Essiac and Hoxey Formulas for Cancer?
Answered by: Susan Eagles
Question from: Jamie
Posted on: September 16, 2004

I am currently pursuing a degree in Holistic Nutrition. In one of my courses I learned about Hoxsey and his herbal and diet based "cure" or treatment for cancer. I read other letters about Essiac and wondered if Canada has any of the same reverence for the Hoxsey treatment.

Do you think -- just your opinion, -- that Canada is more open-minded to herbal therapies and alternative medicine than the U.S.? After reading about Canada’s reaction to kava kava, I became concerned that the whole of North America may be reacting to herbs the way the U.S. does. AS you pointed out, Tylenol is more toxic than Kava, and what about alcohol!

Canadian natural practitioners, like U.S. natural practitioners, believe that the Hoxey formula can be an important of a protocol used for cancer. A complete protocol would include many modalities. Currently, chemotherapy and radiation are part of an anti-cancer protocol, and herbs play an important role in the prevention and treatment of their side effects.

Generally, natural practitioners in the U.S. and Canada are wary of preparations that are called Essiac or are based on this remedy. There are many different theories about what herbs may have been in the original North American Indian remedy. And there has been no evaluation of the effects of essiac-type preparations on the progression of cancer. It appears to be impossible to find a practitioner who has actually used Essiac to cure cancer.

I understand that the laws about practicing natural medicine vary from state to state in the U.S. Many of the best herbal practitioners in the U.S. are practicing illegally. In Canada, the government is not sympathetic to natural practitioners. I don’t think that Canada is more open-minded to alternative health practices than the U.S.

The following books provide good information on some of the herbal protocols used in cancer: Donald Yance’s "Herbal Medicine, Healing & Cancer" (available at Richters) and Susun Weed’s "Breast Cancer? Breast Health!" (Ash Tree Publishing).

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