This page tells you about Gerson therapy for people with cancer.
There is information on
What is Gerson therapy?
Gerson therapy is an
alternative therapy diet, which means it is used in place of
conventional treatment for cancer.
You might also hear Gerson therapy called the
- Gerson diet
- Gerson regime
- Gerson method
Gerson therapy involves a very specific diet with nutritional
supplements. It aims to rid the body of toxins and strengthen the
body’s
immune system.
It was developed in the 1920s and 30s by a German doctor called Max
Gerson. He claimed it helped cure his migraine headaches. So he
went on to use it to treat other diseases such as tuberculosis and
cancer. Dr Gerson died in 1959. His daughter Charlotte Gerson went
on to establish the Gerson Institute in 1977.
How Gerson therapy is thought to work
Gerson therapists believe that people with cancer have too much salt
(sodium) in their bodies compared to the amount of potassium. They
think that eating large quantities of fruit and vegetables will
restore the right balance and cleanse the liver. This would allow
the liver to rid the body of cancer cells. There is no
medical research to support any claims that
this therapy can prevent, treat or cure cancer. In fact Gerson
therapy can have some serious
side effects and is
potentially very harmful.
Why people with cancer use Gerson therapy
People decide to use Gerson therapy for various reasons. These
include
To boost the immune system
Some people believe that certain complementary or alternative
therapies can boost the immune system and help fight cancer. But
there is very little scientific evidence to prove this, partly
because of lack of
research. There are
clinical trials investigating how certain
therapies might affect your immune system. Until we have more
evidence from research such as this, we can’t be sure exactly how
complementary or alternative therapies affect the immune system.
To try and control or cure cancer
Some people believe that specific alternative therapies may help
control or cure their cancer. And there are people who promote use
of therapies in this way. Diet may play an important role in
helping to prevent cancer. But there is no
scientific evidence to prove that making drastic changes to your
diet, such as Gerson therapy, will help to kill cancer cells.
When conventional treatment is no longer an
option
Your doctor may tell you that conventional cancer treatments are
unable to cure your cancer. But treatments to help control your
symptoms are still possible. It is very difficult to accept the
news that there is no further active cancer treatment available for
you or a loved one. In this situation, many people do look for
alternative therapies, including diets such as Gerson.
Most alternative therapies have not been scientifically proven to
prevent, treat or cure cancer. Alternative therapies are often
promoted as having benefits without any
scientific evidence to back these claims up. These therapies
can
cost a lot of money with no guarantee that
they will really help you. In fact they might cause serious health
problems and make you feel worse. If your Gerson therapist
recommends that you stop being treated by your cancer specialist,
this may mean you won’t be able to get treatments that are available
to relieve your cancer symptoms. We don’t believe that any
reputable therapist should tell you not to see your cancer
specialist.
There is more general information about
why people with cancer use complementary and alternative therapies
in this section.
Evidence on the use of Gerson therapy
Overall, there is no evidence to show that Gerson therapy works as a
cure for cancer. There is some evidence from British investigations
that this type of therapy can help people feel better emotionally
and reduce their need for painkillers. But the numbers of patients
looked at in these studies were very small, so firm conclusions
can’t be drawn.
The
MD Anderson Cancer Centre
in America reviewed the medical literature on Gerson Therapy. They
found only 7 studies that had been published or presented at
conferences. None of these studies were
randomised, controlled clinical trials. You can read the
full report of the MD Anderson literature review on Gerson therapy
on their website.
It is difficult to draw firm conclusions from the research that has
been done so far. This is partly because the therapy itself is
very complex and goes on over months or years. And also because
record keeping in the studies was generally quite poor.
Some people who promote the Gerson diet provide only
anecdotal evidence. They use stories about the occasional
person getting better as evidence that the therapy works. But most
scientists and cancer doctors will say that this type of evidence is
not strong enough to prove that a therapy works. Before you can be
sure of the true benefit of any treatment, you need to compare new
treatments with accepted and proven ones within a properly organised
series of
clinical trials.
Having Gerson therapy
The Gerson diet is a very strict low salt, organic fruit and
vegetable diet. Each day you will need to
- Drink 20 pounds (about 9 kilos) of crushed fruit and
vegetables (one glass of juice hourly, 13 times each day)
- Have 3 or 4 coffee
enemas and perhaps also castor oil enemas
- Take potassium and other supplements, including vitamin B12,
pancreatic enzymes and thyroid supplements
The enemas cleanse the bowel. Therapists believe this removes
toxins from the body by stimulating the bowel, liver and bile
ducts. They claim that if your body is free from toxins, it will be
able to recognise and kill cancer cells.
You can have Gerson therapy by staying in a clinic, or you can do it
yourself at home.
The
Gerson Institute refers people to clinics
licensed by them. Their most popular one is in Mexico and there is
also one in Hawaii. There is no guarantee that either clinic has
the medical facilities needed to cover any emergencies that could
arise. But Gerson therapists advertise their clinics as very safe,
relaxing and caring places to be.
You may stay at the clinic for a couple of weeks and then be sent
home to continue the treatment. Or you can order a ‘home therapy
deal’ on the internet. Treatment can continue for anywhere from a
few months to a few years. Gerson therapists usually recommend 2
years of treatment for people with cancer. It is important to
realise that having this therapy at home takes a huge amount of
time, energy and committment. It can be almost a full time job.
People who go to these clinics sometimes do say that they feel
psychologically better. But while these places may be very relaxing
and caring places to be, their safety and the possible
side effects of Gerson therapy can be a cause of
concern.
There are many sites on the internet advertising or promoting Gerson
therapy, but none of them are supported by any reputable scientific
cancer organisations. Our advice is to be very cautious about
believing information or paying to take part in any type of
alternative cancer therapy over the internet. You may find it
useful to read our section on
searching for information on the internet.
Side effects
The Gerson diet can cause some very serious side effects. Coffee
enemas remove a lot of potassium from your body and have been known
to cause
- Infections
- Dehydration
- Fits
- Salt and other mineral imbalances in the body
- Heart and lung problems, even death
Regular, long term use of enemas can weaken the bowel muscle. This
can cause
constipation and inflammation of the bowel (colitis).
Other reported side effects of Gerson therapy include
- Dizziness and weakness
- Abdominal cramps
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhoea and sickness
- Aching, fever and sweating
- Cold sores
Some elements of the Gerson diet are definitely healthy, for
instance eating low fat food and lots of fresh fruit and
vegetables. But taking this to the extreme and eating very large
quantities of one food group in a certain way (juicing), without
balancing it with other food groups, isn’t a ‘healthy diet’. It can
be very harmful for people who are already weak and ill.
Always check with your doctor before you start taking any type of
complementary or alternative treatment. There is information about
the possible
harmful effects of complementary and alternative therapies,
including the
safety of alternative therapy diets, in this section of
CancerHelp UK.
The cost of Gerson therapy
Gerson therapy is very expensive. Alternative therapies advertised
on the web are almost always costly. Make sure you have considered
the ongoing cost of a treatment before you start taking anything.
Remember also that if your treatment involves going to a special
clinic in another country, you will have to pay for flights and
accommodation as well as the treatment.
Depending on the treatments involved, each person can pay over
£2,500 a week. So if you do it for a year, it could cost you
£130,000.
If you are thinking of having Gerson therapy at home there are also
costs involved. As well as the initial cost of a special juicer and
possibly a water filter, there are the ongoing costs of the organic
fruit and vegetables, coffee and supplements.
Things to consider
At the end of the day you will make your own decision about using an
alternative cancer therapy. But we don't recommend alternative
therapies in place of conventional treatment. There is
no scientific or medical evidence to back up the use of alternative
therapies. If you have cancer, using unproven methods instead of
conventional medical treatment can be very harmful for your health.
You should talk to your own specialist about any alternative or
complementary therapies that you want to try. It is also very
important to find out all you can about the therapy before deciding
to use it. Look in our about complementary and alternative therapy
section for more information about
why you should tell your doctor if you are using any type of therapy.
Whenever we put up information on alternative treatments that have
not been properly tested, we receive angry emails that say we are
trying to prevent people with cancer from getting effective
treatment. This is not what we want to do. We are concerned that
potential cures, like this one, are often sold for a great deal of
money with no
scientific evidence to prove
they help.
It is understandable that you and your loved ones will try anything
if you think it might help treat or cure your cancer. But some
alternative 'therapies' are just money making businesses targeting
people who are ill and very vulnerable. Our message is
- Be careful
- Make sure you look into the information that is available
- Talk to your cancer doctor before you give money for any
therapy, whether it’s conventional, complementary or alternative
Useful organisations
The
complementary therapy organisations listed in our
Help and Support section may be able to offer more information
about Gerson therapy.