View source for Essiac

{{short description|Herbal tea and ineffective cancer treatment}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{infobox alternative medicine
| name        = Essiac
| image       = 
| image_size  = 
| alt         = 
| caption     = 
| claims      = Treatment of [[cancer]] and other illnesses.
| topics      = [[Alternative medicine]]
| origyear    = approx 1920
| origprop    = Rene Caisse
| laterprop   = Essiac Products Inc.
| seealso     = [[List of questionable cancer treatments]]
| MeshID      = C111756
}}
'''Essiac''' is a [[herbal tea]] promoted as an [[alternative medicine|alternative treatment]] for [[cancer]] and other illnesses.<ref name="quackwatch">{{cite web | url = http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cancer.html#Essiac | title = Questionable Cancer Therapies: Essiac | publisher = [[Quackwatch]] | first = Stephen | last = Barrett | author-link = Stephen Barrett | date = July 27, 2010 | access-date = July 5, 2011}}</ref> There is no evidence it is beneficial to health. In a number of studies Essiac either showed no action against cancer cells,<ref name=ACS/><ref name=nci/><ref name=cruk/> or actually increased the rate of cancer growth.<ref name="nci-pdq"/>

==Background==
While the formulations can vary, most Essiac formulations contain [[Arctium|burdock root]], [[Rheum palmatum|turkey rhubarb]] root, [[Rumex acetosella|sheep sorrel]] and [[Ulmus rubra|slippery elm]].<ref name="nci">{{cite web | publisher = [[National Cancer Institute]] | title = Patient Information: Essiac/Flor Essence | url = http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/essiac/patient/page1 | date = July 21, 2010 | access-date = July 5, 2011}}</ref> From the 1920s through the 1970s, Essiac was promoted as a cancer treatment by Rene Caisse, a Canadian nurse who invented the formula. Caisse claimed at some times that the formula had been given to her by an [[Ojibwe people|Ontario Ojibwa]] patient she treated,<ref name=ACS/><ref name="nci"/> and at other times that she had learned the formula from an unnamed "medicine man".<ref name=NotOjibwe/> Neither story has ever been substantiated. There is no evidence that Essiac is a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] remedy.<ref name=OjibweEthnobotany>Smith, Huron H. 1932. ''Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians''. Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee 4:327-525 (p. 361). Slippery Elm is listed; Burdock is mentioned as a plant that is in use "among white men." No mention of the other ingredients in Essiac, Essiac itself, or an Essiac-like formula.</ref> However, there are multiple factors that indicate the formula is not from any Native American or First Nations culture. Notably, in the original recipe, only one of the plants in the mixture, [[slippery elm]], is indigenous to the Americas; none of the other herbs are native to North America.<ref name=NotOjibwe>{{cite book |first= Christine D |last= Ellis |title=Basic Herbalist Certification Course |year=2013 |isbn=9781300609094 |pages=39–47 |chapter=Essiac Tea|publisher= Lulu.com }}</ref><ref name=OjibweEthnobotany/> Caisse changed her story about the origins of the remedy, as well as the ingredients in the formula, several times, and was said to be fond of cultivating "an air of mystery" around it.<ref name=NotOjibwe/> The name "Essiac", which Caisse gave to the tea, is Caisse's name spelled backwards. Today, Essiac is often sold with apparatus (such as bottles and infusers) for making the tea, and is sometimes promoted with untrue claims that scientific studies have shown it to be effective.<ref name=cruk/>

In 1977, Caisse sold her Essiac formula and trademark rights to Respirin Corporation (a Canadian company and predecessor in title to Essiac Products Inc.), which attempted to commercialize the product. However, the company was unable to show any efficacy of Essiac against cancer. Repeated laboratory tests showed that Essiac failed to slow tumor growth and, in large doses, killed test animals. In a number of studies, Essiac actually ''increased'' the rate of cancer growth.<ref name="nci-pdq">{{cite web | publisher = [[National Cancer Institute]] | url = http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/essiac/patient/Page2 | title = Questions and Answers About Essiac and Flor Essence | date = February 19, 2013 | access-date = May 6, 2013}}</ref> As a result, both the U.S. and Canadian governments refused to approve Essiac as a medical treatment. Essiac was instead marketed by Essiac Products Inc. and others as a [[dietary supplement]], subject to much looser regulation and not required to show any proof of effectiveness.<ref name="nci"/>

==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]] (FDA),<ref name=USFDA>{{cite web|title=187 Fake Cancer "Cures" Consumers Should Avoid|url=https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/EnforcementActivitiesbyFDA/ucm171057.htm|work=Guidance, Compliance & Regulatory Information|publisher=USFDA|archive-date=22 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322223136/https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/EnforcementActivitiesbyFDA/ucm171057.htm}}</ref> the [[National Cancer Institute]],<ref name="nci"/> and the [[American Cancer Society]].<ref name=ACS/> The American Cancer Society states that "Reviews of medical records of people who have been treated with Essiac do not support claims that this product helps people with cancer live longer or that it relieves their symptoms."<ref name=ACS/>  The NCI states "Essiac and Flor Essence have not reported clear evidence of an anticancer effect",<ref name=nci/> and the FDA described Essiac as a "Fake Cancer 'Cure' Consumers Should Avoid".<ref name="USFDA"/> Researchers at [[Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center]] have written that Essiac continues to be a popular cancer therapy despite unsubstantiated claims of its effectiveness.<ref>{{cite web | publisher = [[Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center]] | title = Essiac | date = March 10, 2011 | access-date = December 15, 2012 | url = https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/essiac}}</ref> [[Cancer Research UK]] also notes that there is "no scientific evidence that Essiac can help to treat cancer" and cautions "Always ask your doctors and nurses about whether any complementary or alternative cancer therapy you are thinking of using might interact with your other treatments."<ref name=cruk>{{cite web
|url=https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancer-in-general/treatment/complementary-alternative-therapies/individual-therapies/essiac
|title=Essiac
|publisher=[[Cancer Research UK]]
|date=30 January 2015}}</ref>

==Side effects==
"Essiac may cause headache, nausea, diarrhea or constipation, vomiting, low blood sugar, liver damage, and kidney damage. Allergic rashes are possible. Rarely, serious allergic reactions have been reported."<ref name=ACS>{{cite book |publisher=[[American Cancer Society]] |title=American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies |url=https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse |url-access=registration |edition=2nd |year=2009 |isbn=9780944235713 |veditors=Russell J, Rovere A |pages=[https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse/page/342 342–345] |chapter=Essiac Tea | quote = There have been no published clinical trials in conventional medical journals showing that either Essiac tea or Flor Essence helps in the treatment of cancer ... most laboratory studies of Essiac have found it didn’t work against cancer cells, and one reported that Flor Essence increased the growth of breast cancer cells. Available scientific evidence does not support its use for the treatment of cancer in humans. ... Serious side effects are uncommon. Essiac may cause headache, nausea, diarrhea or constipation, vomiting, low blood sugar, liver damage, and kidney damage. Allergic rashes are possible. Rarely, serious allergic reactions have been reported."}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of ineffective cancer treatments]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* ''Clinic of Hope: The Story of Rene Caisse and Essiac'', by Donna Ivey, 2004, {{isbn|1550025201}}

{{Unproven and disproven cancer treatments}}

[[Category:Alternative cancer treatments]]
[[Category:Health fraud products]]
[[Category:Herbal teas]]