The past fortnight has seen two young women who’ve treated their chronic disease with very particular diets hit mainstream headlines. It’s been astonishing stuff.
News of wellness blogger Jess Ainscough’s tragic death tore through the media two weeks ago. Jess had a rare cancer (epithelioid sarcoma) and after undergoing chemotherapy, had declined the only treatment her doctors could offer her (amputation of her arm at the shoulder blade), instead deciding to treat herself with the controversial Gerson Therapy. This therapy – when applied to cancer patients – is based on a fully plant-based diet and involves drinking one glass of fresh raw juice every hour for 13 hours and taking up to 5 coffee enemas a day.
Then this week The Australian newspaper did an expose of mega-blogger and cult Instagrammer Belle Gibson who has claimed to be healing her own brain cancer (and more recently, liver, uterus, spleen and blood cancers, too) via alternative therapies and a healthy diet. The report claimed there is no proof Belle has ever had any form of cancer. Belle apparently admits she may have been misdiagnosed and subsequent news stories reveal a history of unusual and contradictory claims of terminal illness (and identities).
I’m not going to wade in on the ins and outs of the various reports (except to say I’m left very concerned about Belle’s welfare,