The maitake mushroom has been touted as an immune-enhancing and anti-cancer agent. Does anyone have personal experience or information to share?

Be well. Zenda

Hello Zenda,

I have no knowledge of the mushroom you call maitake. You might want to go to quackwatch and search for information. It may or not be on there but we have learned there are so many
false claims about cancer cures. Most are just out to prey on cancer victims and make money at it. If I may quote Gary, "There is a special place in hell for them"

Danny Boy

Danny Boy, Zenda, here it is:

second to last paragraph before "bottom line"

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/hfsadvice.html

Sorry - like anything else in life "if it sounds too good to be true - it probably is".

Nice ride Danny - you deserve it!

Zenda, search back on previous posts, I think we talked about the mushroom thing before. Right after I finished treatment, one of the managers of the factory I work with came up with several box's of mushroom capsules, a mix of several types supposedly designed to help the immune system fight cancer cells. Now the particular person who gave this to me is a doctor here in China, where they use herbal remedies a lot.

My wife also insists I take the "mushroom pills," and since I'm not on any other medication, and the main thing it does is promote domestic tranquility, I go ahead and do it. If I don't there's hell to pay around the Hobo household. Variety of mushroom isn't Maitake though, it's another type that starts with a "G". I want to say gandolfini, but that's the guy on "Soprano's" Anway, I'm not exactly convinced it helps, but in my case it's not hurting.

If you're insistant on doing the herbal route, go to a GOOD chinese herbal doctor. I've done the herbal teas for other issues, and some actually work, some don't. Also, for some issues herbal remedies are not recommended, and the herbalist should be able to steer you clear also.

Just my observation from personal experience. Not making any claims or recomendations to stray from generally accepted western medicine guidelines.

Bob

Since this is a section on the forum where we are allowed some liberties I'll take the contrary opinion. (sorry Gary)

Many mushrooms have been researched with respect to health benefits. We are asked not to link web sites here except to reference areas (not to organizations selling products) If you do a Google search on "mushroom cancer" you will come up with many interesting and serious discussions around some mushrooms and their suspected benefits. This is just one:

http://sci.cancerresearchuk.org/labs/med_mush/med_mush.html

Gary you might read the chapter 10 conclusions.

I will say this (and expect to get flack for it) that research on a naturally grown cure will likely be limited. The reason is simple; you cannot profit from something easily grown.

This is an area where I do NOT think Quack Watch has explored. Quack Watch regularly lists anything that attempts to make a profit from suceptable (seriously ill) people. I have no serious gripe with them except that they paint with a very wide brush.

The bottom line is if an edible substance is thought to help with cancer I see NO reason not to try it. (Except if it is expensive and overly hyped) I ate more than a few pounds of Shiitake mushrooms and splurged on pills (I will not name publicly) that were mushroom based. I do NOT claim that it cured my cancer, but no one can say it didn't help.

Mark,
I'm not taking the bait. There were some interesting articles (positive) about them on the MSKCCC and ACS site so who knows - maybe they'll end up in the chemo-preventive category? There is real scientific research going on about it (the the US as well). Many pharmaceuticals come from plants and different organic things but for it to become a "drug" the science has to be there, as well as safety and efficacy studies- not just testimonials.

Quackwatch was assailing claims made by health food store workers which are notorious for disseminating bad and false information. They didn't have anything on the mushrooms themselves.

As an adjunct to regular and proven therapy it is a personal decision to make. To replace or substitute proven therapy is a danger that cannot be overemphasized.

Thanks for the input. My Medical Oncologist suggested I see a Naturopathic Oncologist and is willing to consider the N.O.'s recommendations.

Sorry for the late post. I am not sure of the medicinal aspects of Maitake but the Matsutake is the rarest mushroom and the highest on the chart in terms of antioxidants, etc. I do know the Japanese 5 mushroom soup tastes great. Maitakes are grown in the wild in PA, too.

I am of the belief that even though certain foods are better for us than others, compacting them as an extract and taking capsules full of them may not necessarily be better. The body is designed to ingest food and extract the nutrients.

The Japanese believe one of the secrets of long life is to eat long root type vegetables. There are documented cases of certain people living off of gobo root (burdock,radishes as long as 40 feet, the sweet potatoe (yam) diet, etc. I tend to think the taste part is what makes it great and wonder if the people living longer just aren't exposed to as much in the cities, given they are typically on an island or in the mountains.

Just my two cents worth. Pass the mushrooms please.

Ed

Hi. As Zenda's husband and caregiver, and new to the forum, I'll jump in here briefly and update the discussion to add that we have gone forward with using the Maitake mushroom, in a capsulated form. Who can know for sure? We can't obviously, but are using the mushrooms with the blessings of her chemo oncologist. Not as an alternative to his prescribed therapy, but as an adjunct, with the thought that, if these MAY help to boost the immune system, and MAY be helpful to the white blood cell count, why not include them as a part of her treatment. I might add that we are back-to-nature type people who have used a variety of natural, herbal remedies over the years, so it is not unusual that we looked for possible natural additions to her diet. One of the drugs used with her chemo treatment is itself an extract of the Yew tree. I can say that, after her third chemo treatment, her white blood cell count continues to be good. Certainly there are many "quack" products and ideas being marketed as aids to or cures for cancer. The naturopath with whom we consulted was quick to promote high doses (50 grams daily) of Vitamin C, ozone infusions, and coffee enemas, all of which we found suspect. (As did her oncologist.) But Japanese herbalists have used the Maitake mushrooms for hundreds of years. Who can say? We decided we were willing to give it a try. It may take science a long while yet to determine whether there are any significant benefits to the many, many natural remedies that have been used for generations. We don't have the luxury of waiting for an official study. I'm not recommending the Maitake mushroom, just adding to this discussion to say that given all we've read on the subject, we chose to use them. And we're comfortable with that decision.
Be well.
Grant

Grant, welcome to the site and thank you very much for your insight on this subject. A couple of observations: most, if not all, of our current meds comes from (or originally came from) some natural source, as I understand it. So it is not unexpected to me that there are some natural things that will help various ailments. Also, as I recall, sharks have never been found with any cancer in them so there may yet be a substance out there somewhere that will insulate humans from this disease. I say, let's keep looking.

The other thing is to note that as you mentioned, Zenda is at the beginning of her treatment. By the end, I had problems with my white blood cell count so I was put on Procrit. It is a drug given once a week for 8 weeks or so to improve blood counts and worked quite well for me. If Zenda has difficulties later on, please keep Procrit in mind as it adds to the energy level of rad patients. It really helped me and I was on it for two different occasions for 6 weeks and then 4 weeks.

Lastly, the job you have is sometimes a lot harder than being a patient. You are a member of the sainthood of caregivers. Remember that to be a good caregiver, part of your job is to be good to yourself so you can give that extra bit when necessary, so take time for yourself when you can. The battle before you can be difficult, but you all can win it and beat this disease. God bless.