Max Gerson (October 18, 1881 – March 8, 1959) was a German-born American physician who developed the Gerson therapy, a pseudoscientific dietary-based alternative cancer treatment that he falsely claimed could cure cancer and most chronic, degenerative diseases. Gerson therapy involves a plant-based diet with coffee enemas, ozone enemas, dietary supplements, and raw calf liver extract; the latter was discontinued in the 1980s after patients were hospitalized for bacterial infections.

Gerson described his approach in the book A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases (1958). The National Cancer Institute evaluated Gerson's claims and concluded that his data showed no benefit from his treatment.

Early life and career

Gerson was born to a Jewish family in Wongrowitz, German Empire (Wągrowiec, now in Poland), on October 18, 1881. When the Nazis came to power in 1933 Gerson left Germany, emigrating to Vienna, where he worked in the West End Sanatorium. Gerson spent two years in Vienna, before moving to France in 1935, associating with a clinic near Paris before moving to London in 1936. Shortly thereafter, he moved to the United States, settling in New York City. In 1958, Gerson published a book in which he claimed to have cured 50 terminal cancer patients: A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases. In 1953, Gerson's malpractice insurance was discontinued and, in 1958, his medical license in New York was suspended for two years.

Personal life and Death

Gerson married Margaret Rose Hope; they had three daughters. His daughter Charlotte founded the Gerson Institute after his death.

Gerson died on March 8, 1959, of pneumonia.

Gerson therapy

Initially, Gerson used his therapy as a treatment for migraine headaches and tuberculosis. In 1928, he began to use it as a supposed treatment for cancer. It also emphasizes limiting sodium and increasing potassium intake to detoxify the liver. Coffee enemas are said to cause excretion of toxic breakdown products by the liver and through the colon wall. None of these ideas are supported by scientific research. Berries, nuts, salt, vegetable oils and drinking water are forbidden indefinitely. Since 1983, Gerson therapy has involved the use of ozone enemas, where up to 150 mg of ozone is administered rectally. The original protocol also included raw calf's liver taken orally, but this practice was discontinued in the 1980s after ten patients were hospitalized (five of them comatose) from January 1979 to March 1981 in San Diego, California, area hospitals due to infection with the rare bacterium Campylobacter fetus. This infection was seen only in those following Gerson-type therapy with raw liver (no other cases of patients having sepsis with this microbe, a pathogen in cattle, had been reported to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the previous two years). Nine of ten hospitalized patients had been treated in Tijuana, Mexico; the tenth followed Gerson therapy at home. One of these patients who had metastatic melanoma died within a week of his septic episode. Many of the patients had low sodium levels, thought to be associated with the very low sodium Gerson diet. The photographer Garry Winogrand died of gallbladder cancer in a Gerson Clinic in Tijuana.

Evidence

Gerson's therapy has not been independently tested or subjected to randomized controlled trials, and thus is illegal to market in the United States. The Gerson Institute promotes the therapy by citing patient testimonials and other anecdotal evidence. Gerson published a book discussing the alleged success of the therapy in 50 patients, but a review by the U.S. National Cancer Institute was unable to find any evidence that Gerson's claims were accurate.

The American Cancer Society reported that "[t]here is no reliable scientific evidence that Gerson therapy is effective in treating cancer, and the principles behind it are not widely accepted by the medical community. It is not approved for use in the United States." In 1947, the National Cancer Institute reviewed 10 claimed cures submitted by Gerson; however, all of the patients were receiving standard anticancer treatment simultaneously, making it impossible to determine what effect, if any, was due to Gerson's therapy. A review of the Gerson therapy by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center concluded: "If proponents of such therapies wish them to be evaluated scientifically and considered valid adjuvant treatments, they must provide extensive records (more than simple survival rates) and conduct controlled, prospective studies as evidence". In 1959, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) again reviewed cases of patients treated by Gerson. The NCI found that the available information did not prove the regimen had benefit. Cancer Research UK states that "Available scientific evidence does not support any claims that Gerson therapy can treat cancer [...] Gerson therapy can be very harmful to your health."

Safety concerns

Gerson therapy can lead to several significant health problems. Serious illness and death have occurred as a direct result of some portions of the treatment, including severe electrolyte imbalances.

Continued use of enemas may weaken the colon's normal function, causing or worsening constipation and colitis. Other complications have included dehydration, serious infections and severe bleeding. The recommended diet may not be nutritionally adequate. The diet has been blamed for the deaths of patients who substituted it for standard medical care.

Jessica Ainscough, better known as "The Wellness Warrior", was a major proponent of the Gerson diet after her diagnosis with cancer. She rejected medical treatment and followed the diet strictly, documenting her progress in a popular blog. She died from her untreated cancer in February 2015, aged 29.

See also

  • Chelation therapy
  • List of diets
  • List of unproven and disproven cancer treatments
  • Belle Gibson

References

  • Questionable Cancer Therapies, from Quackwatch (includes section on Gerson therapy with references)