My 16-yr-old Himalayan (cat) was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma - he had a tumor in his mouth. My vet said it was always fatal, & gave him 6 wks to 6 mos. to live. I was devastated.
I looked into natural rememdies & saw that many holistic vets recommended Essiac Tea, with which I was totally unfamiliar. I bought a bottle of a brand containing 8 herbs - the 4 in the original Essiac formula, plus 4 more. I also put him on shark cartilage.
The mouth tumor immediately started shrinking. I'm convinced it was the combination of the Essiac Tea & the shark cartilage. They both seemed to contribute. And it was 100% safe for him.
Long story short, he lived to be just a little over 19 yrs. old - quite a stretch from the 6 wks to 6 mos. our vet had originally given him!"

Posted By Spectrekitty (Dallas, Tx) on 07/22/2015
"The Essiac I bought was a bottled liquid called FlorEssence. As I said, it had the original 4 herbs in Essiac Tea, plus 4 more. The FlorEssence brand worked very well.
You can also get it in tea bags & brew your own, but I don't know how well that works.
I was buying shark cartilage powder, but then no one carried it any more, so I just had to buy it in capsules & dump them out into his baby food. The capsules weren't as good, because they didn't want to mix with the baby food the way the regular powder had.
The Essiac - we gave him in a syringe, about a half hour before his meal. We did this twice a day. For the last 3 years of his life, all he ate was Gerber's baby food meat. We'd mix the shark cartilage into it.
As to dosages, I can't really remember how much I gave him of what. He got other medicines, too, but he had several health conditions.
Hope this is helpful to somebody. I hate that there is something good out there, and no vet or people doctor would dream of recommending it. It's just a shame.
Good luck, all!"

Posted By Woolbaby (New York ) on 02/08/2022
"Thank you for your story, my cat also diagnosed with squamous cell tumor in his mouth and wasn’t expected to last the week. He’s doing well, your story really gives me hope!"
Posted By Jeni (Temecula Ca) on 03/10/2026
"Just wondering how much Essiac tea and shark cartilage for your cat? My cat was just diagnosed with squamous cell tumor in her mouth."