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A Companion to A Cancer Therapy:
Results of Fifty Cases, by Max Gerson, M.D.
© 1993-1999 The Gerson Institute. All Rights Reserved. The information contained in this book is based on original research, empirical observation and other information developed and/or compiled by The Gerson Institute, its associated practitioners and researchers and on independent research and/or empirical observations conducted and/or compiled by other individuals and/or organizations. The advice and suggestions described herein should not under any circumstances be relied upon as the sole means of determining appropriate treatment or intervention. The Gerson Institute, its staff, and auxiliary faculty do not prescribe or recommend treatment, and cannot be held responsible or liable for the use or misuse of any information contained herein.
The Gerson Institute has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information contained herein, but cannot accept any responsibility for errors, omissions, misstatements, or other erroneous information that may be contained herein. Please notify us in writing of any deficiencies or discrepancies so that corrections may be made in future editions.
Max Gerson, M.D. and the Gerson Therapy
Dr. Patricia Spain Ward, History of the Gerson Therapy, 1988
Chapter 1: Procedures Used While in the Hospital
Enemas, Getting Started Coffee Enemas Keep Your Equipment Clean! Frequency of Enemas Nourish First - Then Detoxify Castor Oil Treatment Castor Oil by Mouth Castor Oil Enema Medications Mealtime Medications Annotated Hourly Schedule Diet and Juices Flax Seed Oil (a.k.a. Linseed Oil) Acidol Pepsin Potassium Lugol's Solution Thyroid Niacin Pancreatin Royal Jelly Liver Extract (crude) and B12 Coffee Enemas Castor Oil Tests All Other Medications Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) Bee Pollen Liver Juice Adjuvant Therapies Amygdalin/Laetrile Polarizing Treatment Oxygen Therapy Adjuvant Treatments Ozone Laetrile (Amygdalin) Hydrotherapy Vitamin C Wobe Mugos Tahebo Tea and Essiac Tea Live Cell Therapy Adjuvant Therapeutic Procedures Pain Relief More Frequent Enemas Pain Triad Castor Oil Pack Hydrotherapy The Theory Behind Hydrotherapy Preparing for and Undergoing Clay Poultice Definition Effects Indications ProcedureChapter 2: Going Home, The Gerson Household
Follow-up Care Laboratory Monitoring Outpatient Follow-up Checklist Medication Supplies Instructions for Giving Injections Finding Organically Grown Food Organic Coffee Information Organic Certification Logos The Gerson Household: Kitchen Supplies Appliances Cookware Kitchen Utensils Condiments and Staples Paper Goods Bathroom Supplies Pollution In and Around the Home Grocery List for a Week Water Hardball Sales Pitch Unsafe Tap Water Labs That Test Water No Single Machine Does it All Strengths and Weaknesses Buy or Rent Finding a Vendor Schedule for the DayChapter 3: General Procedures, Common Reactions, and Personal Care
Enema Recipes Coffee Enema Chamomile Enema Enema Procedure Enema Reactions and Remedies Intestinal Spasms and Cramping Check the Enema Technique Heat Over the Abdomen Add Potassium Compound Lower the Dosage Back to Back Enemas Castor Oil Enema Colds and Flus Exercise Flare-ups and Reactions Flare-up Symptoms Flu-like Symptoms Nausea Vomiting Diarrhea Pain Chills and Fever Foul Smells Depression Jaundice Laboratory Test Changes Cosmetics and Sunscreen Cosmetics Sunscreen Dental Hygiene and Care Toothpaste Dental Abscesses Silver-Mercury Amalgam Fillings Baking Soda Root Canals Dental Anesthesia for the Gerson Patient Milk ProteinsChapter 4: Psychological Considerations for the Gerson Patient
Calcium, serum Phosphates, serum Sodium, serum Potassium, serum Chloride, serum Lactic Dehydrogenase (LDH) SGOT/AST Bilirubin, serum Gamma-Glutamyl Transpeptidase (GGT), serum Acid Phosphatase SGPT/ALT Alkaline Phosphatase Cholesterol, total Lipoprotein-Cholesterol Fractionation Triglycerides, serum Protein Electrophoresis, serum Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) Creatinine, serum Uric Acid, serum Glucose, Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS) Iron, serum, and Total Iron-Binding Capacity Erythrocyte Count, Red Blood Cell Count Hemoglobin (Hgb), total Hematocrit (Hct) Erythrocyte Indices, Red Cell Indices Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) Seds Rate Platelet Count White Blood Cell (WBC) Count, Leukocyte Count White Blood Cell (WBC) Differential Urinalysis (UA), routineAppendix II: Newsletter Excerpts
Nutritional Superiority of Organically Grown Foods (Vol. 5, No. 2) Eat Only Organic (Vol. 5, No. 1) Nutrition Labeling is Bad for Your Health (Vol. 5, No. 1) Pesticides: How Big is the Problem? (Vol. 5, No. 1) A Coffee Enema? Now I've Heard Everything! (Vol. 13, No.3) Special Soup Juices Salads & Dressing Cooked Vegetable Dishes Soups Sauces & Dips Fruits & Desserts Dairy BreadsAppendix IV: Adapting the Gerson Therapy for Chemo-pre-treated Patients
Appendix V: A Gerson Patient's Problems - How to Avoid Mistakes
Throughout our lives our bodies are being filled with a variety of disease and cancer causing pollutants. These toxins reach us through the air we breathe, the food we eat, the medicines we take and the water we drink. As more of these poisons are used every day and cancer rates continue to climb, being able to turn to a proven, natural, detoxifying treatment like the Gerson Therapy is not only reassuring, but necessary.
The Gerson Therapy is a powerful, natural treatment that boosts your body's own immune system to heal cancer, arthritis, heart disease, allergies, and many other degenerative diseases. One aspect of the Gerson Therapy that sets it apart from most other treatment methods is its all-encompassing nature. An abundance of nutrients from thirteen fresh, organic juices are consumed every day, providing your body with a superdose of enzymes, minerals and nutrients. These substances then help the body to break down diseased tissues, while enemas aid in eliminating the lifelong buildup of toxins from the liver.
With its whole-body approach to healing, the Gerson Therapy naturally reactivates your body's magnificent ability to heal itself - with no damaging side-effects. Over 200 articles in respected medical literature, and thousands of people cured of their "incurable" diseases document the Gerson Therapy's effectiveness. The Gerson Therapy is one of the few treatments to have a 60 year history of success.
Although its philosophy of cleansing and reactivating the body is simple, the Gerson Therapy is a complex method of treatment requiring significant attention to detail. While many patients have made full recoveries practicing the Gerson Therapy on their own, for best results, we encourage starting treatment at a Gerson Institute-certified treatment center.
Since the original publication of A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases in 1958, many developments have taken place in the medical world, including the widespread use of (toxic) chemotherapy, the standardization of heart-lung and liver transplants and a rising incidence of cancer in well over a third of our population. At the same time, we have witnessed the emergence of a host of new and often "unexplainable" chronic diseases, such as CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), lupus (SLE), Legionnaire's disease, AIDS, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's.
As conventional medicine unearths more clues about the nature of chronic, degenerative disease, evidence has increasingly pointed toward the scientific validity of Dr. Gerson's principles. Virtually all research that has been done in the area of nutrition in the past 50 years has tended to confirm Dr. Gerson's empirical findings. This comes as no surprise to us. Where traditional treatments have failed, we have found that both old and new illnesses alike have proven remarkably susceptible to treatment with the Gerson Therapy.
Whether you intend to beat your "incurable" disease at home or at a Gerson certified clinic, this Gerson Therapy Handbook is intended as a user-friendly companion guide to the deservedly more famous but more technical A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases, by Max Gerson, M.D. The latter book contains, in a remarkably condensed form, the accumulated wisdom of 50 years of clinical experimentation in Europe and the United States by Dr. Gerson, who counted heads of state and at least one Nobel laureate among his cured patients. If you plan to undertake the Gerson Therapy we suggest you read both volumes as they work together to provide you with the information you need to begin and maintain the Gerson healing process.
The Gerson Therapy Handbook has been organized so that you can find answers quickly and begin the healing process immediately. In the following chapters you will find everything you need to know about the Gerson protocol, from juicing schedules and enema formulas, to the interpretation of lab results. This Gerson Therapy Handbook will alert you to crucial healing reactions and it will explain several adjuvant therapies that you may pursue in conjunction with the Gerson Therapy. We have also selected some important articles from issues of the Gerson Healing Newsletter that discuss coffee enemas, pesticides and the merits of organic food in greater detail.
As you face perhaps the greatest challenge of your life we would like to reassure you that there is both hope and an alternative to the so called cures of traditional medicine. If you have any questions after reading this Gerson Therapy Handbook that remain unanswered, please do not hesitate to contact our staff at the Gerson Institute. We wish you well.
The Gerson Institute (a.k.a. Cancer Curing Society) is a non-profit organization dedicated to healing and preventing chronic, degenerative diseases based on the vision, philosophy and the successful work of Dr. Max Gerson.
Founded in 1978 by Charlotte Gerson (daughter of Dr. Gerson) the Gerson Institute provides a range of programs designed to inform and educate the general public and health care practitioners about the benefits of the Gerson Therapy.
Whether you are interested in an alternative treatment for your "incurable" disease, or simply wish to adopt a healthier lifestyle for yourself and your family, the Gerson Institute can help.
Contact our offices by telephone, fax, e-mail or via the Internet to find out more about these and other programs that are offered by the Gerson Institute:
* Programs will change from time to time. Please contact the Gerson Institute for current information.
Please Note: The Gerson Institute does not own, operate, or control any treatment facility. We maintain a licensing program with clinics to ensure that patients are receiving true, 100% Gerson care. Be sure your clinic is Gerson Institute Certified to provide the Gerson Therapy. Phone the Gerson Institute to discuss how the Gerson Therapy can help you.
We will be happy to answer your questions: 1-888-4-GERSON.
Max Gerson, M.D. was born October 18, 1881 in Wongrowitz, Germany. He attended the universities of Breslau, Wuerzburg and Berlin, eventually graduating from the University of Freiburg. Suffering from severe migraines, Dr. Max Gerson focused his initial dietary experiments on preventing these debilitating headaches. It was discovered in the course of treatment with this special "migraine diet", that one of Dr. Gerson's patients was cured of his skin tuberculosis. This discovery led to further studies of the diet, and to Dr. Gerson successfully treating many more tuberculosis patients.
After some time, his work came to the attention of famed thoracic surgeon, Ferdinand Sauerbruch, M.D. With the help and supervision of Dr. Sauerbruch, Gerson established a skin tuberculosis treatment program at the Munich University Hospital. In a carefully monitored clinical trial, 446 out of 450 skin tuberculosis patients treated with Gerson's dietary regimen, experienced complete recoveries. Dr. Sauerbruch and Dr. Gerson simultaneously published articles on the study in a dozen of the world's leading medical journals, establishing the Gerson treatment as the first cure for skin tuberculosis.
Through his work with tuberculosis, Dr. Gerson attracted the friendship of Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Albert Schweitzer, M.D. At the time, Dr. Schweitzer's interest in Gerson was prompted by conventional methods having failed to cure his wife, Helene Schweitzer-Bresslau (1879-1957), of lung tuberculosis. In 1930, after suffering her tuberculosis for seven years, Helene was admitted to Dr. Gerson's clinic and cured after 9 months. The two doctors shared a good friendship for the rest of their lives. It came to pass that even Schweitzer's own advanced (Type II) diabetes was cured by Gerson's nutritional therapy. Schweitzer followed Gerson's progress over the years, seeing the dietary therapy successfully applied further to heart disease, kidney failure, and then finally - cancer.
To escape Adolf Hitler's reign in Europe, Dr. Gerson moved with his family to America, where they took up residence in New York. In 1938, Dr. Gerson passed his medical boards and was then licensed to practice medicine in the state of New York. For twenty years, he treated hundreds of cancer patients who had been given up to die after all conventional treatments had failed. In 1946, Dr. Gerson demonstrated some of these recovered patients before the Pepper-Neely Congressional Subcommittee. The committee was holding hearings on a bill to fund research into cancer treatment. Although only a handful of peer-reviewed journals were receptive to Gerson's then "radical" idea of diet affecting health, he continued publishing articles on his therapy in Europe and presenting case histories of his healed patients. In 1958, after thirty years of clinical experimentation, Gerson published A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases. This medical monograph details the theories, treatment, and results achieved by a great physician. In 1959 Dr. Max Gerson died.
It was 50 years ago that Dr. Gerson promoted better health through nutrition. Although ridiculed in his time, today, we are shown proof in countless articles and studies, that he was merely ahead of his time. As better diet proves to be the answer to healing more and more of our health problems, the words of Dr. Gerson's good friend carry a deeply prophetic ring.
"I see in him one of the most eminent geniuses in the history of medicine. Many of his basic ideas have been adopted without having his name connected with them. Yet, he has achieved more than seemed possible under adverse conditions. He leaves a legacy which commands attention and which will assure him his due place. Those whom he has cured will now attest to the truth of his ideas."
The Gerson Therapy is a state of the art, contemporary, holistic and natural treatment which utilizes the body's own healing mechanism in the treatment and cure of chronic debilitating illness. When it was introduced to the world by Max Gerson, M.D., the dietary therapy was so far ahead of its time that there were almost no rationales available in the scientific literature to explain how it could produce cures in chronic as well as infectious diseases. But, because it did cure many cases of advanced tuberculosis, heart disease, cancer and numerous lesser conditions, the Gerson Therapy was established as a major contribution to the medical field, through the publication of hundreds of articles in peer reviewed medical literature. Gerson first published on the topic of cancer in 1945, almost forty years before the adoption of the current official U.S. National Cancer Institute program on diet, nutrition, and cancer. Today, leaders in the medical establishment predict a 50% reduction in cancers by the year 2000 through educating the public in dietary methods of preventing cancer.
It is rare to find cancer, arthritis, or other degenerative diseases in cultures considered "primitive" by Western civilization. Is it because of diet? The fact that degenerative diseases appear in these cultures only when modern packaged foods and additives are introduced would certainly support that idea. Max Gerson said "Stay close to nature and its eternal laws will protect you." He considered that degenerative diseases were brought on by toxic, degraded food, water and air.
The Gerson Therapy seeks to regenerate the body to health, supporting each important metabolic requirement by flooding the body with nutrients from almost 20 pounds of organically grown fruits and vegetables daily. Most is used to make fresh raw juice, one glass every hour, 13 times per day. Raw and cooked solid foods are generously consumed. Oxygenation is usually more than doubled, as oxygen deficiency in the blood contributes to many degenerative diseases. The metabolism is also stimulated through the addition of thyroid, potassium and other supplements, and by avoiding heavy animal fats, excess protein, sodium and other toxins.
Degenerative diseases render the body increasingly unable to excrete waste materials adequately, commonly resulting in liver and kidney failure. To prevent this, the Gerson Therapy uses intensive detoxification to eliminate wastes, regenerate the liver, reactivate the immune system and restore the body's essential defenses - enzyme, mineral and hormone systems. With generous, high-quality nutrition, increased oxygen availability, detoxification, and improved metabolism, the cells - and the body - can regenerate, become healthy and prevent future illness.
It is one of the least edifying facts of recent American medical history that the profession's leadership so long neglected as quackish the idea that nutrition affects health (JAMA 1946, 1949, 1977; Shimkin, 1976). Ignoring both the empirical dietary wisdom that pervaded western medicine from the pre-Christian Hippocratic era until the late nineteenth century and a persuasive body of modern research in nutritional biochemistry, the politically minded spokesmen of organized medicine in the U.S. remained long committed to surgery and radiation as the sole acceptable treatments for cancer. This commitment persisted, even after sound epidemiological data showed that early detection and removal of malignant tumors did not "cure" most kinds of cancer (Crile, 1956; updated by Cairns, 1985).
The historical record shows that progress lagged especially in cancer immunotherapy - including nutrition and hyperthermia - because power over professional affiliation and publication (and hence over practice and research) rested with men who were neither scholars nor practitioners nor researchers themselves, and who were often unequipped to grasp the rapidly evolving complexities of the sciences underlying mid-twentieth century medicine.
Nowhere is this maladaptation of professional structure to medicine's changing scientific content more tragically illustrated than in the American experience of Max B. Gerson (1881-1959), founder of the best-known nutritional treatment for cancer of the pre-macrobiotic era. A scholar's scholar and a superlative observer of clinical phenomena, Gerson was a product of the German medical education which Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries considered so superior to our own that all who could afford it went to Germany to perfect their training (Bonnier, 1963).
As a medical graduate of the University of Freiburg in 1909, Gerson imbibed all of the latest in scientific medicine, with the emphasis on specificity which bacteriology had brought into Western medical thought in the preceding decades. Gerson subsequently worked with leading German specialists in internal medicine, in physiological chemistry, and in neurology (U.S. Congress, 1946, 98). The historical record does not tell us whether his medical education in Germany (where much of the early work in nutritional chemistry took place) included a study of diet, a subject neglected in American medical schools after the germ theory gained acceptance.
We do know that by 1919, when Gerson set up a practice in internal and nervous diseases in Bielefeld, he had devised an effective dietary treatment for the migraine headaches which frequently disabled him, despite the best efforts of his colleagues. In 1920, while treating migraine patients by this salt-free vegetarian diet, he discovered that it was also effective in lupus vulgaris (tuberculosis at the skin, then considered incurable) and, later, in arthritis as well (U.S. Congress, 1946, 98).
Trained in the theories of specific disease causation and treatment that began to dominate western medicine for the first time in history - as bacteriological discoveries multiplied in the late nineteenth century, Gerson was at first uneasy about using a single therapy in such seemingly disparate conditions. But he was committed to the primacy of clinical evidence, which he liked to express in Kussmaul's dictum: "The result at the sick-bed is decisive" (quoted in Gerson, 1958, 212).