"This makes a year's supply for $5.00 or £3.72" according to Essiac Essentials,
written in 1999. Cost increases and exchange rate changes updated to 2005
would be more like $7.50 or £4.00. for "a year's supply".

Herb	Volume	Weight		Form	% of Recipe
Burdock root		4.25 ozs.	120g	pea-size cut	53%
Sheep sorrel		2.8 ozs.	80g	powdered	36%
Slippery Elm bark		0.7 ozs.	20g	powdered	9%
Turkey rhubarb root		0.18 oz.	5g	powdered	2%

Scales: "The Gourmet Weigh" scale by Metrokane for $24.99 does ounce/metric weight. Metrokane also has "Scale Polder" ounce/metric for weighing up to 7 pounds, for $14.99.

Another approach is to use volume measurements, if you are allergic to metric measurements. The trouble with volume measurement is that herb volume can vary widely depending on supplier.

Essiac contains no preservatives, discard if mold develops. "When in doubt, throw it out".

Unopened bottles can be stored in a cool, dark place, or keep all the bottles in the refrigerater. Don't freeze essiac or warm it up in a microwave (use hot water to dilute and warm it).

Directions for Use according to the book Essiac Essentials:

1 fluid ounce (30 ml) essiac tea per day, diluted in 2 fluid ounces (60 ml) hot water.
This should be sipped, preferably at bedtime on an empty stomach.
Food should not be eaten within one hour before/after drinking the tea.

As a daily tonic or to enhance the immune system:

Take half a fluid ounce (15 ml) per day, diluted in one ounce hot water.

According to Sheila Snow and Mali Klein on page 41 of their book Essiac Essentials,
"It is very important to use the dosage as Rene recommended, which was based on more than 54 years' experience. Rene was very concerned about this, which is why she personally administered the dose to her patients." Depending on special circumstances, very occasionally in her later years, Rene would sometimes advise an initial dose of one fluid ounce twice daily for the first five, ten or (rarely) thirty days before reducing to one fluid ounce once a day. In the same book Rene Caisse is quoted as saying,

"There is no need to to exceed this dose."

"People will not stick to the dose I give. They'll decide on their own
-- if a little's good, a lot's better. That's the way they think."

Notes about side effects, although side affects are rare when taking essiac:

Diarrhea, headache, lower-back kidney ache, flu-like symptoms or upset stomach are usually caused by too high of a dose and not drinking enough water. Cut dose back to half the amount of essiac or stop for a few days, drinking a gallon of water every day to flush out your system (not juice, tea or other beverages). Anyone taking essiac should increase their water intake.

If you become itchy or develop some rashes when you take essiac tea, that is an allergy to the sheep sorrel. People who take too much essiac tea for too long can also develop this allergy. Many herbalists recommend using a "5 days on, 2 days off" rule with any herbal decoction.

Cynthia Olsen Notes (from Essiac, A Native Herbal Cancer Remedy, 2nd Edition page 61)

Though side effects are rare when taking Essiac, there are three general ones:

1. nausea and/or indigestion, generally caused by eating or drinking too soon before or after drinking the tea,
2. severe intestinal or digestive discomfort, caused principally because as toxins dissolve, the body tries to eliminate them quickly,
3. an increase in the size of an existing tumor, caused by the metastasized cells gathering at the original site, before the tumor softens and reduces in size.

Sheila Snow Notes (from Essence of Essiac, page 48)

Here are three possible causes of adverse reactions:

1. A full stomach of undgested food or consuming beverage just before taking the remedy, especially tea or coffee.
2. Waste materials build up in the body, it attempts to eliminate them all at once. This could create extreme discomfot in the digestive tract, occasionally to the point of vomiting.
3. A tumor may increase in size (as metastisized cells are gathered to the original site) and could cause a blockage in some vulnerable area of the body, before it softens and reduces in size.

Kathy Sedler advice about who should not use essiac and who should use caution:

Editor note:  Most of the cautions below are not found elsewhere or in conventional essiac books. Start taking essiac in minimal doses or ask your doctor about taking essiac if you're concerned.

A California nurse named Kathy Sedler used to sell essiac herbs online. According to Kathy's research (no longer online), she advised not taking essiac if you are pregnant, nursing or trying to conceive, if you have kidney disease, are prone to kidney stones or kidney infections (due to oxalic acid in essiac), have ulcers or colitis or have increased levels of iron in your blood.

Kathy Sedler's "When To Use Caution In Taking Essiac" was for those taking anticoagulant prescriptions, cardiac glycosides (like Digoxin), those with a cholecystectomy (removal of the gallbladder) and osteoporosis. Kathy had this caution for people with diabetes,

"Diabetics who are insulin dependant may need to adjust their dosage, also those on anti-diabetes medications. All diabetics should monitor their blood sugar closely while on this tea. Some of the constituents in this tea can affect the way glucose and insulin are taken up in the cells and utilized. Many people find they need less medication while taking this tea. This is not always the case, but is worthy of mention."