Reishi and Tumors
Reishi extract is commonly used in Oriental Medicine as almost a cure-all. Both medical practitioners and regular people use it for things as innocent as stress and the common cold to more serious afflictions like asthma and cancer.
One of the strongest proponents for the use of reishi as a medicinal mushroom is Dr. Fukumi Morishige. He works with the Linus Pauling Institute of Science & Medicine on treating cancer with reishi.
Re-printed in the Chinese Traditional Medicine Part III was a speech by Dr. Morishige that included the case studies listed below.
Being a native of Japan, Dr. Morishige was familiar with reishi before becoming aware of its potential in cancer treatment. But his attitude was essentially the same as any other trained medical professional. He believed it might have some marginal effect on certain non-terminal conditions but dismissed any claims regarding cancer as exaggerated. That is, until two of his cancer patients related their stories of using reishi to self-remediate their conditions.
The first was a 39-year-old female with lung cancer. Several hospitals had given her the same prognosis. The condition was too far progressed; there was nothing they could do to help her. She’d also been having secondary complications to the cancer in the form of edema of the chest cavity. But by the time she came to see Dr. Morishige six months later, those symptoms had completely disappeared. The patient herself insisted the improvement was due to 4 grams of reishi per day.
The second case was a young boy suffering from congenital liver cancer. At the age of 5, his attending physician determined that the condition was terminal and discontinued any further treatment. At 9 years of age, the boy’s parents brought him to see Dr. Morishige who could then find no remaining traces of the cancer. The parents explained to Dr. Morishige that they had been feeding their son reishi via a naso-gastric tube. It was at this point Dr. Morishige determined that reishi’s effect on cancer deserved further study.
The following are five of his case studies using reishi and Vitamin C (for prevention of side effects):
Case 1: A 70-year-old male patient who had lost consciousness due to a 5 cm (2 in.) brain tumor was administered 6 gm of reishi per day starting in June of 1986. By September, he had regained consciousness. He continued to take reishi orally after regaining consciousness, now 3 gm/day. By December of that same year, brain scans showed the tumor had diminished in size. Once the size of the tumor had been reduced to 1 cm, the patient was released from the hospital and returned to live with his family.
Case 2: A 50-year-old woman who had lung cancer and was coughing up blood was put on 6 grams of reishi per day. After six months, the tumor had disappeared. At the onset of treatment, she was unable to climb stairs. At the end, she was able to climb stairs with little effort.
Case 3: Patient with breast cancer that had spread to the bones was in unbearable pain and immobilized below the head. An initial dose of 9 grams of reishi daily was increased to 20 grams per day. Two months later, the woman was pain free and released after demonstrating improvement in her ability to walk.
Case 4: A patient with rectal cancer, which had metastasized to the liver, was administered 6 gm/day of reishi. CT scans taken 6 months later showed tumor shrinkage and patient reported feeling better.
Case 5: A 60-year-old male diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer with a short remaining life expectancy began 9 gm/day of reishi orally, in combination with 30 gm/day of Vitamin C intravenously. One year later, he was completely symptom free and back to work. He continued using 5 gm/day of reishi after being released from the hospital.
Note: This article is provided for informational purposes only. The product mentioned herein has not been approved by the FDA for use in treating cancer. Never use this or any other herb to treat a life-threatening disease without consulting a licensed physician.
Reference: Morishige, Fukumi, 1987. Chinese Traditional Medicine Part III, Page 12 – 23, ISBN4-88580-053-6 C-0077
