I first heard about the work of the Dr. Eli Jones while listening to a lecture by David Winston, one of the few living herbalists who is fully trained in the Eclectic medicine traditions. Dr. Jones treated thousands of cancer patients at the end of the last century, and was so respected in the field that members of opposing schools of medicine would go to him if they themselves developed cancer. Beginning in 1894 he began giving post-graduate instruction in cancer therapy to physicians from all parts of the country. In his out-of-print book Cancer: Its Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment , now freely available on the Internet, he told us, “I have a record of cases of genuine cancer that have been cured for fifteen to twenty-five years, and there has not been a single symptom of the return of the disease.” He also said, “No remedy, or combination of remedies has ever been discovered, or ever will be discovered, that will cure all forms of cancer.” He warned that “ In the United States, in 1890 there were 18,536 deaths from cancer; in 1900 there were 29,222 deaths from this disease. At the present time the mortality cannot be less than fifty thousand annually. In a paper before the Philadelphia Medical Society, Dr. John A. McGlinn says, “One man out of every thirty-two and one woman out of every eleven die of cancer.” (One wonders what he would think of today’s statistics).
He also states, “Good pure water, good pure air helps to make good healthy red blood. Unadulterated food, mostly vegetables, easily digested, leaving out tea and coffee, keep the nervous system strong and vigorous. Stop worrying.” He tells us that we must “raise the nerve power, the vitality of the patient at or as near normal as possible. Many times I have noticed this fact that when the eye, the pulse, and the tongue showed the organs of the body secreting properly, good digestion, a strong, full, regular pulse, the disease itself would be at a standstill, but if the signs showed a weakened vitality, the disease would take on new life and activity.”
Most of the first half of Dr. Jones’ book is devoted to teaching the importance of treating the whole person, making sure the digestion and liver are functioning well, and properly dealing with stress and poor diet. He lists many specific remedies. However, the jewel of the book for a patient today is his Compound Scrophularia Syrup, used for all cancers of the blood or tissues, which he describes as follows:
“After many years of testing different remedies for the internal treatment of cancer to form a combination which could be dignified with the name “Cancer Syrup”– a remedy that could be depended upon in the more advanced stages of cancer when the system has become saturated with the germs of cancer –I have devised the following formula. It has been the earnest study of my life to find such a combination that I could leave as a help to my brother physicians in their efforts to cure the more desperate forms of this disease. I have the utmost faith in the curative power of this combination. I have never mentioned this remedy to anyone and would not until I had thoroughly tested it in many difficult cases of genuine cancer so that I could conscientiously recommend it in my book on cancer.”
The formula contains: scrophularia leaves/root (S. nodosa), poke root (Phytolacca americana), yellow dock root (Rumex crispus), false bittersweet root/bark (Celastrus scandens), turkey corn root (Corydalis formosa), mayapple root (Podophyllum peltatum), juniper berries (J. communis), prickly ash berries, and guiacum wood resin (G. officinalis).
An analysis of this formula shows that it contains herbs that strongly reduce toxic heat and swelling, thin the lymph and congestion in the lymphatic system, soften hardened tissue, nourish the blood, cleanse the liver, reduce pain, and reduce blood congestion. Because it contains many very strong herbs, it should only be administered under the direction of a qualified herbalist.
The Hoxey Formula
This classic formula was used by Harry Hoxey early in this century to treat cancer. He developed quite a reputation, and had many run-ins with the legal and medical systems of his day. He claimed the formula had been discovered by his grandfather, who used it to treat farm animals with cancers. In fact, the late Dr. John Christopher said in a lecture that similar or almost identical formulas existed in the Eclectic materia medica, and were also in use by Native Americans. This formula is a classic “blood purifier,” which can be used to cleanse the liver, blood, and lymphatics. It is particularly effective in treating swollen lymph nodes and swollen glands. I have used it successfully many times for chronic swollen glands, unresponsive to antibiotics, usually combining it with castor oil packs.
This formula contains liquid extracts of red clover blossoms, licorice root, buckthorn bark (Rhamnusfrangula) , burdock seed (Arctium lappa), stillingia root (Stillingia sylvatica), Oregon grape root (Berberis aquifolium), phytolacca root (P. Americana a), prickly ash bark, wild indigo root (Baptisia tinctoria) and potassium iodide.
This compound should only be administered by a qualified herbalist or health professional. It is available from several herbal suppliers