What Is Mistletoe Injection Therapy?
- February 14, 2023
- Written by : Rebecca LaMarca, MSN, APN-BC, CNS
You might think of mistletoe as a holiday decoration, but the plant can do so much more than add festivity to a space. For hundreds of years, mistletoe has been used as a natural treatment for various conditions, like epilepsy and asthma. Modern research shows that mistletoe is particularly valuable for cancer treatment.
Our understanding of mistletoe treatment continues to grow as more studies examine the effects of this plant on different cancers. Many European countries prescribe mistletoe therapy alongside other cancer treatments. In the United States, mistletoe therapy does not have full FDA approval, but the plant is listed as an FDA-approved substance for homeopathic pharmacopeia.
Medical doctors, neuropathic doctors, nurse practitioners and doctors of anthroposophic medicine are all permitted to prescribe the treatment off-label if they are trained in mistletoe therapy. If you’re seeking alternative or complementary treatment to your cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation, mistletoe therapy may offer the relief you’re looking for.
Mistletoe Properties: Use of Mistletoe Extract
Based on our current understanding of mistletoe, the European species of the plant is most effective for cancer treatment. There are many active compounds in mistletoe, such as carbohydrates, amino acids and enzymes, but the substance of interest is the lectins found in the plant. These lectins are responsible for the treatment’s benefits related to tumor growth and the immune system.
Mistletoe extract can be used to make supplements or injections. Mistletoe supplements have not been shown to be as effective as subcutaneous or intravenous treatments with mistletoe extract. Since injections and IV treatments deliver the lectins directly into the bloodstream, the effects are more potent.
Many people living with cancer have already felt the positive results of using mistletoe extract alongside their medical treatments. One doctor, using his background at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, recommended mistletoe IV therapy for his patient with colon cancer to alleviate her symptoms. The patient decided that she did not want to move forward with chemotherapy and instead focused on diet, exercise, colon surgery and the benefits of mistletoe extract to move forward with her recovery.
After a few sessions, her energy levels and ability to overcome symptoms from her cancer diagnosis made her journey to a cancer-free life easier, and she was able to recover fully.
With more conclusive evidence of mistletoe’s effects on cancers, it’s become an increasingly popular treatment route for cancer patients. As scientists continue studying its potential benefits, mistletoe shows promising results for regenerating healthy cells, boosting immune systems and minimizing symptoms resulting from cancer treatment.
Benefits of Mistletoe Therapy
Many side effects of radiation and chemotherapy can cause physical and mental symptoms that influence daily life, including hair loss, nausea and vomiting, trouble concentrating, lymphedema (swelling in an arm or leg) and general body pain. The main benefits of mistletoe therapy revolve around reducing side effects caused by cancer treatments. With the medical properties of mistletoe, you or a loved one living with cancer can experience relief.
Relieving Cancer Treatment Symptoms
Chemotherapy and radiation are aggressive treatments. While they kill cancer cells, they often result in side effects like loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. Pairing mistletoe therapy with these treatments can reduce these symptoms and make the treatments more tolerable.
A recent review and meta-analysis of mistletoe therapy for cancer patients shows that the treatment can improve quality of life. While there is still more research to be done, these early studies about improved cancer treatment experiences are promising.
Protecting DNA
Cytotoxic therapies, including chemotherapy, can impact your body’s ability to repair DNA, which is vital for life and basic functions. Cancer treatments damage DNA and cause genomic instability. This instability is crucial for killing cancer cells, but it can also affect normal, healthy cells. The body works hard to combat this damage, but the process of preventing the replication of a damaged genome promotes aging. As you undergo cancer treatments, you can experience increased inflammation, hair loss, muscular weakness and osteoporosis, neurodegeneration, and many other symptoms.
With mistletoe treatment for cancer, the body can increase DNA damage marker proteins that recognize the effects of cancer treatments. When the body understands the damage occurring to DNA, it works on strengthening and stabilizing this genetic material.
The DNA protection caused by mistletoe therapy may also contribute to improved quality of life for cancer patients because it can reduce the symptoms you experience following your cancer treatments, like soreness or brain fog. Protecting the DNA in your healthy cells may also be the key to reducing other conditions later in life, such as strokes.
Strengthening Immune Systems
The immune system plays an essential role in every person’s life. Seasonal allergies, contagious diseases and other illnesses can have a more challenging time infecting the body when the immune system is healthy. In these cases, it signals for cells, molecules and antibodies to eliminate the virus when it enters our airways. The immune system can also fight off certain cancer types. However, cancer treatments can weaken the immune system over time.
Mistletoe therapy helps stimulate the immune system by decreasing the cytotoxicity of immune cells. When the immune cells do not experience this toxicity caused by other cancer treatments, they can continue to protect the body from illnesses and initiate repair processes when the body is weakened.
Improving Tumor Treatments
New studies of mistletoe therapy have also shown positive effects on tumor response. A study on the tumor response in patients with rectal cancer revealed that the therapy supported more effective chemoradiotherapy for shrinking cancerous tumors. The use of mistletoe may even reduce the likelihood of tumors recurring after treatment.
How Does Mistletoe Therapy Work?
During a mistletoe therapy appointment, you or your loved one will meet a medical provider who will administer the IV drip. The mistletoe medical properties are in the IV to easily and painlessly enter the bloodstream. With the mistletoe extract, the detoxification process of carcinogens and weaker cells can occur faster, so healthier cells can circulate in the body more quickly. With mistletoe injections, healthier cells can regenerate and survive longer. Cell protection is vital during cancer treatments, especially since radiation treatments can cause regeneration to halt for a few weeks after the session.
You can receive mistletoe therapy from the comfort of your home or at an IV drip location. Mistletoe injections last about two to three hours and typically occur three days a week. You can rest in a relaxing area in the drip location or at home while receiving the drip.
Depending on your symptoms after your first few sessions, a technician may recommend more frequent mistletoe treatments with higher dosages. You can discuss the benefits of these additional injections during your appointments.
You can seek mistletoe therapy treatments as early as your diagnosis and even right before your cancer treatment. Cell protection is essential at any point during your cancer recovery journey, and you can rest assured that an option is available when you are ready for mistletoe treatment.
Receive Mistletoe Therapy With IV Elements
If you or a loved one could benefit from mistletoe therapy, IV Elements can help. Our treatment options are available at our New Jersey locations and throughout Pennsylvania and New York.
During your first mistletoe treatment, you can visit one of our locations to learn more about this therapy option and discuss the process with our team. After you receive the injection and ask any questions, you can start receiving mistletoe injections from your home so you can relax as much as possible. We prioritize your comfort during every step of the process, and we are happy to answer questions about our other cancer treatment options.
Scheduling your first or next IV therapy session is quick and easy. Book your appointment today to get started on mistletoe treatment.
References
- What Is Mistletoe Therapy?: https://www.believebig.org/what-is-mistletoe/
- Preclinical and Clinical Effects of Mistletoe against Breast Cancer: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4127267/
- Are Mistletoe Extract Injections the Next Big Thing in Cancer Therapy?: https://hub.jhu.edu/magazine/2014/spring/mistletoe-therapy-cancer/
- Side Effects of Cancer Treatment: https://www.cdc.gov/cancer-survivors/patients/side-effects-of-treatment.html
- Quality of Life in Cancer Patients Treated With Mistletoe: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12906-020-03013-3
- DNA Damage/Repair Management in Cancers: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7226105/
- DNA Damage – How and Why We Age?: https://elifesciences.org/articles/62852
- Mistletoe Extract Targets the STAT3-FOXM1 Pathway to Induce Apoptosis and Inhibits Metastasis in Breast Cancer Cells: https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0192415X21500221
- The Immune System and Cancer: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/what-is-cancer/body-systems-and-cancer/the-immune-system-and-cancer
- Exosomes From Mistletoe Treated Tumor Cells for the Stimulation of Immune Cells: https://www.ejcancer.com/article/S0959-8049(22)01445-9/fulltext
- Effect of Mistletoe Extract on Tumor Response in Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy for Rectal Cancer: https://wjso.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12957-021-02293-4#:~:text=Mistletoe%20extract%20induces%20apoptosis%20and,%2Dspecific%20lectin%20%5B32%5D.
- Chemo and Radiation Recovery: https://ivelements.net/chemotherapy-radiation-recovery
- How Radiation Therapy Is Used to Treat Cancer: https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/treatment-types/radiation/basics.html
- High Dose Vitamin C: https://ivelements.net/highdose-vitamin-c-mistletoe-therapy
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At-Home Mistletoe Injection Therapy
Mistletoe plant has been used as an alternative method to treat cancer. It is the most widely studied and evidence-based, naturopathic medicine prescribed for cancer clients in Europe, in Germany you can receive it intravenously or as a Mistletoe Injection.
