Fighting Cancer with Plants from the Rainforest

If Big Pharma has shown these plants fight cancer, shouldn't you know about them? Cancer is still a leading cause of death worldwide. In 2025, over two million new cancer cases were reported in the US alone, and unfortunately, that number is expected to climb significantly within the next decade. The most common new cases here are breast, lung, colorectal, and prostate cancers, and yes, there are medical treatments available for the vast majority of these cancers. The problem is, however, that over 600,000 people will die of their cancer. That is why many pharmaceutical companies continue to look for better, more effective treatments for these various cancers. While that sounds encouraging, their vision of finding a “cure” may be shortsighted—and here’s why. Natural compounds and chemicals found in plants have long been a cornerstone in drug discovery based on how the plants make them and their biological activity, including how they can selectively target just cancer cells without much toxicity to healthy cells. Many successful anti-cancer drugs in use today, such as vincristine, paclitaxel, and etoposide, originated from natural chemicals found in plants. The problem is that when the anti-cancer chemical compounds found in plants work, the pharmaceutical research must be able to reproduce these chemicals in a laboratory so that they can be patented by the drug company. Many times, anti-cancer plant compounds are found to work against cancer cells with few, if any, side effects. However, because the researchers are unable to reproduce these chemicals in their laboratory, the research is dropped. The researchers are forced to move on to another compound that can work as well—but this time, can be reproduced and patented. Instead of waiting for the next-generation of anti-cancer drugs, Dr. Taylor has gathered thirteen of the most effective rainforest plants containing these active chemicals that have already been shown to target cancer cells. Whether used separately or in combinations, published research shows just how effective these chemical compounds can be. This book is designed to help readers understand how these compounds work and how they can be used directly to fight cancers.