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| Before attempting your first enema please request assistance from your duty nurse or Gerson doctor. |
Following admission, under physicians orders, you should have been issued:
(Reference: A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases, pp. 190, 247). Timing and frequency of enemas will vary throughout the entirety of your therapy. Your physician will instruct you and answer questions concerning use of coffee enemas.
General procedure for coffee enemas
The coffee solution should be used at body temperature. Run a little of the solution through the tube into the toilet to warm the tube and get rid of the air; close the stopcock. Lubricate rectal or enema tube for about 2" at end with petroleum jelly. Hang the enema bucket not more than two feet above you. Lying on your right side, draw both legs close to the abdomen, relax and breathe deeply.
Insert the tube into your rectum 5" to 8". Open the stopcock and allow fluid to run in very slowly to avoid cramping. Retain the solution for 12-15 minutes.
If you have trouble retaining or taking in the full 32 oz., lower the bucket; if you feel spasms, lower the bucket to the floor to allow the flow to back up a bit to relieve the pressure. After 12-20 seconds, slowly start raising the bucket toward its original level. You can also control the flow of solution by pinching the tube with your fingers or adjusting the plastic ring in a partially closed position. You will quickly learn what works best for you.
Don't place the tube back into the bucket until after you have thoroughly cleaned both the tube and the bucket. Use a biodegradable, food-use detergent and/or hydrogen peroxide and rinse well. Rinse at least once a day with hydrogen peroxide 3%. The bucket and the tube are very good growing grounds for bacteria.
Frequency of enemas is increased with symptoms of toxicity such as headache, fever, nausea, intestinal spasms and drowsiness. Upon awakening in the morning if headache and drowsiness are experienced, an additional enema is recommended during the following night.
As a general rule, eat some raw or steamed fruit before your first coffee enema of the day to activate the upper digestive tract. A small piece of fruit is sufficient. This rule applies whenever considerable time has elapsed since the last meal, juice or snack.
It is important to learn to keep records of your own vital signs (temperature and pulse). Your pulse and temperature should be taken daily before you get out of bed and move about. Keep the thermometer right next to your bed. If your pulse should near 120/min, the thyroid dosage may need to be reduced. An increase in temperature can be a sign of an impending "flare-up."
(Reference: A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases, pp. 81, 247). Every other day, 2 tablespoons of castor oil are given by mouth at about 5:30 AM, followed by a cup of black coffee with raw brown sugar. The coffee serves to stimulate the musculature of the stomach to empty the castor oil into the small intestine, thus lessening the discomfort of the castor oil.
To avoid stuffiness and cramping with castor oil by mouth, eat frequently and drink peppermint tea. Please see footnote 19, pp. 247-248, A Cancer Therapy - Results of 50 Cases.
(Reference: A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases, pp. 191, 247). At about 10:30 AM, 5 hours after your castor oil by mouth, the castor oil enema will be brought to your room to be administered. The castor oil should be mixed first with 1/2 tsp. OX-bile powder, then with the coffee for optimum results. Because oil and water normally separate, you need to swish a bar of soap (not detergent "bar") around briefly in the coffee to help the two liquids mix. Be careful not to get too much soap into the coffee, since soap can irritate the colon. Add the castor oil to the solution, and stir. The solution should be stirred continuously during the enema, since the oil will still tend to separate from the coffee. If you are not a contortionist, have somebody stir the solution for you. You may retain the castor oil enema for a short time, but it is not required.
(Reference: A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases, pp. 235, 236, 236b). Each morning, the nursing staff will supply you with your daily medications in a plastic box divided into compartments marked with the hour of the day each pill is to be taken.
Please return your medication box to a nurse after dinner. It will be refilled and returned to you.
| Medication | ||||
| Time | Juices | Diet | Linseed | Acidol |
| 8 oz. | oil tbsp. | Pepsin | ||
| each | p.246 | Caps | ||
| 8:00 | Orange | Breakfast | 2 | |
| 9:00 | Green | |||
| 9:30 | Apple-Carrot | |||
| 10:00 | Apple-Carrot | |||
| 11:00 | Carrot | |||
| 12.00 | Green | 2 Liver | ||
| Capsules | ||||
| 1:00 | Apple-Carrot | Lunch | 1 | 2 |
| 2:00 | Green | |||
| 3:00 | Carrot | |||
| 4:00 | Carrot | 2 Liver | ||
| Capsules | ||||
| 5:00 | Apple-Carrot | 2 Liver | ||
| Capsules | ||||
| 6:00 | Green | |||
| 7:00 | Apple-Carrot | Dinner | 1 | 2 |
| Medication | |||||
| Time | Potassium | Lugol | Thyroid | Niacin | Pancreatin |
| Compound | 1/2 stregnth | 1 gr. | 50 mg. | tablet | |
| Solution, | drops in juice | tablet | tablet | ||
| tsp. in juice | |||||
| 8:00 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 9:00 | 4 | ||||
| 9:30 | 4 | 3 | |||
| 10:00 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | |
| 12.00 | 4 | ||||
| 1:00 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 2:00 | 4 | ||||
| 5:00 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 6:00 | 4 | 1 | |||
| 7:00 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Medication | ||||
| Time | Injection, | Coffeee | Castor | Test |
| 100 mcg B12 | Enema | Oil | ||
| combined with | Treatment | |||
| 3cc liver | ||||
| 8:00 | Once Daily | Every | Every | As |
| 4 Hours | Other Day | Directed | ||
(Written for the 3rd edition of A Cancer Therapy - Results of 50 Cases.) Patients and assistants should read and understand pages 187-248 and Appendix II of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases before attempting to reproduce the treatment at home.
| CAUTION: The above schedule reflects normal diet and dosages for the initial weeks of treatment. As suggested by the following note, it is essential that the diet and dosages be regularly adjusted by a physician trained in the Gerson Therapy. |
Call your Gerson consulting physician to discuss adiustments to your schedule.
The diet and juices are described on pp. 187-190, 235, and 237-245 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases. The diet must be modified during reactions and flare-ups (pp. 190, 201-203 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases). Soured, non-fat dairy proteins (yogurt and unsalted, non-fat pot cheese) should be added at (not before) the 6th to 8th week according to the physician's judgement (pp. 80, 145, 146, 235 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases).
Exceptions: use churned, not cultured buttermilk. Because low nutrient levels and pesticide content of commercial produce may prevent healing, organically grown produce is extremely important (pp. 146-151, 167-185, 220, 410 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases).
Never fry, cook, or heat oil. Cold pressed flax seed oil plays an important role in the therapy and should be included. Cold pressed oil must be used because heating changes chemical composition, making it damaging to the body. Linseed oil assists the body in utilizing Vitamin A, a fat soluble vitamin. It is a source of linoleic acid, as well as lacking in cholesterol and effective in lowering cholesterol in the blood. During the first month of therapy, two tablespoons of flaxseed oil per day are given. Following the first month and during the balance of the therapy the use is limited to one tablespoon per day. Follow your physician's orders. For more detailed information, see the Gerson Healing Newsletter, No. 22-23, 1988: "Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill."
Capsules are the source of supplemental hydrochloric acid and pepsin, a digestive enzyme, used by Dr. Gerson. Take BEFORE meal.
(10% solution, see pg. 246 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases) - Dosage (first 3-4 weeks): 4 tsp. solution in each of 10 orange, carrot/apple, and green-juices (10x4 tsp. daily). Thereafter, the physician will normally reduce the dosage to 10x2 tsp. for 20 weeks, then 8X2 for 12 weeks, and 6X2 for the duration of treatment. However, more frequent adjustments by the physician are common (pp. 207-208, 235, 246, 393, 409, 410 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases). When you arrive home, place one 100 gm. container of potassium compound salts into a one quart glass jar and fill to the top with distilled water. Store bottle in a dark place. Does not need refrigeration.
(half-strength) Dosage (first 3-4 weeks only): 3 drops in each of 6 orange and carrot/apple juices (6X3 daily). Do not put Lugol's in green juice. Thereafter, the physician will normally reduce the dosage to 6x1 for 8 weeks, and 3x1 for the duration of treatment. Lugol's solution is a 10% solution of 10 gm. potassium iodide and 5 gm. iodine in water to total 100 ml. of solute. The Lugol's Solution for Gerson patients is premixed han strength (5% solution). Use Lugol's as supplied. Do not dilute (pp. 32, 205, 235, 246, 409 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases).
Dosage (first 3-4 weeks only): 5X1 grain daily. In the example case on page 236 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases, the dosage was reduced to 3x1/2 grain for 8 weeks, then 3x1/4 grain for 14 weeks. More frequent adjustments by the physician are common. Tachycardia (pulse over 120) may indicate overdosage. Discontinue temporarily during menses (pp. 205, 206, 235, 246, 409 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases).
Dosage: 50 mg at least 6 times daily for 6 months. In advanced cases, Dr. Gerson used 50 mg. every hour around the clock (Rev. Gastroenterol, 12(6):419, 1945). Reactions (flushing: hot, red skin) are temporary and harmless. Minor bleedings are no cause for concern, but discontinue during menses or in case of hemorrhage. Niacinamide is not allowed. Use only niacin (pp. 99, 209, 235, 246 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases).
Dosage: 3 tablets 4 times daily, or according to patients needs. A few patients do not tolerate pancreatin well, but most benefit with less digestive trouble, gas spasms, and less difficulty gaining weight and strength (pp. 211, 212, 235, 246, 411 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases).
(optional) - Dosage: 100 mg. in capsules or honey, one hour before breakfast. Do not take with hot food. Available from some health food stores (pp. 200, 235 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases).
(by injection): Dosage: 3 cc liver and 0.1 cc B12 combined in a single syringe, injected into gluteus medius daily, for 4-6 months or more. The physician will normally reduce frequency gradually over the course of therapy (pp. 80-82, 196, 210-211, 235, 240, 246, 393, 407, 409, 411, 412 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases).
(pg. 247 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases) - Dosage (first 6 weeks minimum): While lying on right side, retain for 12-15 minutes - EVERY FOUR HOURS. For limited periods of time, against severe pain, coffee enemas may be used as frequently as every two hours. However, physician must monitor serum electrolytes frequently.
Dosage: 2 Tbsp. by mouth and five hours later a castor oil and soap enema (pg. 247 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases) EVERY OTHER DAY. Later, as necessary or as prescribed, (pp. 81, 166, 190-195, 198, 201-203. 206. 235, 393, 406-410, 416-418 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases).
Blood Chemistry, Complete Blood Count, T3, T4, Urinalysis - All tests should be taken before beginning treatment and at 4-6 week intervals for at least the first 6 months. Test results may be affected by healing reactions and flare-ups (pp. 235, 415 of A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases). (See Appendix I: Lab Tests, for a more in depth description of tests, Pg. 33). Note: Please mail or fax copies of all blood work to your Gerson consulting physician.
Do not abruptly discontinue any medications you are taking prior to using the Gerson Therapy. In certain cases, Gerson trained physicians will advise gradual discontinuance.
This substance is employed in the Gerson Therapy during infections. A crystalline (powdered) form such as Bronson's is preferred. The Gerson diet contains large amounts of natural Vitamin C, so routine daily supplementation should not be necessary.
This is an addition to the Gerson program that can be employed in cancer from about the tenth to twelfth week. Non-cancer patients can start earlier, about the sixth week. Some patients may have allergies to bee pollen. The initial dosage is 1/2 tsp. per day.
Liver Juice has been discontinued. Substitute: Carrot juice plus 2 liver capsules for each liver juice. (Reference, A Cancer Therapy: Results of Fifty Cases, Appendix III, pg. 421)
Because the Gerson Therapy is your primary management, any agent, material, technique, or procedure added to the Gerson Therapy must be characterized as adjuvant, or supportive in nature, e.g.: when a Gerson patient elects to use laetrile, the new material cannot replace the central and continuous work of the Gerson Therapy. The Gerson Therapy must not be altered in the hope of improving the performance of the laetrile (some laetrile therapists recommend dietary measures which would be counter-productive if introduced into the Gerson Therapy). Always consult your Gerson Therapy Physician with regard to ANY promising new addition to your treatment.
The following procedures and materials are among those that are available at Gerson facilities in a form compatible with the Gerson Therapy. It is important to remember that each Gerson Therapy Center is separately owned and operated under the certification guidelines of the Gerson Institute. The following or additional therapies may be available at any given facility. Your Gerson physician may choose to recommend the addition of one or more additional procedures to your therapy.
Laetrile is the purified form of amygdalin, also called vitamin B-17, which occurs naturally in the pits of apricots and in some other foods. Laetrile is a cyanogenic glycoside (containing cyanide). While we believe laetrile to be non-toxic, laetrile by itself does not cure. It has been used at some Gerson Therapy facilities as an analgesic (for pain relief). Laetrile has other purported anti-cancer properties. Gerson patients may request laetrile from their physician, but it is not part of the routine Gerson Therapy.
One addition to the Gerson therapy protocol is the polarizing treatment pioneered by Dr. Demetrio Sodi-Pallares, a noted Mexico City cardiologist and researcher. He was formerly director of the Mexican Medical Association and the National Institute of Cardiology of Mexico City. He is the author of several books and many articles on cardiology. He places nutrition in its proper role for prevention and treatment of disease.
The basic Polarizing solution (GKI) can be found in Merck's Manual of Standard Medical Procedures, a standard medical text. Sodi-Pallares found that in many patients who are deficient in potassium, it is necessary to provide a transport mechanism to help potassium travel through the cell membrane. He achieved this by using a potassium solution (K) together with glucose (G) and a tiny bit of insulin (I) which is given together intravenously.
Polarizing treatment promotes healing in the diseased heart, and in tissues damaged by cancer and other degenerative diseases. Patients with edema (excess fluids in feet, abdomen) note a rapid reabsorption and release of the fluids from the body.
Preliminary clinical studies indicate that oxidative therapy might produce desirable results in cancer treatment. Most hostile micro-organisms probably require lower oxygen levels than the body's cells. Boosting serum oxygen levels may revitalize normal cells while damaging some viruses and other pathogens. Two basic types of oxygen therapy are ozone therapy and the absorption of hydrogen peroxide at very low concentrations. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), is produced when ozone (O3) contacts water. It can be taken orally if diluted with water (1/2% or less), absorbed through the skin by bathing in it (from 4-5 pints of 3% H2O2 in a standard size bathtub), used topically, or taken rectally. Ambient air ozone generators are used to benefit patients. In addition to the intensive Gerson Therapy, some adjuvant procedures are being made available to patients. These are scientifically based additions to the Gerson Therapy to add to the patients' ability to heal. Patients should discuss these additions to their treatment with their Gerson physician. Also extra charges will apply, consequently please check with the hospital office.
There is much evidence that increasing the patient's blood oxygen level helps fight tumor tissue and increases the body's immune system response.
Phagocytic leukocytes (white blood corpuscles) are the first and most important line of defense against infection. In the daily care of patients, physicians and surgeons usually assume that granulocyte function is normal - unless they have evidence to the contrary. However, data now clearly show that the killing capacity of granulocytes is normal only to the degree to which oxygen is available to them. This is probably the basis for the age-old observation that local immunity is proportional to blood supply.
Normally, leukocytes move and digest bacteria equally well by using anaerobically or aerobically derived energy. However, the capacity of leukocytes to kill bacteria depends largely on molecular oxygen. Bacterial killing is usually conceived of as comprising two major components. The first involves degranulation and ingestion of the bacteria. The second mechanism, called "oxidative killing," depends on molecular oxygen, which is captured by leukocytes and converted to high-energy radicals - such as superoxide, hydroxyl radicals, peroxides, aldehydes, hypochlorite and hypoiodite - which are toxic to bacteria in varying degrees. The rate of production of toxic radicals - and hence the adequacy of oxidative bacterial killing - is directly proportional to local oxygen tension.
The following organisms have been found directly susceptible to oxidative killing:
| Staph aureus | Hohn, Surg Forum, 1976 |
| Proteus vulgaris | Mandel G., Infec Immun, 1974 |
| Salmonella typhimurium | Mandel G., Infec Immun, 1974 |
| Klebsiella pneumonia | Mandel G., Infec Immun, 1974 |
| Serratia marcescens | Mandel 6., Infec Immun, 1974 |
| Staph albus | McRipley RJ, J Bact, 1967 |
| Pseudomonas aeruginosa | McRipley RJ, J Bact, 1967 |
| Eschericha coli | Selveraj NJ, Nature, 1960 |
These experiments show that oxygen effects are not only clinically evident, but are clinically important. (The above was taken from the notes of the Winter Symposium on Baromedicine, January 12-15, 1994, by Robert Bartlett, MD, FACEP).
Another form of oxygen, is offered by rectal insufflation. About 30cc of ozone is inserted into the rectum from where it is easily absorbed into the blood stream. Ozone is not well tolerated by tumor tissue, while normal tissue is supported by extra oxygen.
Another treatment which has been used for a number of years is Laetrile. This material is present in as many as 2,400 common foods, grains and grasses. For medicinal purposes, it is extracted mainly from apricot pits. It contains a fraction which helps the body to destroy tumor tissue but is harmless to normal cells. I It has been shown that Laetrile, when given to cancer patients, increases the temperature around the tumor - part of its capability of fighting cancer.
For this treatment, the patient is immersed in a bathtub containing water above body temperature. This will cause a mild induced fever. When Laetrile has already been injected prior to the bath, the temperature at the tumor site is further increased which gives the body a still better opportunity to destroy the tumor tissue. Normal healthy body tissue can easily withstand temperatures up to 104o F, however tumor tissue cannot.
Vitamin C is another addition to the adjunctive treatment protocols. It has numerous beneficial effects. It can be used orally and rectally. One protocol uses Laetrile and Vitamin C for the treatment of patients that have previously had chemotherapy.
These are highly concentrated pancreatic enzymes. The basic Gerson Therapy contains a fair amount of pancreatin. This helps to dissolve and digest tumor tissue. In some patients, especially if they carry a heavy tumor load, the additional intensive pancreatin (Wobe-Mugos) has improved the patient's ability to digest and destroy tumor tissue.
These are certain herb combinations which have been used by native Indians of the Americas and have been shown to have anti-cancer properties. These teas may be available at your Gerson hospital.
This therapy is much more effective after good detoxification and should not be tried during the initial stages of Gerson Therapy. It may be available on request from your Gerson Therapy facility.
Pain medications are often toxic and may interfere with the Gerson diet therapy. Whenever possible, use non-toxic methods to reduce and control pain.
During reactions, pain can be caused or worsened when substantial amounts of toxins are circulating throughout the blood system. They irritate the nerves in damaged and diseased areas of the body. By lowering toxic levels, this irritation and pain can be lessened. This is done by more frequent enemas.
Research has shown that the body has its own natural pain killers. It is thought that some factor in the coffee enema may stimulate the release of these pain killers. Most patients can testify to the fact that enemas relate directly to lowered pain levels.
The triad should be used sparingly. Do not exceed 6 dosages in a 24 hour period unless prescribed by your physician.
The Pain triad becomes progressively more effective as the body undergoes detoxification. It can be used at bedtime to assist in going to sleep for those patients with substantial pain.
The castor oil pack is used during severe flare-ups involving liver pain, bile system spasms, or severe pain at other sites. This procedure can also be used by arthritic patients over swollen, painful joints. It is a bit messy when used over hands and feet, but effective.
Hydrotherapy (hot tub bath, hot fomentation) is one of the best remedies for pain. It dulls and calms the pain. Hydrotherapy is also a great assist to detoxification by improving the circulation of the blood and lymphatics. Patients with nervous system disease such as MS should not be subjected to high temperature. Cool compresses are more beneficial for these patients.
Hydrotherapy may be defined as the use of water in any of its three forms, solid, liquid, or vapor, internally or externally, in the treatment of disease or trauma. Hyperthermia is the application of heat, hot tub bath, hot fomentations, hot foot baths, etc.
Heat treatments play an important role as an adjunct to the Gerson program. Treatments increase heart rate and respiratory rate, increase metabolism important for healing, and increase perspiration which assists in detoxification. Treatments stimulate an increase in leukocytes (white blood cells) and neutrophils, thus mobilizing the body's defenses against disease. The resultant increased blood flow brings about greatly improved oxygenation necessary for proper healing. Oxygenation assists in the fight against cancer which does not like an oxygenated environment. Congestion of internal organs, such as the liver, gall bladder, kidneys, etc., is relieved. Poor circulation is improved. Heat often assists in pain relief. Increased circulation lowers toxin levels thereby reducing the nerve irritation which causes pain. Treatments aid in repair of diseased tissues. They affect not only the immediate skin areas, but also exert reflex effects elsewhere in the body through the nervous system. For instance, heat over the abdominal wall decreases spasms of the intestinal tract; heat over kidneys and lower abdomen increases urine production.
The treatments are non-toxic and safe. Contraindications may be seen in patients with multiple sclerosis (cold hydrotherapy is more beneficial), diabetes, high blood pressure, heart and vascular diseases. These patients will need prior medical review.
For the cancer patient there is an additional important benefit in the hot water treatments. Many types of cancer cells are much more sensitive to heat than are normal cells. If temperatures can be raised high enough (104o F or more) and long enough, death of cancer cells may result. Research has shown that following intravenous or rectal application of laetrile there may be a temperature increase in the tumor mass of 4o-5o F. When this localized increase is added to total body hyperthermia many benefits have been noted, including tumor shrinkage and stimulation of detoxification.
Keep records of all preeedures, including date, time, and reactions:
Full treatments should not be taken during healing reactions, though relaxing baths at lower temperatures are allowed. Patients will need to have a medical examination and EKG in preparation. The accompanying person is invited to attend the treatments to observe the procedures so they can be continued in the home environment. Do not use chlorinated water for this treatment.
A soft composition, usually heated and spread on a cloth, and applied to a sore or inflamed part of the body.
Clay powder has an adsorptive effect like that of charcoal and aids detoxification.
Diarrhea, poison, gastrointestinal problems, inflammation, insect bites, swellings from arthritis, pain.