Essiac Tea
Has anyone had any experience with Essiac tea? As I understand it the teas that are in the health food stores may or may not have the same ingredients as the original tea from Canada. My sister- in law gave me some but I have not used it. Kind of uncertain in how it would react with other meds
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Hi Mari55,
I have tried the tea and also the syrup. I found the syrup in the vitamin aisle of the grocery store, but the tea leaves were ordered from the website. I think it can also be found in some health food stores. I really don't know if it's different from what can be ordered directly from the company.
So far, I haven't had any adverse reactions with it against all my other meds. As you may know, it's a gentle detoxifier, so I believe that it's mild on the system. Apparently, it's good for the digestive system.
I've heard stories of people who used it and were "cured" of their cancers. I'm not sure I really believe that, but at this point I'll try anything that doesn't give me harsh side effects. Not sure if you've heard the story behind it: an oncology nurse in the 1920's, name Rene Caisse (essiac spelled backwards) developed it because she was frustrated watching the harsh side effects of chemo on her patients, and the disease not always being surpressed. So she developed this mixture of leaves and a particular tree bark (check the ingredients on the bottle/box) and it supposedly helped her patients. Now it's modernized and being sold all over North America. (FYI - per my onc, tree bark is also an ingredient in some chemo cocktails.)
The syrup doesn't taste great, so if you try it, swallow quickly. With the tea, you have to swish it around your mouth for a while (15-30 sec) because it is supposed to penetrate thru your tongue and cheeks to get into your blood stream. I mean, it'll get in there once you drink it anyway. The tea has specific instructions to follow, so do your best.
Good luck with it, and all the best to you!
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Just want to add a bit more info. While Renee Caisse was alive, she refused to tell cancer researchers what the ingredients were (she had been given the recipe by an old Ojibway "medicine man"). When she died, her will provided the ingredients, but not the amounts. Research grants were provided by the Canadian Cancer Society and the Ontario government to highly-respected Canadian cancer scientists to study this and try to come up with the correct formulation. Trials were also conducted. Their conclusions were that the tea was ineffective in even coming close to curing any cancers.
Since many of the drugs we use today are from natural sources and derive from ancient remedies handed down from generation to generation, there was a great deal of optimism surrounding Essiac -- and a great deal of disappointment -- by patients, docs and scientists alike -- when it turned out not to be valuable in the cancer battle. As for the tea that is sold in healthfood stores, if it makes you feel better, and doesn't interfere with any other medications, then go for it. The company selling it is making a fortune on an empty promise, IMHO.
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Doesn't sound worth trying in my opinion. Maybe there is something good to say about it, but Dr. Weil's commentary on it isn't particularly flattering. Its kind of fishy that only one Ojibway medicine man would know of it. Usually valid ideas are more widespread.
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Wishing not to end this on a negative note, have you looked at other herbal, natural or complementary therapies that do have at least some evidence of potential effectiveness? melatonin, vit D, maitake, green tea, IP6, iodine, and others?
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Yes, I am taking melatonin, vit D, green tea, tumeric (cucrumin), glucosamine with MSM and Fish oil ( omega 3) and have been reading about the IP6 and plan to get some. I have metastatic bone mets and am on Famara and Zometa. I have a compression fracture at T9 and much of my problem is inflammatory. I don't think I will try the Essiac tea. I appreciate all the feedback
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I listened to a long report by Dr. Wesa on the Sloan Kettering site about herbs, botanicals etc. It really made sense to me. You do need to be careful with some of these herbs and green tea etc. if you are in treatment as they can jeopardize the effectiveness. Check it out.
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Mari55 - do whatever you are comfortable with. It's your body, your life and your decision. I tried this stuff because conventional meds weren't stabilizing my bone mets, it felt like my onc was "experimenting" on me with different drugs that were making me feel worse than the disease itself, and I was becoming desperate. Like you, I am on Zometa and was on Femara for a few months and stopped because the SE's were intolerable. I've been reading about IP6 as well, and am interested in trying some myself.
Do your reasearch, talk to your docs, and then decide what's best for you. Good luck!
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Just be careful with Dr W, he is all about vitamins. I took his wellness survey or whatever it was called and his 'suggestion' is to take over $90 in vitamins a month. This is tea, he does not sell tea so he's not really going to promote it. We all do what we need to do to stay positive and stay strong. If it works, so be it. I've tried it, I had zero side effects.
stay strong, stay positive
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Whenever you hear "secret formula" it is a scam.
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