Essiac Essentials

three teaspoons four months after diagnosis, but her condition did not respond well and she was back on four teaspoons, rising briefly to five for a couple of weeks the following month. Seven months after diagnosis she had put on 2lbs in weight and was doing well on four teaspoons daily, reducing to three teaspoons by the eighth month.
    Ten months after diagnosis she was back to four teaspoons daily after a slight deterioration in her condition which adjusted after she had been taking the higher dose for two weeks. She remained on the four teaspoons daily for the next twenty-two months until her parents felt her condition had stabilised sufficiently to reduce the dose back to three teaspoons daily. Four years and three months after diagnosis she was taking one tablespoon of Essiac every morning. Seven months later she was taking one tablespoon every other day. She has made a remarkable recovery, thanks not only to Essiac but to her parents’ love and willingness to observe and follow their intuitive responses to her needs.
     
     
    Side Effects
     
    When the recipe is prepared as Rene made it and her recommendations for dosage are followed correctly, only some mild side effects have been noted. Essiac is well tolerated when taken in conjunction with other conventional and alternative therapies, including steroid drugs — but should not be used to wash down other medication. Drink it separately to give its particular synergy every possible chance to work for itself.
    However Essiac can have some side effects which might give cause for concern unless they are understood.
     
    a) swelling — occurs when metastasised cells gather into the primary tumour.
    b) cottage cheese effect — resembling curds and clear liquid, occurs as the cancer breaks up and discharges from either the bodily orifices or from localised 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 — occurring 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 judgement 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.
     
     
    Therapies which Complement Essiac
     
    RED CLOVER (Trifolium pratense)
    This is a short-lived perennial from the Leguminoseae family found in Europe and America. Native American Indians used the entire plant. They ate it and used it medicinally, externally in ointments for skin conditions and internally as a tea to treat skin diseases.
    Rene told Sheila that this was one of the original eight herbs in the formula. She kept an old bunch of the herb hanging up near her furnace as a decoy to fool curious visitors into thinking this was one of the herbs currently in the formula. She would have tested a decoction of the herb along with the others during her early experiments, but abandoned it in favour of the synergy of the four.
    We know of one case where a suspected carcinoma in a woman’s breast disappeared in two months in the summer of 1977 during which she had eaten some fresh flower heads in salad and drunk a cup of freshly-brewed Red clover tea every day.
    The herb has blood-cleansing, antispasmodic, expectorant and wound-healing properties and has been noted as containing four anti-tumour compounds including Daldzein and Genistein. The isoflavone biochanin A, an extract of Red clover, has been found to be a potent carcinogenic inhibitor. An extract, Uzarin, has been marketed in Europe to treat diarrhoea.
    Jethro Kloss, author of Back to Eden recommends that “every family should have a good supply of red clover blossoms” and that “the tea should be used freely and can be taken in place of water”.
    We would add a word of caution here. In large quantities, the herb could act like oestrogen; therefore larger quantities — i.e. two or more cups daily