Oncological Mistletoe Therapy
At the beginning of the 20th century, Rudolf Steiner already recommended the use of mistletoe to help defeat cancer. Today this is viewed as a standard biological therapy: Substances derived from mistletoe are among the most frequently prescribed herbal medicines in cancer treatment – about half of all patients with tumours receive them to boost their self-healing powers and as a biological cytostatic drug.Mistletoe therapy is by far the best-researched form of alternative cancer treatment. Extracts of mistletoe stimulate the immune system, increase appetite, boost energy levels, help warm the body, lift patients’ mood and relieve pain. They encourage the “suicide” of cancer cells so that the tumour cannot continue to grow and may in some cases even shrink. The effect is similar to that of chemotherapy in that the tumour cells are directly attacked by the mistletoe lectins. Extracts of whole mistletoe can even protect the genetic material of healthy cells from the harmful side effects of conventional therapies. In this way, it is possible to reduce the drop in leukocyte levels during chemotherapy. And there are indications that mistletoe therapy can extend patient survival times.
Treatment can be started at any time: before an operation, immediately afterwards or at a later period.
Usually the mistletoe extract is injected under the skin, with the dose slowly increased until a slight reddening becomes visible at the injection site (an effect which naturally subsides over time). In anthroposophic mistletoe therapy, this slight inflammation serves as a guide for the doctor: in some patients the immune system reacts strongly to homeopathic dilutions while others may require a higher dose. Fever is also one of the desired effects as this serves to warm the body and revive the natural process of temperature regulation.
In Germany there are eight different manufacturers which use extracts of the complete plant for their mistletoe preparations. Of these, five employ a special procedure obeying the principles of anthroposophic medicine to mix the summer juice from the mistletoe with the winter juice.
In order to find the optimal dose and the most suitable treatment for every patient, this must be adjusted to the specific tumour, the individual person and his or her pre-selected host tree. For this reason, just like chemo- or radiotherapy offered by oncologists, such “differentiated mistletoe therapy” should only be carried out by a doctor specialised in this field.
Choosing the host tree If you have decided to undergo mistletoe therapy, the primary question is that of dosage, i.e. i) potentised, ii) low or iii) high. At the same time, it is necessary to select the particular host tree from which the mistletoe is harvested. Both of these questions can only be resolved by experienced doctors in discussion with the patient. Here there is no predetermined formula. Other equally important factors are the origin of the primary tumour and the various aspects of your personality. Often the characteristics of the host tree (ash, oak, apple tree, fir, hawthorn, almond tree, birch, elm, willow or maple) will be chosen to reflect your personality and the current stage of the disease.
Drawing on our practice’s many years of experience in anthroposophic mistletoe therapy, we will be happy to accompany you with our accustomed intuition and sensitivity.
More details and up-to-date information can be found at: www.mistel-therapie.de www.vfk.ch/hiscia Johannes Wilkens und Gert Böhm, Misteln – kraftvolle Krebsheiler aus der Natur: vorbeugen, lindern, heilen, AT Verlag AZ Fachverlage, 2016
Infusion therapy
Some biological substances serve to complement conventional cancer treatments. They can stimulate the immune system in a variety of ways, for example by fighting chronic inflammation or revealing hidden tumours to the body’s defenders, thereby enabling an intact immune system to induce cell death. We offer the following medicines in our practice (also as infusions):- High-dose ascorbic acid (vitamin C) – up to 60g per infusion
- Amygdalin (so-called B17, an extract from the kernels of bitter almond)
- High-dose curcumin
- Indole-3-carbinol and isocyanates (broccoli extracts)
- Alpha-lipoic acid at 600mg
- Dichloroacetate (DCA) at 50mg
- Artesunate at 250-500mg
- Selenium (sodium selenite)
- Germanium (germanium sesquioxide)
- HSP70 (heat-shock protein/taurine)
- Procaine with sodium bicarbonate (as procaine base infusion)
- organ-stabilising substances (cor-loges, uro-loges, gastri-loges, hepa-loges, dysto-loges, arthro-loges)