Back from the Brink! Essiac News

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ESSIAC NEWS

 

Back from the Brink

 

 

 

Excerpt from Report Magazine, December 4, 2000, By Marnie Ko

 

 

One year ago, John Scrymgeour appeared to be on his deathbed. The long-time

Calgary business-man had all but lost a 10-year battle against prostate cancer.

Conventional chemotherapy and radiation treatments had been tried, had

ultimately failed, and the doctors had given up. For the first time in his life,

Mr. Scrymgeour was an invalid, wheelchair-bound, barely able to move his legs

and dependent on round-the-clock nursing. But in what many assumed were his

dying weeks, Mr. Scrymgeour learned of a herbal tea dismissed as quackery by

most oncologists. He began drinking it, and has been taking it twice a day for

the past year. Today, at 79, Mr. Scrymgeour is out of the wheelchair and playing

golf twice a week. Blood tests indicate his cancer cell-count is way down. He

credits the tea, named Essiac, for his second chance at life.

 

Two years ago Gaetano Montani was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer and

given a life expectancy of just six months, even under aggressive conventional

treatment. " We were told that this type of cancer was the most vigorous, and was

inoperable, " says his wife, Carolyn. " My husband's chance of survival was

especially terrible--he had already suffered burns in a fire, two previous heart

attacks, open-heart surgery, a stroke and gallbladder surgery. " But soon after,

the Indiana couple's youngest daughter brought home a box of Essiac. The cancer

specialists more or less shrugged their shoulders, so Mr. Montani began drinking

the tea. Like Mr. Scrymgeour, he kept right on drinking it. Soon after, says

Mrs. Montani, his cancer was gone.

 

Cancer continues to exact a grim toll, but there are a remarkable number of

stories of people suffering its worst forms who recover from it, apparently

thanks to alternative therapies such as Essiac. Their scientific foundation

remains shaky. Alternative therapies range from entirely unknown to barely

studied though promising to utterly discredited. Still, Canadians and others

eagerly embrace almost anything offering hope against this array of usually

deadly diseases. There will be more than 130,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed

in Canada in 2000, and 65,000 will succumb to cancer this year.

 

A random survey of Ontario breast cancer patients, published in the Journal of

Clinical Oncology, found that 67% of respondents were using alternative

medicine. Americans are estimated to be spending a staggering $27 billion per

year on alternative cancer treatments. The alternatives include radical diet

changes, green tea, a derivative of shark cartilage, and a host of herbal

remedies. The two most credible alternatives appear to be Essiac and a compound

known as 714X. Both, interestingly, were developed by Canadians, the first by a

nurse in the 1920s, the second by an ostracized Quebec physician in the '70s.

 

Many certified oncologists continue to be disturbed at the scarcity of

methodologically rigorous studies of alternative remedies. But to cancer

sufferers, these are merely pedantic objections. A major attraction is that the

alternatives are far less physically harsh than the three conventional

approaches--surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which critics have dubbed

the " slash, burn and poison trio. " When mixed with hope and desperation, plus

the powerful testimonials of those who say they were cured, the alternatives

have almost irresistible appeal.

 

Although these remedies exude a faint odour of mysticism, the people who take

them seem to be sensible enough. Mr. Scrymgeour, for one, made his name in

Alberta's oil patch, an industry not without its own purveyors of false hopes

and costly tricks. Several decades ago, he became an entrepreneurial legend,

founding and running Westburne International Industries until 1986, later

retiring to Bermuda and New York. He is also a major patron of Vancouver's

Fraser Institute, and a part owner of this magazine.

 

Mr. Scrymgeour's comfortable retirement routine was brutally interrupted,

however, with the news he had cancer. He found out on Valentine's Day 1990, and

it inspired in him an instant resolve: he was determined to beat it.

 

He was able to obtain the best of conventional treatment, and it did initially

lower his count of PSA, prostate-specific antigen, the key measure of the

activity of cancer cells in his body. But the cancer returned last year with a

severity that convinced doctors Mr. Scrymgeour had little hope. In the 11th

hour, a friend told him about a Canadian nurse who had reportedly healed

thousands of ostensibly incurable cancer victims using four common herbs. Today,

Mr. Scrymgeour's PSA count is almost non-existent, and he is fully satisfied

there is only one reason: his twice-daily dosage of Essiac tea.

 

Essiac users are now estimated to number in the thousands across North America.

One user's wife saved what she believed is physical proof of its effectiveness.

Richard Schmidt was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 1985. The Torontonian had

nine operations to excise tumours from his bladder. At one point, he was

comatose, on life support and suffering a severe infection, pneumonia and kidney

failure, all while requiring another tumour operation. In short, he was

considered a near-hopeless case.

 

Mr. Schmidt's wife Hannelore in desperation sought out a naturopath, who

recommended Essiac. After three weeks of drinking the tea, black chunks of

tumour and skin began passing with his urine. Mrs. Schmidt preserved 40 pieces

in a formaldehyde-filled jar (see photo above). Soon doctors could find no more

cancer. Mr. Schmidt recovered to thoroughly enjoy his early 80s, gardening and

puttering about the couple's home. At 86 he suffered a stroke and passed away

peacefully, cancer-free. " Essiac brought him many good, happy years, " recalls

Mrs. Schmidt.

 

The family of Luke Stevens will likely put it similarly some day, although Mr.

Stevens is still very much alive. Four years ago, the then-17-year-old son of a

South African chiropractor developed a giant cell tumour on his left knee, which

grew so rapidly it destroyed most of his upper tibia. Surgeons removed the

tumour and rebuilt the boy's tibia. Four months later, Mr. Stevens' body

rejected his bone graft and the tumour returned with a vengeance, breaking

through the skin and growing into a hideous, fist-sized mass. Mr. Stevens'

father grew disillusioned with oncologists, ignoring their advice to amputate

his son's leg and begin massive chemotherapy.

 

Then the elder Stevens heard about 714X. Developed by Dr. Gaston Naessens, a

French-born scientist living in Rock Forest, Que., 714X is a mixture of

nitrogen, camphor and mineral salts. It is administered via injection into the

lymph node in the right side of the groin. Working on the lympatic system and

supplying nitrogen to cells, 714X is believed to aid the body's defence systems.

 

Now 77, Dr. Naessens also claims to have invented a revolutionary, dark-field

microscope he calls a somatoscope, which permits the unique and unprecedented

observation of living blood. This, he says, led to his discovering a primitive

biological entity which he takes to be a precursor to DNA. He labelled it a

somatid, and after comparing the blood of healthy and diseased individuals,

noticed that its life cycle provides an uncanny indicator of the state of the

body's immune system. Dr. Naessens says he can predict the onset of degenerative

disease up to two years before other noticeable symptoms, in time for possibly

preventative changes to diet or lifestyle.

 

At Dr. Naessens' lab, the somatoscope vividly showed Mr. Stevens' blood trying

to fight off a ravenous cancer. He began 714X treatment immediately. The changes

were swift and astonishing: the tumour disappeared. Subsequent X-rays documented

100% bone regeneration, considered medically impossible. Today, at 21, Mr.

Stevens attends university and rows on his school's team. He gives all the

credit to Dr. Naessens' therapy.

 

Alternative therapies have stirred up a host of controversies, some of them

remarkably bitter, among both competing purveyors and an increasingly divided

medical community. A growing number of doctors appear willing to roll some

alternatives into their anti-cancer regimen, if only because it makes patients

feel better. Matthew Fink, president and chief executive of Beth Israel Medical

Center in New York, explains, " It would be silly for doctors and hospitals to

ignore something that will be a large part of healthcare for years to come. "

Nearly one-third of U.S. hospitals with 500 or more patient beds now offer

alternative therapies.

 

In Canada, some oncologists are joining forces with holistic practitioners to

research popular herbal treatments. One example is Vancouver's Tzu Chi Institute

for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The institute works closely with

oncologists from the Fraser Valley Cancer Centre, blending conventional medicine

with alternative therapies.

 

Such alliances will also at last help subject alternative therapies to rigorous

study. Dr. Darlene Ramsum, Tzu Chi's research manager, reports two now underway.

A Phase I study on 714X has just been completed, revealing no adverse reactions.

Patients are currently being enrolled for a Phase I trial of Flor-Essence, a

herbal tea similar to Essiac. Half the participants will receive palliative

chemotherapy while drinking Flor-Essence. The rest will undergo chemotherapy and

receive a placebo. All have late-stage colo-rectal cancer. In January, the

College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto will begin the first human clinical

trials of Essiac.

 

Two years ago, a task force of the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative

reviewed available laboratory research into six popular alternative therapies,

including Essiac and 714X. The review discovered that each of the herbs in

Essiac has been shown to trigger biological activity, defined as an effect on

the structure or function of cells, tissues or organs. Burdock root injected

into mice with transplanted solid tumours, for instance, appeared to inhibit the

tumours. The review noted that much of the research was limited to individual

herbs, which may not capture the true " synergistic interaction " of herbal

blends.

 

Encouraging results came recently for 714X as well, although prying the results

out of the researcher who conducted the study required litigation. Dr. Naessens'

company, Cerbe Industries, funded the study, but to preserve its integrity,

out-sourced it to Toronto researcher Dr. Diane Van Alstyne, who in turn hired

another researcher at the prestigious Boston Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr.

Lili Huang was not told what product she was testing. The researcher's in-vitro

immunological testing concluded that the unknown product played a role in

killing tumour cells and appeared to elevate immune-system response. However,

once the researcher was told she was testing 714X, she " misplaced " the original

data and results. Dr. Naessens' company had to sue to obtain the study it had

paid for.

 

The episode suggests professional jealousy and resentment are an added factor in

the ongoing war between conventional medicine and alternative therapy. Dr. Ralph

Moss, a prominent Brooklyn-based alternative medicine advocate, charges that as

long as billions of cancer-related dollars flow through pharmaceutical giants

and research institutes, conventional medicine has little motive to find a real

cure. Least of all, he notes with great cynicism, one from an easily harvested

weed like burdock.

 

Government health agencies, in their role of protecting the public from useless

or harmful products, represent another major obstacle to acceptance of

alternative therapies. Dr. Naessens, for one, has experienced vicious and almost

uninterrupted resistance in his nearly three-decade fight to have 714X granted

official drug status. Although he has some influential supporters, he was twice

arrested and fined heavily for practising medicine without a licence.

 

After three of his cancer patients died, Dr. Naessens was charged with criminal

negligence causing death. He was acquitted, perhaps because the prosecution's

claim that 714X caused the deaths of patients written off by conventional

medicine was a tad dubious. An uneasy truce was reached in 1990, when Health

Canada made 714X legally available through its Special Access Program. The

seriously ill can order the product through a physician, and 15,000 Canadians

have already done so.

 

Essiac once faced the same predicament, but its manufacturer adroitly

sidestepped its foes by re-labelling Essiac a health food supplement, with no

medical claims. For this reason, Essiac can be purchased easily, and sales are

well into the millions. A 12-week supply from manufacturer Essiac International

sells for about $360. 714X, meanwhile, in Canada costs $100 for a 21-day program

of daily injections (hypodermic needles are extra). 714X is sold in 55

countries.

 

Many oncologists readily admit conventional cancer treatment is usually not a

cure. Cancer surgery is painful and often disfiguring. Chemotherapy causes

nausea, vomiting, festering sores, loss of appetite, hair loss and gradually

diminishing white blood cell counts, forcing many patients to discontinue

therapy. Less widely-known side effects are reproductive abnormalities, liver

and chromosomal lesions, and cardiac damage. Surveys have revealed the shocking

statistic that 80% of oncologists would not follow their own treatment protocol.

Worst of all, the recurrence rate for cancer is distressingly high; even

amputating a limb does not guarantee the cancer will not show up elsewhere.

 

Astronomical sums have been poured into conventional cancer research, drug

development and upgraded radiation equipment, with only limited effect. If

current trends continue, cancer death rates will easily surpass those of

cardiovascular disease within 10 years. As it stands, one out of every three

women and two out of every five men will develop cancer during their lifetime.

 

But many physicians and oncologists remain sceptical of what role, if any,

alternative therapies might play in the fight. Many doctors translate the

ancient dictum " First, do no harm " into " If in doubt, don't do anything. " They

fear alternative therapies are at best clever ways to separate desperate people

and their loved ones from their money. At worst, they could be poison.

 

History is littered with tragic examples. A 19th-century treatment for leprosy,

for example, later proved to be largely arsenic. Dr. Lloyd Oppel, a White Rock,

B.C., physician, slams medical journals for " bending over backward to

accommodate articles on unconventional treatments. " The majority, he believes,

have " no scientific basis and at best offer false hope. "

 

Nor has it helped that alleged panaceas pop up with distressing regularity,

gaining a near-fanatic following before being discredited. In the '40s,

injections of useless Koch Antitoxins made headlines. Krebiozen, concocted from

the blood of horses inoculated with a disease-causing fungus, was in vogue in

the same decade. In the '50s, it was the Hoxsey herbal cure, which actually

employed one of Essiac's herbs. Laetrile attracted thousands in the '70s, only

to collapse in disrepute, and immuno-augmentative therapy was a buzzword in the

'80s. Some people still believe in these remedies, but medical science insists

they do not work.

 

To a man like John Scrymgeour, back from the brink of the grave, these people

should stop defending old turf and take another look. " My whole tumour is

practically gone, " he declares. " Now, my urologist has put other patients on

Essiac. I'm the proof. A year ago, my legs were like lead. " Mr. Scrymgeour still

walks with a cane, but only by choice. " I get great respect in the streets of

New York with my cane, " he chuckles. " People open doors for me. "

 

Just what's in Essiac?

 

The four main botanicals in Essiac tea--sheep sorrel, burdock root, the inner

bark of slippery elm and Indian rhubarb--are each purported by herbalists to

have beneficial effects. Sheep sorrel acts on the endocrinal system. Burdock

root apparently eliminates free radicals and purifies the blood. Slippery elm is

believed to dissolve mucous deposits in tissue, glands and nerve channels,

soothing inflamed membranes and organs. And Indian rhubarb reportedly helps the

body, especially the liver, rid itself of wastes and toxins.

The Ojibwa Answer to Cancer

The cancer treatment known as Essiac dates back 80 years in its known form, and

may be hundreds of years older than that. In the 1920s, a Canadian nurse named

Rene (pronounced Reen) Caisse met a woman whose breast cancer had apparently

been healed by a tea brewed from herbs provided by an Ojibwa Indian medicine

man. Mrs. Caisse wrote down the formula and later used it to treat thousands of

cancer sufferers. She called it Essiac, her name spelled backwards.

 

Even then, conventional medicine considered Essiac quackery. Throughout her

life, the nurse faced numerous charges of practising medicine without a licence.

Health officials repeatedly tried to shut down Mrs. Caisse's Bracebridge, Ont.,

clinic. But each time, well-placed sympathizers or her legions of supporters

intervened. In 1938, 55,000 signed a petition in her favour.

 

Mrs. Caisse continued to treat patients at no charge for decades--an estimated

total of 40,000. She claimed to have performed experiments on mice that

suggested Essiac's benefits, but no official or clinical trials were ever

performed. She adamantly refused to provide the miracle tea's recipe to

authorities, fearing they would misuse it. But shortly before her death in 1978,

by now well into her 90s, she relented, selling the recipe to Resperin

Corporation, now Essiac Canada International, which owns the trademark for

Essiac.

 

Dozens of would-be competitors have since tried to capitalize on cancer

sufferers' growing belief in Essiac, trotting out claimed duplicates or

imitations. Their rivalry is fierce, with insults and litigation threats flying

freely. Los Angeles chiropractor Gary Glum maintains he obtained Mrs. Caisse's

original recipe from her friends. Dr. Glum penned Calling of an Angel, one of

several Caisse biographies.

 

He apparently felt no similar calling, however, reportedly charging $560 for two

cups of dried herbs claimed to be Essiac. Earlier this month, Dr. Glum ceased

sale of both book and herbs, turning to another venture--seeking participants in

the trial of an alleged cancer remedy of unknown provenance known as Se-Kret, in

conjunction with a Chinese hospital.

 

Flor-Essence is another ostensibly Essiac-like formula, first promoted by

Vancouver radio host Elaine Alexander. Ms. Alexander also claimed to have the

original Essiac formula, which she sold to B.C.-based Flora Manufacturing. Ms.

Alexander died of breast cancer in 1996.

 

A handful of purported Essiac recipes have popped up on the Internet. They

appear to have essentially the same herbs, but in different proportions. Some

Web-savvy cancer patients are even trying their hand at growing the backyard

herbs, saying they can make Essiac tea for about four cents a day. Essiac

International, based in Ottawa, is quick to point out that in its contract with

Mrs. Caisse, the nurse swears the company alone has her true recipe. Essiac

International's tea is also the product used by the three cancer survivors

profiled in the accompanying story. T.P. Maloney, Essiac International's

president, says he takes Essiac prophylactically, and that he does not have

cancer.

 

Last month, a memorial in honour of Mrs. Caisse was unveiled at the site of her

former Bracebridge clinic. Before a large crowd, Mr. Maloney presented a bronze

statue, paid for by his company, of the woman who made Essiac available to

humanity.

 

http://www.essiac-resperin.com/en/report01.html

 

 

 

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