Evidence Points to Essiac Tea As Potent Cancer Fighter

Evidence Points to Essiac Tea As Potent Cancer Fighter Even
As Medical Community Shuns It by Edwin Bartolome

help in fighting moderately advanced cancer but not enough to be integral to the
treatment of cancer in higher stages. However, this does not preclude its future
addition to "Stage IV" treatment if conditions are warranted.

The medical community, on the other hand, has consistently refused to embrace the
use of essiac tea as cancer treatment, even as some prominent physicians were
among its strongest backers in 1938, when they pushed for the tea blend's
legalization before the Canadian parliament.

Critics argue that some cancers considered as incurable suddenly go into remission
without adequate medical explanation. Others say that the placebo effect - the belief
that the treatment is working makes it effective rather than the treatment itself -
may help explain some of the successes encountered by essiac tea in treating
cancer. Consequently, treatment of cancer via essiac tea is not approved by the
American Medical Association or the American Cancer Society.

Essiac tea is a blend of 4 herbs that was used by nurse Rene Caisse in the 1920s as
a treatment and possible cure for cancer. The word 'essiac' is her surname spelled
backward. The four component herbs of the tea are burdock root (arctium lappa),
turkey rhubarb root (rheum palmatum), sheep sorrel (rumex acetosella), and the
inner bark of slippery elm (ulmus fulva or ulmus rubra).

The sheep sorrel and the burdock root are the herbs known to kill and destroy
cancer cells while the turkey rhubarb root and the slippery elm bark help build the
immune system and aid in the detoxification of the affected organs.

Caisse first heard of essiac formula from a patient who met a Native Canadian
Ojibwa healer. The healer said that the blend was intended to purify the body and
balance the spirit. After hearing several more first-hand accounts of its curative
effects on cancer, Caisse began giving the tea to patients and found it to have
remarkable healing abilities.

Caisse was totally convinced that essiac tea could cure cancer. She believed it had
the ability to purify the blood, to strengthen the immune system, and to allow the
healthy cells to kill the cancerous cells. She said that tumors not destroyed by the
tea would be shrunk and could be surgically removed after six to eight weeks of
treatment. She recommended at least three months of additional weekly essiac
treatments to ensure that any malignant cells that remained after the first phase and
surgery were totally destroyed.

Her own mother, Friseide Caisse, was given essiac tea treatment after she was
diagnosed with liver cancer at the age of 72. After being told that she only had days
to live, her mother was said to have recovered quickly and after a few months of
treatment with the tea, her cancer was gone. She lived to be 90.

Caisse reported that essiac tea had been the reason that hundreds of her patients
had been cured of their cancers. She sometimes administered the formula as
intramuscular injections. Most of the patients came to her after conventional cancer
treatments have already failed. Indeed up to this day, testimonials keep pouring in on
from many patients relating how the blend have totally rid their bodies of cancer.

Still, the medical community seems very adamant in their objections to the tea as a
viable cancer treatment. In 2008, the U.S. National Institute of Health's Medline said
that "there is not enough evidence to recommend for or against the use of this
herbal mixture as a therapy for any type of cancer." They said that none of the
individual herbs in Essiac has been tested in rigorous human cancer trials. Even as
testimonials and reports from manufacturers are available on the Internet, they said
that these cannot be considered scientifically viable as evidence. They concluded by
recommending that individuals with cancer should not delay treatment with "more
proven therapies."

It should be remembered that persons should consult with their physician first before
treating any condition with essiac tea. It is also important to remember that essiac is
often used in combination with traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy,
radiation, and surgery.

So while the general public still weighs the arguments for and against essiac tea, it is
worthwhile to note that both sides have valid points, and that no side holds a
monopoly on the truth regarding essiac tea's efficacy on cancer.

About The Author

Edwin Bartolome

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Essiac tea and its apparently potent
cancer-fighting abilities have been in
the spotlight for nearly 90 years as
the tea's proponents and critics
continually exchange ideas and
insights on its true efficacy.

Essiac tea is recommended by
proponents of alternative healthcare
as a treatment for various forms of
cancer. It is also used to alleviate
symptoms and side effects of
conventional cancer therapy. The
blend is currently considered to be a
"Phase III cancer treatment",
meaning it is of sufficient strength to

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The content on
this website is for educational purposes only. Please consult with your physician before using natural
remedies and before making any drastic changes to your diet or exercise program.