BMJ - Mistletoe
BMJ - Mistletoe As well as taking tamoxifen I inject myself with mistletoe. I have today been told about an article printed in the BMJ. I did try making contact with my Hospital but they are closed until 3 January.
Would be interested to know what others think about this article.
bmj.com/cgi/content/full/333/7582/1282
Wishing you all a good Christmas.
Love
Jeannie
Jeannie I hope you are doing this under medical supervision- if not get it.
The Austrians use a mistletoe treatment , Iscador, with success- their br ca survival rates are best in Europe.
I would not dream of using Iscador unless I was being treated by an onc who was experienced in its use.
So I feel VERY dubious about anyone in UK using Iscador [if indeed you live here] and I think you should get proper advice before going any further unless/or treated in Austria.
And if you are using a herbal cure my opinion is that you should stop it pronto until you get proper medical advice.
Sorry to be such a misery guts- best wishes, dilly
FOR DILLY Thank you Dillly.
I am being treated at the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital. I have always found them to be efficient and caring. However, I am aware I am on a heavy dose of the stuff - Series 3. Think I will have to put it into a compartment until after New Year. I will make an appointment to see someone at the Hospital to discuss matters at the beginning of 2007.
I have agonised over this all day so I’m off out now. Hopefully the drink will take my mind off things!
Thank you for your quick response.
Have a good Christmas.
Jeannie
iscador I have taken iscador prescribed by my homeopathic plus conventional medicine GP - they should build up the series gradually checking for any adverse reactions but as Dilly says it’s been used for over 80 years and their are medical publicaitons into its efficacy. If you are under ahomeopathic doc it shoudl be OK.
Caroline
To Jeannie We strongly recommend you do not take complementary therapies when taking tamoxifen, without first consulting your doctor.
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I think it is the medical profession protecting themselves again. This is one case - there are clearly many others who use iscador with minimal problems, the tumour concerned was benign ( so we have no idea what it really was), and if you are not have problems I would not worry overmuch over the holiday.
Edvard Ernst - again! Well he doesn’t like complementary medicine does he, so what does one expect from an article written by him. (Who used to dabble in homeopathy, I believe, when he was a doctor in Germany!)
I have been taking Iscador for some years now, under the auspices of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital. It was explained to me by the doctor there, that it is believed that Iscador enhances the immune system by increasing the number of Natural Killer (NK) cells, which eat up cancer cells. The thymus responsible for making these may increase in volume as it does its work.
It is not purported to be a cure for cancer, (there are laws prohibiting the advertising of anything to cure cancer, so we vulnerable patients are not taken advantage of. One hopes that chemo comes within these laws.) but it is supposed to offer an increase in survival time.
Well an increase in survival time is fine by me. I am on strength 2 and 3 alternately, and when injecting no 3, I hope very much for the tell-tale sign of a red patch of inflamed skin, about the size of a 50p piece. That tells me that it is working.
Why not go and see for yourself? Ask your GP to make an appointment with the Director of Cancer Services at the Royal London. The doctor is very skilled, knows what she is doing, and gets 10/10 for patient support and care from me. (My onc got 0/10) It doesn’t cost anything, to you, or your GPs practice.
One might ask, whether there is a campaign of some sort to rubbish natural treatments, and restrict our access to them. If it works it works, and if placebos work as well as drugs, I’ll have the placebo thankyou.
Take care, and have courage.
BMJ Rapid Response The BMJ has a Rapid Response service to which fellow medical professionals, and members of the public, are able to contribute their comments on the article in question. You may find these useful.
bmj.com/cgi/eletters/333/7582/1282
To date, not many are agreeing with the eminent professor… Of particular interest is the comment by another professor, concerning the side effects. The side effects are in fact, indications of the immune response which is desired and looked for.
It could be said that the article in the BMJ is a misrepresentation of the facts.
Thank you DarkLady Hi DarkLady
Thank you so much for your most informative response.
Before I saw your response I had phoned the Homeopathic Hospital in Glasgow to ask my nurse what she thought of the article. She said my Dr at the hospital is not concerned in the least about the article but should I still be worried I could speak to him at a later date.
I have been doing a little research myself and have decided to continue with it meantime. I also have great respect for the Homeopathic Hospital and I would award them 10/10 for patient support. My GP Practice would fail miserably on this score!!
The strength I am on is Series 3. I inject on alternate days for 2 weeks then I have 7 days off. I started on Series 0, then 1, then 2 and it was only when I got up to Series 3 that I had the reaction that you are talking about. I have never had any side effects and have always been happy administering it.
As for the Radid Response system. I’ve tried twice and my articles have not been published. I also asked them if members of the public were allowed to respond, I got no reply. I’m left wondering if the BMJ Rapid Response is only for medically minded people.
Once again thank you DarkLady.
Best wishes for 2007.
Regards.
Jeannie
BMJ Rapid Response Hello Jeannie
Re the BMJ - that is where I learned about some very interesting research about Salvestrols, after I posted a somewhat sarky response to yet another hysterical tirade against CAM by Professor Baum or Ernst, I forget which. They did publish, and a lot of other letters by the public. Quite ironic really.
Perhaps they have tightened up their screening process. They did not publish my last one, which was more than a little angry and dismissive of reductionists such as Ernst and Baum who think people are nothing but a slew of chemicals, and many of whom are really in the pockets of the big pharmaceutical companies. It is quite shocking how much research is funded, one way or another, by drug companies. It is either a cost per patient basis, or ‘free drugs’. I don’t imagine, of course, that that affects the results of their trials at all!
In my view, all medical research should be conducted by totally independant medical professionals, paid for by the state, and the drugs and accompanying procedures should be supplied free, by pharma. That way we might have a bit more truth and accuracy.
I see that a BC patient has posted a reply published today. She is quite against Iscador and CAM in general.
Happy new year to you, too.