HOME > ESSIAC SIDE EFFECTS?
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Essiac Side Effects?
How Essiac Works on Cancer Cells
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When we think of side effects we usually think in terms of possible harmful or unintended consequences of taking a certain pharmaceutical drug. These side effects can affect people differently from person to person, are often debilitating and sometimes lethal.
Herbs, on the other hand, are rarely lethal or debilitating. Compared to dangerous pharmaceutical drugs healing herbs are much safer and more effective in achieving good health. Generally speaking, herbs help the body heal itself while Big Pharma drugs “treat” symptoms. Doctors often prescribe more drugs to treat the unintended, harmful side effects of a drug and this can end up damaging one’s health even further.
What some people would call Essiac “side effects” are actually Nature’s processes in healing the body. “Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” Ezekiel 47:12.
“The herb that will destroy a cancer (a malignant growth) is the dog-eared Sheep Sorrel, sometimes called sourgrass. The entire plant must be used.”
[Source: Letter from Rene M. Caisse to Dr. Chester Stock of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, April 4, 1974, in the Sheila Snow Fraser Essiac Archive Collection]
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In May of 1974 Rene Caisse wrote the following words to Dr. Chester Stock of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research:
“It took years to find out the one herb that actually worked on the growth itself [Sheep Sorrel]. The other herbs [Burdock, Slippery Elm & Turkish Rhubarb] I used to purify the blood and throw off any infection thrown off by the malignant growth as it regressed.” [1]
“The research showed Sheep Sorrel, the most acidic ingredient at pH 4.5, to be the one herb that had a directly destructive effect on cancerous cells. All the initial experiments were carried out on laboratory mice: ‘We found that on mice inoculated with human carcinoma, the growth regressed until it was no longer invading living tissue after nine days of Essiac experiments.” [2]
Rene Caisse described this process in detail in the following paragraphs:
“Most importantly, and this was verified in animal tests conducted at the Brusch Medical Center and other laboratories, it was discovered that one of the most dramatic effects of taking this remedy was its affinity for drawing all the cancer cells which had spread back to the original site at which point the tumor would first harden, then later it would soften, until it vanished altogether or more realistically, the tumor would decrease in size to where it could then be surgically removed with minimal complications.
“In certain cases and at certain stages of the disease, the cancer would act as if it were ‘coming to a head’, similar to an abscess. It would then break down and slough away. These people all reported that when the mass breaks, it isn’t like pus but like a cottage cheese substance that comes away. Still other types will enlarge until the mass is localized, then loosen and reduce in size until there is nothing left, having been absorbed into and carried off by the blood stream and body waste.
“I found also that no matter where the malignancy may be in the human body, surgery would be much more successful after six to eight treatments of Essiac, followed by further treatments once a week after the operation for a period of three months; then there would be no recurrence of the tumor. In the case of breast cancers, the primary growth will usually invade the mammary gland of the opposite breast or the auxilla (armpit), or both. My treatment, I found, reduced the secondary growth into the primary mass, enlarging it for a time. When it became localized, it was encapsulated and could then be removed without danger of recurrence. In one instance, a patient with breast cancer was instructed by her doctor to have six Essiac treatments before undergoing surgery. After the fifth treatment, however, the cancer disappeared, with no recurrence.” [3]
“It is very important to use the dosage as recommended, which was based on more than 54 years’ experience. Rene was very concerned about this, which is why she personally administered the dose to her patients. The herbs are very potent, and in particular Sheep Sorrel can have the effect of enlarging the tumor too quickly, so that it may burst, or a vital organ may be blocked because of its increase in size. Sometimes the tumors will soften, dissolve into small pieces and be eliminated through the bowel or the urinary tract. Cancer growths in the breast have been known to become encapsulated within six weeks to three months, and can then be removed surgically with little danger of metastasising in the future. Cancers of the oesophagus have also become encapsulated and removed cleanly and safely by surgery.”
“Depending on special circumstances, very occasionally in her later years, she would sometimes advise an initial dose of one fluid ounce twice daily for the first five, ten or (rarely) thirty days before reducing to one fluid ounce a day. Rene was always very particular about this because she was aware that sometimes, when patients first began taking the Essiac formula, their tumours might enlarge suddenly as though they were gathering back the cancerous cells that had metastasised. When that happened, she either gave lighter doses or stopped treatment altogether for a time, to prevent a vital organ from becoming blocked. It all depended on the nature and position of the tumour. For example, primary brain tumours rarely metastasise and we have had no reports of this type of swelling when taking Essiac in these cases. Essiac should never be administered intravenously. During the early days of Rene’s pioneering research, she found that only Sheep Sorrel could be injected intramuscularly as an individual herb.” [4]
For historical purposes it should be noted that Nurse Caisse often treated cancer patients with Sheep Sorrel solution injections in conjunction with the tea, which would produce more dramatic and quicker results than the tea alone. The injections could understandably create a situation in some cases where a vital organ might be blocked if the tumor rapidly increased in size. However, Sheep Sorrel solution injections are no longer used. She also used other herbs, too, and Sheep Sorrel Root was a necessary part of the Essiac formula to achieve the results she achieved at the Rene M. Caisse Cancer Clinic. [5]
[Photo on left: Rene Caisse’s hypodermics with Sheep Sorrel Solution vial]
WARNING: DO NOT EVER INJECT SHEEP SORREL SOLUTION OR ESSIAC TEA UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! IT IS DANGEROUS AND EXTREMELY PAINFUL.
For cancer, one can achieve the same result by holding and/or swishing Essiac Tea in the mouth for a while before swallowing. The capillaries under the tongue can absorb Sheep Sorrel into the bloodstream. For example, some supplements are recommended to be dissolved under the tongue (sublingually). Healthy individuals can simply drink Essiac Tea like any other tea.
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POSSIBLE EFFECTS WHEN USING ESSIAC TEA FOR CANCER
“Essiac can have some side effects which might give cause for concern unless they are understood, including:
a. swelling: occurs when metastasized cells gather into the primary tumor.
b. cottage cheese effect: resembling curds and clear liquid, occurs as the cancer breaks up and discharges from either the bodily orifices or from localized cysts or swellings. A jelly-like substance can also be discharged or coughed up from the lungs.
c. more frequent passing of urine/defecation and other inexplicable discharges; occuring as the body detoxifies. If the symptoms are severe, with related nausea and pain, stop taking the formula for a few days until all the symptoms have subsided. When you start drinking it again, take half an ounce every other day, gradually resuming the original dosage. Remember that all diseases have a life cycle and a rhythm of their own, so follow your own judgment according to what your body is telling you about the dosage it needs.
d. aching “on site” and headaches, linked to the detoxification process, have been noted as sometimes occurring when taking Essiac after surgery. Treat as for (c) and drink more water to flush out toxins from the body.
e. fever or chills: sometimes occurring when the Essiac starts working directly on the cancerous cells.” [6]
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IMPORTANT NOTE: Essiac tea’s main function is detoxification. This means that unnatural toxins such as medical drugs and environmental toxins will be released from organs and tissues into the blood stream. Harmful chemicals can be stored in fat tissue for long periods of time before being released. Therefore, one may temporarily experience “side effects” of toxins one has been exposed to in the past until the bloodstream has taken these toxins to the organs of detoxification to be eliminated from the body for good.
The herbs in Essiac tea assist the organs of detoxification such as the liver, skin, kidneys and colon in this process. Therefore, one could experience various other symptoms during the detoxification process. Therefore, one may feel a bit ill or out of sorts during this process. This is a way that the body heals itself of harmful chemicals, damaged cells, etc, in order to “clean house”.
It is important to drink extra water during this process to help flush out the toxins as quickly as possible. Saunas can be a helpful tool to sweat the toxins out through the skin, which is the largest organ of detoxification.
Essiac tea in itself does not cure cancer. Essiac simply provides the tools the body needs to “cure” itself. Positive mental and spiritual outlook is essential as well.
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Ingri Cassel has been helping people for many years in the use of Essiac Tea and helping them improve their general health and well being. Ingri has written a related article regarding the proper use of Essiac Tea on her website (link below). She also sells our high-quality, certified organic Special Blend Essiac Tea Herbs on this website:
https://humbleweed.net/articles/essiac-cautions/
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1. ESSIAC: Secrets of Rene Caisse’s Herbal Pharmacy, p. 23
2. ESSIAC: Secrets of Rene Caisse’s Herbal Pharmacy, p. 23, 24
3. THE ESSENCE OF ESSIAC, p. 124-5
4. ESSIAC ESSENTIALS, p. 38
5. ESSIAC ESSENTIALS, 1999, Sheila Snow, p. 7, 10, 42; ESSENCE OF ESSIAC, 1993, Sheila Snow, p. 124
6. ESSIAC ESSENTIALS, p. 50
7. [Source: Letter from Rene M. Caisse to Dr. Chester Stock of the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, April 4, 1974, in the Sheila Snow Fraser Essiac Archive Collection]
https://humbleweed.net/articles/essiac-cautions/
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ESSIAC CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
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* BUYER BEWARE! Most Essiac companies and herb suppliers are now obtaining Sheep Sorrel leaf from Bulgaria and Croatia and it is dead plant material and not even green! Therefore, most of the Essiac sold in the US now has little medicinal value for cancer patients. We are concerned that this may eventually give quality Essiac Tea an undeserved reputation for being ineffective against cancer. This may also give false hope for cancer patients.
This is why we place so much attention on how we grow our certified organic herbs and the extra effort and care we place on quality, even though our Essiac Tea Herbs cost significantly more than other Essiac tea providers. As the old adage goes: “You get what you pay for.” *
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We do not sell nor are we associated with the trademarked (TM) or registered (R) “ESSIAC” products that are sold by other companies in Canada and the US. We only sell the herbs so that people can make Rene Caisse’s tea in their own homes. Rene Caisse never registered, patented or trademarked “Essiac” which was simply her last name spelled backwards and was originally derived from a traditional native American herbal remedy for cancer. The word “Essiac” was in common usage in the 1930s, decades before anyone tried to corner the market by “registering” or “trademarking” the word “Essiac”. Furthermore, we only use the “Essiac” formula which Rene Caisse’s best friend, Mary McPherson, officially entered into the public domain in a sworn affidavit in 1994 in Bracebridge, Ontario. This formula uses Turkey rhubarb root which is much more pleasant tasting than the Indian rhubarb products on the market (which is why Rene Caisse switched to Turkey rhubarb in her final Essiac tea formula). The HealthFreedom.info website has posted Mary McPherson’s “Essiac” formula affidavit here. This is the formula we use.
Twenty years ago HealthFreedom.info was the first website to obtain and publish on the internet a certified copy of Mary McPherson’s Essiac formula affidavit from the Town of Bracebridge, Ontario, thus settling the controversy over what Rene Caisse’s true Essiac Tea formula was.
We include sheep sorrel roots in all our Essiac Tea products at precise percentages. The percentages refer to the ratio of sheep sorrel root to the total sheep sorrel content in the formula.
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The information on this website is for educational and historical purposes and not to be construed as medical advice. Everyone’s body is different so there is no one-size-fits-all for health issues. It should be noted that medical doctors are not usually taught about such subjects as herbal medicine, nutritional supplements, non-pharmceutical approaches to health, etc. Therefore, choosing an appropriate health professional is a human right and that is up to the individual seeking health improvement.
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