Mistletoe

[Keog]

Hello Ladies - I have recurrence and have gone through another 5 rounds of Taxol and Carboplatin plus Avastin. I’m still on Avastin but having side effects from it. Has anyone gone through Mistletoe therapy? If you have I would appreciate hearing how you have done. I know Dr. Nasha Winters who had ovarian cancer had great success using it and is a strong proponent for it. Thank you.

[GwenHP]

I don't have any personal experience with mistletoe, I found some information that may be of use to you. Whenever I'm looking at a supplement, I go to Sloan Kettering's database on herbs, botanicals, etc. Here is the link to their page on mistletoe: mskcc.org/cancer-care/integ...

I also searched clinicaltrials.gov and found two clinical trials that may be of interest.

1. Trial of Mistletoe Extract in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show... is being conducted at Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins and the primary investigator is Channing Paller, MD. While the clinical trial is active but not recruiting, it may still be worth a call to the primary investigator to pick their brain about the use of mistletoe.

2. Gemcitabine Combined With Mistletoe in Treating Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show... being conducted at Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center - NCI Clinical Trials Referral Office

Bethesda, Maryland. Principal investigator is Patrick J. Mansky, MD National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). And again, it might be worth a call to them to get their thoughts.

Best wishes to you. Let us know what you decide and how it goes.

Gwen

[Keog in reply to GwenHP]

Gwen - thank you so much for all of the information. I really appreciate all of the research that you had done.

[4Yoganana4]

I had a reoccurrence and now doing Doxil and Avastin. Having side effects, too. Im doing mistletoe injections under the guidance of my naturopath oncologist. I’m thinking of switching to just the mistletoe, but haven’t yet. Sorry I don’t have more info.

[Keog in reply to 4Yoganana4]

Thanks so much for responding. I have an appointment to see a naturopath oncologist in a few weeks. I am also thinking of stopping the Avastin, it’s hard to tolerate.

[SurvivorSusan]

I used iscador, a type of mistletoe, under the guidance of an integrative medicine MD. I used it during chemo and then for about a year after chemo. I was 5.5 years cancer free, until I had my first recurrence in 2018. I got really tired of injecting myself and then something got complicated about the prescription process. Plus the cost. There are other types of mistletoe that can be used now, but I decided not to do it, even though I am in the middle of another recurrence, just because of the discomfort of the injection every few days. One person I know kept his cancer at bay for 10 years until he stopped using it. I don't have the research, just the anecdotes.

[Keog in reply to SurvivorSusan]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have an appointment to discuss with the doctor so I’ll definitely bring up some of the points you mentioned.