Historic Practitioners

It was my hope that once my book was published, someone would recognize the potential of botanical cancer treatments. As expected, for a while, I was courted by various universities, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists. The universities all backed down when the proposals hit high administrative levels, and the other possibilities fell apart when "return on investment" overshadowed the highest interests of the patient.

I never planned to create a product line. It all started innocently when I was talking to another herbalist and we got excited about the idea of making an exact replica of Compound Syrup Scrophularia, using the steam displacement process advised by Dr. Eli Jones as well as the fresh herbs he regarded as critical to the efficacy of the formula. For herbalists, this was a perfectly normal project: take a formula from a book and make it. When we first embarked on this, I have to admit, we never thought of selling it or even doing a clinical trial. We just wanted to taste it and feel it. There were 19 eight-ounce bottles in that first batch and the first patient who did use it had such encouraging responses that we made some more. Little by little, the projects became more and more interesting.

Then, we developed a little more formal plan. I would choose the products that stood out as most valuable, and we would re-create one after another according to the success claimed by the practitioner who used the product and how credible that person appeared to been. It has now been a few years and we have lots of products, all made in very small batches by highly qualified herbalists. There are a few products that I developed in response to needs I did not think were being met by others, such a my lymph stimulating teas and tinctures, some immune formulas, and an anti-scarring cream to be used following biopsies, surgery, or escharotic use. All the products are made by people with small laboratories and a lifelong dedication to herbal medicine.

What is absolutely different about herbal medicine than pharmaceutical medicine is that herbalists improvise. This is not regarded as irregular much less heretical or unscientific; and no one is concerned about whether or not each variation of a formula has had the same amount of clinical use. Herbalists modify formulas because of seasonal availability of plants and regional variations in flora. This has always been the case; and because of the understanding herbalists have, the ability to make safe and appropriate substitutions is rarely questioned. Another truly fascinating feature of herbal medicine is not only how flexible and eclectic it is but how global it has always been. Virtually all herbal books begin their discussions of herbs by describing the habitat. So, when I found galangal in Hildegard of Bingen's medicine, my heart skipped a few beats because I knew that long before Marco Polo, an abbess in the Middle Ages knew of the Far East!

The Key People and their Products

Hildegard of Bingen is the first of the historic practitioners whose work is presented in this section. Her products either require ingredients that are difficult to source or methods of manufacture that are extremely challenging. However, we sometimes offer her violet salve, imported from Germany where devoted admirers have created hospitals that practice "Hildegard Medicine." We also have yarrow to be made as a tea or used in a wine. Hildegard said it prevents metastasis. German doctors use it as a preparation for surgery and also in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiation.

Dr. John Pattison practiced in London in the mid-1800's. Early in his career, he used the bloodroot paste that has been widely reported in medical literature since the first studies were conducted at Middlesex Hospital by Dr. J. Weldon Fell, a contemporary of Pattison. Fell's work has been peer-reviewed for almost 150 years. Dr. Frederic Mohs does not mention either Fell or Pattison in his work, but Mohs microsurgery uses a similar paste (not identical) and a variation of the Fell method. Pattison first published a bloodroot protocol and later (1866) one based on goldenseal. Using his ideas, we make two formulas that are derivative of his work, both available only through practitioners. One is to be used in conjunction with later stages of an escharotic or enucleating process. I call it Golden Myrrical because it is made with goldenseal, myrrh, and calendula. The other is a base ointment for making an enucleating paste or salve; it is incomplete in that it lacks the ingredients to make it a standalone product. Practitioners therefore have to mix other ingredients into it to give it the desired effect.

Dr. Eli G. Jones, M.D. is next on the list. His main work was published in 1911 after a forty-year career specializing in cancer treatment. He claimed to have treated 20,000 patients with an 80% success rate. The cornerstone of his protocol was the Compound Syrup Scrophularia, the first of our historic re-creations. Jones bequeathed his formula to his brother physicians, and I reprinted it in the appendix of my book because I truly believe we should not lose touch with the fruits of someone with such an illustrious career as Jones. Recipes are not everything. Sourcing ingredients and using good manufacturing processes are equally important. This product is very difficult to make exactly as Jones required, but we have done it! We also make a number of other products based on the work of Jones: Phytolacca Syrup for poor appetite, Phytolacca Ointment for scar tissue related to breast cancer, Compound Cerate Belladonna for hard breast lumps, Corydalis Extract for cancers in the lymphatic system and cachexia, Dioscorea Extract for stomach cancer attended by griping pain, Poultice Powder for use in conjunction with an escharotic process, and Jones Drops for infection and vaccines. We also provide homeopathic Thuja 30X that Jones recommended for people who had been vaccinated. These descriptions are from the writings of Jones, and we cannot claim that they work as he said. They are available to practitioners.

Harry Hoxsey had a famous Elixirex or tonic that so far as I could tell used ingredients similar to the Trifolium Compound of the Eclectic Physicians. Because our products are historic re-creations, I chose this name over one that might have been easier to remember such as Red Clover Tonic. Later, in honor of the Native American influences on Eclectic Medicine, I renamed the formula Sundance Elixir. This product is "derivative." Based on what others had in their tonics, I adapted the formula to my own preferences. While it contains similar herbs as its Hoxsey cousin, it is more herbal and less chemical since Hoxsey used potassium iodide in his tonic. This product is available as a glycerite for those who are avoiding alcohol and as an extract for those who prefer not to consume honey.

Dr. John Christopher was a natural healer who lived in Utah. He had a very long career and many herbal products on the market today are made by students who are making extracts or teas based on the writings of Dr. Christopher. Sam and Loren Biser, brothers, each published versions of The Layman's Course on Killing Cancer and much of Richard Schulze's work is derivative of Christopher's. There are features of The Layman's Course that are beyond the scope of my work and this site, but it is evident that Christopher was treating cancer, that his primary formula was essentially the same as Hoxsey's (which is not a criticism -- it merely points to historic usage), and that his herbal bolus is something truly to be investigated by persons with cancer or other abnormal conditions of the reproductive and eliminatory systems.

Chaparral is another traditional cancer herb used mainly by curandera of the Southwest, and Essiac is a formula learned by Rene Caisse from the Ojibwa people.

Ingrid's Formulae constitute a growing list of specialty products I have created in response to pleas from patients. This includes my teas: cleavers and violets are used in conjunction with other lymph stimulating and digestive herbs. Indigo Drops is a tribute to baptisia (wild indigo) and contains many herbs known to support immune function and lymphatic drainage. Then, there is a new immune formula, a little less lymph stimulating and more white cell potentiating. It is called Whale's Teas. The anti-scar cream is called Feathered Turtle. In addition, there is the Golden Myrrical mentioned under Pattison and the base ointment for enucleating processes. In addition, there are a number of single herb extracts, such as astragalus for white blood cell enhancement. There is also a parasite protocol containing three different formulas to be used in a cycle: Arjuna's Arrows, Dragon Dreams, and Phoenix Rising.

Please understand that all these products continue to be largely experimental. Our experience with them is growing, but you know how difficult it is to discuss our products. I am totally committed to perfecting the products as much as possible and to offering seminars to practitioners so that more patients will have the benefit of skilled supervision. In the meantime, I ask you to understand the context in which these products are offered and to supply feedback on their use.

God bless!

Ingrid