The product Essiac ® contains a combination of herbs, which include the following: burdock root (ARCTIUM lappa), acederilla (Rumex acetosella), inner bark of slippery elm (Ulmus fulva) and Turkish rhubarb (Rheum palmatum). A Canadian nurse named Rene Caisse (1888-1978) developed the original formula in the twenties (in fact, the name stems from the word essiac Cassie upside down). It is said that the recipe is based on a traditional remedy of the Ojibwa tribe (Indian tribe in the United States) and Caisse formula administered orally and in many injection patients suffering from cancer during the years between 1920 and 1930. The exact quantities of ingredients and the original formulation remain a secret. During investigations that the Canadian government and public hearings conducted in the late thirties, it was not clear whether Essiac ® was an effective treatment for cancer. Amid the controversy, Caisse closed his clinic in 1942. In the fifties, Caisse gave him samples of Essiac ® Dr. Charles Brusch, founder of the Brush Medical Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who administered to patients Essiac ® (unclear if Brusch had access to the secret formula). According to some accounts, these formulations were added after additional herbs, which include the following: blessed thistle (Cnicus Benedictus), red clover (Trifolium pratense), kelp (Laminaria digitata) and watercress (Nasturtium officinale). A study conducted at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center tested samples of Essiac ® (Caissie who had supplied) in mice during the seventies. The investigation was never formally published and there are disputes as to the results of it, as some stories do not indicate any benefit and others reported significant effects (in these stories include one from Dr. Brusch). Later, questions arose about the improper preparation of the formula. Subsequently, Caisse rejected requests from researchers at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering and the National Cancer Institute, USA to have access to the recipe. In the seventies, Caisse provided the formula to Resperin Corporation Ltd., With the knowledge that this corporation would coordinate a scientific trial in humans. Although this study began, it was soon suspended amid questions about the inadequate preparation of the formula and inadequate study design. This investigation never concluded. Resperin Corporation Ltd., Who was the owner of the name Essiac ®, went bankrupt after transferring the rights of the name Essiac ® and sell the secret formula Essiac Products Ltd., Which is the company that currently distributes products through Essiac ® International. Despite the absence of scientific evidence available, Essiac ® and products similar to this (with similar ingredients) remain popular, especially in people with cancer. The most common way to ingest Essiac ® is in the form of tea. A survey which was conducted in 2000 found that about 15% of Canadian women with breast cancer consumed Essiac ®. This also has become popular in patients with HIV and diabetes and in healthy people by their significant properties in improving the immune system, although there are no reliable scientific research in these areas.