Essiac

Rene Caisse was born in Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada on August 11, 1888 of French-Canadian heritage. Her herbal recipe she refined throughout her lifetime is well-known as Essiac, the Caisse family name spelled backwards. Rene became a registered nurse in the United States when she was 22. It was during her time as a nurse at a Northern Ontario hospital that she first learned about the herbal remedy from an elderly woman patient who had a massive scar on her breast that Rene had asked her about. An old indian had shown her and her husband where to find the herbs to make a tea to heal her terminal cancer, the woman told her, when she was faced with deciding whether or not to have a mastectomy.

Rene actually experimented in her makeshift basement laboratory with mice inoculated with human carcinoma. She tested the decoction of herbs until from eight original herbs she found the final four herbs that are in the recipe today. Sheep sorrell, when isolated, appeared to act almost immediately on the physiology of cancerous tumors. Sheep sorrel was the only of the four herbs that Rene would administer by intramuscular injection, the rest were by mouth only.

On October 28 1926, eight doctors signed a petition directed to the Department of Natural Health and Welfare in Ottowa asking that Rene be allowed formal facilities so that she could test the remedy further. The letter's response was to have Rene arrested for praticing medicine without a license. The Canadian Medical Association was also always very intent on diverting interest in Rene's remedy and her clinic that she opened in 1929.

Sheep Sorrell (Rumex Acetosella)

Burdock (Arctium Lappa)

Slippery Elm (ulmus rubra, formerly fulva)

Turkey Rhubarb (rheum palmatum); only the root is used, leaves and stem not edible.

Rene Caisse's original recipe, as conformed by Mary McPherson, contained the following ingredients for a bulk supply of the basic dry herbal mix:
  • 6.s US cups/24 oz/ 680 g burdock root, chopped to the size of small peas
  • 16 oz/ 435 g sheep sorrel, powdered
  • 4 oz/ 113 g slippery elm bark, powdered
  • 1 oz/ 28.35 g turkey rhubarb root, powdered

    For conveniece the following recipe is recommended, as it is not good to use dry herbs that are over a year old to ensure maximum potency:

  • 4.5 oz/ 120 g burdock root, chopped to the size of small peas
  • 2.8 oz/ 80 g sheep sorrel, powdered
  • 0.7 oz/ 20 g slippery elm bark, powdered
  • 0.18 oz/ 5 g turkey rhubard root, powdered
    Total: 7.9 oz/ 22.5 g dry herb mix

    Preparing the dried herbs: Mix the powdered sheep sorrel, slippery elm bark and turkey rhubarb root together thoroughly before stirring in the chopped burdock root. This ensures that the slippery elm bark and the turkey rhubarb root are well distributed throughout the mixture. Place, well wrapped, in a clean brown paper bag, in a screwtop jar. Store in a coll dry place until ready to use.

    To make a minimun one month supply of Essiac
    Use the following proportions:

    US/Canada (if using a measuring cup)
    2 fluid oounces (volume) dry herb mix to 64 fluid ounces water
    Imperial/Metric
    0.5 oz/ 15 g dry herb mix to 2.75 pints/1.5 liters water

    First Stage

  • Stire the basic herb mix in its storage container to ensure even distribution before measuring what you need into a small bowl. Immediately replace the jar of basic mix in a cool, dark storage space. Herbs deteriorate if left out in warm, bright kitchens.
  • Heat the water in a pan to the boiling point
  • Stir in the dry hebal ingredients
  • Reduce heat, replace the lid on the pan and maintain at a rolling boil (fast simmer) for another 10 minutes
  • Turn off the heat
  • Stir the mixture thoroughly with a clean spoon that has been rinsed in boiling water, scrpaing down any herbs on the side of the pot into the liquid
  • Cover and allow to cool gradually
  • Leave the Essiac decoction to steep with the lid on undisturbed for a minimum of ten to twelve hours - overnight is fine. Do not remove the lid again until 10-12 hours are up.

    Second Stage

  • Sterilize all the remaining utensils, including the lids and the seals for the bottles
  • Reheat mixture to steaming hot to ensure only hot liquid will be poured into the bottles. DO NOT REBOIL.
  • Allow the herbs to settle for a few minutes before straining the tea through a fine, stainless steel strainer into the sterilized measuring jug. (Some sediment at the bottom of the bottles is usual)
  • Seal the bottles carefully with sterilized lids to produce an airtight seal
  • Chill quickly by carefully standing the sealed bottles in bowls of cool water. Avoid extremem temperatures as very hot glass is likely to crakc when immersed in very cold water
  • After retightening the caps, store immediately in the refrigerator

    ESSIAC CONTAINS NO PRESERVATIVE SO IT IS BEST STORED IN REFRIGERATOR, ESPECIALLY OPEN CONTAINERS THAT ARE IN USE.

    DO NOT FREEZE

    DO NOT USE IF THE CONTAINER OR DECOCTION DEVELOPS MOLD

    ESSIAC SHOULD NEVER BE ADMINISTERED INTRAVENOUSLY

    Dosage:

    As a remedy for cancer: Drink 1 fluid ounce/ 30 ml Essiac once daily, diluted with 2 fluid ounces/ 60 ml hot water. This should be sipped, preferably at bedtime and at least 2 hours before eating.

    Depending on the type of cancer and the risk/ rate of metastasis, sometimes the tea is given twice daily

    As a preventative daily tonic and to enhance the immune system: Take a half fluid ounce diluted in hot water as written above

    Topical applications:For lesions and visible swellings, apply the liquid externally once or twice daily in addition to taking the oral dose. poultices can be made by putting the strained off residual herbs onto sterilized dressings and applying to wounds that will not heal. It is also possible to use the diluted tea as a douche or an enema.

    Snow, Sheila & Klein, Mollie (1999) Essiac Essentials The Remarkable Herbal Cancer Fighter. Kensington Books. ISBN: 1-57566-563-8

    Disclaimer:Alternative Medicine/Therapy/Healing is not meant to be a substitute for real medical attention. It is only to be used in conjunction with other forms of treatment given to you by your medical doctor, osteopathic doctor, or the practitioner of your choice. Always seek a doctor's advice before trying any form of alternative treatment. If you feel that you are suffering from severe pain or a severe illness please see your doctor right away!!

    •