The Canadian herbal remedy developed by Rene Caisse is not being recommended in this chapter as a "magic bullet" for all cancers. There is no hard evidence on what percentage of Caisse's patients survived five years or more. Nor is there any reliable statistical evidence on the efficacy of contemporary Essiac or Essiac-like herbal formulas. Despite the dramatic, near-miraculous cures Caisse undoubtedly achieved, an unknown percentage of patients under her care succumbed to their disease, perhaps too severely ill to be treated.

The world has become an infinitely more polluted place since the 1920s and '30s, when Caisse did her pioneering work. Carcinogenic, toxic chemicals and radioactive isotopes that pollute our water, air, and food also reside permanently in the cells of our bodies, weakening our natural immunity and possibly making the remission of cancer more difficult. For these reasons, combining Essiac with nutritional and other approaches may make the most sense.

1. C.A. Dombradi and S. Foldeak, "Screening Report on the Antitumor Activity of Purified Arctium Lappa Extracts," Tumori, vol. 52, 1966, p. 173, cited in Patricia Spain Ward, "History of Hoxsey Treatment," contract report for the U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, May 1988.
2. Kazuyoshi Morita, Tsuneo Kada, and Mitsuo Namiki, "A Desmutagenic Factor Isolated From Burdock (Arctium Lappa Linne)," Mutation Research, vol. 129, 1984, pp. 25-31, cited in Patricia Spain Ward, "History of Hoxsey Treatment," contract report for the U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, May 1988.
3. Sheila Snow Fraser and Carroll Allen, "Could Essiac Halt Cancer?" Homemaker's, June-JulyAugust 1977, p. 19.
4. "Essiac as an Aid in Surgery," Bracebridge Examiner, 13 March 1991.
5. Gary L. Glum, Calling of an Angel (Los Angeles: Silent Walker Publishing, 1988), p. i.
"Essiac Added 18 Years to Her Mother's Life," Bracebridge Examiner, 6 February 1991.
7. "Cancer Commission Was Nothing But a Farce," Bracebridge Examiner, 9 January 1991.
8. Glum, op. cit., p. 136.
9. Ibid.

Elaine Alexander
6690 Oak Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6P 3Z2
Canada
Phone: 604-261-1270

ESSIAC International
Mr. T.P. Maloney
Suite 2211
1081 Ambleside Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada K2B 8C8
Phone: 613-820-9311

Calling of an Angel, by Gary L. Glum, Silent Walker Publishing (P.O. Box 92856, Los Angeles, CA 90009; no phone number), 1988. Can also be ordered directly from the author at P.O. Box 80098, Los Angeles, CA 90080; 213-271-9931 Includes an instruction sheet for a purported recipe for Essiac.

The Treatment of Cancer With Herbs, by John Heinerman, BiWorld Publishers (Orem, Utah), 1984. Out of print; order photocopies directly from the author at P.O. Box 11471, Salt Lake City, UT 84147; 801-521-8824.

"Could Essiac Halt Cancer?" by Sheila Snow Fraser and Carroll Allen, Homemaker's, June-July-August 1977.

"Old Ontario Remedies-1922: Rene Caisse ESSIAC," Sheila Snow, Canadian Journal of Herbalism, July 1991.

From Options: The Alternative Cancer Therapy Book by Richard Walters, © 1992. Published by Avery Publishing, New York. For personal use only; neither the digital nor printed copy may be copied or sold. Reproduced by permission.