Medicinal Mushrooms: Here’s to Life!
Here’s To Life! In addition to being delicious, some medicinal mushrooms are helping cancer survivors to live longer. The gorgeous photo above is of turkey tail mushroom, also called Coriolus versicolor. Coriolus grows wild in the Cascade mountains. (Pick carefully though. Some look-alikes are poisonous!). Living Well, Living Longer The Japanese have developed a hot water extract of Coriolus as a cancer treatment drug. In clinical trials, Coriolus lengthens life in people with breast, colon, and stomach cancers. For every 11 cancer survivors who take Coriolus, 1 more will live another...
Read MoreCoriolus Lengthens Life in Breast, Colon, and Gastric Cancer
For every 11 people who breast, colon, or gastric cancer who take coriolus, 1 more person will be alive 5 years later. This result is from a metanalysis of 13 clinical trials. To put this effect in perspective, let’s compare it to some other therapies used in these cancers. Breast: To extend 3 years of life for 1 woman, 8-17 women have to take Herceptin at a total cost of $450,000 to $4 million. Colon: To extend 3 years of life for 1 person with stage III cancer, 14 have to take FOLFOX chemotherapy for 24 weeks. Clearly, coriolus is a safe, effective, and affordable integrative...
Read MoreWhat is Evidence-Based Natural Medicine?
Evidence based medicine uses medical research to guide and inform medical decisions. There is a growing body of research regarding the benefits of natural products and lifestyle choices in both cancer prevention and cancer treatment. Naturopathic oncologists apply this research in their practice of evidence-based naturopathic medicine. There is a lot of information online regarding natural healthcare options for people with cancer. Some of this is useful and reliable. Some of it is questionable. And some of it can be hard to interpret and use. When looking at health information, here are...
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