Archived from Charlotte Gerson's booklet

Story

   In 1978 this 58-year-old white male presented at Swedish American
Hospital with a large lymph node in the left axilla that
pathologically measured 5.5 cm. This was biopsied and found to
be poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma. He was also
found to have lymph nodes in his groins and subsequently had
biopsies of those, which were also found to contain poorly
differentiated Lymphocytic Lymphoma.

   The patient had a liver and spleen scan that was within normal
limits and a chemistry profile that was also within normal limits.
He then underwent a staging laparotomy during which his spleen
was removed, his liver biopsied, and several groups of lymph in
the abdomen were biopsied. The liver and spleen were found to be
normal. However, some of the lymph nodes in the peri-aortic
region and in the iliac region were positive, making him a stage
III. Because the patient was asymptomatic he was not treated.

   The patient did well until 1980 when he developed a groin
lymph node on the right side that bothered him. This was biopsied
and found to be diffuse poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma.
Once again it was decided not to treat him.

   In May of 1983 the patient presented with back pain and
edema of the lower right leg. Clinical examination revealed pitting
edema of the leg and enlarged inguinal and femoral lymph nodes.
He underwent an IVP that revealed a nonfunctioning hydronephrotic
right kidney. A CAT scan revealed diffuse lymphadenopathy
in the peri-aortic region and in the pelvis with marked involvement
of the right pelvis. The patient was referred for palliative
radiation therapy.

   From The Patient's Point Of View:
   CHARLES HEIMBACH: "When I was fifty, in 1978, I found a
lump underneath my left armpit. It was January when the doctor
suggested it might have to come out. A month later it was larger,
and it was removed. At the same time, in the hospital, a lump was
found in my left groin and that was also removed. Both lumps
were biopsied and found to be Lymphoma. Because of the two
lumps, the surgeons did an exploratory laparotomy. Many nodes
were removed for inspection. Fortunately nothing was found in
my abdomen. I electively allowed them to removed my spleen. I
wish I hadn't done that. It was quite an operation, four and a half
hours in their operating room. I was hospitalized for three weeks
and recuperated well. I returned to same lifestyle I had followed
before the disease was discovered. My doctor requested office
visits once a month, then every two months, then every three
months. The only thing that occurred during the next two years
was that I started to hear other people talk about diet. Two years
and three months after the operation I found a lump in my right
groin.

   My second occurrence, when I ended up in the hospital with a
lump in my right groin, I was in in the morning and out in the
afternoon. The lump was removed in outpatient surgery. It was
malignant and of considerable size. If it had not been for my
otherwise good health, the doctors said they would have recommended
chemotherapy. That made me start thinking and start
looking and start going out aggressively to look for other
possibilities.

   Up until that time I had no reason to suspect that cancer might
be affected by diet. Some friends of mine knew a nutritionist who
introduced me to the Kelley program and went on that completely.
When I go into these things I go into them full bore. The Kelley
program does have the coffee enemas and emphasis on good food,
but there's a lot of supplementation. I think I was taking 360
supplements a day, desiccated liver tablets in large quantities,
some vitamins, some minerals, some organ concentrates. It was
tablet supplementation and eating good foods. I was allowed to
counter the blandness of the food with some mineral salt or sea
salt on the advice of the nutritionist.

   Three years later, staying on the Kelley therapy, my right leg
started swelling because of what I thought was just a collection of
fluid, edema. And I fought that off by elevating my leg and
watching fluid and salt intake. At first this worked, but later the
swelling would not go down.

   X-rays revealed massive involvement in the lower right quadrant
of my abdomen. That was found to be the cause of the fluid
slowing to and from the leg, causing swelling of the leg. It was
also found later to have shut off my right kidney. There were also
found to be several lymph glands swollen along my spine, It was
concluded that this was all cancer, iii all the areas.

   It was all inoperable and I was refusing chemotherapy. So that
left radiation treatment. My leg was swollen, my kidney was shut
down, and things were headed downhill. By that time I had read
the Gerson book a couple of times I had great confidence in it. I
had stayed with the Kelley program because it was convenient.
There were no juices to make and only one coffee enema per day
- no problem at all. I opted to accept the radiation, which
reduced the swelling in my lower right quadrant in 20 treatments,
which totaled less than Gerson's limit.

   Even though I had received the radiation, I had large nodes in
my armpits. My doctors said that sooner or later the options for
radiation would disappear and that I would have to go to operating
on those that were operable, and then go to chemotherapy.

   I had determined that once the radiation was over I was going
full bore into the Gerson diet. I started with everything I could. It
took 60-90 days to find out where they made the juicer and where
organic foods were available and the rest of the organization that
was necessary. Along about that time I called a physician, it took
me a long time to get around to him, who agreed to monitor me
on the Gerson Therapy and to make prescriptions available. It
was in June that I got started organizing, but I was not on the
Gerson Therapy properly until September.

   It was not long after I got going full bore that the lymph nodes
started to go down. It was 30-45 days later that I noticed a rapid
decrease in size in the nodes in my armpit. They decreased in
diameter by half, which means their volume decreased by 80
percent.

   In January three years ago I went out to the Gerson clinic just
to be certain that I was doing everything correctly, and to find
better recipes, and to improve in any way I could. I found that I
was doing everything correctly. But it was well worth it. I totally
enjoyed my visit.

   I stuck right with the diet. When I had questions I called right
away. I have it all behind me now, except that I maintain a very
good diet.

   Clinical notes sent to the Gerson lnstitute by Mr. Heimbach's physician indicate
that he is now in complete remission.