According to Mayo Clinic staff, cancer is ranked in severity as stages 0 through IV. Stage III breast cancer, for instance, may indicate a tumor of 5 cm in size, which has spread to nearby lymph nodes but hasn't spread (metastasized) to other organs. Since many prescribed medications are made from herbs it may seem that these can help treat cancer. But herbs don't fall under the same guidelines as prescribed medications. Mayo Clinic staff say some herbal treatments may actually be harmful. The American Cancer Society website states treatments for both stage II and III are similar. A full list of pros and cons for various herbs can be found on their site.
Promising Herbal Treatments
Promising herbal cancer treatments include mistletoe (Viscum album) extract that has a potential biological response modifier (BRM) process. This material may stimulate parts of the immune system that fight tumor growth while also killing off cancer cells. The National Institutes of Health is funding further research into this extract.
Harmless Herbal Treatments
Some herbal treatments are known as having possible curative powers, and while not proven to be curative they don't seem harmful. Green tea, cats claw (a South American vine with the scientific name Uncaria tomentosa) and the herbal tea Essiac (whose components include Indian rhubarb, sheepshead sorrel, slippery elm and burdock root) seem to fall into this category. But be sure that the items come from a reliable supplier, advises "A Healthy Me" website.
Harmful Herbal Treatments
Some herbal treatments have the potential for great harm. Laetrile, made from the pits of apricots, peaches and plums can actually contain cyanide. The American Cancer Society reports no cancer curative abilities for Laetrile, but states ingesting it could result in poisoning and death.
