Reishi extract is commonly used in Oriental Medicine as almost a cure-all. Both medicalpractitioners and regular people use it for things as innocent as stress and the commoncold to more serious afflictions like asthma and cancer.

One of the strongest proponents for the use of reishi as a medicinal mushroom is Dr.Fukumi Morishige. He works with the Linus Pauling Institute of Science & Medicineon treating cancer with reishi.

The following case reports were given by Dr. Morishige in a speech re-printed in theperiodical, Chinese Traditional Medicine Part III.

Growing up in Japan as Dr. Morishige did, it was impossible not to have heard of reishi.But he dismissed it as a mild herbal remedy to be used with limited results fornon-terminal illnesses, not as a viable option for treating terminal conditions such ascancer. His curiosity arose when two of his cancer patients showed signs of remission,which they themselves claimed were due to their use of reishi.

The first was a 39-year-old female with lung cancer. Several hospitals had given her thesame prognosis. The condition was too far progressed; there was nothing they could do tohelp her. She'd also been having secondary complications to the cancer in the form ofedema of the chest cavity. But by the time she came to see Dr. Morishige six months later,those symptoms had completely disappeared. The patient herself insisted the improvementwas due to 4 grams of reishi per day.

After that, there was the case of the young boy with congenital liver cancer. Four yearsbefore he came to see Dr. Morishige, the boy's original doctor had sent him home with hisparents, claiming the condition was terminal and there was nothing he could do to help.But when Dr. Morishige examined the now 9-year-old-boy, he could find no trace of thetumor. The boy's parents said they had been giving their son reishi via his naso-gastricfeeding tube. This is when Dr. Morishige decided that reishi deserved a closer look.

Listed below are five of Dr. Morishige's cases. Reishi and Vitamin C (for side effects)was used:

Case 1: A patient with a 5 cm (2 in.) brain tumor who had lost consciousness was placed on6 gm of reishi per day in June of '86. By September, this 70-year-old-male patient hademerged from his comatose state. The reishi was decreased to 3 gm per day. Another threemonths later, December of 1986, scans showed diminishing size of the tumor. After itshrunk to 1 cm (0.4 in.), the hospital released the man to return home and live with hisfamily.

Case 2: A patient with lung cancer, a 50-year-old female, was coughing up blood. Dr.Morishige put her on a daily dose of 6 gm of reishi. In six months, the tumor vanished.The woman, among other things, had regained her ability to climb stairs without sufferingshortness of breath.

Case 3: Patient with breast cancer metastasized to bones was in excruciating pain andunable to move below the head. She was put initially on 9 gm of reishi per day, which waslater increased to 20 gm/day. After two months she reported as pain free and was releasedfrom hospital after demonstrating progress in her ability to walk.

Case 4: A male patient with rectal cancer and liver metastasis began using 6 gm of reishiper day. After six months, CT scans showed diminished tumor size and patient demonstratedimproved general health.

Case 5: A 60-year-old male diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer with a shortremaining life expectancy began 9 gm/day of reishi orally, in combination with 30 gm/dayof Vitamin C intravenously. One year later, he was completely symptom free and back towork. He continued using 5 gm/day of reishi after being released from the hospital.

Note: This article is provided for informational purposes only. The product mentionedherein has not been approved by the FDA for use in treating cancer. Never use this or anyother herb to treat a life-threatening disease without consulting a licensed physician.

Reference: Morishige, Fukumi, 1987. Chinese Traditional Medicine Part III, Page 12- 23, ISBN4-88580-053-6 C-0077