I hate to be the bearer of bad news but essiac is listed under "Questionable Cancer Therapies" on Quackwatch. We need to be careful on OCF that we don't give false hope to people with cures or remedies that can't be scientifically proven as efficacious.

See: http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cancer.html#Essiac

The information on the following link (from MSKCCC) also lists the warnings and precautions associated with essiac.

http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11571.cfm?RecordID=441&tab=HC

Save your money...

The following is from Quackwatch:

Essiac

Essiac is an herbal remedy that was prescribed and promoted for about 50 years by Rene M. Caisse, a Canadian nurse who died in 1978. Shortly before her death, she turned over the formula and manufacturing rights to the Resperin Corporation, a Canadian company that has provided it to patients under a special agreement with Canadian health officials. Several reports state that the formula contains burdock, Indian rhubarb, sorrel, and slippery elm, but there may be additional ingredients. Essiac tea claimed to be Caisse's original formulation is also marketed in the United States. Several animal tests using samples of Essiac have shown no antitumor activity. Nor did a review of data on 86 patients performed by the Canadian federal health department during the early 1980s [14].


When I looked at this site in detail it shocked me just how many different scams there are. It would sadly make sense that unscrupulous and evil people would take advantage of such a large medically challenged and vulnerable subgroup within the general population.