The Wellness Warrior Chooses the Wrong Weapon

Having lived through seven lung cancer recurrences and survived for twelve years with Stage III and IV cancer, Jim is unquestionably an outlier (a person or thing differing from all other members of a particular group or set). Because of this distinction, people frequently ask our advice about which cancer treatment to pursue. I wouldn’t presume to tell anyone what path to follow, but I am willing, even obligated, to tell anyone what we did and why. 

In the beginning, we researched a multitude of alternative and complementary treatments, but never seriously considered foregoing traditional cancer treatment. Still, I understand why some choose this route. “Slash, burn, and poison,” the derisive terms used by some traditional medicine opponents  isn’t nearly as appealing as the “detoxify, nourish, and supplement”  alternative plan. Lacking trust in physicians and big pharma, many cancer patients choose an alternative that promises healing without pain. Change your diet, bolster your immune system with supplements, cleanse the body of all the nasty toxins, and cancer will go running.

I have personally known two people who chose the alternative route with success. One of them, Gayle Miller, who when traditional treatments for lymphoma failed, adopted a macrobiotic diet and took the supplement Ambertrose, is still alive. The other Jess Ainscough, a vocal adherent of The Gerson Method is no longer with us. 

While I have read of many successes with The Gerson Method, Jess was the only person I knew personally who followed the directives faithfully and claimed to be cured from a nasty cancer—epithelioid sarcoma. In 2008, the doctors told Jess (after a failed course of chemo) that her only hope of a cure required the amputation her left arm—not an attractive option to a twenty-two-year-old woman. 

Jess opted instead for a more natural treatment and traveled from Australia to a clinic in Mexico where she got a jump start on the detoxification and rebuilding process that includes coffee enemas every few hours, juicing pounds of organic vegetables three times a day, and the same limited diet day in and day out for two years. Jess did all of this believing that she was healing. When new tumors appeared on her arm, she was convinced they resulted from the positive changes occurring in her body. She started a blog, The Wellness Warrior, chronicling her journey and giving tips to others who might want to forego standard cancer treatment in favor of a more natural approach. 

In 2011, when Jess’s mother, Sharon, got breast cancer, the family decided that she, too, would follow the path set out by her daughter. Unlike Jess’s cancer which was a slow-growing but pernicious type, Sharon’s was aggressive and fast-moving. She was dead within a year.

Granted, chemotherapy is no walk in the park, but I assure you, neither is the Gerson Method. Why would someone pay thousands of dollars for a cancer treatment involving a diet of thirteen fresh organic vegetable juices and five coffee enemas per day, and a basic organic whole food plant-based diet supplemented by raw liver injections, mineral supplements, pancreatic enzymes , and Lugol’s solution (an inorganic solution of iodine plus potassium iodide)— a regimen that keeps the patient essentially housebound for two years and has not been proven effective? 

People stricken with a catastrophic disease are easy marks for charlatans and crooks.They are looking for hope, grasping at straws rather than looking for life buoys. “In her promotion of Gerson quackery, Ainscough, with the noblest of motivations in the beginning, did harm and likely led some cancer patients down the path of quackery and preventable death.” (Terry Firma) Sadly Jess Ainscough died this year but only after influencing countless others to employ an alternative cancer treatment that ultimately failed her.

Anti Cancer Diet

After ten years of research, personal experience, and interviews with cancer patients I have concluded that cancer cannot be prevented or cured through diet alone. I have read or “heard tell” of some cures but personally am aware of only two such cases.

Gail had done three rounds chemo—none of which succeeded—for non Hodgkin’s lymphoma. They were trying unsuccessfully to harvest her stem cells for a transplant when Gail decided she’d had enough of conventional treatment and sought alternatives. She settled on a Qi Gong, a probiotic diet, and other lifestyle changes. She rallied and has been cancer free for eight years.

Jess Ainscough, The Wellness Warrior, http://www.thewellnesswarrior.com.au/about/ was diagnosed at twenty-two with epithelioid sarcoma, a rare cancer that attacked her arm and shoulder. The only cure offered by her doctors was amputation. Instead she chose the Gerson Therapy which she followed rigorously for two years. Today she is healthy.

You may disagree with the opinions in this blog entry.You may know of more success stories from people who chose alternative healing methods.I am not here to debate or argue or dissuade you from the path you have chosen. My only purpose is to share ideas which worked for us.

There is no doubt in my mind that changes in lifestyle help—both in prevention of cancer and survival. And better all round health makes your survival more enjoyable. As Mickey Mantle said, “If I knew I was going to live this long I’d have taken better care of myself.”

If you are taking care of a cancer patient now isn’t the time to try some radical diet like Paleo or Gluten free whose benefits are debatable. Instead modify your diet gradually in ways that may not “cure” cancer but will be a step in the right direction.

Of course, you will try to increase your consumption of fruits and vegetables, fish, whole grains. Everyone knows that. But here are some more specific, nearly painless changes you can make in your diet to start you on your way to better helath.

1. Switch to whole grain bread and cereals.
2. Buy organic milk.
3. Use real butter—no butter substitutes.
4. Switch to steel cut oatmeal. If, like Jim, you hate oatmeal, at least go with a less processed, low sugar cereal (Cheerios or Rice Krispies).
5. Use olive oil.
6. Cut back on sugar laden foods.
7. Make your own desserts, cookies, snacks and eat them with a meal—not alone.
8. Buy organic when possible especially for the Dirty Dozen. http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214
9. Limit restaurant and fast food eating to once a week for each.
10. Avoid processed foods—which unfortunately for the time challenged caregiver are also the convenience foods.

Juicing-- Drink Your Veggies

Let’s take a look at juicing--resolution #7.

I have been “cleaning” up my diet for so long, my insides should be Mr. Clean-sparkling. Unfortunately, they are not. After failing to adhere to many New Year’s resolutions, this time I’ve decide to ratchet my expectations down a bit. Rather than deny myself anything, I’m going to add something--a nutrient brimming, daily juice.

The NCI, National Cancer Institute, recommends 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Juicing is an excellent way to reach that goal. Early in our cancer journey—actually between Jim’s lobectomy (that's lobectomy not lobotomy) and the time he started chemo (6 weeks)—I incorporated juicing into his daily routine. I started with the more palatable carrot combinations and eventually cajoled him into drinking three, eight ounce glasses a day. My hope was not to cure the cancer but to build him up before he began treatment. Evidently, it worked.

Once he started chemo, we gave up juicing. With the loss of appetite, nausea and mouth sores, getting him to eat anything was an accomplishment. Over the last 10 years, during periods of remission, I tried juicing again. We bought a Blendtec to make fruit smoothies into which I would sneak an occasional handful of spinach. Fruit combinations go down easy—vegetables, not so much.

My friend, Jess Ainscough, The Wellness Warrior, who is fighting cancer with the Gerson method has some excellent advice on juicing. This is her recipe for basic green juice.

Caution: Items in picture appear much tastier than they are :)

1 stalk kale
1 stalk silverbeet or Swiss chard
1 leaf Cos (Romaine) lettuce
1 frozen banana
Coconut water or purified water
1 tsp spirulina

What to do:

1. Add green leaves to the blender and cover with coconut water and/or water. Blend until smooth.

2. Add frozen banana and blend again.

3. Add spirulina and blend again.

4. Enjoy!


The first three steps are easy enough, but the last step gives me trouble. I don’t really enjoy the concoction. The addition of fresh lemon juice helps somewhat.

Juicing—even once a day—is a chore for me. During the busy holiday, on a trip to Costco for more processed, fat laden foods, I noticed a bottle of familiar looking green sludge on the shelf in the refrigerator section. After examining the list of ingredients, I decided to give “Naked-The Green Machine” a try.

I recommend it, not as a replacement for fresh juice, but as an option for those days when you are in a hurry. And, it tastes good—so good that I wonder how much of the beneficial greens are included in the fruit mixture. Evita Ochel, editor of Evolving Wellness and a certified nutritionist, biologist and educator, says about Naked, “This product is way better than 99% of all the other bottled beverages out there,” but it still loses something in the processing.

If you are a novice juicer you might give Naked a try. I’m hoping this tasty alternative will prepare my picky palate for the more potent home-brewed potion.