Cancer patients saved by alternative therapies are forcing doctors to think again

by: Marnie Ko

Back From The Brink

One year ago, John Scrymgeour appeared to be on his deathbed. The longtime Calgary business man had all but lost a 10-year battle against prostate cancer. Conventional chemotherapy and radiation treatments had been tried, had ultimately failed, and the doctors had given up. For the first time in his life, Mr. Scrymgeour was an invalid, wheelchair-bound, barely able to move his legs and dependent on round-the-clock nursing. But in what many assumed were his dying weeks, Mr. Scrymgeour learned of a herbal tea dismissed as quackery by most oncologists. He began drinking it, and has been taking it twice a day for the past year. Today at 79, Mr. Scrymgeour is out of the wheelchair and playing golf twice a week. Blood tests indicate his cancer cell-count is way down. He credits the tea, named ESSIAC^®, for his second chance at life.

Two years ago Gaetano Montani was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer and given a life expectancy of just six months, even under aggressive conventional treatment. "We were told that this type of cancer was the most vigorous, and was inoperable," says his wife, Carolyn. "My husband's chance of survival was especially terrible-he had already suffered burns in a fire, two previous heart attacks, open-heart surgery, a stroke and gallbladder surgery." But soon after, the Indiana couple's youngest daughter brought home a box of ESSIAC^®. The cancer specialist more or less shrugged their shoulders, so Mr. Montani began drinking the tea. Like Mr. Scrymgeour, he kept right on drinking it. Soon after, says Mrs. Montani, his cancer was gone.

Cancer continues to exact a grim toll, but there are a remarkable number of stories of people suffering its worst forms who recover from it, apparently thanks to alternative therapies such as ESSIAC^®. Their scientific foundation remains shaky. Alternative therapies range from entirely unknown to barely studied though promising to utterly discredited. Still, Canadians and others eagerly embrace almost anything offering hope against this array of usually deadly diseases. There will be more than 130,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed in Canada in 2000, and 65,000 will succumb to cancer this year.

A random survey of Ontario breast cancer patients, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found that 67% of respondents were using alternative medicine. American are estimated to be spending a staggering $27 billion per year on alternative cancer treatments. The alternatives includes proper diet changes, a detox program which includes fresh vegetable juicing, a positive attitude and some form of exercise. The most credible alternative appears to be ESSIAC^®, developed by a Canadian nurse in the 1920's, Rene M. Caisse R.N.

Many certified oncologists continue to be disturbed at the scarcity of methodologically rigorous studies of alternative remedies. But to cancer sufferers, these are merely pedantic objections. A major attraction is that the alternatives are far less physically harsh than the three conventional approaches-surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which critics have dubbed the "slash, burn, and poison trio." When mixed with hope and desperation, plus the powerful testimonials of those who say they were cured, the alternatives have almost irresistible appeal.

Although these remedies exude a faint odor of mysticism, the people who take them seem to be sensible enough. Mr. Scrymgeour, for one, made his name in Alberta's oil patch, an industry not without its own purveyors of false hopes and costly tricks. Several decades ago, he became an entrepreneurial legend, founding and running Westburne International Industries until 1986, later retiring to Bermuda and New York. He is also a major patron of Vancouver's Fraser Institute, and a part owner of this magazine.

Mr. Scrymgeour's comfortable retirement routine was brutally interrupted, however, with the news, he had cancer. He found out on Valentine's Day 1990, and it inspired in him an instant resolve: he was determined to beat it.

He was able to obtain the best of conventional treatment, and it did initially lower his count of PSA, prostate-specific antigen, the key measure of the activity of the cancer cells in his body. But the cancer returned last year with a severity that convinced doctors Mr. Scrymgeour had little hope. In the 11th hour a friend told him about a Canadian nurse who had reportedly healed thousands of ostensibly incurable cancer victims using four common herbs. Today, Mr. Scrymgeour's PSA count is almost non-existent, and he is fully satisfied there is only one reason: his twice-daily dosage of ESSIAC^® tea.

ESSIAC^® users are now estimated to number in the thousands across North America. One user's wife saved what she believes is physical proof of its effectiveness. Richard Schmidt was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 1985. The Torontonian had nine operations to excise the tumors from his bladder. At one point, he was comatose, on life support and suffering a severe infection, pneumonia and kidney failure, all requiring another tumor operation. In short, he was considered a near-hopeless case.

Mr. Schmidt's wife Hannelore, in desperation, sought out a Naturopath who recommended ESSIAC^®. After three weeks of drinking the tea, black chunks of tumor and skin began passing with his urine. Mrs. Schmidt preserved 40 pieces in a formaldehyde filled jar. Soon doctors find no more cancer. Mr. Schmidt recovered to thoroughly enjoy his early 80's, gardening and puttering about the couple's home. At 86 he suffered a stroke and passed away peacefully cancer-free. "ESSIAC^® brought him many good, happy years," recalls Mrs. Schmidt.

The family of Luke Stevens will likely put it similarly some day, although Mr. Stevens is still very much alive. Four years ago, the then 17-year-old son of a South African chiropractor developed a giant cell tumor on his left knee, which grew so rapidly it destroyed most of his upper tibia. Surgeons removed the tumor and rebuilt the boy's tibia. Four months later, Mr. Stevens body rejected his bone graft and the tumor returned with a vengeance, breaking through the skin and growing into a hideous, fist-sized mass. Mr. Stevens' father grew disillusioned with oncologists, ignoring their advice to amputate his son's leg and begin massive chemotherapy.  Today,at 21, Mr. Stevens attends university and rows on his school's team.

Alternative therapies have stirred up a host of controversies, some of them remarkably bitter, among both competing purveyors and an increasingly divided medical community. A growing number of doctors appear willing to roll some alternatives into their anti cancer regimen, if only because it makes patients feel better. Mathew Fink, president and chief executive of Beth Israel Medical Center in New York explains, "It would be silly for doctors and hospitals to ignore something that will be a large part of healthcare for years to come." Nearly one-third of U.S. Hospitals with 500 or more patient beds now offer alternative therapies.

In Canada, some oncologists are joining forces with holistic practitioners to research popular herbal treatments. One example is Vancouver's Tzu Chi Institute for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. The institute works closely with oncologists from the Fraser Valley Cancer Centre, blending conventional medicine with alternative therapies.

Such alliances will also at last help subject alternative therapies to rigorous study. Dr. Darlene Ramsum, Tzu Chi's research manager, reports two now underway.  In January, the College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto will begin the first human clinical trials of ESSIAC^®.

Two years ago, a task force of the Canadian Breast Cancer Research Initiative reviewed available laboratory research into six popular alternative therapies, including ESSIAC^®. The review discovered that each of the herbs in ESSIAC^® has been shown to trigger biological activity, defined as an effect on the structure or function of cells, tissues or organs. Burdock root injected into mice with transplanted tumors, for instance, appeared to inhibit the tumors. The review noted that much of the research was limited to individual herbs, which may not capture the true "synergistic interaction" of herbal blends.

The professional jealousy and resentment are an added factor in the ongoing war between conventional and alternative therapy. Dr. Ralph Moss, a prominent Brooklyn-bases alternative medicine advocate, charges that as long as billions of cancer-related dollars flow through pharmaceutical giants and research institutes, conventional medicine has little motive to find a real cure. Least of all, he notes with great cynicism, one from an easily harvested weed like burdock.

Government health agencies, in their role of protecting the public from useless or harmful products, represent another major obstacle to acceptance of alternative therapies.

ESSIAC^® is labeled a herbal supplement, with no medical claims. ESSIAC^® can be purchased easily, and is now available worldwide.

Many oncologists readily admit conventional cancer treatment is not a cure. Cancer surgery is painful and often disfiguring. Chemotherapy causes nausea, vomiting, festering sores, loss of appetite, hair loss and gradually diminishing white blood cell counts, forcing many patients to discontinue therapy. Less widely-known side effects are reproductive abnormalities, liver and chromosonal lesions, and cardiac damage. Surveys have revealed that 80% of oncologists would not follow their own treatment protocol. Worst of all, the recurrence rate for cancer is distressingly high; even amputating a limb does not guarantee the cancer will not show up elsewhere.

Astronomical sums have been poured into conventional cancer research, drug development and upgraded radiation equipment, with only limited effect. If current trends continue, cancer death rates will easily surpass those of cardiovascular disease with in 10 years. As it stands, one out of every three women and two out of every five men will develop cancer during their lifetime.

But many physicians and oncologists remain skeptical of what role, if any, alternative therapies might play in the fight. Many doctors translate the ancient dictum "First, do no harm" into "If in doubt, don't do anything." They fear alternative therapies are at best clever ways to separate desperate people and their loved ones from their money. At worst, they could be poison.

History is littered with tragic examples. A 19th-century treatment for leprosy, for example, later proved to be largely arsenic. Dr. Lloyd Oppel, a White Rock, B.C., physician, slams medical journals for "bending over backward to accommodate articles on unconventional treatments." The majority, he believes, have "no scientific basis and at best offer false hope."

Nor has it helped the alleged panaceas pop up with distressing regularity, gaining a near-fanatic following before being discredited. In the '40's, injections of useless Koch Antitoxins made headlines.

Krebiozen, concocted from the blood of horses inoculated with a disease-causing fungus, was in vogue in the same decade. Laetrile attracted thousands in the '70's, only to collapse in disrepute, and immuno-augmentative therapy was a buzzword in the '80's. Some people still believe in these remedies, but medical science insists they not work.

To a man like John Scrymgeour, back from the brink of the grave, these people should stop defending old turf and take another look. "My whole tumor is practically gone," he declares. "Now, my urologist has put other patients on ESSIAC^®. I'm the proof. A year ago, my legs were like lead." Mr. Scrymgeour still walks with a cane, but only by choice. "I get great respect in the streets of New York with my cane," he chuckles. "People open doors for me."