MISTLETOE THERAPY
Mistletoe therapy can improve quality of life by lessening side effects such as fatigue, nausea/vomiting, low appetite, low energy, and pain associated with cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and/or radiation while simultaneously protecting healthy cells from damage. It has also been shown to improve overall survival in cancer patients.
What is mistletoe therapy?
Mistletoe or Viscum album. is a plant that grows on various types of trees. Mistletoe therapy has been used in cancer care since 1917 and is now among the most prescribed adjunctive cancer therapy in Europe.
Mistletoe therapy can improve quality of life by lessening side effects such as fatigue, nausea/vomiting, low appetite, low energy, and pain associated with cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and/or radiation while simultaneously protecting healthy cells from damage. It has also been shown to improve overall survival in cancer patients.
A benefit of mistletoe therapy is its excellent safety profile. It can be safely used during chemotherapy and/or radiation to enhance treatment outcomes and increase treatment tolerability. It can also be used after curative treatment, or in palliative therapy to improve quality of life, stabilize disease, and reduce progression or recurrence. In general, mistletoe therapy is well tolerated in adults and has little side effects or negative interactions with other therapies.
How does it work?
Mistletoe’s contains lectins and viscotoxins that stimulates key cancer fighting immune cells such as NK cells and cytotoxic T-cells, which improves our bodies defense against cancer.
Cell studies have showed the ability of mistletoe to directly target cancer cells through apoptosis (cancer cell killing) which helps to suppress tumor growth and spread.
Mistletoe extracts contain flavonoids and triterpenoids that are both antioxidative and anti-inflammatory, thereby protecting healthy cells from damage caused by excess radiation/drugs.
MISTLETOE RESEARCH
More than 3000 publications and
150 clinical studies have been done on mistletoe.
Improve quality of life by lessening side effects such as fatigue, nausea/vomiting, low appetite, low energy, and pain.
Safe to use alongside conventional therapies such as chemotherapy and/or radiation.
Strong immunomodulatory effects resulting in reduced tumor growth and increased overall survival.
What to expect
After careful screening of patient history and current health status, we will determine the type of mistletoe therapy best suited for you. We will then familiarize you with the treatment, demonstrate how to self-administer mistletoe, and provide you will all the supplies needed to continue the therapy independently at home.
Mistletoe is injected under the skin (subcutaneously) on the abdomen or thigh 2-3 times a week. Treatment starts at a low dose working up towards higher doses to continually stimulate immunity and provide quality of life benefits. Mistletoe therapy is a long-term treatment.
There are desired local reactions to mistletoe therapy that is caused by infiltration of activated immune cells. This reaction indicates to the practitioner that it is positively stimulating anti-cancer immunity and can help to determine the maximum dose for the patient at a given time. Desired effects:
- Temporary localized redness < 5 cm in diameter and minor swelling and itching of the skin
- Temporary elevation in body temperature
- Improvement in general condition
- Improved tolerability of chemotherapy and/or radiation
- Long term: stabilization of disease progression