From Lisa Fayed,
Your Guide to Cancer.
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What is Essiac?

Essiac is an herbal tea formula used to aid in the treatment for cancer. It contains only four herbs, and claims to rid the body of toxins and promote anticancer activity. It is the correct proportions of these herbs when mixed together that claims to fight the disease.

How Does Essiac Work?

The Essiac treatment is taken orally in a liquid tea form. It is said that it should be used for 12 weeks and the only known side effects are nausea and vomiting.

History of Essiac

Essiac was discovered in the 1920's by a Canadian nurse, Rene Caisse, who met a woman who claimed to have survived breast cancer by taking a supplement of herbs she received from a Native American medicine man in Ontario. Inspired by this story, Nurse Caisse first administered the treatment on one of her own family, her aunt suffering from cancer. Caisse's aunt not only survived the cancer, but lived another 21 years following treatment.

Rene Caisse opened her own clinic and administered Essiac tea to people suffering from various types of cancer, completely free of charge.

This remarkable treatment in fighting cancer was named Essiac, Caisse spelled backwards.

Buying Essiac

Today, Essiac can be legally purchased all over the world, and while it is not approved by the FDA as a cancer treatment, it has been approved as a dietary supplement.

The tea can be found on websites across the internet, as well as in health food stores. The company that manufactures Essiac states that it can be used alongside other cancer treatments, though others say that using additional therapies may interfere with the immune system and lessen the effects Essiac has on the body when used alone.