Zinc Chloride Pastes

The escharotic products used for external cancer treatment are usually called "black salves" or "Compound X," but there are other products with names like C-Herb, HerbVeil, Cansema, Can-X, Indian Mud, and probably a host of others that have not as yet been brought to my attention. Almost invariably, these products contain zinc chloride, a highly antiseptic caustic that is somewhat more readily absorbed by malignant tissue than by normal tissue, though it is often reactive with healthy as well as morbid tissue. As indicated elsewhere, to the best of my knowledge, none of the salves contain zinc chloride whereas nearly all the pastes do. It is probable that a paste without zinc chloride would have a very short shelf life so that the addition of zinc chloride to otherwise purely botanical formulas is necessary in order to preserve the paste as well as to increase the activity of the pastes.

 

Bloodroot

By far the most popular herb in these pastes is bloodroot, a North American herb growing mainly in the East from the Carolinas and north into Canada. Its botanical name is Sanguinaria canadensis. Researchers have isolated the alkaloidal principle, sanguinarine, as the anticancer constituent. This alkaloid is also found in the far more abundant greater celandine, Chelidonium majus, an herb common along roadsides in Europe and elsewhere (and used in combination with a chemotherapeutic agent in Ukrain, a popular alternative treatment offered in many foreign clinics and few domestic ones.)

There are many other herbs besides bloodroot used in escharotics. After many years of using bloodroot, Dr. John Pattison (1866) began using goldenseal, another alkaloidal herb and one that was very popular among the Cherokee peoples. Also, some herbalists in the last century used a tar-like paste made from red clover blossoms. Hildegard of Bingen's recipe called for crushed violets; Dr. John Christopher, a noted naturopath, used cayenne. Some Indians used roasted red onions; the Japanese used taro. Nature is very generous and has apparently provided us with many alternatives so that people in all parts of the world can enjoy health and longevity.

I personally prefer goldenseal and would not advise anyone to use bloodroot unless (1) time is of the essence, (2) the tumor is suspected to have a viral component, and (3) there is someone experienced available to supervise the treatment. Bloodroot is unpredictable. Moreover, it is absorbed into the bloodstream very quickly so that once it brings about a reaction, one cannot really change one's mind about going through with the process. The treatment therefore usually becomes systemic as well as dramatic. Goldenseal treatment takes much longer but the herb's actions are more predictable, and, I think, more precise.

Hoxsey and Mohs

Some escharotics have a high percentage of mineral based constituents, zinc chloride, chromium chloride, arsenic trisulphide, etc. These tend to be very aggressive and usually less capable of discriminating healthy from malignant tissue. Historically, certain experts, such as Dr. Eli G. Jones (1911), used such escharotics on large tumors and combinations of these with botanical ingredients where the tumors were smaller, closer to the surface of the skin, or exposed.

Mohs and Hoxsey both used a combination of antimony (stibnite), zinc chloride, and bloodroot, thus combining the allopathic and holistic traditions of countless centuries.

The Mohs Method is now standard for many kinds of skin cancer, but Mohs himself successfully used the paste in association with minor surgery on many other kinds of cancer as well.

Neither Hoxsey or Mohs appeared to be aware that their formulae had been widely used by both professional and lay practitioners for countless centuries. Hoxsey believed that his formula was a prized family possession, i.e., that it was entirely proprietary. Mohs claims to have developed his fixative paste after experimenting with over a thousand substances.

Despite their differences in education and professional experience, I did not find the apparent ignorance of either Hoxsey or Mohs credible. My sources indicate that every corner drug store carried escharotics until radioactive isotopes and chemotherapy became the new fashions of medicine, and the more traditional (and less expensive) cancer treatments went underground.

 

The book contains over 100 recipes for cancer salves, pastes, poultices, liniments, internal tonics, and teas as well as detailed instructions for use of the products.

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Bloodroot

 

Table of Contents of the Introductory Section

Why I Started this Site My First Exposure to Cancer Salves
What are Cancer Salves Historic Escharotic Salves Secrecy around use of the Salves
Types of Cancer Salves Zinc Chloride Bloodroot
Responses Cure Rate Safety Comparisons with Surgery
Pros and Cons Treatment Supervision Using Salves Goldenseal

Photographs: Eschar Forming and Healed Site