I initially mentioned the subject of green tea in my March 31st blog, where I wrote about complementary medicines. Due to the large number of queries, I followed that up with another blog on April 24th, where I go into an in-depth explanation of the green tea extract that I included in my treatment plan for lymphoma.

The point of yet another blog on green tea is to try and clear up some confusion on the part of the many readers who have sent me e-mails and/or responded to the previous blogs with questions.

Some have mistakenly thought that if they purchased the EGCG (epigallocatechin-3 gallate) and vitamin B-12, they could make up the solution themselves or have their pharmacists make up the solution using these same ingredients. This is not the case.

While you can make up a solution, it is not the same as the one I’ve mentioned and making the solution yourself is very involved because I believe you have to steam and dry the green tea leaves. And quite frankly, I haven’t a clue as to what you do once you’ve done that, plus I don’t know how you would incorporate the B-12.

My brother-in-law, who is a compounding pharmacist, makes the extract from his own formula. He told my husband where to purchase the machine so we could make up a fresh solution daily. Otherwise, he would have to make up the solution and send it to us. He has agreed to share this formula with other pharmacists, but they will not be able to make up the solution without the machine. The machine is crucial to this solution because it electrolizes the EGCG and the B-12 (see 4/24 blog). It is also expensive – around

$ 1,000.00, so my guess is that not many pharmacists would consider purchasing the machine unless they saw a booming business with it. The potential is certainly there because the green tea is not only for cancer patients. It helps many conditions.

To reiterate, my point in mentioning the green tea was to share with readers what I believed helped get me well. It was not an endorsement of a product nor was it my intention to send my brother-in-law some business. Truth be told, I’m not doing him any favors; it’s a pain for him to make the solution, and he’d rather not be bothered. However, he’s a nice guy and will do so, but in the State of New York a prescription is needed. In California, pharmacists could make up the solution (if they have the machine) without this hassle.

Now with that said, I’m sending along the e-mail my husband received a few weeks ago from his cousin’s wife. This is the cousin I wrote about a few months ago who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and was doing so poorly we didn’t think he’d make it through the summer. He decided to try the solution so we gave him the machine to use with the extract. Here’s what his wife had to say after two weeks:

“Ray is feeling remarkable now. He breezed through the chemo treatment Monday, after being on the ECGC+. He has been drinking about 16 oz., or more a day for the last 2 weeks and has boundless energy and is, most importantly, not sick anymore. I really thought he wasn’t going to make it to the third round of treatments and I had to beg him to go for the second round because he was so sick. He was unable to complete the second round or the third round because his WBC count was less than 1 and had to go

to the hospital for hydration. He told me (and his doctor) he would rather die than go through the treatments and his doctor said he was considering dropping down to only one agent due to Ray being so sick and his quality of life was so poor. Four weeks ago he was on 120mg of MS Contin for the pain and taking antiemedics for the nausea. He is now on 15mg and expects to go off in a few days and no antiemedics. I can’t believe how much better he is, it’s like he was never sick. He played 4 rounds of golf in 4 days and has gained back 10 lbs. His attitude is great and he feels great. I can’t believe what I am seeing and I wouldn’t of believed it could happen if I wasn’t witnessing it myself. I also saw the article about the EGCG that Peter sent, I hope my husband is the Pancreatic Cancer Poster Boy!! –JB"

As I mentioned in the earlier blogs, there is no way to know what made me well or what is making my husband’s cousin feel better. However, there is a lot of ongoing research about the benefits of ECGC, and all seem to be showing a beneficial effect. You can find lots of information on the Internet if you Google ECGC.

I hope this helps to clear up the confusion about the green tea. I have given HealthTalk.com the contact information for my brother-in-law or you can have them forward your e-mail to me. Either way, I’m probably going to get an e-mailful from my brother-in-law.