Preface

The reasons why I was not imprisoned for running an open Cancer Clinic at Bracebridge, Ont., for 8 years, were:
1. Because I achieved good results in animal research under the observation of medical doctors. My treatments caused a regression of the malignant growth in the mice, and prolonged life.
2. Because I achieved the same results on humans, always treating with the permission of medical men of good standing, and under their observation.
3. Because I had clinical x-ray and pathological proof of results, after everything known to medical science had failed.
4. Because 55,000 persons signed a petition to the Ontario Government Legislature in favour of my treatment for cancer; 387 patients and many doctors signed this same petition, which was presented to a legislative committee of 59 members of parliament. I lost out by only three votes. I lost because the doctors had assured the Legislature beforehand that they would appoint a "Cancer Commission" to hear my case, and to give my treatment a fair hearing which proved to be a very unfair hearing, as you will see by this story.

I was Canada's Cancer Nurse
In the mid-twenties I was head nurse at the Sisters of Providence Hospital in a Northern Ontario town.
One day one of my nurses was bathing an elderly lady patient. I noticed that one breast was a mass of scar tissue, and asked about it.

"I came out from England nearly 30 years ago." She told me. "I joined my husband who was prospecting in the wilds of Northern Ontario. My right breast became sore and swollen, and very painful. My husband brought me to Toronto, and the doctors told me I had advanced cancer and my breast must be removed at once.

"Before we left camp a very old Indian medicine man had told me I had cancer, but he could cure it. I decided I'd just as soon try his remedy as to have my breast removed. One of my friends had died from breast surgery. Besides, we had no money."

She and her husband returned to the mining camp, and the old Indian showed her certain herbs growing in the area, told her to make a tea from these herbs and to drink it every day. She was nearly 80 years old when I saw her and there had been no recurrence of cancer. I was much interested and wrote down the names of the herbs she had used. I knew that doctors threw up their hands when cancer was discovered in a patient; it was the same as a death sentence, just about. I decided that if I should ever develop cancer, I would use this herb tea.

About a year later I was visiting an aged retired doctor whom I knew well. We were walking slowly about his garden when he took his cane and lifted a weed.

"Nurse Caisse," he told me, "if people would use this weed there would be very little cancer in the world."
He told me the name of the plant. It was one of the herbs my patient named as an ingredient of the Indian medicine man's tea!

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