I can only imagine how heavy your heart must feel following a cancer diagnosis. As you prepare to begin treatment, it is only natural to feel a desperate urge to do something—anything—for your body right away. In fact, a great many people call our company during exactly this period.
First, let me state one thing clearly from the outset. Chaga mushroom is classified under domestic law as a food product, not a pharmaceutical drug, so it is legally prohibited to state that it has any specific effect or efficacy against a particular disease. For this reason, in this article as well, I cannot tell you anything suggesting that chaga mushroom helps with cancer.
However, based on our 20 years of experience, I will answer as honestly and specifically as possible the questions that people who have been diagnosed with cancer and are preparing for treatment are most curious about: "Is it safe to take?", "Will it interfere with treatment?", and "When and how should I take it?"
Can I Take It While Waiting for Treatment to Begin?
To give you the conclusion first: yes, you may take it without any concern. Chaga mushroom is not an aggressive drug made by heavily concentrating a specific compound—it is a wild mushroom that grows for more than 20 years in the harsh environment of Siberia. In its native Siberia, folk tradition has included drinking it daily as a tea for hundreds of years, regardless of whether people were healthy or ill. In our company's own experience of more than 20 years, there has not been a single case in which it negatively affected examination or treatment results, or placed strain on the liver or kidneys.
So there is absolutely no reason to worry about starting chaga mushroom during this anxious period of waiting for treatment. In fact, rather than spending this time anxiously without being able to do anything, calmly beginning to manage your basic physical strength and condition may also be psychologically helpful.
Can I Take It During Hospital Treatment?
This is probably the question I receive most often. The concern is usually something like, "Could chaga mushroom reduce the effectiveness of my chemotherapy drugs?" or "Will the hospital say something about it?"
Over the past 20-plus years, many of our customers have taken chaga mushroom while undergoing chemotherapy, receiving radiation therapy, or taking blood pressure medication, blood sugar-lowering drugs, hormone medication, immunosuppressants, or blood thinners such as warfarin. Throughout that long period, there has not been a single case in which chaga mushroom reduced treatment effectiveness or caused any problem.
However, there is one point worth knowing. Hospitals often advise patients not to take any health foods or supplements during treatment. In most cases, this is not because chaga mushroom is particularly dangerous, but because it is difficult for medical staff to individually verify the countless health products that exist, so their advice is generally intended as a blanket precaution.
Until When Can I Take It Before Cancer Surgery?
If you are facing surgery, a somewhat clearer guideline is needed. To give you the conclusion first: you should stop drinking chaga mushroom 3 to 4 days before surgery, and resume taking it once you are able to eat normal meals after the surgery.
There is one point here that should not be misunderstood. The reason we recommend stopping chaga mushroom before surgery is not because it contains an ingredient that interferes with blood clotting. Chaga mushroom does not contain any such ingredient.
The actual reason lies elsewhere. Chaga mushroom extract powder consists of extremely fine particles. If a thin residue of this powder remains on the walls of the stomach or intestines and an imaging test is performed, there is a very rare possibility that the residue could appear as if it were a foreign object. To prevent this kind of unnecessary misunderstanding in advance, we recommend discontinuing use 3 to 4 days before surgery.
The point at which you can resume taking it after surgery is once the hospital lifts the fasting restriction and you are able to begin eating regular food, even in small amounts. From that point on, you can comfortably resume taking it just as before. In fact, since this is a period of rebuilding your strength after the significant physical stress of surgery, we recommend continuing to take it consistently throughout your recovery.
- Kinam Oh, kinam_oh@hanmail.net
