Marie Augustine was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer related to exposure to asbestos in 2007. The average mesothelioma patient life expectancy is four to 18 months depending on what stage of cancer the patient is in. Marie Augustine has lived well past that. She attributes her good health to her determination to remain with her family and an herb indiginous to the eastern part of the United States.
Mesothelioma Diagnosis
When Marie Augustine was told her lungs and the protective covering surrounding them (the pleura) were fused together and her malignant cancer was inoperable, her family refused to give up on her. She was given six months to live, but her family started seeking out alternative therapies. Since she was too weak for radiation and chemotherapy treatments, they found her a Chinese medical doctor working out of Victoria.
The use of Chinese medicine helped her but she hit a plateau after two years and began to give up hope. The Lake Cowichan Gazette reports that Marie said, "I remember thinking, ‘If this is as good as it gets, I’d rather be dead.'” Then she started taking paw paw and everything changed. She started going outside again, she had more energy, she even began driving again.
Herbal Therapy for Asbestos Cancer
Paw paw (Asimina Triloba) has over 50 bioactive agents called annonaceous acetogenins. These have known cancer fighting properties. A study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry recommends paw paw fruit pulp as a new biomass source for the extraction of acetogenin compounds for product development. There is a lot of research on the development of cancer fighting medicines from the paw paw plant.
Currently, paw paw extracts and teas can be bought commercially as an herbal therapy to complement traditional treatments or for those patients who do not have the option of traditional therapies for whatever reason.
Marie Augustine never expected to live long enough to see her 50th wedding anniversary. Thanks to alternative therapies such as paw paw, she is still alive and surviving mesothelioma. She told The Lake Cowichan Gazette that she wanted to tell her story to give others hope. "I still have a hard time believing it,” she told reporters. “I am extremely fortunate and I would like people to know there is hope. Just don’t give up.”
Sources:
Lake Cowichan Gazette, "Just how important is family?" by Doug Marner, published December 14, 2009.
McLaughlin JL. "Paw Paw and Cancer: Annonaceous Acetogenins From Discovery to Commercial Products." J Nat Prod. 2008 Jul, 71(7):1311-21.
Laura Holst - Laura Holst is a substitute teacher and writer. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and is ...
