Essiac

Essiac or Essiac Tea, marketed as Flor Essence, is a blend of herbs promoted as an alternative treatment for cancer and other illnesses. As with many alternative remedies, the exact composition of essiac is unclear, but it reportedly contains burdock, Indian rhubarb, sheep sorrel, and slippery elm bark. Some formulations may also contain watercress, blessed thistle, red clover, and kelp. From the 1920s through the 1970s, essiac was promoted as a cancer treatment by Rene Caisse, a Canadian nurse, who claimed that it had been given to her by a patient and that the recipe derived from an Ontario Ojibwa medicine man. The name is Caisse's surname spelled backwards.

In 1977, Caisse gave the essiac formula to a Canadian company, which attempted to commercialize the product. The company was unable to show any efficacy of essiac against cancer, as repeated laboratory tests showed that essiac failed to slow tumor growth and, in large enough doses, killed test animals. In a number of studies, essiac actually increased the rate of cancer growth. As a result both the U.S. and Canadian governments refused to approve essiac as a medical treatment. Essiac was instead marketed as a dietary supplement, subject to much looser regulation and not required to show any proof of effectiveness.

Essiac's purported effect on cancer has been reviewed by several major medical and scientific bodies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Cancer Institute, and the American Cancer Society. All have found no evidence that essiac has any effect against cancer. The U.S. FDA described essiac as a "Fake Cancer 'Cure' Consumers Should Avoid". Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center wrote that essiac "has not been shown to treat or prevent cancer" and that its use should be avoided.

External links

• Essiac/Flor Essence, from the U.S. National Cancer Institute
• Essiac Tea, from the American Cancer Society
• Essiac factsheet, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Information on Essiac