

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" Essiac " as known in the marketplace today is comprised of 4 herbs: SheepSorrel

(rumex acetosella), Burdock Root (arctium lappa), Slippery ElmBark (ulmus

fulva), and Turkish Rhubarb Root (rheum palmatum). Thousandsknow this recipe,

as every herbalist on every corner has it, and it isconsidered to be in the

public domain. " Essiac " began decades ago when a Canadian nurse, Rene Caisse,

received aherbal recipe from an elderly female patient, who was in an

Ontariohospital where Rene was the head nurse. The recipe she received

contained8 herbs, given to the woman years before by an Ojibwa medicine man.

Heoffered his help, because he knew the woman was suffering from breastcancer.

The patient recovered from her cancer and saw no return duringthe span of the

next 30 years. In 1922, she gave Rene the recipe inresponse to Rene's request

that it could possibly help others.Rene used this ORIGINAL recipe two years

later on her aunt, who wasterminally ill with stomach and liver cancer. Her

aunt recovered andlived another 21 years, dying of old age. Rene and her aunt's

doctorbegan experimenting with the herbal tea and research began on mice.

Thedoctor, Dr. R O Fisher, began using it on his terminally ill patients,

andsome improved greatly. Rene and the doctor began to vary the formula. They

injected one herb(Sheep Sorrel) and administered the others orally in liquid

form. TheIndian medicine man and his people never injected it, they simply made

atea, but researchers want to RESEARCH things to find out what makes them " tick " ,

and so Rene became a researcher. Only one herb could be injected,and only into

the muscle. It was painful for many very sick people, andmany, very emaciated,

hardly had any muscles for the injections. Thismethod was used for some years

and there were known successes about whichstories were written. There were

failures too, as many sufferers were sofar gone, they had little time left. In

others, the disease had damagedvital organs beyond repair.The formula used

varied slightly over the years from the ORIGINAL one thatthe woman received from

the medicine man in 1892. This change happened aspatients were monitored and

results were seen. In 1959, Rene Caisse wentto the Brusch Medical Clinic in

Cambridge, Massachusetts to join DrCharles Armao Brusch, MD, (private physician

to President John F Kennedy). She became partners with him with the intent of

forming the " Rene CaisseCancer Research Foundation " , a charitable foundation,

whose purpose wasthe utilization of this treatment for cancer in humans. They

stayedpartners, co-developers and co-owners until her death in 1978 at the ageof

91. The formula, as used at that time, was still partly injected, withthe rest

of the herbs taken orally.Dr Brusch, a medical doctor of noted background, had

developed an interestin other natural forms of healing; the objective always

the " well-being " of the patient. He had set-up the first acupuncture clinic to

collectresearch data, and it was operating in his medical clinic when Rene

Caissearrived in 1959. He was the first doctor in the Western hemisphere

toinitiate a plan similar to Medicare within his clinic for those withoutmoney

for medical help. He was extremely interested in herbs and theirpower to heal,

which he learned from a long-time friend, a masterherbalist from Lathrop,

Missouri.Dr Brusch was not impressed with the injection as it was being used at

thetime, and further research began. Experiments were done with

injectablesolutions, each vial containing a different herb in the formula.

Theyfailed to isolate a single outstanding herb. Reactions and results werenot

so good, so the injections were stopped and the medication returned toa larger

oral medication. It was proven that best results were obtainedby the

COMBINATION of the proper active herbs, and not in just one of theherbs. A

double blind study was done in which other herbal formulas wereused, all of

which proved to be inferior.Some of the positive results obtained were:

Cessation of pain, increasedappetite (emaciated patients gained weight),

improved sleep, feeling ofwell-being, energy, a noted decrease in depression,

anxiety and fear, anda prolongation of life and a decrease of nodular masses.

Dr Brusch statedthat the herbal tea identified the toxins, gathered them, broke

them down,and discharged them. Through the years some testing was done at noted

facilities such as SloanKettering, Northwestern University, and Christie Street

Hospital inToronto, as well as many others. However, as Rene Caisse would NEVER

giveover the full formula, conclusive results remained incomplete. In 1975she

only passed the injectable herb over to Sloan-Kettering to test. Theycommenced

to freeze it - the ONE thing you cannot do with these herbs -and rendered it

useless to test. Rene withdrew it immediately from themwith disdain.In 1977,

following a lengthy and in-depth article in a national Canadianmagazine

" Homemaker's " , a retired chemist was shown the article, and wasfascinated by

reading that Nurse Caisse had never given the formula toanyone (other than her

partner with whom she worked). He determined thathe would go and see her and

talk her into releasing the formula to him. He had never heard of the woman

before, even though she lived and workedin the same province, and many stories

had been written about her. Headmitted this on the " Stayin' Alive " talk radio

show, when he was beinginterviewed by broadcaster, Elaine Alexander.Gradually he

increased his proposal to Rene, for she kept turning himdown. She had already

had 8 large offers over the years to disclose theformula, but always declined,

because she believed it would exploited. Finally, he told both Rene Caisse and

Dr Brusch that he was going to befinancially funded by a large Canadian mining

corporation, and that hewould open 5 clinics across the country to treat

terminally ill cancerpatients free of charge, if they would only release the

formula to him. Rene and Dr Brusch felt that perhaps this was the last chance to

get theherbal tea " out " to the people who needed it the most - the terminal,

thehopeless! When a contract was drawn up on Oct 26th, 1977, there was very

little init for Rene who had given 56 years of her life to this herbal tea.

DrBrusch, who was to share any royalty with Rene, withdrew in this capacityand

became only a witness to the signing of the contract. Renereluctantly passed

over a 4 herb formula that day in 1977, as she alreadyhad great doubts about

what she had been told. Her doubts proved to betrue when nothing seemed to be

happening and no clinics were ever opened. To this day no royalty has ever been

paid from this contract to the " ReneCaisse Estate " . She gave it away FREE for

56 years, and has been cheatedever since. THIS CONTRACT WAS MATERIALLY

BREACHED.In 1978 Rene Caisse died. Her " hey-day " was from 1924 to 1942, when

sheclosed her cancer clinic, which she had operated for 8 years inBracebridge,

Ontario. At that time, the medical powers-that-be formed a " Cancer Commission "

which had the power to decree what could be used totreat cancer. Rene feared

being charged, even though all around her,including many medical doctors, were

completely aware of her outstandingsuccesses. Dr Brusch continued to work with

the formula they haddeveloped (now called " Flor*Essence " as a trade name in the

market place),and many of his patients were the beneficiaries.In 1984, Dr Brusch

was interviewed by a long-time radio producer andbroadcaster, Elaine Alexander,

who broadcast out of Vancouver, Canada. This woman, as the producer of a highly

listened to radio " talk " show,produced a few programmes on this herbal tea in

the mid '70's, and hadresearched it in-depth for many years. In 1984, as a

broadcaster, sheintroduced a new programme called " Stayin' Alive " . This show

was ahealth-oriented show concerned with informing the listeners of the best

inalternate and more natural ways of restoring health. On this show sheagain

reported on this famous though underrated story.The listener response was

massive and seven 2-hour programmes wereproduced covering the herbal tea in

every aspect. Dr Brusch wasinterviewed a number of times, as were others of

importance to the story. Elaine and Dr Brusch became friends. He was impressed

by her longresearch of the subject, and her genuine interest. In 1988 they

becamepartners legally and he passed to her a number of the herbal formula's

onwhich he and Rene worked at his clinic during the time they were partnersand

co-owners.The larger and further developed formula of this herbal tea, now known

as " Flor*Essence " , was the first out on the marketplace in July 1992. Itcontains

8 herbs in perfect proportion for synergistic activity. Manyimitators have now

jumped on the band-wagon with drops, capsules, liquids,and dry versions, all

claiming to be " The Original Rene Caisse Tea " . Infact the " ORIGINAL " formula

has NOT been used since 1924, when Rene Caissestarted experimenting with it

after curing her aunt. That was whenmodifications were begun, and an injection

was developed. Those claimingotherwise, are simply NOT privy to confidential

information and are toonew to the scene.Much mis-information is being written

about this old story, and errors arebeing perpetuated by those fascinated by the

history, but lacking inknowledge of the FACTS. Included in this

mis-information is a WIDELYDISTRIBUTED INTERVIEW WITH A FORMER CHIROPRACTOR,

Gary Glum. He wasinterviewed by an Elizabeth Robinson in the " Wildfire "

magazine out ofSpokane, Washington, VOL 6 NO 1, 1992. In this interview Mr Glum

states,in speaking of a friend of Rene Caisse's, Mary McPherson:GLUM: " Mary

worked with Rene, beginning in the 1930's, and she had in her possession all

the documents that had to do with Essiac over lhe last 40 years that Rene had

ad- ministered it. All the documents Rene had were destroyed by the Canadian

Ministry of Health and Welfare at the time of her death in 1978. They burned

all the information in fifty-five gallon drums behind her home. " FALSE

FACT:The retired chemist, David Fingard, took all the documents of any

valuethat he required in Oct 1977, when Rene Caisse and Dr Brusch agreed topass

over a 4 herb formula to him. They believed this man when he claimedhe was

funded by a leading Canadian mining corporation. This proved to bea complete

exaggeration. The documents that were still in MaryMcPherson's possession, were

ones NO ONE WANTED. All the good stuff wastaken. Glum ended up with the

residue, which he presented as all the " important documents " . Interviewer: " You

mention that the Brusch Clinic in Massachusetts worked with Rene Caisse and

with Essiac during the early 1960's. Is this clinicstill doing research with

Essiac? " GLUM: " Dr Brusch presented his findings after ten years of research.

He had come to the conclusion that, in his own words: " Essiac is a cure for

cancer, period. " Whereupon the federal government issued a gag order and said:

" You've got one of two choices, either you keep quiet about this or we'll haul

you off to military prison, and you'll never be heard of again. So we never

heard another word out of him! " FALSEFACT:Dr Charles A Brusch, MD, was NEVER

threatened by anyone and he NEVER keptQUIET about it as evidenced by his

appearance on Elaine Alexander's radioprogramme in 1984, '85 and '86, strongly

stating the case for all to hear. These shows were heard BEFORE Glum came upon

this Canadian story andproduced a book in 1988.GLUM: " Brusch's Essiac patients

included Ted Kennedy's son who had a sarcoma in his leg, and had to have it

amputated. He was being treated at that time by the Farber Cancer Institute in

Boston, Massachusetts. Dr Farber didn't know how to save him, because no one

ever lived with this kind of sarcoma. So Dr Farber went to Dr Brusch and said:

" How are we going to save Ted Kennedy's son? " Dr Brusch made the suggestion

to put him on Essaic. After they did he didn't have a cancer cell in his body.

But all this information has been hidden from the general public. " FALSE

FACT:Dr Charles Brusch, MD, NEVER TOUCHED TED KENNEDY'S SON! He was NEVERASKED

TO. Ted Kennedy's son NEVER took Essiac.FACT:Dr Brusch was so ANGRY upon

reading this article, and the MANY FALSEHOODScontained within it, and also with

the fact that the INTERVIEWER HAD NOTCHECKED WITH HIM. He published a

NOTARIZED letter, publicly stating hisfeelings about this kind of fabrication,

(and about it being re-copied andspread around) in " Country Health " a national

Canadian health magazine,Vol 11, NO 1 WINTER 1993.GLUM: " The Sheep sorrel is

the herbal ingredient in Essiac that was found to be responsible for the

destruction of cancer cells in the body. That research was done by Dr Chester

Stock at Sloan-Kettering in New York. They gathered that infor- mation, then

withheld it from the general public, and gave it to the Canadian Ministry of

Health & Welfare. The Canadian government then immediately banned that herb

from sale and distribution. " FALSEFACT:Sheep Sorrel (rumex acetosella) has

NEVER been BANNED in Canada, and isNOT NOW.Interviewer: " What about the records

of the Brusch Clinic? " GLUM: " All that material has been destroyed also. "

FALSEFACT:Dr Charles Brusch turned all material over to his partner,

ElaineAlexander.GLUM: " So I went to Dr Brusch's home in Cambridge Mass, where

upon he delivered to me the only material he had left in his files on Essiac "

FALSEFACT:Dr Brusch gave Glum a few pieces of no importance, and a few documents

onhis own case. Why would Dr Brusch empty his files of the years of hiswork,

and give this to a complete stranger coming to his door?GLUM: " Previous to my

book (1988), none of this information was available to the general public at

all. The public had no information outside of a few assorted articles. "

FALSE:FACT:INNUMERABLE interviews and articles had long been reported since the

early1930's, when the first major story was published in the " Toronto Star " .

Then radio, TV and a video documented what was happening over thefollowing

years. Elaine Alexander produced a few radio shows on this inthe mid '70's and

later interviewed many principals involved in 1984, '85,'86. Glum's book was

not published until 1988.GLUM: " I also worked with the AIDS project in Los

Angeles through their Long Beach and San Pedro districts. They sent 179

patients home to die. The project gave me five of these patients. I took

them off the AZT and the DDI and put them on Essiac three times a day. Those

are the only people alive today. The other 174 are dead. " FALSEFACT:APLA

(Aids Project Los Angeles) does NOT provide MEDICAL SERVICES. Thereare NO Long

Beach or Sand Pedro districts. APLA does NOT give clients toresearchers for

clinical trials. APLA is a COMMUNITY BASED AIDS serviceorganization, which only

provides SOCIAL SERVICES and EDUCATION. Thestudy Glum cites in many articles

NEVER OCCURRED.For those who want to know the truth about Essiac, there is a

recent bookon the marketplace called " The Essiac Report " . Written by Richard

Thomas,it was published in Dec 1993, by ATIN (the Alternative

TreatmentInformation Network), Los Angeles. They can be reached at (800)

446-3063. This book covers the history of Essiac from 1892 to thepresent, with

much documentation, pictures, testimonials, and pertinentinformation as to

usage. The cost of the book is US $ 19.95, + shippingand handling, and they

guarantee fast delivery.More information on Flor*Essence is available from 1 604

451-8232, andRadio Producer/Broadcaster Elaine Alexander, who owns the

world-widerights to " Flor*Essence " can be reached through this number.

 

 

 

 

 

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