Essiac Tea And Cancer
It started in the early 20th century when a public health nurse met a patient that said they were healed of breast cancer by using an herbal tea that was given to her by an Indian medicine man. The nurse at the time had an aunt that had stomach cancer. The nurse used the same tea with her aunt and claimed it cured the stomach cancer. The nurse then started a cancer treatment clinic using the tea and she named it Essiac tea. The name was formed from the nurses last name spelled in reverse. The nurse was able to treat thousands of patients in the clinic before her death in 1978.
The tea was investigated by the Sloan-Kettering Cancer center in both the early 1960's as well as the 1970's. They found that there was no verifiable anti-cancer quality to the tea. There was a subsequent study in 1983 by the National Cancer Institute. The National Cancer Institute found no conclusive evidence that the tea was an effective treatment for cancer. They did note that the benefits that were observed in the patients by the original clinic could be psychological and not from the curing of the cancer.
All of these studies were completed on animals and not on human subjects. Many of the ingredients within the Essiac tea have also been studied for their potential anti-cancer qualities. All of these studies have come back negative.
Even though each of these studies came back with no evidence linking the effective battling of cancer and the Essiac tea, the question needs to be asked is that is there harm in still using the tea, even if there is not real proof of its effect? The overall answer to this question is no. There is no reason that one should not use the tea. In fact they probably should use it if for no other reason than maybe it will work for them. In the above referenced studies it was found that the tea has limited to no real side effects. They did caution that any use of the tea should be discusses with the patients doctor to ensure there are not complications or adverse interactions with any other drugs the patient is using.
The advocates of linking Essiac Tea And Cancer treatment say that it improves the immune system and helps the patient with appetite, pain relief and even a sense of well being. If these are true then it could have a beneficial effect on the patient even if it is not directly a cause of a decrease in cancer. With these claims I would not dismiss the use of Essiac until these specific claims were proven false. Surely a person with cancer would welcome a treatment that helped them reduce pain and maintain their appetite. If for no other reason than this, I would take Essiac if I had cancer. The extra appetite and feeling of well being may be just what my body would need to help the other cancer medications work properly.
The tendency of the medical community is to always dismiss natural cures or to attempt to prove them wrong. In this case it may be that Essiac does not cure cancer itself, but maybe that it can help a person fight cancer, or at least suffer less during the fight.
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