Sustainable Tarpon Springs - In Thanksgiving for Turkey Tail

Happy Thanksgiving Week to everyone in Sustainable Tarpon Springs land!  

My next two blogs are dedicated to a very unlikely inspirational topic, but perhaps the more you know, the more you will likewise be inspired!  The topic is on the miracle of mushrooms, and if you haven’t thought of mushrooms as miraculous - perhaps you should read Paul Stamets wonderful 2005 book Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World.

Paul Stamets hails from Olympia, Washington, and he is somewhat of a Pacific Northwest legend.  I heard him speak at the annual Seattle Wild Mushroom Show several years ago, an annual gathering sponsored by the Puget Sound Mycological Society - the largest association of mushroom nerds you’ll ever hope to meet!  

Stamets has been instrumental in bringing ‘mushroom awareness and benefits’ to the whole world, and has pioneered many techniques in the arena of edible and medicinal mushrooms.  His company, Fungi Perfecti, not only sells simple mushroom cultivation kits, but also many mushroom based medicinal supplements in a line called Host Defense.  They even have mushroom blends to boost the health of our pets. 

Stamets has been recognized and awarded by a variety of visionary organizations for his years of dedicated work in the field of mycology, including the Collective Heritage Institute (sponsor of the Bioneers conferences), the Pacific Rim Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils, National Geographic Adventure Magazine, the Utne Reader, and many other entities who recognize his unique contributions to researching natural medicinals and brainstorming ecological solutions through mushrooms.  He is, by far, the most knowledgeable human on the planet in the field of mycology.

In 2009, his most remarkable achievement would be to have provided the cure for his mother when she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer that had spread to her sternum and liver.  Her oncologist gave her less than three months to live, at best.  At 84 years old, her doctor couldn’t recommend radiation or surgery because of her age and weakened condition.  

But as a last side note, to offer a small glimmer of hope, Mrs. Stamets’ doctor mentioned that Bastyr University was doing research using turkey tail mushrooms as an adjunct to traditional cancer treatment with non-endocrine responsive breast cancer patients, boosting the efficacy of the treatment and fortifying the immune system, which becomes seriously compromised during traditional treatment.

Paul Stamets’ mother marveled at this news and told the doctor that her son was providing the turkey tail mushrooms to Bastyr Medical School for their research.  Very soon after, Mrs. Stamets was put on a regime of Taxol and Herceptin, along with four capsules of turkey tail mushroom powder twice a day, which boosted the levels and activity of natural killer (NK) cells in her body.

Remarkably, within months, rather than dying (as predicted) her tumors were receding and her body was healing - even at 84 years of age!  Here is the short version of Paul Stamets’ remarkable talk at TED MED, which I hope you’ll take three minutes to view.  (You can find the complete 11 minute talk by searching Paul Stamets, which includes his latest research on natural mosquito, ant, and termite control.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWT09ZDqFlE

Considering how the visibility and support of breast cancer patients has become so prevalent in our society today, and the sad fact that all of us know someone who has survived or lost the battle with this form of cancer, this is a great gift of hope to our world!   With this kind of miraculous cure available through mushrooms, what else might they be able to do?

Stay tuned for next week’s continued story on the power of mushrooms!  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!