Subject: essiac and pets Posted by Babs on Monday, 29 September 1997 I'm looking for information on the use of essiac with cats and dogs who have been diagnosed with cancer. Anyone know of the response or reaction of four-leggeds to essiac? Thanks for taking time to reply. ------------------------------------- Re: essiac and pets Posted by Chris Corpening, R.N. on Tuesday, 30 September 1997 Dear Babs, When I first started cooking essiac tea for people almost two years ago, one of my first "client" was a horse, owned by a woman who was very, very attached to him. This horse was diagnosed with melanoma on both flanks. When my client asked me how much to give a horse, you can just imagine my reaction. I had absolutely no idea. So, to play it safe, the horse was started on 6 oz. a day, divided into 3 separate doses. The owner attempted syringe oral feeding, but the horse kept pushing it out with his tongue. The owner then mixed the entire 6 oz. in with the bran, and the horse would eat the entire bowl. About 3 months of this regime, the owner told me that the horse appeared "perkier" and seemed to have a bit more energy. About 8 months after, the owner (who had it verified by her daughter and her veternarian) told me that the melanoma spots were shrinking in size. Unfortunately, the horse did die about 4 months after that. We are not sure of what -- no autopsy was ever done. But the owner stated that the horse appeared fine and then just laid down and died. It was not a young horse. The second testimonial relates to a 6 year old pure bred (not sure of the breed) dog who developed cancer of the liver. When I was contacted, the dog had stopped eating and appeared to be in alot of pain. The owners gave the dog 6 oz a day, mixed with rice. After one week, the dog's appetite picked up and his activity improved. It did not, however, arrest the spread of the cancer for they put the dog down about 2 weeks after the first week of improvement (I am not sure why---I have not spoken with the owners since that time). Maybe I will have more testimonials as time goes on..... Chris Corpening, R.N. ------------------------------------- Re: essiac and pets Posted by Anne on Tuesday, 30 September 1997 Here is a message from an old MotherNature Forum thread about essiac and pets, at least it indicates that people do give essiac to pets. The reference to "a syringe" means use of one to squirt the essiac down the throat, not to inject it. From: Dinny Subject: Re: Essiac for dogs Date: November 03, 1996 In Reply to: Re: Essiac for dogs posted by Ross on October 22, 1996 I've given my 14 year old dog essiac tea which I made from dried herbs off and on for two and a half years, due to a large tumor on her right front elbow. I gave her 2 oz 2x daily with a syringe for 8-9 months. The tumor got huge and eventually opened, so we surgically removed it. Cornell labs found it to be virulent fibrous carcoma (cancer). I wonder if the essiac brought all cancer to concentrate in that tumor. We had no recurrance for over a year. I gave her essiac tea 3x daily for about 6 months after the surgery. The vet said that dogs need more than people due to how they digest. To give her stomach a break, I stopped and started again for another 3 months. Now have stopped. She has some other problems (deaf, going blind, a bit incontinent) and at 14 is a very happy Belgian Shepherd. So I'm feeling now that I may not harrass her with too much hanging on energy, since I'm not clear about how much the essiac helped her in the first place. Anne ------------------------------------- Subject: what dosage for my dog? Posted by Gayle on Sunday, 9 November 1997 I have recently read about essiac and have purchased some in pill form to hopefully help my dog who has had a number of tumors (both benign and malignant). Some have been surgically removed but they seem to show back up within weeks or days. I cannot believe that it is to her benefit to keep taking her back in every month for surgery and would much prefer a less invasive way to help her. For the time being I have simply disolved the contents of the pills in a little water and poured it in her mouth with no problem. Granted, these pills called Esiak may be another company's attempt to duplicate the real thing but I figured it was worth a try. They contain the orignial 4 herbs each in a 4:1 ratio in 450mg. I am wondering, using these pills, how much would be useful, beneficial or harmful? Right now the tumor on her leg is about the size of a flattened hard boil egg. The only other ingredients in the capsules are maltodextrin and magnesium stearate. The label also says that it is formulated according to the Ojibwa Indian formula, and that 3 capsules equal about 4 oz. of the tea or 2 Tbsp of NOW Company Esiak Liquid Concentrate. ------------------------------------- Re: what dosage for my dog? Posted by Gayle on Monday, 10 November 1997 Does the dosage given depend on the patients bodily weight? My dog weighs around 40 lbs. ------------------------------------- Re: what dosage for my dog? Posted by Martha on Monday, 10 November 1997 Gayle, As a former breeder of Golden Retrievers,it has been my experience that it is always best to consult your Vet before giving your pet anything new in the line of medication or even herbs. Their systems are simular to ours but in some ways are very different. And the animal breed also has to be considered. You didn't mention what breed of dog you have or if you did, I missed it. I suggest you take your Esiak bottle to the Vet, show him/her the list of ingredients and ask if any of the herbs would be harmful to the dog, and ask his opinion on dosage. If he is against using it, ask him, why? If he doesn't know what to advise because he is unfamiliar with the product, then call a local emergancy hospital (I have found them to be very helpful in the past). Or you might ask the healh food store, someone there might know. If you still have no answers, then I would start your dog on the same dosage that I would a child... probibly about half the adult dosage. After a day or two, if you have noticed no adverse reaction, you could increase the dosage and slowly work up to the adult dosage. Always remember, whether human or animal, when trying something new, procede with caution until you know for sure there will be no allergic reaction. As good as essiac is (my husband takes it for cancer), some people and probably some animals can't take it. It would probably put my Dad in the hospital since he is highly allergic to herbs of any kind. Martha ------------------------------------- Subject: Injectable Essiac Posted by Mavis on Friday, 7 November 1997 I need information on where I can obtain injectable essiac. My cat has inoperable squamous cell carcinoma and I can't get him to take enough tea by mouth. Any other information would also be appreciated. ------------------------------------- Re: Injectable Essiac Posted by Anne on Saturday, 8 November 1997 Mavis, The lady who died from being injected with essiac tea... apparently her well-meaning doctor hadn't read essiac history that clearly tells of the disasterous result Rene and Dr. Fisher had when they first tried injecting plain essiac tea (the patient promptly went into anaphylactic shock). Another thing you could try are essiac capsules: opening them and mixing the dry contents with a favorite kitty food. If you and kitty can't manage essiac tea squirted directly down her throat, maybe the capsules are worth a try. There are several companies who sell the capsules, one is NOW Foods (very large vitamin/suppliment company). Anne ------------------------------------- Re: Injectable Essiac Posted by Mavis on Sunday, 9 November 1997 I was interested in injectable essiac because I can't get the tea into my cat's mouth anymore. He hides from me in the morning and as bland as the tea tastes to me, if he thinks it's in something he's going to drink, he won't touch it. I know he doesn't like shots but I'm trying to save his life. For the month and a half or so that I was getting the tea into him, there were no results. The mass continued to grow until the vet gave him a steroid shot. That produced dramatic results, shrinking the tumor within days. Unfortunately, it will keep coming back. They are going to try to surgically remove as much as they can, but I'm still looking for something that will get rid of the cancer permanently. Mavis ------------------------------------- Re: Injectable Essiac Posted by K.B. on Saturday, 8 November 1997 Hi Mavis, I have not had to give any of my cats essaic, but many times I have had to give them some herbal decoction or another--some that taste much worse than essiac. I can't tell you anything about dosage, but to administer it you just need to use an eyedropper. Slip the filled eyedropper in between the cats check and it's teeth, without opening it's mouth up, as you tilt the head up a little, and squeeze the liquid in. Do this as many times as you need to to get the right amount. If you need to, you can use a position where the cat is on the floor, and you are squating on your knees, with the cat between your legs so that it cannot back up. Or if your cat really squirms, you can wrap it quickly in a towel, so that the front legs are wrapped next to it's body. It takes some practice. You might find it easier with a syringe, if you can get one. K.B. ------------------------------------- Re: Injectable Essiac Posted by Mavis on Sunday, 9 November 1997 Kim - Thanks for your response. The problem is that my cat has a malignant mass under his tongue and that makes it even harder to get him to accept anything in his mouth. He also started hiding from me in the morning when he knew I'd be looking for him. I put essiac in liquids but if he catches a whiff of it he won't drink it. I did manage to get enough essiac in him for around a month and a half but didn't get results. The vet is giving him steroid shots that work great but after a week the tumor starts growing back. They are going to try to remove some of it surgically but I still need to find something to get rid of it all together. Mavis ------------------------------------- Subject: wrong email address for doggie dosage Posted by Gayle on Tuesday, 11 November 1997 I have been giving my dog the eqivalent of 4 -5 oz a day for the past couple days and have seen no adverse reaction, although none positive either, except a small bit of vomiting. I'm not sure if this is a reaction to just the taste of the herbs or what, as she was having the same problem but less frequent prior to taking essiac. I have decided to go ahead and have the tumors surgically removed at the end of the week if I see no visible improvement. I am not sure if this is jumping the gun on the use of essiac to shrink tumors, but she, and I, cannot afford to wait much longer I feel. If anyone has any input, ideas or suggestions, please post them. ------------------------------------- Subject: A "doggie" success story Posted by Chris Corpening, R.N. on Tuesday, 11 November 1997 Last month, my 3 year old noticed a puppy alongside the road as we were driving. I pulled over and walked over to the puppy to see what was up. When I asked the dog if he was hurting, he started to cry. When I opened up the back door of my car, he immediately jumped in, went over to my son and laid his head on my son's arm. I'm standing there thinking, "Now, what the heck am I supposed to do now"? So, being an extremist when it comes to animals, I drive the dog home to join the zoo we already have. That night, I noticed that his breathing was rapid (90 breaths per minute). A cough developed the next morning along with diarrhea. He was also VERY thirsty, but I had attributed that to being on his own for awhile. Unfortunately, when I looked in my dog book, everything pointed to distemper. When I took him to the vet's the following day, the vet confirmed a diagnosis of distemper (although the only test for this is a titer to confirm elevated antibodies). The vet suggested the dog be put down, but we were already attached to this mutt, so the first thing that popped into my mind was, "essiac!". The advantage was on my side. Shepp (the dog) had such extreme thirst that he would have drank all the toilet water supply we had if we let him. Within a period of 24 hours, he had a total of 32 oz. of essiac tea in him. Four days after picking him up, his respiratory rate dropped, the drainage from his eyes stopped, his stool became formed and best of all, he began acting like a puppy (I have no socks left in this house). He appeared to not want water compared to earlier times, thus, it became quite difficult to get him to drink the tea. So, I stopped giving it to him and I think that his own resources are helping mend on his own. He is very much improved. The puppy was approximately 3-4 months old and was about 20-25 pounds when we picked him up (yes, this dog is going to be huge). Chris A Nurse's Herbal Tea http://www.anursesherbaltea.com ------------------------------------- Lymphosarcoma in Pet Posted by Jean on Wednesday, 3 December 1997 I have just started essiac therapy for my mother's 7 yr. old dog who was recently diagnosed with lymphosarcoma (she has been given two months at most). I have not been able to find any references for using essiac with dogs and contact with vets has provided no help. I made 1/2 of the tea and I am administering the tea 2 eye droppers full twice a day which she has been readily taking. She is a family member who we all love dearly. Have any of you any experience with dosages for animals or any recommendations from your experiences with essiac? She is approx. 85 lbs. Jean ------------------------------------- Pets and essiac Posted by Anne on Sunday, 7 December 1997 Here's something interesting I found at "Natural Health Products for Pets: Herbal Healer Academy" at http://www.drherbs.com/pets.html, who sells 4 - HERB TEA (generic essiac): "Can be used effectively on dogs and cats to aid in the pets recovery from surgery or trauma. 1 teaspoon per 10 pounds, 3 times daily or you can put 3 teaspoons per 10 pounds body weight in the drinking water once per day. Change daily." Anne ------------------------------------- Re: Dog Posted by Lance on Friday, 26 December 1997 In addition to Kim's questions, I was wondering about your statement that the dog was given it just before feeding. This is interesting since the brand I have been using (Wow-Bow Distributors) say no food before or after for 2-3 hrs. I also just got off the phone with a company I got fresh herbs from (Tenzing Momo, Seattle), and they said that a totally empty stomach was not needed. They also said that 4 oz given 4 times a day was what the Ojibwan tribe did and what they recommend. Not far different than 8 oz. 2 times a day, I guess. Lance ------------------------------------- Re: Alternate Brew Method Posted by Bonnie on Tuesday, 30 December 1997 Dear Lance, just something I picked up along the way from the vets I saw when I had dogs... If you are giving dogs medicine meant for human consumption then the dosage is much higher than a person would need. It seems that their metabolism is quite different. This was info given to me by a vet concerning Valium. I was told to give my dog a dose that would have been fatal to a human just to get him quite groggy. Maybe this helps somewhat in deciding how high your dogs dose should be. By the way, is his essiac filtered? Or is it 'sludgy/gritty'? This could be a reason for a dog's grinding his teeth? Bonnie ------------------------------------- Re: Alternate Brew Method Posted by Lance on Thursday, 1 January 1998 Hello Bonnie, thank you for the info. My girlfriend's tiny shitsu needs a dose of vallium (an after seizure medication) that is enough to knock us on our human tails. So you and your vet are right. But I am not sure if that applies with all medications. And besides, getting her to take a normal dose (whatever that is) is hard enough. The other strange thing is that my brewed essiac does not get "sludgy". I just get the herbs that get strained out. I am not sure what is making her do the tooth grinding thing. I think it is an allergy to something. But since I have her on a macrobiotic diet, essiac and some supplements, it is hard to narrow down. But I have been eliminating some things for a day or two and essiac is still a candidate. Does anyone know if any of the essiac herbs are in any way similar to garlic? I know she is allergic to garlic. Lance ------------------------------------- Re: Essiac or essiac? Posted by Kathleen on Wednesday, 7 January 1998 I'm making essiac for my dog who has been diagnosed with bone cancer. It was recommended to me by a holistic healer whose husband's lung cancer was cured by it. They drink it now as a prevention, and have used it with animals as well as humans. I hope he will like it. Kathleen ------------------------------------- Re: Essiac or essiac? Posted by Karen on Thursday, 8 January 1998 Kathleen My dog has just been dignosed with bone cancer as well. Due to time constraints, I have purchased pre-made tea from the nurse who is listed elsewhere in the site. I have just started giving it to him along with several other remedies (pycnogenol, shark cartilege, beta-carotene, immun-forte and bromelain). Please let me know what's going on with your dog. Perhaps we can share our experiences. Good luck to you. Karen ------------------------------------- Lymphosarcoma in Cat Posted by Kim on Tuesday, 13 January 1998 Has anyone used essiac for cats? My cat has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and, I am told, only has 2-3 months to live. She is currrently on chemotheraphy and is failing day by day. Yet she still has the will to live. If essiac would benefit her at all, would someone respond as soon as possible? Also, how is essiac administered to an animal and can it be administered in conjunction with chemotherapy? ------------------------------------- Re: Lymphosarcoma in Cat Posted by K.B. on Wednesday, 14 January 1998 Hi There, So sorry to hear about your kitty. Chemo is very hard on cats. You can give essaic in conjunction w/ chemo -- no problem. It may help reduce the side effects. A cat would get about a tablespoon of essiac 2x per day. My cats get a smaller preventative dose of essiac. They are all healthy, but I do know of cases of cats with cancer that lived several months beyond what their vets had estimated. You should feed the best quality food possible, along with about 250 to 500 mgs per day of vitamin C. K.B. ------------------------------------- Re: Lymphosarcoma in Cat Posted by Kim on Thursday, 15 January 1998 How is the essiac and vitamin C administered? Is essiac in a brewed liquid form or a pill, and is the vitamin C administered in pill form for animals also? ------------------------------------- Re: Lymphosarcoma in Cat Posted by K.B. on Thursday, 15 January 1998 Hi Kim: The easiest way to give a cat vitamin C is in a tablet. I have some 250mgs vit C made by Solgar, and they are not too big to give to a cat. I would give the essiac as a tea. As with people, the body can utilize the tea much better. For cats that are ill, I always give the herbal decoctions on an empty stomach, with a syringe. Some cats won't take liquids this way -- for them, just go ahead and mix the tea with the cat's food. I think that they sell syringes (with no needles) at Petsmart. K.B. ------------------------------------- Re: Proper Use Of Syringe Posted by K.B. on Thursday, 15 January 1998 Oh, and one more thing -- you don't really "squirt it down the animals throat." You have to avoid letting the liquid go into the cat's lungs. Insert the syringe between the cats check and teeth. Expell a little liquid and allow the cat to swallow. Do this several times. It takes some patience and a little practice. K.B. ------------------------------------- Re: Lymphosarcoma in Cat Posted by Karen on Thursday, 15 January 1998 Have been giving my dog essaic tea mixed in with a small amount of soup, along with conventional medicine (after tumor removal last week, we start chemo next week) and homeopathic. The homeopathic vet I see recommends highly Ester-C (pill form) instead of Vitamin C (among other things). He says it is more easily absorbed. Also, under NO circumstances EVER inoculate your cat for anything ever again. Inoculations in an animal with cancer is like putting gasoline on a fire. Karen