Can it be?
Paul Stamets, founder, Fungi Perfecti; Advisor, Program of Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Medical School, Tucson says YES! Paul has written six books on mushroom cultivation and has received the National Geographic Adventure Magazine’s Green-Novator and the Argosy Foundation’s E-chievement Awards. His mother was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer which spread to her liver. Sadly, her oncologist at the Swedish Breast Cancer Clinic at the University of Washington, said it was the 2nd worse case of breast cancer she had seen in her 20 years of practice. Told she only had 3 to 6 months to live, the oncologist told both mother and son about an intriguing new study using Turkey Tail mushrooms to cure cancer.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Willingly and with nothing to lose, Stamets’ mother tried the mushrooms (along with the drug Ariceptin). And only seven months later, Paul declared, “As of February 2010, she was virtually cancer-free”. (watch his talk on TedMed here)
CANCER FREE……….let that sink in for a moment……..
The doctors said it was the quickest and most complete recovery they had ever witnessed.
WHAT CAN IT DO?
This traditional Chinese mushroom helps cancer patients strengthen their immune systems during chemotherapy. Once brewed as a tea for thousands of years (during the Ming Dynasty in the 15th century) by the Chinese, its health potential has never been fully measured in scientific trials…..until now. And the best part?
APPROVED BY THE FDA for clinical trial at the center of a $5.4 million collaboration between Bastyr, the University of Washington and others, and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“One of the things chemotherapy does is suppress the immune system, so our question is whether patients taking the extract can maintain healthier immune function,” says Masa Sasagawa, ND, a senior project manager at the Bastyr University Research Institute.
SO WHAT IS IT?
This super-abundant colorful mushroom grows on dead trees, logs, branches, and stumps. Turkey tail mushrooms are called bracket fungi, meaning that they form thin, leather-like and leaf-like structures in concentric circles. Rather than gills underneath, as in shiitake mushrooms, their undersides have tiny pores, which emit spores, placing them in the polypore family. These mushrooms grow throughout the world, practically wherever trees can be found. In fact, turkey tails are some of most common mushrooms found on wood on the planet. (via)
HOW WILL IT BE USED?
The FDA has approved a clinical trial for turkey tail extract, where they will allow patients with advanced prostate cancer to take it along with conventional chemotherapy. Another group of patients will be given chemotherapy with a placebo. Additionally, a seven-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health and reported in November 2010 found that the use of turkey tail mushroom significantly boosted immunity in women who had been treated for breast cancer. Researchers at the University of Minnesota and Bastyr University conducted the study in women with stages I-III breast cancer who had completed radiation therapy or chemotherapy. Results showed that immune function was enhanced in the women who took daily doses of turkey tail in pill form and that none of the subjects suffered any adverse effects. The actual product used in the study was Host Defense Turkey Tail from Fungi Perfecti. (via)
HOW CAN YOU TAKE IT?
Typical dosage is 2-3 grams, 3 times per day with food. The dosage that was used by mycologist Paul Stamet’s mother to cure her cancer was 8 capsules a day. Turkey Tail mushrooms can be kept for years without losing any of their medicinal potency. Store them away from heat and light to extend their shelf live even further. Consuming Turkey Tail mushrooms can benefit anybody, even those in good health. (via)
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?
While the fractionated “drug” version of turkey tail, known as PSK, is not legal to sell in the U.S., the pure turkey tail product used in the U.S. NIH breast cancer clinical study is widely available from Fungi Perfecti (www.fungi.com) under the label “Host Defense.” Since this turkey tail mycelium is presented in its unaltered form, it qualifies as a FDA approved “nutraceutical” ingredient. In this form, it can be advertised in the United States and Canada as a supplement to “support the immune system.” (via) Make sure that there is a certifying agency on the label. Most consumers are not aware that seeing “organic” on the label, within a trademark, does not mean the mushrooms are organic. This is a common deception, and a subject of great controversy within the organic food and dietary supplement industry.
Find more info here:
http://wildbranchmushrooms.com/turkey-tail
http://www.naturalnews.com/042965_turkey_tail_mushroom_cancer_treatment_scientific_study.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-stamets/mushrooms-cancer_b_1560691.html
http://www.endalldisease.com/turkey-tail-mushrooms-cancer/
