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Mistletoe extract acts on many levels: On the one hand, it boosts the immune system by multiplying and activating the immune cells. On the other, mistletoe extract can induce apoptosis – the process of natural cell death – which can inhibit tumor growth.
Healthy tissue is not adversely affected by this. On the contrary: Mistletoe extract protects the DNA of immune cells and other healthy cells against damage caused by cytostatic drugs. As a result, side effects of chemotherapy can be reduced.
Mistletoe therapy results in significant improvements in patients’ quality of life:
Sometimes, mistletoe therapy can also help shrink a tumor and prolong survival.
This mode of action makes mistletoe therapy a key supplement to standard oncological therapies.
Mistletoe therapy is an individual one. Before starting the therapy, please discuss it with your doctor in detail. He will decide which host tree is best suited to your specific situation. Helixor manufactures mistletoe products from apple tree, fir, and pine mistletoe.
Mistletoe products for cancer therapy are manufactured exclusively as ampoules. They must always be stored at room temperature (maximum 25 °C) or in a fridge (2 – 8 °C) in the closed package (protected from light). Please pay close attention to our instructions for subcutaneous injection as well as the package leaflet.
Usually, mistletoe products are injected subcutaneously, two to three times a week. Ideally around the navel or into the upper thighs, because the skin is less sensitive to pain there.
Never inject into any of the following:
The first injection must be done by your doctor or their assistant. After you are familiar with the process, you can administer the ampoule yourself, or ask a relative or caregiver to do it.
Ideally, you will see reddening and slight swelling at the injection site. This so-called local reaction reaches a peak 2 – 3 days after the injection was given, then quickly disappears. This is neither an allergy nor a side effect – your body is responding to the mistletoe extract. Sometimes, the injection site will itch a little. Your doctor will select a dosage to keep the diameter of your local reaction under 5 cm (2 in).
Please keep the following in mind:
The next injection is given after the local reaction subsides. That’s why it can sometimes take several weeks for you and your doctor to find the right dosage for you.
The optimum dosage is achieved when your overall well-being and/or specific symptoms (such as pain, fear, or depression) improve and your body temperature increases slightly, by about 1 °C (1.8 °F). You will feel pleasantly warm. However, if you develop a fever above 38 °C (100.4 °F), you need to contact your doctor and discuss how to proceed.
If the tumor is still detectable, or if you are receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy, the mistletoe therapy is continued without a break. Later on, to avoid habituation, individual therapy cycles are recommended. Mistletoe therapy is usually administered for several years.
Watch Dr. Golding talk on Integrative and Anti-Aging Medicine.
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