Essiac Essentials

domestic method). Two ounces of the dry herb mix would be measured as two fluid ounces volume in a measuring cup. Many people have interpreted the recipe as two ounces in weight, effectively doubling the strength and more. If Rene knew today that some people were taking nine ounces of more than double strength tea every day (as given in some recommendations), she would be absolutely horrified.
     
    Myth: Colloidal silver helps preserve Essiac in storage.
    Reality: Please don’t. There is absolutely no need to use any kind of preservative in the decoction. If the bottles are sterilised and the formula is made up and stored correctly, it will maintain strength and freshness without any addition. Adding something like colloidal silver could dramatically alter its entire synergy and might be dangerous.
     
    Myth: While Rene was working with Charles Brusch she added Kelp, Red clover, Blessed thistle and Watercress to her basic four-herb recipe.
    Reality: There is no evidence that Rene added these herbs to the four she was working on. The original recipe given to her in 1922 contained eight herbs which included Red clover and Watercress. Kelp and Blessed thistle were not part of the original recipe. She used the watercress cautiously and selectively.
     
    Myth: Rene gave her patients a minimum of two fluid ounces of Essiac daily.
    Reality : It was Dr. Brusch who first decided that the daily dose should be two fluid ounces of the tea and it was he who first decided to measure the dry herb mixture by weight rather than volume.
    Sheila acted as an emissary between him and Rene Caisse for a short time in 1977. He had begged Rene for enough of the tea to treat one patient. She sent him what she considered to be sufficient for a three months supply of the ready-mixed herbs. In less than one month he had used all of it and was asking for more. Rene asked him, “Who are you giving it to? Are you giving it to other doctors? What are you doing with it? I sent you enough for three months. ”
    “No, you didn’t”, he replied.
    Sheila called him on Rene’s behalf and explained that Rene used weight for measuring the bulk mix, but just switched over to a measuring cup {volume} when she portioned out the herbs for making the decoction. If she used eight ounces of herbs to eight quarts of water, she used a measuring cup in volume of 8 oz. and there’s a lot of difference between weight and volume.
    He was adamant.
    “No, you use weight”, he said.
    When one of the packages of the herbal mixture was confiscated at the Canada/USA border later in 1977, the American Medical Association warned Dr. Brusch to cease administering the Essiac formula. However he did not lose interest in it and used what he had left in stock on his one remaining American patient.
    When Sheila visited him at his clinic in Massachusetts in 1979, he was still confused, insisting on using weight in preference to volume to measure the formula and would not be persuaded to change his method. He received only small amounts of the dried Essiac herbs, first from Rene and later from Mary. His wife made the decoction for him during the 1980s after he had been diagnosed with cancer.
    Unfortunately, this weight/volume confusion continues today, resulting in a number of incorrect recipes and dosages being given.
     
    Myth: You can drink as much of the tea as you like every day with no side effects.
    Reality: When the recipe has been made up at double or triple strength and taken at two or three times Rene’s recommendation, stomach cramps, headaches, rashes and diarrhoea have been noted in some people. These symptoms may also be indicative of Yellow dock having been substituted for the Sheep sorrel.
    “No acute toxicity was seen with Essiac in the MSKCC (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Clinic) tests, although there was said to be a slight weight loss in treated animals. The NCI (U.S. National Cancer Institute), however, claimed to see lethal toxicity at the highest concentrations in Essiac given to animals,” Ralph Moss, Cancer Therapy, 1992.
     
    Myth: Essiac contains a high oxalic acid content, causing kidney stones and aggravating stomach ulcers.
    Reality: The formula must be mixed correctly and the decoction diluted as directed, especially for people who have stomach cancer or ulcers. Here lies the paradox. Both Sheep sorrel and Turkey rhubarb root contain oxalic acid which, in concentration, can aggravate stomach ulcers. But Essiac, containing all four herbs in