Foundation for Advancement in Cancer Therapy
Non-Toxic Biological Approaches to the Theories,
Treatments and Prevention of Cancer

2024
Our 53rd Year

Reflected Symptoms of Abnormal Metabolism By Max Gerson, M.D. (1880-1959)

“I see in Gerson one of the most eminent geniuses in medical history.”
Dr. Albert Schweitzer, M.D.

In my article, “No Cancer in Normal Metabolism,” it is explained that cancer is not a problem of allergies, nor of a virus and other unknown infections; itis notone ofsome special intermedial metabolic orcarcinogenic substances, butitis caused by an accumulation of numerous poisons and malnutrition factors.

Our modern nutrition of denatured, processed, dead foods is gradually deteriorating the whole metabolism (that means: the biological procedures in the whole intestinal tract and body, from intake to output of our nutrition).

Damaged Liver

It is generally known that, in cancer patients, the chronically damaged liver is a common factor. In cancer, the sick liver does not function sufficiently to help the therapeutical endeavor in two essential points: first, to purify the blood; and second, to reactivate the oxidizing enzymes.

I found that these are the two most important parts of theliver function, necessary for the treatment of the cancer patient. My lecture in Los Angeles showed how these two vital parts of liver function can be revitalized and maintained active by the so-called combined dietary regime, treating the whole body contrary to the accepted orthodox cancer treatment which concentrates on the local symptoms only.

All explanations and theoretical conclusions are derived from clinically favorable results, mostly on patients after the orthodox treatment had failed or such types which were inoperable from the beginning.

Nutrition and Soil

Our nutrition starts with the soil. Man willbe forever dependent on the iron laws of nature because the soil produces all his nutrition, as our body is adapted through millions of generations to this natural food. When man disturbs the biological balance there, dire consequences fall on him.

Here are two examples:

Some Midwestern U.S. States show ugly deserts where rich and abundant crops of cotton grew a hundred years ago. Man replanted it continuously without giving anything back till the topsoil became thinner and the crops poorer. Finally the robbed soil degenerated into a dust bowl.

Rice is the main food staple of Asiatic peoples. When civilization came and polished it to look white and prettier, important minerals and vitamins were removed and thus a disease was caused, called Beriberi.

In addition to damage to the soil, the food is refined, canned, bottled, powdered, frozen, color added, poisoned by sprays, etc., until finally it becomes a mass of dead, unnatural, partly poisoned substances. A body fed in such a way loses the harmony and cooperation of the cells, finally its natural defense, immunity and healing power.

Comprehensive Survey

That is the reason why our surgeons observe what the statistics show: “A comprehensive survey of cancer statistics reveals an increase in incidence, morbidity and mortality in spite of improved X-ray techniques, increasingly extensive operative procedures, and education regarding early detection. It appears that the problem of the so-called hopeless case will remain large for some time to come ….” Quoted from the Journal of the American Medical Association, (Vol. 162, No. 8 of October 20, 1956) from an article by Dr. Bateman.

Where there is no civilization there is no cancer (the Hunzas, Ethiopian people, etc.). Where civilization starts to change the nutrition, cancer develops. (see the report of Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Briefe aus Lambarene, October 1954, pages 18-19).

Conviction

It is my conviction that no cancer can develop in a body with normal metabolism. This is the basic fact for the cancer therapy where the liver plays the essential part. The liver is affected to the highest degree by the artificial, chemical food transformation, as it is the filter for the entire digestive apparatus. It is a storage place and, besides, it transforms the components of our foodstuffs.

It composes the ingredients for the hormones, activates and reactivates the vitamins and enzymes (there are about 600 different enzymes), thus regulating and protecting the most vital process of our life. In addition to these functions, the liver is the most important organ for our detoxification.

But it is a peculiarity of the damaged liver not to cause any specific pain and symptoms for a long time, sometimes not even for years. And, when the symptoms appear, they are generally unspecific and non-characteristic for a beginning cancer.

Treating Symptoms

Diagnosis is only possible when the localized symptoms, namely the cancer growths, appear. Orthodox medicine is treating these symptoms only. This is apparent by the ever increasing percentage of recurrences after the growths are cut out. The real underlying cause is neglected.

No wonder many leading surgeons at the end of their careers come to the conclusion that surgery is not the answer to this problem. The same conviction was claimed by the radium and X-ray authorities, who even sent a warning from the International Congress in Rome to the American Medical Association that every X-ray treatment shortens the life of the patient. (See New York Times, June 13, 1956… “to reduce use of X-rays to the lowest limit consistent with medical necessity.”)

In more than 25 years of cancer work, I found that the basis of all treatments for chronic diseases including canceris an extensive detoxification of the whole body, with the help of the liver. There is little doubt that hepatic insufficiency is a “concomitant phenomenon with cancer,” and many evidences have been described that tumor-bearing patients have changes in the enzymatic pattern and components of the liver and the blood, as well as other changes. I, however, do not regard the changes in the liver as concomitant but as underlying cause.

My cancer treatment is able to restore the necessary enzymes especially the oxidizing enzymes so badly deteriorated and reduced in cancer patients. This is the final aim in cancer, but to a lesser degree also in other degenerative diseases. Every endeavor to apply the oxidizing enzymes directly failed and had to fail because these enzymes could not function under the deranged and altered conditions present in the cells of the cancer body.

Great Power

It is important to know that these enzymes travel together with positively-charged minerals of the potassium group but cannot easily penetrate the malignancies, which are highly negatively charged and therefore have a great power to reject all substances that may change or destroy them. The other specific medication to refill the deficiencies such as hormones, vitamins, minerals, alone or in combination failed also. And I even observed that the cancer patients were damaged with some hormones as the malignancies started to regrow. The same happened with most of the vitamins, except vitamin C, niacin and B-12.

After these explanations, the theory may now be outlined as follows: cancer cannot develop in a normal body but only in a poisoned one where the damaged liver is no longer capable to detoxify the body and to reactivate the oxidizing enzymes.

Abnormal Cells

Some abnormal cells previously damaged in various ways and not functioning properly, or embryonic cells or immature remnant cells can only be kept subdued and harmless as long as potassium, iodine and oxidizing enzymes are functioning sufficiently. Without this, and some other normal conditions, these cells are forced to go over to fermentation from normal oxidation, in order to save their existence. The surrounding tissue and the whole body have no longer the power to suppress such abnormal, quick growing malignancies.

Therapy’s Task

Therapy has the task to detoxify the body and to restore the metabolism and function of the liver as quickly and intensively as possible; time is an important factor in fast growing malignancies. To reactivate the liver which is damaged partly by poisons and partly by cancer metastases, and to start it functioning again castor oil by mouth and by enema is administered or milk of magnesia by mouth, besides frequent coffee enemas which, in far advanced cases are given every four hours, day and night, for the first two or three weeks.

The absorbed caffeine from the coffee enema travel through the portal veins directly to the liver, and there opens the bile ducts, stimulates the bile flow, which contains the toxins and poisons, and eliminates them.

Diet Outlined

The liver cells are continually aided by liver injections, plus vitamins B-12 and by freshly prepared juices, bringing into the system important minerals “in the right composition” with active vitamins and living enzymes of daily doses of 5 glasses of green leaf juice; and 1 glass of orange juice.

With additional potassium doses, oxidizing enzymes and greater iodine supply, the blood regains the normal capacity to kill pathological cancer cells, and absorb them.

The diet should consist, if possible, of organically grown fruits and vegetables and is, from the beginning, salt-less to the highest degree, excluding sodium-rich substances, preferring potassium-rich foodstuffs. It intends to support about 75 percent of the food as living substance and 25 percent is cooked in a natural way.

In general, the basis for therapy in degenerative, chronic diseases including cancer is to restore the healing power in a natural way. The practice of the treatment, the medication and the various reactions cannot be explained here. But I repeat: all are for the purpose of re-establishing the conditions under which the oxidizing enzymes can function again.

Natural Balance

The treatment tries to reinstate the natural, normal, biological balance of the body as far as this is possible in the sometimes far damaged various organs. A restored metabolism helps simultaneously to build up the natural defense, immunity, and healing power of the body.

The improvement of the metabolism and theliver condition reflects itself immediately often in days in visible disappearance of cancers growing on the surface; and this is the best proof of the correctness of this treatment even in far advanced, given up cases. It is deceiving, however, to regard the disappearance of symptoms as a cure.

To remove the underlying cause and accomplish the cure of cancer means the reestablishment of the whole metabolism, especially of the liver.

This article was written by Dr. Max Gerson for the Foundation for Cancer Treatment, It was reprinted from The Journal of Alternative Therapies.