Gerson Therapy

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The '''Gerson Therapy''' or '''Gerson Method''' is a particularly dangerous form of [[cancer]] [[quack]]ery invented by '''Dr. Max Gerson''' (1881-1959) which continues to be peddled by his daughter Charlotte. The Gersons claim that cancer is caused by "[[toxin]]s" in food that create an imbalance of potassium and sodium in the body. The alleged method for "curing" this problem is an extremely [[diet woo|low sodium-high potassium diet]] including lots of juiced [[raw foodism|raw]] and/or [[organic food|organic fruits and vegetables]], massive amounts of [[vitamin supplement]]s, and [[enema]]s of [[Colonic#Coffee|coffee]], castor oil, [[hydrogen peroxide]], or [[Ozone therapy|ozone]].<ref>[http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0215(1998)78:11%2B%3C69::AID-IJC20%3E3.0.CO;2-7/pdf Alternative nutritional cancer therapies] by Sheila Weitzman (1998) ''Int. J. Cancer Supp.'' 11:69–72.</ref><ref>[https://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cancer.html Questionable Cancer Therapies] by Stephen Barrett (revised on July 24, 2015) ''Quackwatch''.</ref> This treatment is supposed to flush out the "toxins" and "repair" the liver. Most of the "research" supporting the therapy is in the form of case studies by Max Gerson. The [[National Cancer Institute]] reviewed some of his case studies and found the method to be ineffective.<ref>[http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/gerson/patient/Page2 Gerson FAQ at the National Cancer Institute]</ref> Furthermore, the [[American Cancer Society]] has issued warnings that the method can be harmful and there have been reports of comas, seizures, and [[death]] resulting from extremely low sodium levels and imbalance of electrolytes in the patients undergoing the "therapy."<ref>[http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/DietandNutrition/gerson-therapy American Cancer Society on Gerson therapy]</ref>

==Jessica Ainscough==

Jessica Ainscough, aka The Wellness Warrior, was a writer, entrepreneur and advocate of Gerson Therapy, who died of epithelioid sarcoma age 29. She was diagnosed with epithelioid sarcoma aged 22. It is a rare, lethal, yet slow growing cancer, and at the time the only effective treatment was a forequarter amputation. She did also try isolated limb perfusion, before turning to the Gerson Protocol. As scientist David Gorski pointed out, it was entirely understandable to opt for palliative care instead of a major amputation <ref>[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-gerson-protocol-and-the-death-of-jess-ainscough/ The Gerson protocol and the Death of Jess Ainscough]</ref>. However Ainscough began marketing herself as 'successfully treating her cancer';<ref>[https://rosaliehilleman.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/the-wellness-warrior-denial-delusion-or-dishonesty/ The Wellness Warrior - Denial, Delusion or Dishonesty]</ref> her mother, who had a far more treatable form of breast cancer, followed her daughter onto the therapy, which likely resulted in her unnecessary death.

==External links==
*[http://www.gerson.org/ Gerson Institute]
*[http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/69233.cfm Sloan-Kettering FAQ]
*[http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/DietandNutrition/gerson-therapy Overview at the American Cancer Society]
*[http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/the-not-so-beautiful-untruth-about-the-gerson-therapy-and-cancer-quackery/ The (Not So) Beautiful (Un)Truth about the Gerson Therapy and cancer quackery], Science-Based Medicine
*[http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cancer.html Questionable cancer therapies], [[Quackwatch]]
*[http://www.users.on.net/~pmoran/cancer/Gerson.htm Dr Max Gerson and His Fifty Cases: How Sincere Practitioners Can Get it Wrong]. An analysis of the 50 cases Gerson presented as proof of his therapy's efficacy

==See also==
*[[Raw foodism]]

==References==
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[[Category:Alternative medicine]]
[[Category:Cancer woo]]
[[Category:Diet woo]]
[[Category:Food woo promoters]]

Categories: Alternative medicine, Cancer woo, Diet woo, Food woo promoters