Jessica Ainscough, a former Dolly magazine online editor and patient of a rare form of cancer, has died aged 30.
Ainscough was diagnosed with epithelioid sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that disproportionately affects young people, when she was 22 and beginning her career in the magazine industry.
The disease was discovered as a lump in her arm but soon after her diagnosis, it began to spread.
Her doctors advised her to have her arm amputated as this greatly increases the ten-year survival rates ofepithelioid sarcoma patients, but Ainscough refused.
Instead she tried an intensive localised type of chemotherapy on her left arm, which was initially effective; she was cancer-free for about twelve months.
When the cancer returned in 2009, doctors strongly advised Ainscough to amputate her arm and shoulder to give her the greatest chance of survival, but she refused.
Instead, Ainscough decided to embrace a non-conventional form of cancer treatment known as Gerson Therapy which was developed by Dr Max Gerson in the 1930s. The treatment refuses all chemotherapy and medicinal remedies, and instead uses natural healing techniques like vegetable juices in an attempt to stave off cancer and other diseases.
This “detoxification” therapy began when Ainscough went to Mexico to learn a regime that involves 13 vegetable juices and 4 coffee enemas per day.
Ainscough began to document her journey with Gerson Therapy through a blog that quickly became very popular. She became known as the Wellness Warrior as a result of her determination to rid herself of cancer through natural remedies.
She attracted thousands of followers worldwide, including many cancer survivors and Gerson patients, and became known for her positivity and strength through her online presence and role as a keynote speaker.
Initially, Ainscough felt the treatment was working.
“For two years I devoted my entire life to healing, to the extent that I was effectively housebound,” she wrote on her blog.
“I am ecstatic to report that it has worked for me. I have had no cancer spread, no more lumps pop up (they were popping up rapidly before) and I can actually see some of my tumours coming out through my skin and disappearing.”
During this time, Ainscough’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and decided to use the same treatment. Together, the mother and daughter went through their daily Gerson regime in lieu of any chemotherapy or medical treatment.
Two years later, in late 2013, Ainscough’s mother passed away and Ainscough’s own condition began to worsen.
“After my mum died at the end of last year, my heart was shattered and it’s still in a million pieces. I had no idea how to function without her, and it turns out my body didn’t either. For the first time in my almost seven year journey with cancer, this year I’ve been really unwell,” she wrote in December of 2014.
“This year absolutely brought me to my knees.”
Tragically, on Thursday February 26, at age 30, Ainscough passed away in her home.
The Cancer Institute and Cancer Australia have stressed that there is no evidence to suggest that Gerson Therapy works to alleviate or eliminate cancer and has encouraged patients to consult with practitioners before undertaking it.
“Most alternative therapies have not been assessed for efficacy or safety, while some have been studied and found to be harmful or ineffective,” Cancer Australia said in a statement.
“Cancer Australia encourages clinicians to discuss the use of alternative therapies with those affected by cancer in an open, evidence-based and patient-centred manner.”
The US’s National Cancer Institute said about Gerson Therapy: “The data that are available are not sufficient to warrant claims that the Gerson therapy is effective as an adjuvant to other cancer therapies or as a cure.”