Thanks for the reminder about the raw plant - we surely don't want anyone trying to make their own without knowing what they are doing!
You are quite correct - the RAW oleander plant is highly toxic. However, a properly made extract made the same way that Doctor Ozel in Turkey devised in the early 1960's (when he re-discovered the centuries old remedy) and went on to patent as the medicine Anvirzel is something entirely different. The boiling and straining process removes the toxins, as was verified by FDA phase I toxicity trials for Anvirzel which found NO toxic limit, but rather a limit in which it was impractical to give larger doses (it was tested as an injectible).
So far, thousands of people have used Aniverzel, the dietary supplement known as Sutherlandia OPC (their latest production run is for 50,000 bottles) and the homemade extract known as oleander soup, which can be made at home about as easily as a large pot of beans, though you have to follow directions and exercise caution in handling the raw plant material. All three versions are made essentially the same way.
Now here is the kicker - after thousands and thousands of users, not one single confirmed death or life threatening side effect has been attributed to properly made oleander taken in the correct dosage. Not one! Compare that to any known chemo drug. Heck, compare it to aspirin and NSAIDS, which kill thousands each year.
You are quite right about raw oleander, but when it comes to the properly made extract I believe I will keep my hair. I take it every day, have researched it for years and have written a book about it. I also host a group at Yahoo called "oleandersoup" where no one has been harmed by oleander, but more importantly, in over three years, no one has died either, and virtually every member who came to the group, many after mainstream medicine failed them, are now cancer free or improving.
Here are the instructions for making proper oleander extract:
The Reciipe for Olender Soup Part 1
http://www.tbyil.com/oleandersoup.htm
The Reciipe for Olender Soup Part 2 - Tips and Advice
http://www.tbyil.com/tips.htm
And while you are at the website, I would recommend reading the entire series of articles on oleader which can be found at
http://www.tbyil.com/articles.htm
Thanks again for pointing out the toxicity of raw oleander.
One final note - although the toxins have been removed in oleander extract, it does contain cardiac glycosides (including the main active ingredient oleandrin) which cross assay with digoxin/digitalis. It IS therefore important to follow directions and stay within recommended dosage amounts (which beginn at half a teaspoon and work up to a tablespoon three times daily). Those amounts are way, way within the safety range, but a person could get in trouble if for some crazy reason they decided to drink it by the glass.
The same thing would likely be true for a great many medicines whose dosage was exceeded by that degree.
Live long, live healthy, live happy!