DISCOURAGING RESULTS IN ORTHODOX
CANCER RESEARCH , DR. GERSON
CONCLUDES, STEM FROM A RELUCTANCE
TO ACCEPT THE COINCIDENCE
OF CANCER WITH A GENERALL Y DEGENERATED
STATE OF HEALTH AND
BODY-CELL CHEMISTRY

By MAX GERSON, M.D.

TRANSLATED FROM GERMAN

   THE FOLLOWING article will show
in a brief outline that the mystery
of cancer is not a problem of
enzymes, vitamins and hormones; it
is not a problem of allergies or of
virus and unknown infections; it is
not that of some special metabolic
or cancer-causing substances. It is
not a cellular problem, but it is an
accumulation of numerous factors
combined in the whole metabolism.
   It has been shown in experiments
and proved again and again that repeated
tarring of the skin first produces
benign warts, so-called papillomas;
renewed tarring stimulates
the epithelial cells to form new
warts, but even six months later,
when tarring is stopped, formation
of new warts stops simultaneously,
and all the old changed cells are
subordinated again into the biological
order of a body functioning in
harmony. The final change into cancer
cells is something quite different,
and something entirely new. It
means wild growth of cells, loosened
and independent from the biological
order of the body and the higher
centers of the nervous system. I believe
that the cell alone is not the
decisive factor in the final change
but rather that the whole metabolism
with the vital organs essential
for it, disintegrates. They have lost
their resistance and healing-power,
partially at first, totally later on,
and with it there comes the gradual
loss of the power of coordination in
the metabolism. Yamagiwa (1915)
and Itschikawa (1918-21) described
how, after eight months or more of
tarring, changes occurred in the
liver, kidneys, spleen and glands in
the experimental animals. It has
escaped notice that the local irritation
and skin reaction do not produce
the final change into cancer.
The pathological changes in the
liver, kidneys, etc. occurring after
over six months of tarring, present
a general disease. Only with this
fundamental condition does the metabolism
allow or evoke cancer development:
   Therefore, my theory about cancer
development is, in short, this:
Not one specific factor, but several
conditions are necessary: a local
process, consisting of chronically
damaged or not fully mature cells,
or those which cannot adapt themselves
to changed conditions as normal
cells do. There, the symptom
proper comes into existence. But, in
addition to the local process, a general
factor has to be present, which
is clinically not evident, and has
been taken too little into consideration.
This factor is decisive as to
whether or not malignancy develops.
My therapy is
almost entirely directed against the
pathology of the general factor,
which means, the restoration of proper
functioning of the metabolism,
essentially the liver, as we will see
later.
   An exception of this theory is
found in the virus infections. These
are able to produce almost immediate
cancer formation without a
latent period. Moreover, their increase
is parallel to the multiplication
of the tumor cells. Finally, the
infection produces specific antibodies
after operative or radiological
healing and immunity which is almost
always absent in cancer. This
type of infection with its cancerlike
tissue changes, does not follow
the general rules of cancer development.
Volkmann (1875) and many
authors after him observed and described
correctly the dormant period
between the first outbreak of skin
damages and the later transformation
into cancer. Nevertheless, they
did not recognize the final change
into cancer as a consequence of a
general pathology developed during
that interval. Consequently their
therapy remained a symptomatic
one directed against the local process.
   The influence of estrogenic hormones
on the metabolism was one
of the first attempts in the search
for a rather general therapy to heal
cancer. The estrogens and androgens
have one property in common: they
stimulate alone or in some combination
growth of immature tissue or
tissues in regression as in menopause
or in old age. These are such tissues
where more sodium is accumulated.
Thus we can understand their stimulating
influence on cancer cells with
more sodium content. Later it was
tried to eliminate or inactivate the
sex organs and moreover, the opposite
hormones were applied, but
only with little or temporary success.
I gradually came to the basic conclusion:
In a body with a normal
metabolism, cancer cannot develop.
The normalization of ~he deranged
metabolism is therefore the essential
aim of my therapy, or at least, to
bring it as near to normal as possible.
In malignancies, we do not
deal with simple specific deficiencies
or a general allergy, therefore, it is
not enough to replace missing vitamins,
hormones, or minerals, or to
omit as many allergenes as possible.
   The forced relapse of abnormal
cells into the embryonal state with
a sodium majority is biologically
not so extraordinary. Severe inflammations
are cal?able, according to
Schade to return some tissues to the
embryonal metabolism, especially
connective tissue and capillaries and
thus produce a quick growing tissue,
yet all within the limits of expediency.
Contrary to cancer cells, these
formerly normal cells return to normal
after having fulfilled their special
purpose-cancer cells never do,
as all experiments have shown.
Once cancer cell, cancer cell forever.
Consequently, there must have
been something abnormal in these
cells before the change occurred.
This conception takes on more clinical
significance through the dbservation
that the most malignant cancer
types, such as melanosarcoma,
lymphosarcoma, chorionepithelioma,
pregnancy cancer, respond faster
and most strikingly to the therapy.
The less malignant ones react
slower, while the benign tumors,
such as lipomata, fibromes, prostatahypertrophy,
osteomas, etc. react
only very slowly. These, after a
long period, are changed into scar
tissue with · or without calcification.
One may conclude that cell tissue
which leans to a more radical
change, collapses rapidly, even in
the unbelievable time of a few days.
Almost all the authors find cancer
tissue to have a negative electrical charge.
Accordingly, it belongs
to a lower kind of tissue with less
differentiation, similar to that in the
more primitive animals and in embryos.
Theoretically, according to
Rudolf Keller's doctrine, the cells
should be richer in sodium, chloride
and water, poorer in potassium and
the potassium group minerals.
Strangely enough, most of the biologists,
with the exception of Moravek,
could not confirm this theory,
but the practice did where the patient
made involuntary experiments.
   Two of the latest experiences may
be mentioned here: An older patient
"with a large, inoperable cancer of
the stomach and follicle Lymphosarcoma
of both tonsils had a remarkable
success on both malignancies
after six weeks of my treatment. On
her return home she was given one
half pound of salted pot cheese daily
for about three weeks. Both malignacies
started regrowing.
   An older lady operated on stomach
cancer August 1945 which regrew
September 1946, was treated
since September 1946. The first time
it regrew July 1952 when she ate
salted bread for some time. Cured
again. She complained about too
much gas. I prescribed protein hydrolysate
(predigested casein). It
helped but a new tumor on the liver
appeared within four weeks. In the
meantime the chemical examination
revealed that the daily doses of three
teaspoons contained five grams sodium
chloride. Strict treatment again
applied.
   Similar experiences were made
with sodium containing tooth powders,
salted bread, crackers, whole
wheat matzos, pumpernickel, honey
cakes, and other salted cheese than
pot cheese, etc.
   We know that in the fetus, sodium
content of the important tissues
decreases and potassium increases
with maturity, so that, by about six
months after birth, the potassium is
predominant in the essential organs.
In the consideration of cancer development,
we return to a common
law in nature, namely that an increased
sodium and iodine content
in the cells leads to fast growth with
less differentiation. Thus we find
these two components of the sodium
group increased particularly in the
smallest living beings, bacteria, bacilli,
parasites. Vice versa, we find
that more potassium and more minerals
of the potassium group lead to
increased differentiation and slower
growth, seen in higher animals and
man, The muscle fibres which are
rich in potassium are best protected
against cancer development and its
spread through the body.
   From clinical pathology, we learn
that cancer develops primarily where
sodium, chloride and water are reabsorbed,
in the lower end of ducts,
tubes or tubili, We note this in excreting
ducts of the breasts, the ears,
lower jawbone, tongue and pancreas.
Here we find over 60% of cancer
development- in the bile duct system
of the liver but rarely do we
find the malignancy developing in
the small intestines, where no sodium
is reabsorbed. More frequently
do cancers develop in the colon, but
very often the cancer grows in the
sigmoid and rectum, where most of
the sodium is reabsorbed, as also in
the excreting ducts of sabaceous and
perspiratory glands. For the kidneys
we may draw similar conclusions
but know that tissues of older people
incline easier to cancer, most
probably because of the higher content
of sodium and a lessening of
the liver function.
   Return of a finished cancer cell to
normal tissue has never been found,
except in very rare conditions in
test tube of cancer cultures. To arrive
at a therapy, the logical .path
would seem to be through the metabolism,
cutting off directly the biological
conditions for survival of the
cancer cells. My therapy, built up
with this purpose, has several points
of principal importance:
   1. Within the cancer tissue and
its metastases:
   The elimination of sodium and
sodium-group minerals (edema) particularly,
sodium, chloride and water,
thus withdrawing the conditions
for its high electrical negative potentials
which represent its high defense
and great power to attract
negatively charged substances and
compositions, At the same time they
maintain in that way the conditions
for the activity of the negatively
charged fermentation enzyme systems.
In order to tear off its vital
sodium group substances the body
needs beside the saltless, potassium
rich diet relatively great doses of
thyroid, and of a composition of organic
potassium minerals. It must be
assumed that as an immediate result,
a great amount of the cancer cells
collapses and becomes absorbed or
else it could not he explained how
tumors decrease in a few days. In
my opinion this is the best spot of
the vulnerability of the cancer cells.
Along with the edema, the body excretes
toxins, many of them acting
like enzymes, some of them as hydrolytic
enzymes or kynases, classified
as proteolytic enzymes.
   2. The surrounding tissue:
   To begin with, this is also freed
of edema and toxins, These cells,
which were only damaged reabsorb
the electrically positive potassium
compounds (and those of the potassium
group) and can be restored,
contrary to the reaction of the malignant
cells, which, as we have seen
above, collapse, The formerly damaged
cells thus resume their functions,
along with the positively
charged oxidation enzymes, the important
pH content and the positive
electrical charge necessary for the
function of essential organs. Beside
the enzymes, vitamins have to be
refilled, as they frequently act as coenzymes,
as well as the necessary
hormones to hinder or activate the
function or growth of cells with the
help of the pituitary gland or the
adrenal system. Finally, the visceral
nervous system becomes normal
again, regulating many of the cell
functions (circulation, secretion,
metabolic succession, etc,). Thus, finally,
equilibrium and harmony can
be restored.
   3. The restoration of the liver:
   Enough functioning liver tissue
must remain to maintain the meta-
bolic order in its main line. The
more or less depleted liver must be
restored during the day, so as to be
able to give up constantly the necessary
material to the blood. During
the day, the patient receives
nearly every hour abundant fresh
vegetable and fruit juice and fresh
calves liver juice, containing abundant
vitamins, enzymes, auxones,
minerals, etc. (The liver juice contains:
fat 0.16%, protein 1.20%,
cholesterol 0.3%, etc.). To summarize:
The aim of a therapy in the
metabolism with cancer is to eliminate
the Sodium, Chloride and
Water in order that the cancer cells
lose the environment necessary for
their life (fermentation), and, on the
other hand, to restore in the vital
organs the functioning with the help
of the oxidation enzymes. These
enzymes have to be given in the
form of juices, freshly prepared by
a machine for some time from the
start of the therapy. They represent
a powerful, biological intervention,
which penetrates into all parts of
the metabolism. These therapeutical
efforts center around the liver, since
a large part of the· metabolism is
based in the liver, and the oxidation
enzymes are reactivated there. Clinical
experience shows again and
again in advanced cases that the
liver sacrifices the last reserves for
the body's defense and maintenance.
   4. The detoxication:
   About 90% of all cases coming
under my care are so-called generalized
cancer or final cases, on which
the commonly used methods have
been applied in vain. For these cases,
the detoxification of the body at the
beginning of the therapy plays the
main role. These critically ill patients
need enemas day and night, .
at first, every three to four hours,
later less frequently. Narcotics are
no longer given. To relieve pain, the
patients receive coffee irrigations,
and, at first, a mixture ·of Aspirin
1/3 gram, Niacin 50 milligram, and
Vitamin C 100 milligram, three to
four times daily. The most careful
attention is paid to uphold the elimination
of accumulated toxins, as
well as those coming continuously
into the circulation from the absorption
of the collapsed tumors or
metastases. If this point is neglected,
the patient dies of "hepatic coma."
Some autopsies have shown that the
enlarged liver, overloaded with cancer
metastases, has become incapable
of the task of elimination. This
is also true of patients whose livers
have a shrunken diffuse cancer cirrhosis.
In other cases, an enlarged,
toxically severely damaged liver
with several palpable nodes and
jaundice, could still perform the
healing process. Nevertheless, some
of these patients die after an interval
of eight to sixteen months, not
of cancer, but of liver cirrhosis with
ascites, jaundice without cancer, etc.
These brief explanations concerning
the importance of the liver and the
excretion of the toxins is all for
which we have space here.
SUMMARY - Cancer is not a
local process but both a local and a
general disease, based on several
changes in the metabolism. The local
symptom arises if cells, previously
abnormal, produce chromosomal
mutations because they are forced
through a pathological metabolism
to use different enzyme systems and
to live more fermentatively.
   It is the goal of my therapy to
return the metabolism to normal to
the farthest possible extent, mainly
through diet with added medication.
The therapy shows positive results
in about 50% of so-called generalized,
regrowing or final cases.
   By way of this therapy, we perform
through the metabolism two
tasks at one time--cut off conditions
necessary to the life of the cancer
cell, and return to normal the biological
functions of the damaged
formerly normal cells with higher
adapting power. The end result is
to return the body to its physiological
functions as they existed before
the development of malignancies. In
this state of normal metabolism, abnormal
cells are suppressed and
harmless again.
-THE END-