The Authentic, Original
ESSIAC TEA FORMULA & RECIPE
The following formula is Rene Caisse’s Essiac formula and recipe which Rene's best friend, Mary McPherson, filed, under Oath, with the Town of Bracebridge in 1994. This was also the same formula and recipe that Dr. Gary Glum published in 1988.
On a fateful day in 1922 Canadian nurse Rene Caisse happened to notice some scar tissue on the breast of an elderly English woman. The woman said that doctors had diagnosed her with breast cancer years before. However, the woman didn't want to risk surgery nor did she have the money for it.
The English woman had met an old Indian medicine man in the 1890s who told her that he could cure her cancer with an herbal tea. The woman took the medicine man's advice, and consequently she was still alive nearly thirty years later to pass on this herbal remedy to Nurse Caisse.
About a year later, Rene Caisse was walking beside a retired doctor who pointed to a common weed and stated: "Nurse Caisse, if people would use this weed there would be little cancer in the world."
Rene later stated: "He told me the name of the plant. It was one of the herbs my patient named as an ingredient of the Indian medicine man's tea!" The "weed" was sheep sorrel. In a 1974 letter to Dr. Chester Stock of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute, Rene Caisse stated: "Who in the world would ever think to find a solution to cancer in a common meadow?"
In 1924 she decided to test the tea on her aunt who had cancer of the stomach and was given about six months to live. Her aunt lived for another 21 years, cancer free.
Rene Caisse (pronounced "Reen Case") later gave the tea to her 72-year old mother who was diagnosed with inoperable cancer of the liver, with only days to live. Her mother recovered and lived without cancer for another 18 years.
In the ensuing years Nurse Caisse refined and perfected the original "medicine man's" formula. She tested various herbal combinations on laboratory mice and on human cancer patients. She eventually reduced the tea to four herbs: burdock root, sheep sorrel (whole herb including the roots), slippery elm and Turkey rhubarb. She called the formula Essiac, which is her surname spelled backwards.
Rene Caisse devoted over fifty years of her life to treating hundreds of cancer patients with Essiac. So effective were her treatments that in 1938 her supporters gathered 55,000 signatures for a petition, amongst other petitions, to allow Rene Caisse to continue treating cancer patients. A bill was introduced in the Ontario legislature to (allegedly) "authorise Rene Caisse to practice medicine in the Province of Ontario in the treatment of cancer and conditions therein". Due to the machinations of the medical establishment, the bill failed to pass by just three votes.
However, Rene Caisse made her views known regarding this bill which would set up the "Royal Cancer Commission" to investigate all possible cancer cures. She told the press: "The people of Ontario will be paying a group of men to develop something that was developed and discovered 15 years ago. I have developed and proven a cure right here in Bracebridge, and I am running a clinic where hundreds of cancer sufferers are being treated and helped. Why then should I be asked to give my formula over to a group of doctors who never did anything to earn it?"
CLICK HERE to view a certified copy of Mary McPherson's affidavit with handwritten attachment. This legally recorded affidavit is the only real proof of Rene Caisse's Essiac tea formula. This affidavit is evidence which would hold up in a court of law because it is the only official evidence, under Oath, recorded for the public record in a government office, which gives the original, authentic Essiac formula and recipe. Mary McPherson knew the Essiac formula because she was the only person (other than Rene herself) who was allowed to make Essiac tea to give to Rene's cancer patients. This is the formula which helped so many cancer patients in Rene Caisse's clinic in Bracebridge, Ontario. Rene Caisse did experiment with and use other herbal combinations throughout her life, but this is the final Essiac formula that she was using after so many years of research as evidenced by Mary McPherson's affidavit and other sources.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Notice that the "1 ounce of herb mixture" is not a weight measurement because it is measured with "a measuring cup" that measures fluid ounces, which is a volume measurement of water. It is important to mention that Rene Caisse did not use a weight measurement when adding the herb mixture to boiling water. She used volume measurement for the combined dried herbs with fluid ounce measurements. This makes the recipe seem confusing unless one realizes that one cup of the dried herb mixture does not weigh as much as one cup of water (which weighs 8 ounces). That is, one cup of "herb mixture" does not weigh 8 fluid ounces because the dried, powdered herbs are lighter than water.
Rene Caisse did weigh the individual herbs before mixing them together. That is, the "1 pound of sheep sorrel herbs", "1/4 pound of slippery elm bark" and "1 ounce of Turkish rhubarb root" are weight measurements. 6 1/2 cups of cut burdock root is, of course, a volume measurement and it is approximately equivalent to 24 ounces in weight when pieces are "the size of small peas".
It is also important to note that Rene Caisse used the whole sheep sorrel plant. Nurse Caisse stated that sheep sorrel roots are "very essential" to the Essiac formula.
The formula below is a word-for-word transcription of Mary McPherson's affidavit:
6 ½ cups of burdock root (cut)* *6 ½ cups of burdock root (cut) is equalivalent to 24 oz.
1 pound of sheep sorrel herb powdered
1/4 pound of slippery elm bark powdered
1 ounce of Turkish rhubarb root powdered
Mix these ingredients thoroughly and store in glass jar in dark dry cupboard.
Take a measuring cup, use 1 ounce of herb mixture to 32 ounces of water depending on the amount you want to make.
I use 1 cup of mixture to 8 x 32 = 256 ounces of water. Boil hard for 10 minutes (covered) then turn off heat but leave sitting on warm plate over night (covered).
In the morning heat steaming hot and let settle a few minutes, then strain through fine strainer into hot sterilized bottles and sit to cool. Store in dark cool cupboard. Must be refrigerated when opened. When near the last when its thick pour in a large jar and sit in frig overnight then pour off all you [can] without sediment.
This recipe must be followed exactly as written.
According to THE ESSIAC BOOK by Mali Klein (p. 29), the recipe can also be made in gram weight measurements as follows:
120 g Burdock (chopped)
80 g Sheep sorrel (powdered)
20 g Slippery elm (powdered)
5 g Turkey rhubarb
Use 15 g herb mix to 1.5 litres pure spring water
Boiling time: 10 minutes
Basic single daily does: 30 ml herbal tea diluted in either 30 ml or 60 ml hot water, taken at bedtime or when you get up.
SHEEP SORREL
Rumex acetosella
Sheep sorrel was regarded by Rene Caisse as having the most direct effect on health and is therefore a vital component of the herbal tea. Known as Gypsy Rhubarb in Southern England, the tangy, slightly astringent leaves have been used traditionally to flavour salads and soups as well as stuffings and fish. And the whole plant has wide ranging therapeutic effects.
Indeed, it is the root which provided additional, concentrated therapeutic elements and small quantities should always be included in the tea. Because of the acidic nature of the plant (it has a pH of 4.5), we do not recommend that it is consumed internally.
BURDOCK
Arctium lappa
Burdock forms one of the cornerstones of the Rene Caisse Herbal Tea: more than half of the dried herb mixture consists of ground burdock root. The roots and seeds have a long tradition of use in the herbal pharmacy and burdock is a favourite amongst herbalists, for good reason.
In the tea formula, one-year-old burdock root provides a wide spectrum of therapeutic benefits, including blood cleansing and immune-boosting functions. It has mild anti-bloodclotting activity. The herb also protects the liver and aids digestion and appetite by stimulating the production of bile. It is therefore known to be a mild laxative and diuretic, helping to clear toxins from the body. By supporting the liver, it is particularly helpful for skin conditions such as psoriasis and acne and may be used topically as a poultice.
It is antibacterial, anti-..inflammatory and antioxidant and also aids kidney function, protecting against cystitis and gout. It can help to reduce coughing and fever as well as regulate blood sugar levels.
SLIPPERY ELM
Ulmus fulva/rubra
The inner bark of the Slippery Elm tree is an essential component of the Rene Caisse Herbal Tea, making up nearly 10% of the dried mixture. Finely ground, the powder has demulcent and anti-inflammatory qualities, helping to soothe the mucous membrane lining the digestive tract, which makes it especially useful during chemotherapy.
It is also useful for gastritis, enteritis, haemorrhoids and gastric and duodenal ulcers, as well as sore throats. The nutritious qualities make it a valuable food during convalescence as it is easily absorbed. It has gentle astringent properties as well, and helps to ease diarrhoea. An excellent source of soluble fibre, Slippery Elm bark may help to reduce cholesterol levels, as well as bulk up the stool when constipated. Externally, the powder may be mixed to a paste with water and applied to boils, ulcers and abscesses.
Because of its demulcent properties, however, it would be best to take it away from any other medication, food or supplement as it may delay or inhibit their absorption. And it's best to avoid Slippery Elm during pregnancy as the bark may stimulate labour.
TURKEY RHUBARB
Rheum palmatum
The dried, powdered root of Turkey Rhubarb constitutes a small but significant part of the Rene Caisse Herbal Tea: only approximately 300mg are used in the 15g monthly pack.
Also known as East India or China rhubarb, it was originally imported from China and Tibet, but can now be grown and harvested locally. It comes from the same family as our native English rhubarb, Rheum rhaponticum, which has similar if milder actions.
Turkey Rubarb has bitter, astringent properties and is known as an effective digestive stimulant and liver tonic. At varying doses it can be used to treat both constipation and diarrhoea and therefore has a regulatory effect on digestion. It stimulates the appetite and promotes the flow of bile from the liver, thus optimising the action of digestive enzymes, reducing liver congestion and preventing the formation of gallstones. However, it is contraindicated in pregnancy and breastfeeding.