Remarkable Case of Cured Cancer

From Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Healing Herbs and Spices

A Very Remarkable Case of Cured Cancer

Without a doubt the most controversial application for the internal use of red clover has been as an alternative cancer treatment. It was originally included in the famous Hoxsey formula and more recently in Essiac, another popular herbal cancer remedy. Scientists who've evaluated the herb extensively now believe it is the flavonoids present in the plant which account for its dramatic anti-cancer activity. One study published in Cancer Research (48 (22) 6256-61, 1988) found that the total flavonoids from the blossoms inhibited by 40% the activity of a common laboratory carcinogen called benzopyrene, a compound always found in charcoal-broiled foods. An even earlier study in the same journal (30: 1922-25, July 1970) observed that one of these flavonoids, in particular quercetin, kept this same benzopyrene from becoming active in the liver and small intestines, where liver and colo-rectal cancers frequently occur.

However the real proof for red clover's effectiveness in fighting off cancer comes from letter that appeared in the New York Evening Post sometime in the last century, but was originally printed in the Phrenological Journal of December 1867. It is reproduced here in its entirity and was submitted by the recovered cancer patient himself, one Truman Woodford of West Hartford, Connecticut:

"When about fifty years of age (AD 1836), there appeared near the outer corner of my left eye a small scab, which slowly enlarged and soon became painful, attended with constant itching, or rather a twitching sensation.

"Feeling anxious about it, I applied to a physician in Hartford, Conn., who said it was a cancerous affection, but advised me to let it alone and give it no medical treatment. As the affected place continued to enlarge and the irritation increased, I applied to another physician, who attempted to cure it by applying caustic, which treatment proved an injury instead of a benefit.

"The sore increased in size, spreading over the temple, eating off both lids of the eye, discharging matter constantly, destroying the sight of the eye, and causing almost insufferable pain. Thus matters stood at the end of twenty years' affliction, and I had reached the age of seventy. I had up to that time consulted six physicians, from none of whom did I receive any relief. The cancer now assailed the substance of the eyeball, eating it out entirely. The sore spread over the temple to the size of the palm of my hand, and below the eye to about three-quarters of an inch.

"I then applied to an eminent physician in New York (Dr. Blake), and remained under his treatment one year without any benefit, but rather grew worse. I now gave up all hope of recovery, ceased taking medicines, and merely washed the affected part in cold water. During the summer of 1865, it had become so painful that I slept but little, was very weak and nervous, was confined to my bed most of the time, and expected soon to die; my friends thinking I could not live until the following spring.

"In the month of August, 1865, I heard of a remarkable cure of cancer by the use of a tea made from common red clover. Thinking it was at least harmless, I used it as a common beverage, making it very strong, and also washed the eye with the same. In less than two months, to my utter astonishment, the pain entirely ceased, and the sore began to heal at the inner corner of the eye. The healing process went on rapidly until the eye socket was healed over, forming a skin as smooth as that on my cheek, and the redness is now gone.

"There is not over my eye even the semblance of a scar, and but a few scars remain on the temple. My sleep is now sweet, my appetite good, am more fleshy than before, my general health has never been better, and I think I have as few infirmities, and am as hale and hearty as any man of my age, which is now eighty years."

The New York Evening Post introduced the old gentleman's letter with this brief testimonial gathered by one of its correspondents:

Mr. Joel Reed, son-in-law of Mr. Truman Woodford, has a cousin residing in Great Barrington, Mass., the wife of a hotel-keeper, who had cancer in one breast, which became so serious that the whole gland was removed by a surgeon and the wound healed.

"About a year after the cancerous tumor broke out in the other breast and was beginning to be serious. Mr. Reed, seeing the good effects of the clover tea and wash on his father-in-law, Mr. Truman Woodford, wrote to his cousin informing her of the fact, and urging her to try the remedy. She adopted it at once, and in a few months was entirely healed, and at the time of receiving this information, which was a year or more afterwards, no reappearance of the tumor has occurred."

The sum and substance of everything presented conclusively points to just one thing: so long as red clover blossoms are available for making a tea, there should never be any reason why cancer victims need to go to medical doctors to have their bodies poisoned by chemotherapy drugs and/or to have their entire immune systems nuked into oblivion with lethal doses of cobalt radiation.

And in the event that the cancer is too well advanced for even this herb to do any good, then may I suggest that the individual make his or her peace with God and spend whatever time remains at home instead of the hospital. By doing so, one passes on with his or her dignity and respect intact, rather than enduring the horrible pain of barbaric medical practices. At least this way it is natural and more humane than the other.

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There you have it, folks. BTW, that is Heinerman's thoughts, not my own. I don't give medical advice as I am not a doctor. However, I thought I should share this story with you all, because I consider it important information for readers to have. Much preferable, would be for all of you to buy this book, as it is full of anecdotes and stories like the above. If you get a used copy, it is very affordable, and it is a remarkable book. One of the best on herbs that I have found, not especially in depth, but definitely encyclopedic. Most herbs- for-diseases books are set up in chapters by the complaint or disease. This one is set up in chapters by the herb or spice, and is very easy to read. My apologies to Heinerman and his publishers for citing such a large portion of text, it is undoubtable more than fair use.

A bit more on red clover. This is from a Peterson's Field Guide, Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants and Herbs, by Steven Foster and James A. Duke.

Red Clover

Trifolium pratense

Uses:

Historically, flower tea has been used as an antispasmodic, expectorant, mild sedative, "blood purifier"; for asthma, bronshitis, spasmodic coughs; externally, a wash has been used as a folk cancer remedy, including the famous Hoxsey treatment, and for athlete's foot, sores, burns, and ulcers. Flowers formerly smoked in anti-asthma cigarettes. Science has not confirmed traditional uses. However, Red Clover contains many biologically active compounds, including phytoestrogenic isoflavones, such as genistein, diadzen, formononetin, and biochaninA, among others. Phytoestrogens activate estrogen receptors in mammals. Epidemiological studies provide evidence that certain dietary components can have a significant effect on the incidence and location of cancers in humans. Standardized extracts of Red Clover, produced in Australia, are now sold in the US. One tablet contains 40 mg of phytoestrogens, 8 times the amount consumed in the typical American diet.

Onwards,

HM