Every Christmas, most folks see mistletoe as nothing more than a decoration — a sprig we hang over a doorway, a little symbol of cheer and tradition.

But for me, mistletoe will never be just a holiday plant again.

Over 35 years ago, when I was fighting for my life after a Stage 4 melanoma diagnosis, mistletoe became part of the protocol that helped pull me back from the edge.

Not everyone knew at that time, but in my tell-all book (I Used to Have Cancer), I revealed that I injected it every single day for a year.

And let me tell you — you don’t commit to something like that unless you’re desperate, determined, or both. Within days, my body reacted with mild feverish chills, aches, and a strange feeling that something deep inside was waking up. My doctor told me, “That’s your immune system turning back on.”

Looking back now, I believe mistletoe played a meaningful role in getting my body out of shutdown mode and back into fight mode.

And here’s the part that excites me today:

Modern science is finally catching up to what European doctors have been using for decades — and what I personally experienced all those years ago. 

A New Wave of Research — And A Big Step Forward

For years, mistletoe (specifically standardized extracts like Helixor-M or Iscador) has been used across Europe as a supportive therapy for cancer patients. It’s known for boosting immune activity, improving resilience, and helping patients tolerate chemotherapy with fewer side effects.

But in America, it’s largely been ignored, until recently.

Researchers infused mistletoe extract into patients with advanced solid tumors — people who had already been through multiple rounds of treatment and had very few options left. Their goal wasn’t to cure cancer but to see if mistletoe was safe and whether it could help stabilize disease or improve quality of life.

And what they found was encouraging:

• Several patients saw their disease stop progressing for weeks at a time.
• Some tumors even shrank.
• Many reported increased energy, less fatigue, and improved well-being.

Even without dramatic tumor disappearance, these outcomes matter — especially for late-stage patients who simply want to feel better and extend good-quality time with their families.

The researchers also observed clear signs of immune activation, which lines up with what integrative practitioners have seen for decades: mistletoe seems to wake up the body’s built-in cancer defenses. 

Why Mistletoe Matters More Than Ever

Cancer care is changing. We now understand that supporting the immune system is critical for long-term resilience. Mistletoe appears to help the body do exactly that by:

• Stimulating natural killer cells
• Encouraging apoptosis (natural cell death in tumors)
• Reducing inflammation
• Improving quality of life during conventional treatment

This isn’t about replacing chemotherapy or immunotherapy. It’s about adding something that helps the patient stay stronger, tolerate treatment better, and potentially keep cancer from advancing as fast.

That’s how I used it — as one piece of a larger strategy that included nutrition, detoxification, prayer, mental strength, and a refusal to give up. 

A Personal Note From a Survivor

When I think back to the man I was in that hospital bed — weak, scared, and told I had little chance — I’m grateful every day that I didn’t rely on conventional treatment alone.

Mistletoe was one of the tools that helped me rebuild my immune system piece by piece. It reminded my body that it wasn’t done fighting.

And today’s research gives me hope that more patients will eventually have access to the same kind of integrative options that helped save my life.

There is no single magic bullet against cancer — but there are therapies that help the body remember how to heal. Mistletoe is one of them.

It’s fitting, in a way, that this humble Christmas plant — a symbol of life and renewal for centuries — is once again being recognized for its healing potential.

From one survivor to another,

Stay strong, stay hopeful, and stay open to every tool nature offers.

See also:
Can We Kiss Cancer Goodbye with Mistletoe Extract Therapy? 

Resources:

Paller CJ, Wang L, Fu W, Kumar R, Durham JN, Azad NS, Laheru DA, Browner I, Kachhap SK, Boyapati K, Odeny T, Armstrong DK, Meyer CF, Gaillard S, Brahmer JR, Page I, Wang H, Diaz LA Jr. Phase I Trial of Intravenous Mistletoe Extract in Advanced Cancer. Cancer Res Commun. 2023 Feb 28;3(2):338-346. doi: 10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-23-0002. PMID: 36860652; PMCID: PMC9973409.

Ostermann, C. Raak, A. Bussing, “Survival of cancer patients treated with mistletoe extract (Iscador): a systematic literature review,” BMC Cancer (2009); 9,451.

Ali Cassity, “The Miracle of Mistletoe,” Cancer Wellness (Feb 4, 2019)

Ramm, “Mistletoe through Cultural and Medical History: The All-Healing Plant Proves to Be a Cancer-Specific Remedy,” Translational Research in Biomedicine (2015); 4,1-10.

Gunver, Mussler, D. Fuchs, H. Kiene, “Intravenous Mistletoe Treatment in Integrative Cancer Care: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Procedures, Concepts, and Observations of Expert Doctors,” Evid Based Complement Alternat Med (2016); 4628287.

Yang, Y. Jiang, Y. Pan, et al., “Mistletoe extract Fraxini inhibits the proliferation of liver cancer by down-regulating c-Myc expression,” Scientific Reports (2019); 9:6428.

 

Eat Healthy, Wherever You Are!

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