Good luck.

Pretty much any species of Euphorbia has the same phorbol ester compounds in them. You can buy something in that family from most of the world's garden centers. (e.g., poinsettia)These compounds are actually tumor promoters, and I think applying them topically to treat cancer is insanity. Yes, they might cause a superficial skin cancer to be sufficiently irritated that the immune system kicks in to kill it (same idea as the very expensive topical drug imiquimod) - but trigger a hepatic tumor as the body tries to detoxify any amount absorbed through the skin.

It's utterly hilarious google search finds not a mention of those chemical compounds when searching the topicalinfo website, even though they are the "active" ingredient. I'm not a 100% skeptic of so-called alternative medicine, but it's an example of what a silly cargo-cult the whole field has (mostly) become. You wonder if these same people who spread tumor promoters on their skin would be terrifying of spraying glyphosate on non-agricultural parts of their yard.

Interesting...I've read E. peplus actually has a somewhat different type of diterpene ester than most Euphorbias, conveniently called pepluane esters. Maybe these are less likely to be tumor promoters, but I'd want more study first. I have seen this weed in my garden and didn't even recognize it as a Euphorbia.

Hi davidrt28, OP here, that's quite a dissertation dissing Euphorbia compounds. However, what you don't know can jump up and bite you. The magic compound in petty spurge is ingenol mebutate, which has been run through clinical trials and received FDA approval for use on some types of skin cancers. LEO Pharma sells it under the name Picato. Only $200 a tube when prescribed by your dermatologist, and worth every penny to many people who have used the other ointments with their side effects and iffy efficacy. I now grow and send petty spurge seeds free to anyone in the US.

Personally, I had a skin cancer on the end of my nose that dermatologists over some time had frozen twice and surgically "removed" once. When it once again came back their proposed next step was to remove much of the end of my nose, leaving me looking like Porky Pig. Luckily I did get some petty spurge plants and treated this cancer myself. It has been gone for two years with no sign of recurrence, just a decavitated area where the cancer cells died. Hurrah for the internet and alternative medicine!

I didn't say it wouldn't work as you described, said more testing would be a good idea.

The pharmaceutical extract, as overpriced as it is, is one compound found in that plant. Spreading the latex/sap of the plant over the skin is spreading that compound and everything _else_ found in the plant.

"that's quite a dissertation dissing Euphorbia compounds"

I didn't "diss" "yo momma" or any Euphorbia compounds. I merely noted that the vast majority of the family contain phorbol esters, which are unequivocally recognized as tumor promoters. Otherwise, scientists wouldn't pay $735 for 25mg of them for their research. It would be great if this particular plant didn't contain any tumor promoters, and only contains compounds that help fight cancer. It's safe to say that is far from proven.

Ingenol mebutate is another related compound to the ones I already discussed, so no particular truth is "jumping up and biting me."

BTW I am absolutely concerned with the way "orthodox" medicine is dispensed in this country, in particular, as you probably are. I think it's GREAT you were able to treat your cancer yourself. I'm very happy for you. But that doesn't negate my concerns about spreading sap of this plant on one's skin without further study.

btw, the fact you were able to reply so quickly in spite of not being a
regular user of this forum makes it pretty clear you are hoping to use
houzz as another marketing avenue.

Daviddirt, Yep "another marketing avenue" to give away the seeds free of charge. Some "marketing" strategy, eh? The money and TIME I lose on each transaction I make up on volume. You don't like being called out for being wrong, do you?

The reason I responded "so quickly" is Houzz automatically notified me of your post in my old GardenWeb thread, not that I am trying to "market" anything. I have used GardenWeb for many years. So how clear is it to you that you jumped to a conclusion?

Just like when you did an ineffective Google search and did not find Picato. All you had to do was search "petty spurge skin cancer" (my forum topic) and you would have found Wikipedia and BBC News references to clinical trials/Picato. But you didn't and ended up elaborating all about Euphorbias causing cancers (not the subject of my post) and then concluded, "... I think applying them topically to treat cancer is insanity." You did not qualify that statement, you made a sweeping generalization, yet another conclusion you jumped to. Perhaps you should go back to high school science to re-learn the scientific method and stop jumping to so many conclusions.

"But that doesn't negate my concerns about spreading sap of this plant on one's skin without further study." Got any skin cancers that are about to kill or disfigure you? I thought not. Those of us who do cannot wait for medical "science". Skin cancer rates are highest in Australia and that's where petty spurge sap was discovered. Thousands, maybe tens of thousands of Aussies by now, have successfully used petty spurge sap on skin cancers. That's all the "study" I need. I'll take (and have taken in this case) anecdotal evidence from a large population as sufficient study FOR ME.

Your latest reply said "so no particular truth is 'jumping up and biting me.'" Well actually you did get bit, as my discussion above proves. Maybe next time you should ask questions first instead of blasting out your half-baked opinions. (And don't waste our time pontificating about clinical trials, medical science and all that beat-to-death discussion. This is the WEED forum.)

I'm so glad this herb helped you and has helped others.

I absolutely agree that people are fed up with the way medical science drags its feet or seems to deal with things in a way that maximizes profits, particularly in the US. (are you in AU?) Thank goodness I haven't needed it but when I've read about treatments of Mohs surgery that drag on for several cycles costing thousands of dollars, I think to myself "this just sounds like a way for the dermatologist to make as much money off one spot as possible." Better to just have a slight depression from the removal of a BCS in my opinion, than such expensive surgery to make it seem like you'd never had a surgery! I also worry about whether dermatologists are too reluctant to remove lesions that could be pre-cancerous. Why "keep observing"...by the time a change is observed, it could be too late if it's melanoma.

Anyhow, maybe my rhetoric of "it's insanity" to apply it without further study was a bit high handed. But overall nothing I've posted has actually been negated by your angry screed. The natural compounds found in the Euphobiaceae are potentially very dangerous: as are many others in the plant kingdom. To use them without professional medical care is...guess what...potentially dangerous! That's all anyone reading my posts would have come away with. Presumably the Picata specific ester has undergone various safety assays...the usual suspects like Ames, CHO chromosome aberration, etc. I do not know whether everything else in the plant sap has. (I actually took a 400 level course in toxicology, so you are arguing with the wrong person about the science!)

But maybe a little insanity is a justified response if people think that the medical treatment they are receiving is itself insanity!
I do wish you the best.

Yes, you would use terms like "angry screed" and "insanity" to denigrate others, when in fact your pompous talking down reveals to all concerned how unwilling you are to just admit you screwed up.

Ultracrepidarian.

webuser_434148: Can you please tell me how to get some free seeds? Thank you.

I mail them to you when you send me a SASE.

This may be ignorance, but what is "SASE"?

Google is your friend.

sorry to bump this thread but I am wondering webuser_434148 if you still have the petty spurge seeds available? I would like to send you a SASE and purchase some from you if at all possible. I will PM you also.

I would like some seeds also. I am sick and tired of US doctors and pharmaceutical companies ripping us off charging outrageous prices for medicines that cost very little to make so I always use natural and organic things first and use drugs as the very last resort.

Also SASE mean self addressed envelope.

No more seeds until Oct., 2017. Sorry

I, too am interested in getting petty spurge seeds sent to me in the US. Please let me know where to send a sase come Oct. Thank you.

I have been looking everywhere to find this seed in the US, if you have any please let me know

Are any of these seeds currently available?

Is it the email address at the top post at yahoo dot com to obtain the address for seeds?

Found a place to buy euphorbia peplus seeds in the US. https://radiumweed.weebly.com/

In season, it's a pretty easy plant to find in abandoned urban spaces and other similar weed lots. Probably around much of the US. Railroad right of ways often have interesting weeds that get blown along by the trains.

A couple minutes of simple internet sleuthing suggests that the original poster is deceased. Which might be why he never came back to offer the seeds again.

Hey HU-434148 are you still giving away petty surge? I have a few seeds that I ordered and keep trying to grow them, but it's a little challenging. I ordered them from Australia. Perhaps you have some growing tips for me. But I would would be very willing to buy a plant from you, or if the plant is capable, using a cutting. Can you help a sister out. :)

Oh no. Sad Thank you for the information davidrt28,. Very kind of you to answer.

I now have petty spurge seeds to give away again. Send me a SASE and I'll post them to you. Had no luck sending plants. PM me your email and I'll give you my address. Tom

Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated.

Based on your "death" I bought some seeds from Australia. I put them in two large planters using a mix of potting soil with a bit of sand as the seller suggested. I put gravel in the bottom to facilitate drainage and i have watered regularly. Its been 5 weeks and nothing has sprouted...what did i do wrong...

And is the address to PM you the address listed at the top of this page?
Tom thaugen1 at yahoo dotcom

So I emailed Was this the correct email because I did not get a response and want to make sure I am not emailing to someone random. Just cking

I'm responding by email to the persons who emailed me for seeds. Regarding the question about germination, I found one batch took more than two months to germinate. Also, the seedlings don't respond well to transplanting. 4" pots are fine. The good news is when the plant is just a few inches tall it already has the sap. Tha H please remove my email address from your above comment.

Since this thread seems to still be attracting considerable interest (who knows how many people ordered seeds from Australia during Tom's 20 month period of absence...) I thought I should clarify something about my original comment. My initial response was based on my gut reaction given what I knew about that plant family as a whole. Yes, we shouldn't post out gut reactions but obviously the average person out there hasn't taken a class in toxicology and briefly worked in the pharmaceutical industry as a researcher, and thus knew about the Euphorbiaceae off the top of his head! (and btw I left because I fast became cynical about it! all about profit, clearly! even back in the 1990s!) So, I still feel completely justified in having HAD THE INSTINCT to warn people they shouldn't practice medicine on themselves based on a short comment some guy posts on the internet somewhere. Especially since, as noted by the OP himself, this is a "weed forum", not an "alternative medicine forum". And I would do it again! It would be different if the poster had initially posted links to some of the primary source research material. I then did further investigation, and quickly made a second post. I have a long standing policy of not completely deleting a post that took one substantive position when I then take another, to try to "hide" that I took it, so I just made another one. Doing that makes people look sneaky. In this case I should have ignored my policy ;-) So yes, I should have done the research FIRST before the initial post. And for that I apologize to Tom.

People still are advised to do as much investigation as possible before using any alternative or non-alternative (LOL) therapy, especially if not under 'medical supervision'.

As for thinking Tom was dead, there are not many people with his name in California, which IIRC a post on the site he linked to said was his location, and one of them did die in 2017. His is an uncommon surname in the US. At the time of me posting that, his GW profile showed no logins since his prior post. It was a quite reasonable inference, and as you can see, I made no high handed attempts to 'dance on his grave', which a truly spiteful person would have.

My apologies about the email Tom. So sorry. Just making sure because I don’t like sending out emails to the wrong people. Your profile does not allow me to message you and as I have not heard from you worry that I sent it to the wrong people. I will be grateful for the growing info and order some more. Somewhere else. Thanks anyway for the growing advice. Really appreciated. Davidrt28 we all do what we think is right. Don’t be hard on yourself. I think most people coming to these cures are not virgins tho. I know I have been searching a long time. I don’t want to use black salve. Prolly similar thinking.

"and as I have not heard from you worry that I sent it to the wrong people"

Are you implying that an email to the address in the original post didn't receive a response? Recently?

" I don’t want to use black salve."

I can see why you'd be cautious!

I would like to get seeds with a SASE but am unable to figure out how to contact Hu-434148? Please let me know how to do so?

Houzz changed my name from thaugen to Hu-434148. I thought people would read the very first post (mine) with my email in it but apparently the name change is too confusing. Please do not write my email address in reply on this page. (Too much spam.) Thanks, Tom

I am thaugen1 at yahoo dotcom

I now grow and send petty spurge seeds free to anyone in the US.

Attempted to contact Tom but no reply, I use an indoor hydroponic seed starting system and would like to try the Seeds. Has anyone had any luck?

yes he sent me seeds, I think I got the last that he had available. I may have some in a few months if you wish to get in touch, email is InnerHarmony@cox.net

I did not get an email directly from HU-115679587 so I don't have your email address. If you send my an email, I have seeds. Tom

Please do not write my email address in reply on this page. (Too much spam.) Thanks, Tom

I am thaugen1 at yahoo dotcom

I now grow and send petty spurge seeds free to anyone in the US.

Thanks Much, I tried the Email address but must have it wrong. Will try again - look in spam for colleenzmail

I have so much of it, it reseeds itself generously. I transplanted them from a friend’s garden without proble. My question is can I freeze it to use in winter?

I just wanted to let you know that I don't have any seeds, I didn't know how to collect them and only had a few come up this year.

@HU-434148 /thaugen I sent an sase to you many months ago and have not received anything. Wondering if you were out of seeds...

I sent you some other kind of seeds and you said you got them?

I gave some of my seeds away and some plants did grow but didn't know how/when to collect seeds. I am out now direct email is InnerHarmony@cox.net. 2 people contacted me for seeds I was unable to help them out

Liona...Unless you are Tom I dont recall ever requesting seeds from you.

no I'm not Tom, 2 other people emailed me asking for them.