(NaturalNews) It was the season to be jolly for 53 year old Joan van Holsteijn of England. Her 2009 Christmas gift was the final cure of her cancer by Mistletoe! Actually, she was treated with an extract of mistletoe, a natural medicine first developed in 1922 for cancer by Rudolf Steiner in Europe. It is rarely used by itself today. Instead, it`s sometimes used as an adjunct to the more toxic forms of cancer treatments, especially chemotherapy.
But Joan opted for the mistletoe extract as the first and only treatment. "It [chemotherapy] runs down your immune system to the point where you don`t feel well. Even if you get better from the cancer you still have to deal with the treatments," she added.
About Mistletoe for Cancer
According to Wikipedia, Suzanne Somers, author of Knockout, also chose a mistletoe extract instead of chemotherapy for her breast cancer tumors. Surgery and radiation had not succeeded with ridding Suzanne of cancer, and her doctor's orders were for her to undergo chemotherapy. And just like Joan of England, Suzanne of Hollywood shunned chemotherapy to have mistletoe extract cure her.
As The Cancer Cure Website explains: "Mistletoe extracts are marketed under several trade names …, most of which are available in Europe. … these extracts must be prescribed by a physician. However, most doctors in the US do not use it … [though] it is allowed by compassionate use. Physicians … can order [mistletoe extracts] directly from European manufacturers."
Mistletoe extracts are usually injected, but they can also be taken orally if appropriate. It`s important to realize the extract is used because the leaves and berries of mistletoe are poisonous. The extract contains several cytotoxins (cell toxins) which induce tumor necrosis (tissue death) in the cancer cells while programming apoptosis (cancer cell suicide).
Mistletoe extracts stimulate the immune system and increase natural killer cell activity. Chemotherapy dampens the immune system while killing healthy cells along with the cancer cells. Ironically, mistletoe extracts are sometimes used with chemotherapy to protect the DNA of healthy cells.
Negative side effects are very rare, and when they do occur they are usually minor allergic reactions. However, people with heart problems or who are on MAO inhibitor antidepressants are at risk for serious reactions with mistletoe extracts.