A study of the safety and effectiveness of botanical medicine in the treatment of cancer

It is believed that more than half of all cancer patients seek out complementary and alternative treatment, particularly herbal medicine. We performed a thorough review to determine the safety and effectiveness of herbal medications widely taken by patients in the hopes of preventing cancer, treating cancer, and treating side effects associated with conventional cancer therapies. Current evidence suggests that eating Asian ginseng, garlic, green tea, tomatoes, and soy as part of a healthy diet may help prevent cancer; more research is needed to determine the efficacy of essiac, evening primrose oil, mistletoe, reishi, shiitake, and turmeric as cancer treatments; and ginger may help with chemo-therapy-induced nausea and vomiting.