A Little Hope When There’s Little Hope: Cat’s Claw & Cancer

Cat’s claw, or una de gato as it is called in Peru, is an exotic and powerful South American herb. When we were in Peru, we were surprised to find it being sold as pills by pharmacists in the drug store and as strips of bark by Amazonian women in the streets. We saw people sipping it as a cold tea mixed with sangre de drago (blood of the dragon), which is the first herb ever to be approved by the FDA for oral administration.

Amongst its many uses, cat’s claw has been said to be useful for cancer. . . .

This study included 51 people with advanced solid tumours for whom there were, unfortunately, no treatment options left. The researchers tried giving them 100mg of dry extract of cat’s claw three times a day.

Importantly, the cat’s claw was able to significantly improve their quality of life. It also significantly reduced their fatigue and significantly improved their social functioning. 

So, cat’s claw may be a valuable herb for improving life in cancer patients when no treatments are available for their cancer.

J Altern Complement Med 2015;21:22-30