Essiac Tea

pattyrn212

When I was first diagnosed back in November my husband and I purchased some Essiac Tea.  Before we could even brew it my sister stated that she found information that it was not good to take because it contained estrogens and I am ER+.  So I never brewed it.  I just decided to read about it myself.  I am finding conflicting information.  I read that the red clover in it is what I shouldn't be taking but the formula I have doesn't contain red clover.  Has anyone used this or does anyone know if I should use it or not??  My mother drank it when she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  She lived 4 years but only drank it the first two.  She was told she had 4 months.  I truly believe it is a powerful alternative treatment.  Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated!!!

kdholt

Pattyrn, I don't know alot about this particular tea. However a friend of mine was diagnosed with metatastic bc triple neg. One of the first things she did was get on a vitamin regiment. Essiac tea was part of what she was told to take. Anyway she ended up going to cancer treatment centers of  america in philidelphia. They loved everything she was taking EXCEPT the essiac tea. They told her that studies show that essiac tea has actually been shown to encourage bc cells to grow in test tubes. So I would probably stay away from the tea. Green tea is very good for you and CTCOA actually recommeneded she use green tea in capsule form as well drink it.

carol1949

Patty,  I would suggest for you to get Susan Weed's book Breast Cancer? Breast Health.  It is affirmed by Dr. Christiane Northrupt, among many others and is about Many herbs and remedies.  She also gives a few recipe's for the essiac tea.

I take Lugol's iodine 6-9 drops per day in a glass of juice.  You don't even taste it.  My oncologist approved of it and it negates the estrogen in the breast.  You can read about it on line.  There is an abundance of information if you just Google Lugol's iodine, fybrocystic breast.  (Incidentally, the iodine is very inexpensive)  About   $ 20. for several months worth.

Keep the positive attitude!

Peace and Health to you.

Verebey

There is so many conflicts regarding chinese herbs and teas. I see a Doctor at the integrated medicine department at Sloan Kettering Hosp. in Manhattan and she is against any chinese herbs and teas. She says there could be interference with the Tamoxifen also. She told me to stay away from any foods with soy or plant based estrogens. Many products have soy she said but just do the best I can to avoid.  She feels the only supplements needed are Calcium and Vit D. Everything else can be gotten from nutritous eating.Especially NO barbecue foods. There are carcinogins that come out of the meat, mainly red meat, when cooked and charred on the grill.

phoenixrising

~Hi,  I think a lot of confusion comes from Floressence and Essiac being used interchangeably.  But there are great differences.  The original recipe Essiac has only 4 ingredients and Floressence has 8 including red clover which is estrogenic and also not proven to be helpful for breast cancer like flax.  Check out this link and find my post near the end and there is a picture of Essiac with a list of ingredients and (was!!!) a picture of Floressence with a list as well. So it is easy to tell the difference.  It didn't help my husbands colorectal cancer............but maybe it wasn't suppose to.  I think it was originally used for bc although you can't find one study of it being used for bc.  There are so many different cancers and sometimes people think what's good for one cancer is good for them all.  Best of luck to you.

 http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/79/topic/724236?page=1#post_1133624

jan

kfox

I'm so conflicted over Essiac.  I started taking it at the same time I began taking Femara.  When I told my onc about it she implored me to find out if it was estrogenic.  The Essiac tea contains 4 herbs: Indian Rhubarb, Slippery Elm Bark, Burdock Root, and Sheep Sorrel.  Sure enough, the Sheep Sorrel is a phytoestrogen.  I discussed it with a Natureopath and she believe that phytoestrogens actually help the body rid itself of the bad estrogens.  It makes a huge difference for me regarding achiness.  When I don't take it, I am sore, sore, sore.  Nothing seems to help the hips, but the Essiac makes a huge difference in overall joint and knee pain.  I guess it is a quality of life issue for me.  I can't see going for another 4years and 9 months hurting all the time.  I still have many, many hot flashes throughout the day and my vagina is totally atrophied.  Am I supposed to ache all over too???

dibel

I also take a form of Essiac but get mine from a website called:  www.just-tea.com 

My neighbor introduced this to me after chemo and I've taken a shot glass each day.  It detoxifies the liver which is good.  I haven't discussed this with my onc because I know he would pooh pooh it.  My neighbor was stage 3 ovarian cancer 8 years ago and is in perfect health. 

Now, I don't know what to do after reading this.  Hope this thread continues. 

carol1949

Many of the teas and tinctures talked about in Susan Weed's Book - Breast Cancer, Breast Health are herbal teas from herb farms right here in our country.  NOT China .

Dr. Christianne Northrupt is also an advocate of Susan Weed.  They are part of a group called the Wise Women Way. 

Lugol's iodine is also an estrogen blocker .  Just a few weeks ago, the American Cancer Society came out and said vegetarian diet "MAY" be beneficial for breast cancer patients.  It seems to make much sense given the hormorns in the meats.  Milk and dairy also seems to be bad since the hormones pass into the milk.

Keep doing your research and listen to your inner being.

annie0411

I have ER+breast cancer, I was on Arimidex which stopped working and I am currently having a recurrence.   I never had a tumor, never found any abnormality in the breasts (MRI, sonography, Mammorgrams)  I had my ovaries removed a year ago due to pain, and they were fouind to have had cancer but were treated with the first round of chemo.  The pain stopped after the removal.  Now, I just had an endoscopy which showed malignant polyps, and tissue in the stomach, again testing revealed breast cancer in my stomach.  Now I am back on Xeloda. BUT when I first learned about the malignancy in the stomach, I figured I had nothing to lose, so I started taking ESSIAC tea, when my appointment with onc came up, one  week post the tea, my hemoglobin was 14, (the highest it had been since my original diagnosis in '06 and my platelets were 205,000 as opposed to180,000 in July of 09,  then I began to have pain in my left breast, similar to pre-menstral cycle, and I stopped taking the Essiac tea.   Given the good blood tests and the increase in platelets, I would like to continue taking it but I am scared to death   ANY ADVICE

Annie0411

pip57

My daughter took the 'real' Essiac many years ago.  It was made by the daughter of a nurse that actually worked with Dr Caisse.  It was delivered in the old dark beer bottles, wrapped in newspaper, with very strict instructions on how to heat and use. While on Essiac, her platelets would be 10-20 (CDN) and they would be shocked because she showed no outward signs of such a low count (ie bruising). However, it obviously didn't help with her tumours and she asked to stop taking it as it tasted horrible and upset her stomach.  Immediately, her platelets could be in the 30's and yet she would bruise and bleed.  I have to believe that the Essiac was the reason she had not had this problem earlier.  

I am er/pr+ and doing everything I can to reduce these hormones in my system.  I had my ovaries removed, take arimidex and avoid estrogen in food sources.  So I have also chosen not to include Essiac at this point in my tx. 

seroma

I have been taking Essiac tea since just after I was diagnosed with breast cancer in December. I felt very confident in its worth and have been very up mentally about the whole problem which I relate to the Essiac Tea. The very idea of chemo has been my issue and the fact of the Tea possibly being helpful during  chemo has been reassuring .However now having seen that there are phytoeastrogens in a couple of the herbs and that my cancer was eostrogen ++ Her 2 negative ..I have instantly stopped my Essiac regime not prepared to increase my risks .would love to hear of any one with similar diagnosis that has gone thru with it.