Magic Mushroom: Is this humble fungus a cancer fighter?

The healing powers of the humble mushroom have been well known in China and Japan for hundreds of years. Now its time may finally have come in the West after a mushroom extract was used to successfully treat three cases of prostate cancer.

One swallow doesn’t make a summer, and three cases don’t add up to a proven treatment, but it does offer genuine hope in the fight against the most intransigent of cancers.

All three cases used an extract of the maitake (Grifola frondosa) mushroom called Maitake D-fraction, believed to be a strong stimulant of the immune system.

The men were each given 30 drops orally of D-fraction every day with 2000 mg vitamin C. The PSA (prostate-specific antigen) rating of one of the men, a 68-year-old, had risen over the previous two years, which suggested his cancer was spreading. However, his PSA dropped significantly within three months of his starting the D-fraction/vitamin C combination therapy.

A similar pattern was seen in the second case, of a 72-year-old man, and again the combination therapy dramatically reduced the PSA level within three months, and stabilized it at the new low level. In the third case, of a 65-year-old man, the PSA level rose after surgery and, again, the therapy lowered and stabilized it.

For men who want to reduce their risk of prostate cancer, it’s recommended to take 5 drops of Maitake D-fraction three times a day, or 20 drops a day for early-stage prostate. Cancer sufferers could also supplement this with 2000 mg of vitamin C daily, say researchers. Source: Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, December 2002, pages 96-100.

Many other breakthrough cancer treatments can be found in the WDDTY Cancer Handbook. To order your copy, visit: http://www.wddty.co.uk/shop/details.asp?product=8