Herbs for Cancer Treatment

[Guest guest]

Herbs for Cancer Treatment- Essiac/Floressence

by Meg McGowan

 

Conscious Choice, March 2001

http://www.consciouschoice.com/herbs/herbs1403.html

 

This past Christmas, a friend of mine died of breast cancer. The

experience made me feel inadequate and powerless. In such crises, we

offer what we can and pray for miracles. Sometimes what we can offer is

information. Faced with the incredible life-changing consequences of a

cancer diagnosis, seeking, processing, and evaluating information may be

a task that is overwhelming to the patient and his or her family.

 

Simply absorbing and making decisions based on the options presented by

one's doctors is daunting.

 

If alternative medicine is not already part of the patient's life

experience, where does one begin -- how does one begin -- to choose

complementary therapies?

 

An outside party who can provide relevant information in manageable

pieces with easily understood explanations, may be more helpful than a

dozen excellent reading recommendations.

 

If the patient appears open and interested, consider offering to

purchase and, if necessary, prepare appropriate herbal remedies.

 

To the uninitiated, the herbal aisles of the local health-food store

may appear as confusing as a foreign marketplace. Even someone familiar

with holistic health care may appreciate a guide at such a stressful

time.

 

Essiac and Flor-Essence are two commercially available herbal formulas

that are reputed to have cancer-fighting properties.

 

Both are historically tied to a Canadian nurse, Rene Caisse. (Essiac is

her name spelled backward.)

 

In the 1920s, Caisse learned that a patient of hers who had survived

breast cancer was using a blend of herbs prescribed by a Native American

Ojibwa healer.

 

After successfully treating her aunt's stomach cancer with the remedy,

she went on to treat thousands of other cancer patients with many

success stories.

 

That she had any success is profound because, as Carla J. Nelson states

in Exploring Essiac (Herb Gatherings, 1997), restrictions placed on

Caisse by the Canadian government allowed her to " treat only those who

were deemed hopelessly terminal " and required that " the hopelessness of

the case was documented by a licensed physician. " Caisse later worked

with Dr. Charles Brusch.

 

It is believed that they enhanced the original formula and that it is

this formula that is now sold as Flor-Essence.

 

Four herbs -- burdock root (Arcticum lappa), Turkish rhubarb root (Rheum

palmatum), sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella), and slippery elm bark (Ulmus

rubra) comprise the original formula.

Moderator's Note: Floressence contains Red Clover as well and its

efficacy has been confirmed in EVERY type of cancer imaginable!

 

With hopes of reaching more people and attaining scientific validity, in

1977 Caisse entrusted the formula to the Resperin Corporation. They now

hold full rights to the Essiac name and the original formula.

 

In keeping with the roots of its origin, versions of the Ojibwa cancer

treatment continue to spread, unable to be contained by technical

restrictions. Some can be found under names such as " Ojibwa Tea " and

" 4-Herb Tea " .

 

In her booklet, Exploring Essiac, Nelson provides one widely circulated

recipe for preparing the four herbs, along with a concise history and

overview of information available about the formula.

 

Flor-Essence contains the same four herbs as Essiac, along with four

additional herbs: watercress (Nasturtium officinale), blessed thistle

(Cnicus benedictus), red clover (Trifolium pratense), and kelp

(Laminaria digitata).

 

A recent study published in HerbalGram examined, in part, via an

extensive consumer survey, perceived benefits from using the

Flor-Essence herbal tonic.

 

The study notes that while anecdotal claims regarding the formula's

effectiveness in fighting cancer remain largely unsubstantiated by

scientific studies, the lack of research in this area does not denote

ineffectiveness.

(Essentially, scientific study in this area is simply an attempt to

collect, control, and quantify anecdotal evidence. Why then should we

dismiss the raw material of individual experience until it has been

sanctified by scientific method?)

 

The individual herbal ingredients of Flor-Essence have been found to

possess a range of positive properties including: antioxidant,

antiestrogenic, immunostimulant, antitumor and anticholeretic actions;

trace elements; minerals; and phytoestrogens.

 

Seventy-one percent of the responding cancer patients rated the benefits

of using Flor-Essence as very good/excellent.

 

Positive results encompassed a number of health benefits that reached

beyond simply being " cured. "

 

Patients reported they felt better (53.2 percent), experienced no

cancer progression (40.66 percent), were able to carry out daily

activities (34.0 percent), had more energy (31.5 percent), were able to

cope better with their disease (26.3 percent), experienced improved

cancer symptoms (22.3 percent), and had their cancer cured (16.2

percent).

 

Specific symptoms that were reported to have improved included: fatigue,

appetite loss, nausea, pain, and vomiting. The Essiac and Flor-Essence

tonics provide an accessible first step toward herbal support for the

cancer patient.

 

www.florainc.com

 

The herbs suggested in my two previous Herbs for Health columns, Herbs

to Prevent Cancer (February, 2001) and Herbs for Detox (January, 2001),

should also be considered as herbs for cancer support.

 

The most extensive treatment I have seen of this subject to date is

Donald R. Yance, Jr., and Arlene Valentine's book Herbal Medicine,

Healing & Cancer: A Comprehensive Program for Prevention & Treatment

(Keats, 1999).

 

Yance identifies three necessary stages of herbal therapy for cancer --

first, tonic therapy " to strengthen the vital force and the immune

system " ; second, liver and lymphatic detoxification; and third,

cytotoxic therapy.

 

This approach truly supports the whole body toward the goal of healing

itself. Yance explains that " As a rule, tonic therapy and liver

detoxification are not available through conventional medicine,

 

and its cytotoxic methods -- radiation and chemotherapy --tend to

suppress rather than enhance the patient's vital force. "

 

Within each category, Yance provides several recommendations.

 

For tonic herbs he suggests pulsatilla (Anemone pulsatilla), St.

John's-wort (Hypericum perforatum), gotu kola (Centella asiatica),

ginseng (Panax spp.), uno de gato (Uncaria tomentosa) and Virginia

snakeroot (Aristolochia serpentaria).

 

For liver and lymphatic detoxification, he cites tumeric (Curcuma longa

syn. C. domestica), bupleurum (Bupleurum chinese syn. B.

scorzoneraefolium), schizandra (Fructus schizandrae syn. Schisandra

fructus),

green tea (Camellia sinensis syn. Thea sinensis), turkey corn (Corydalis

formosa), thuja (Thuja occidentalis), poke (Phytolacca americana), and

burdock.

 

For their cytotoxic effects Yance recommends the herbs sundew (Drosera

rotundifolia), periwinkle (Cathcranthus roseus), isatis (Radix

isatidis), red clover, licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), and Chinese

skullcap (Scutellaria baiclalensis), among others.

 

Herbal Medicine, Healing & Cancer also supplies information on the

anticancer properties of numerous other herbs. It is an excellent

resource text.

 

When faced with a crisis such as cancer, how do we know what to offer?

We must listen -- to the patient, to the patient's family and to divine

guidance.

 

With a cancer diagnosis and with conventional medical treatments being

what they are, it is likely that the patient already feels as though his

or her life is being appropriated by outside forces.

 

Someone else attempting to direct the course of treatment, no matter how

well intentioned, may not be welcomed. Listen. True giving is not about

control.

 

All healing is a miracle, not just physical healing, but emotional,

psychological, and spiritual healing. And sometimes the best we can

offer is a willingness to listen and to pray and to help someone that we

love.

 

Resources

 

Calling of an Angel (the story of Rene Caisse) by Dr. Gary Glum, Silent

Walker Publishing, 1993

 

Complementary Cancer Therapies by Dan Labriola, Prima Publishing, 2000

 

Exploring Essiac by Carla J. Nelson. Available for $5.00 from Herb

Gatherings, Inc., 10949 E. 200 S., Lafayette, IN 47905.