Dr. Max Gerson
Last week, I received a note from a reader who was responding to my recent post about the “cancer industry turning 41.” Like another reader, she had heard about Gerson Cancer Therapy and wanted to know my thoughts. She wrote:
Hi Jim, Have you watched the DVD, The Gerson Miracle? They’ve been curing cancer for 60 years. It’s on Netflix. I know it sounds incredible but that’s the first move I’d make if I ever get a cancer diagnosis. I think I read where Dr. Campbell did a water fast after exposure to dioxin. What are your thoughts? (gerson.org) Thanks for all you do. Regards, Joyce
In thinking about my response, I considered the career of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr. Although he operated primarily on cancer patients during his lengthy surgical career, it was with coronary artery disease patients where he has earned most of his fame. Why is that?
The highly regarded Cleveland Clinic, where Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr, has spent his entire since graduating from medical school.
As he tells the story, while working as a general surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, he became disenchanted with the conventional treatment paradigm for treating chronic disease like cancer and heart disease. He felt that the medical profession should do more to help the next victim avoid these diseases—instead of treating with the standard surgical, radiation and chemo approach.
So after a decade or so of studying the published medical information that was gathered by many health professionals who’d preceded him by fifty years or more, he reached a conclusion. He became convinced that heart disease could be prevented, slowed, arrested or even reversed—even in older patients. But he wasn’t so sure about cancer and wanted to give himself—and his patients—the best chance of success.
Turned out that he was right as he went on to completely reverse the advanced coronary artery disease in all 17 of the terminally ill patients sent to him by the Cleveland Clinic. And the only thing that he did was change their diet to one of whole, plant-based foods, while keeping their fat consumption below 10% of their calories. But as we all know, reversals of cancer are not nearly as common and not nearly as predictable. With his story in mind, I responded like this:
J. Morris Hicks, where the simple and clear advice will always be the same and can be summed up in two words: Whole Plants.
Hi Joyce, I have watched some of the Gerson videos and notice that Leo just included a couple in his comment today. Like you, I would never subject myself to cancer treatment by conventional methods. Further, I am not likely to be diagnosed with cancer because I quit going to the doctor about ten years ago, except for treating injuries from accidents.
With cancer, I prefer to emphasize the fact that our toxic diet is the leading cause of cancer. But unlike heart disease or type 2 diabetes, cancer is more complicated and more difficult to reverse. As a board member of Colin Campbell’s foundation, I like to follow his lead. He speaks highly of Dr. Max Gerson but didn’t mention him in his book, “The China Study.” That’s probably because, while there have been lots of successful anecdotes, there have been no scientific studies about reversing cancer.
We know much more about what causes it; and also know that it can grow for decades undetected—and in many cases be discovered when it’s simply too late. We must start focusing on the cause and quit “skydiving for the cure.” Be well, Jim
A few of my earlier blogs on this topic
- So now they tell us…about “secondary cancers.”
- My only brother “unsubscribes” from my blog after reading what I said about cancer.
- Cancer survivors are on the rise. Is that good news?
- Focus on “risk factors”— is missing the whole point!
- PSA testing; latest news may open door to “real” prevention.
- Early Detection; then slash, burn and poison…
- The Big C—twice in one week for Warren Buffett
Handy 4-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com
- The movie that’s changing the lives of millions: Forks Over Knives DVD
- Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
- An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell
- Dr. McDougall’s new book, The Starch Solution, with lots of great recipes.
Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Diagnostic Survey. It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com
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J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.
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Blogging daily at hpjmh.com…from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.
—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation
J. Morris Hicks, engineer. writer. big picture guy. 
Here is a 4:30-min. video of Hannah.
Here is a ost by Dr. Greger which will give moire ideas about the cause and prevention of cancer and other diseases. Let’s hope this goes viral.
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/uprooting-the-leading-causes-of-death/?utm_source=NutritionFacts.org&utm_campaign=12498d02d8-RSS_VIDEO_DAILY&utm_medium=email
Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy are accepted forms of cancer treatment.
Dr. Burzynski uses antineoplastons which are said to be peptides found in the blood of people who do not have cancer.
Many people try to provide the cells of the body with the nutrients they need by using whole plant foods. Are they providing the body the elements for the person to make the necessary peptides?
Meg Wolff lost a leg to cancer, lost half her thyroid and then had a mastectomy. After nine years on chemotherapy and radiation she learned about macrobiotics, was healed and is now teaching others. Another living anecdote after 13 years.
http://megwolff.com/
Here is another Gerson person’s story.
In 1946 Dr. Max Gerson went before Congress with five cancer patients who showed recovery and tried to get Congress to fund tests to determine if his terapy was worthwhile. A New York radio commentator who was flooded with calls was fired after people called his show asking for information.
Dr. Gerson cured Dr. Albert Schweitzer of diabetes when he was 75 and he lived into his nineties. He also cured Schweitzer’s wife of TB and his daughter of a rare skin condition. Dr. Gerson’s goal was to restore the body’s ability to function normally and in the process many other conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. improved. He stated that the body would chose which conditions it would heal and in what order. His goal was to remove as many toxins and to provide as many nutrients as possible so the cells would function normally.
The big picture people have to see is that things happen at the level of the cell. Following are two excerpts from Gerson’s “A Cancer Therapy, Results of Fifty Cases.”
Subject: Case no. 23, female, age 43 — page 325 (A Cancer Therapy, results of fifty cases, by Max Gerson)
These are just a few paragraphs on a patient that had myosarcoma followed by osteomyelitis, left subtrochantaric pathologic fracture, extensive scar masses from operations as well as from cancer with subsequent infections. There was a metal plate covering the head of the femur and extending down the shaft which contained 9 screws.
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This case shows remarkably the tremendous power of healing which is inherent in the body by nature. It broke three big metal screws to extend the bone. Its granulation tissue kills parasites, bacteria and cancer cells, eliminates them and produces first hypertrophic scar tissues, later normal or near normal various tissue layers again. In order to achieve this task, it is necessary to support the body with a maximum of living chemical substances contained in fresh food to transform it in the powerful creatuve granulation tissue with all its biological potentialities.
From this case we learn what overwhelming forces nature has created to produce life and maintain it. We physicians should use the same force to heal far advanced defects and degenerative formations such as cancer.
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Subject: Case No. 6 Male, 47 years old–Pituitary Tumor, Syphlis–page 277, A Cancer Therapy, Results of 50 Cases (Max Gerson)
There are six pages about this individual with X-rays and eye graphs(?) showing evidence of exams. Here are a few lines from the various pages which were interesting, especially since he tested negative for syphilis after treatment for the tumor, without treatmennt for syphilis.
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Admitted July 6, 1953 with severe headaches and greater loss of vision in the last month and a half.
Wasserman Blood 4 Plus. Known as leutic since age 21.
Wasserman taken May 26, 1954 was negative without antileutic therapy.
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He started to lose vision and had to feel his way around the room and had headaches. The conditions improved and he could return to work and continued studying. Discontinued treatment Christmas 1956.
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Medicare now will cover the cost of the Ornish and Pritikin programs because they save about $30,000 per person. Too bad the government didn’t give Gerson’s therapy a chance. The government will not pay for threatment other than surgery, radiation or chemotherapy and will not pay for patients who use the Gerson or similar therapies, which many individuals are doing on their own. They are called anecdotes, but are living anecdotes.