Atlas›Domain XII · Complementary, energy & biofield›Guide 115
Guide XII-115

Breuss juice cure

Rudolf Breuss1978Austria
A 28 · L 60 · M 1212 interventions in the Trinity explorer
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[source: …] where a claim comes from[uncertain] not confirmed in a primary source[synthesis] the writer's reconstruction

1. Introduction

Version followed: the regimen as summarised from Rudolf Breuss's own book by the CAM Cancer Collaboration (NAFKAM, revised May 2026), with the current German revised edition Die Breuss-Kur (Nova MD, 2022) as described by its publisher listing. The psychotherapist works alongside this method and does not perform, sell, prescribe or recommend the cure. Sections 1–3 describe it as its proponents publish it; section 4 is the therapist's own work alongside a client who is considering, using or recovering from it.

What it is. The Breuss cure (German Breuss-Kur, also marketed as Krebskur total) is a fixed-length, juice-and-herbal-tea-only fast devised by Rudolf Breuss (1899–1990), an Austrian electrician who became a naturopath, and set out in his book first published in 1978, later issued in English as The Breuss Cancer Cure (first English translation 1995, latest English edition 2019) [source: CAM Cancer; birth and death years also on the Nova MD publisher listing]. A German nutrition reference classes it as an extreme diet among the so-called cancer diets [source: Spektrum Lexikon der Ernährung]. During the fast no solid food is taken; the person drinks only vegetable juices (root-vegetable based) and several herbal teas, then gradually returns to light food [source: CAM Cancer]. A bottled vegetable-juice blend is sold in German-speaking countries by the Swiss company Biotta AG under the Breuss name, marketed as a food for "juice days", fasting and "detox" [source: Shop Apotheke product page; Biotta data sheet].

Core idea of change, as Breuss held it. Breuss proposed that cancer cells depend on solid food and cannot live on vegetable juices, so that during the fast the tumour is "starved" while the body survives; he also claimed the regimen prevented cancer and helped other "apparently incurable" diseases [source: CAM Cancer; Nova MD listing]. These are the founder's attributed claims. Evidence status in one line: no peer-reviewed clinical trials exist; the only patient study was a small uncontrolled series of eight people (Douwes et al., 1984), and CAM Cancer concludes efficacy claims are not supported by clinical evidence [source: CAM Cancer]. Starvation is a form of malnutrition and has shown no therapeutic benefit in cancer [source: CAM Cancer].

2. Framework

The method as its proponents describe it (qualitative only; no lengths, quantities or recipes given here) [source: CAM Cancer; t-online 2014]:

  • Preparation and timing. Breuss advised delaying the regimen for some months after surgery and avoiding other concurrent therapies; his original text also prohibited radiotherapy and injections, a prohibition omitted from the English version [source: CAM Cancer]. Later additions in some editions allow continued insulin for people with diabetes [source: CAM Cancer].
  • The fast. A prolonged, fixed-length period with no solid food, in which the person sips prescribed vegetable juices and specified herbal teas through the day; additional teas are named for particular cancers. Sugar is prohibited; organic, filtered ingredients are stipulated; Breuss also advised avoiding so-called "water veins" (an earth-radiation concept attributed to him), plus exercise, fresh air and stopping smoking [source: CAM Cancer; t-online].
  • Re-entry. Light, low-salt foods are reintroduced gradually, with some juice continued [source: CAM Cancer].
  • How "progress" is judged. By testimonials and self-reported wellbeing; Breuss claimed thousands of patients treated and tens of thousands cured, supported mainly by thank-you letters [source: CAM Cancer]. The 2022 German edition's listing presents two anecdotal patient testimonials and no medical caution [source: Nova MD listing].
  • Format. Usually self-administered at home from the book or a bottled product; it is not delivered in sessions. Some naturopaths and fasting clinics may supervise it [uncertain: not verified].

Who practises it and regulation.

  • Practitioners: self-help readers; naturopaths and German Heilpraktiker [uncertain: not verified]. There is no certifying body for the Breuss cure.
  • Product status: the Biotta juice is sold as a food (nutrition and weight-loss category), not a medicine [source: Shop Apotheke].
  • UK: under the Cancer Act 1939 it is a criminal offence to advertise an offer to treat any person for cancer, or to advise on cancer treatment, including spoken and online offers; Trading Standards prosecutes [source: CNHC 2024].
  • Medical bodies: the Swiss Society for Oncology and the Swiss Cancer League advised against it (1982, 1987); the Freiburg University Tumour Centre classes it as harmful to quality of life and ineffective [source: CAM Cancer; t-online].
  • Regulatory status (one line): an unregulated self-administered diet; sale of the juice as food is lawful, cancer-treatment claims are not lawful in the UK. Evidence status (one line): no evidence of benefit; documented cachexia and marked weight loss.

3. Guiding principles (the therapist's stance alongside)

  • Never perform, sell, prescribe or recommend it. Practical meaning: you discuss the client's choice; you do not supply plans, products or opinions on how to do it [synthesis].
  • Curiosity before correction. Ask openly and record; a client who feels judged stops telling you [source: NCCIH advises disclosure to providers; synthesis].
  • Attribute, do not adjudicate. Describe the founder's starving-cancer theory as his; leave medical evaluation to the oncology team [synthesis].
  • Medical decisions belong with the medical team. Route every question about fasting, food, juices, insulin or other medicines to the doctor, oncology dietitian or pharmacist [source: CRUK advises talking to the healthcare team and hospital dietitian].
  • Autonomy plus informed choice. Adults may choose; your role is to make sure the choice is informed and freely made, not coerced by fear, family or sellers [synthesis].
  • Malnutrition is a medical risk, not a lifestyle detail. In someone with cancer, weight loss and restriction worsen outcomes; treat signs of cachexia, weakness or confusion as prompts for urgent medical contact [source: CAM Cancer; NHS Highland].
  • Screen for eating-disorder patterns. Prolonged juice-only fasting can mask or feed restrictive or orthorexic eating; do not rely on a screening tool alone [source: NICE NG69 pathway].
  • Safeguard children and dependent adults. Any child or dependent adult deprived of food or medical care is a safeguarding matter [synthesis].
  • Keep the alliance. Staying in relationship keeps the door open to medical care if things go badly [synthesis].

4. Intervention inventory

All interventions below are the psychotherapist's own work alongside the client's choice. None involves planning, supervising or advising on the fast itself. Example language is illustrative wording, not drawn from any manual.

4.1 Asking routinely and without judgement, and recording

  • Purpose / when: At intake and at reviews, with every client who has a serious illness, an eating history, or mentions "detox", fasting, juicing or natural cancer cures. Clients often do not volunteer it; NCCIH advises people to tell their providers about any detoxes or cleanses they use [source: NCCIH].
  • Steps: (1) Normalise: say many people use diet or natural approaches. (2) Ask open questions: what, since when, from what source (book, product, practitioner, online group). (3) Ask whether the medical team knows. (4) Record the name of the regimen, the source and who is advising, without recording recipes or amounts. (5) Ask permission to return to it.
  • Example language (illustrative): "Lots of people try diet changes or natural approaches alongside their treatment. Are you doing anything like that at the moment, or thinking about it?" / "Has your oncology team heard about the Breuss cure plan?"
  • Watch for: Defensiveness, which suggests the client expects disapproval; slow the pace. A client who discloses more over time is a sign it is working [synthesis].

4.2 Exploring meaning, hopes, expectations and explanatory model

  • Purpose / when: Once use or intent is disclosed. The aim is to understand what the cure means to the client: control, hope, distrust of medicine, fear of chemotherapy, identity, a family tradition or an online community [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) Ask what drew them and where they heard of it. (2) Ask how they think it works, in their own words, and reflect it back as their view (Breuss's "starving the tumour" idea is his claim, not yours to endorse or ridicule). (3) Ask what they hope will happen and what they fear if they do not do it. (4) Ask how they will know whether it is helping. (5) Explore what conventional treatment means to them: losses, side-effects, past experiences of being dismissed.
  • Example language (illustrative): "What is it about this approach that feels right to you?" / "If it worked exactly as you hope, what would be different?" / "How will you know whether it is helping or not?"
  • Watch for: Hope that rests entirely on the cure ("it is my only chance"); a sense of betrayal by doctors; testimonials as the only evidence. It is working when the client can hold both their hope and their questions at once [synthesis].

4.3 Supporting an informed, values-based decision without coercion

  • Purpose / when: When the client is deciding whether to start, continue, or combine the fast with, delay, or decline medical treatment. No published decision aid specific to the Breuss cure is cited here [uncertain: not verified]; this is general shared-decision support [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) Clarify which decision is on the table and its timescale. (2) Elicit values: length of life, quality of life, independence, not being a burden, faith, being true to themselves. (3) Ask what information they have and from whom; note that the founder's book presents testimonials, and that cancer organisations state there is no evidence diets cure cancer [source: CRUK; Nova MD listing]. (4) Encourage them to put specific questions to their oncologist and a hospital dietitian; offer to help write the questions [source: CRUK]. (5) Check for pressure from family, a seller or a group. (6) Respect the decision of a capable adult and keep the door open.
  • Example language (illustrative): "This is your decision. My job is to help you make it with everything you need in front of you." / "What questions would you want your oncologist and the dietitian to answer before you decide?" / "Whatever you choose, I would like to keep working with you."
  • Watch for: Ambivalence voiced only privately; fear of disappointing a partner or group; the therapist sliding into persuading. It is working when the client gathers information from the medical team and owns the decision [synthesis].

4.4 Coordinating with the doctor, oncology dietitian or pharmacist (with consent)

  • Purpose / when: Whenever the client is fasting, plans to fast, has diabetes, kidney disease or a cancer, or is on medicines. Never advise on medicines or on how to fast; route questions to the prescriber or pharmacist [source: CRUK; NCCIH].
  • Steps: (1) Ask consent to share the fact of the fast with the GP or oncology team. (2) Agree with the client what is shared. (3) Encourage the client to tell any complementary practitioner about their conventional treatment too [source: CRUK]. (4) Document consent and the contact. (5) If the client declines consent, record it and revisit; share without consent only under risk-to-life or safeguarding thresholds [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "Would you be happy for me to let your GP know you are doing the juice fast, so they can keep an eye on your blood results?" / "That is a question about your insulin that only your diabetes team can answer. Shall we write it down for them?"
  • Watch for: A client who wants you to keep the fast secret from doctors; secrecy is a risk marker [synthesis]. Working: the medical team is informed and monitoring.

4.5 Recognising and responding to medical risk during or after a fast

  • Purpose / when: In every session while the client is fasting or soon after they stop. The therapist does not assess medically but notices and refers.
  • Medical risks as clinical sources state them: In people with cancer, the cure has been reported to cause rapid, clinically significant cachexia and marked weight loss; malnutrition in cancer is associated with higher morbidity and mortality and lower quality of life [source: CAM Cancer]. Refeeding syndrome can occur when eating restarts after starvation or fasting: dangerous falls in phosphate, potassium and magnesium, thiamine deficiency and fluid retention, which can cause heart rhythm problems, heart failure, breathing failure, seizures, confusion and death; risk is higher with low weight, recent weight loss, eating disorders, high alcohol intake, chemotherapy and insulin-treated diabetes [source: NHS Highland]. People with diabetes should follow their team's plan; people prone to kidney stones should limit high-oxalate juices such as beet; unpasteurised juices can cause serious illness in children, older people and the immunosuppressed [source: NCCIH]. CRUK states health professionals do not recommend fasting before or during chemotherapy [source: CRUK].
  • Steps: (1) Ask briefly each session about energy, dizziness, fainting, confusion, palpitations, breathlessness, swelling and weight change. (2) If any are present, advise same-day medical contact; if severe (fainting, chest pain, confusion, breathlessness), advise emergency services. (3) Ask whether a clinician knows about the fast and is monitoring bloods. (4) Note that the period of restarting food carries its own risk and should be medically guided [source: NHS Highland]. (5) Document.
  • Example language (illustrative): "You mentioned feeling dizzy and your heart racing. Those can be signs your body chemistry is off. I would like you to speak to your GP today." / "When you come off the fast, please let your doctor know first; restarting food can itself be risky after a long time without it."
  • Watch for: Cognitive slowing or confusion in session (which also reduces capacity for decisions), visible weight loss, the client minimising symptoms as "detox reactions" [synthesis].

4.6 Eating-disorder awareness and screening

  • Purpose / when: With any client using juice fasts, "detox" or rigid purity rules about food, especially adolescents, people in weight-focused activities, people with diabetes or other diet-affecting illness, and people with other mental-health problems [source: NICE NG69 pathway].
  • Steps: (1) Look for the signs NICE lists: rapid weight loss, restrictive eating, social withdrawal around food, disproportionate concern with weight or shape, compensatory behaviours, menstrual disturbance, dizziness, unexplained electrolyte changes [source: NICE NG69 pathway]. (2) Ask about rules, guilt, and distress when rules are broken; orthorexic patterns (rigid preoccupation with "pure" or "clean" eating) can present through cleansing regimes [synthesis]. (3) A brief tool such as SCOFF may help, but NICE says not to use screening tools as the sole method [source: NICE NG69 pathway]. (4) If an eating disorder is suspected, refer immediately to a community, age-appropriate eating-disorder service and ensure physical health is assessed [source: NICE NG69 pathway]. (5) Assess for depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide risk [source: NICE NG69 pathway].
  • Example language (illustrative): "How do you feel on days when you can't stick to the plan?" / "Has food or 'cleansing' started to take up more of your thinking than you'd like?"
  • Watch for: Relief, pride or calm linked to not eating; the fast extended or repeated beyond the stated plan; secrecy. Working: the client can talk about food without shame and accepts assessment.

4.7 Responding when the cure replaces or delays cancer treatment

  • Purpose / when: When a client with cancer intends to postpone surgery, decline radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or stop treatment in order to do the cure. Breuss advised delaying the regimen after surgery and avoiding concurrent therapies, and his original text forbade radiotherapy and injections; CAM Cancer warns that patients may thereby forgo treatments of proven benefit [source: CAM Cancer].
  • Steps: (1) Name the decision plainly and check the client knows the timescale the oncology team has given. (2) Explore fears driving refusal (side-effects, loss of control, past mistreatment) and address them through the medical team, for example a second opinion or a conversation about side-effect management [synthesis]. (3) Check capacity if there are signs of confusion, severe depression or malnutrition affecting thinking, and seek a medical capacity assessment where needed [synthesis]. (4) With consent, inform the oncology team; offer palliative or supportive-care referral where appropriate [synthesis]. (5) If the capable adult still declines treatment, respect it, document the discussion, and keep providing support.
  • Example language (illustrative): "I can hear how much you want to avoid chemo. What worries you most about it?" / "Would you be willing to ask your oncologist what delaying surgery would mean for you, before you decide?"
  • Watch for: Rapid commitment after contact with a seller or group; urgency that does not allow time to consult; a family member speaking for the client. Working: the client has a specific conversation with the oncology team.

4.8 Children, pregnancy and dependent adults: safeguarding

  • Purpose / when: When a parent or carer plans to put a child, a pregnant person or a dependent adult on a juice-only fast, or to withhold medical treatment in favour of it.
  • Steps: (1) Gather facts calmly: who, what, how long it has been going on, what medical care is in place. (2) Note that unpasteurised juices pose particular risk to children [source: NCCIH] and that NICE lists faltering growth and delayed puberty as eating-disorder signs in young people [source: NICE NG69 pathway]. (3) Treat deprivation of adequate nutrition or medical care for a child as a safeguarding concern and follow local child-protection procedures; consult your safeguarding lead [synthesis]. (4) For a young person, seek their own view and assent alongside parental consent [synthesis]. (5) In pregnancy, encourage immediate contact with the midwife or obstetrician [synthesis]. (6) Document.
  • Example language (illustrative): "I'm concerned about your son being on juices only. Because he's a child, I need to make sure his doctor knows. Can we call together?"
  • Watch for: Weight loss, fatigue, school absence or missed medical appointments in the child. Working: the child's doctor is involved and nutrition restored.

4.9 Commercial, group and financial pressure

  • Purpose / when: When the client buys bottled products, books, retreats or supervised fasting packages, or belongs to an online group that promotes the cure. A bottled juice is sold under the Breuss name, marketed as "detox" [source: Shop Apotheke]; the book's current listing carries testimonials of tumours disappearing [source: Nova MD listing].
  • Steps: (1) Ask about spending and who profits. (2) Ask how the group responds to doubt or to people who also have medical treatment. (3) Help the client notice testimonial-only evidence and pressure to decide quickly. (4) Never sell or endorse products or courses yourself; declare and avoid conflicts of interest [synthesis].
  • Example language (illustrative): "What happens in the group when someone says they are also having chemo?" / "How much has this cost so far, and how is that for you?"
  • Watch for: Shame about doubts, isolation from family, escalating spending. Working: the client feels free to question the group.

4.10 Health anxiety and somatic presentations

  • Purpose / when: When repeated cleanses or fasts are driven by fear of cancer, "toxins" or illness in someone without such a diagnosis, or by unexplained bodily symptoms. Use established psychological approaches for health anxiety and somatic symptom presentations (cross-ref Domain II) [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) Formulate the cycle: bodily sensation, threatening interpretation, fasting or cleansing as a safety behaviour, short-term relief, renewed doubt. (2) Agree goals around living well rather than certainty. (3) Work on reducing reassurance-seeking and safety behaviours with medical involvement; do not set fasting rules yourself. (4) Coordinate with the GP to avoid both unnecessary tests and missed illness.
  • Example language (illustrative): "After a cleanse, how long does the relief last before the worry comes back?"
  • Watch for: Fasting becoming compulsive (overlap with 4.6). Working: less time spent on checking, cleansing and worry.

4.11 Grief, regret and family conflict

  • Purpose / when: With clients or relatives after disease progression, after a death, or when the family is split over the client's choice [synthesis].
  • Steps: (1) Hold space for anger, guilt and "if only" thinking without assigning blame. (2) Help family members separate disagreement about the choice from love for the person. (3) Offer joint sessions where useful. (4) Support bereaved relatives who feel they failed to stop, or encouraged, the cure. (5) Refer to palliative and bereavement services as needed.
  • Example language (illustrative): "You made the best decision you could with what you knew and felt at the time." / "It sounds like you both want the same thing for her, even though you disagree on how."
  • Watch for: Complicated grief, self-blame, family estrangement. Working: the family can talk to each other and to the medical team.

4.12 Reporting routes

  • Purpose / when: When you learn of advertising or offers to treat cancer, unsafe products, or a practitioner putting clients at risk.
  • Steps: (1) UK: an advertisement (including spoken, online, phone or in-person) offering to treat anyone for cancer, or advising on cancer treatment, can breach the Cancer Act 1939; report to local Trading Standards, who prosecute [source: CNHC 2024]. Misleading health claims in advertising can be raised with the Advertising Standards Authority [source: CNHC 2024 for the ASA's CAP Code role]. (2) Where the practitioner is on an accredited register (e.g. CNHC), report to that register; a convicted registrant is removed [source: CNHC 2024]. (3) US: the FDA and FTC have taken action against detox products [source: NCCIH]; consumer complaints go to the FTC [uncertain: not verified]. (4) Other jurisdictions, including Austria and Germany: use the national consumer-protection and health-product authorities [uncertain: not verified]. (5) Children or adults at risk: local safeguarding procedures. (6) Discuss with the client before reporting where safe, and document.
  • Example language (illustrative): "The person who told you the juice would shrink your tumour may be breaking advertising law. Would you be willing to report it, or would you like me to?"
  • Watch for: Fear of retaliation from a group; protect the client's confidentiality where possible.

5. Handling problems

Most of this section is [synthesis]: the method's own sources do not address psychotherapy.

  • Client refuses to discuss it ("you'll just tell me it's nonsense"). Acknowledge the expectation, state your role (understanding, not judging, not prescribing), and ask permission to return to it later. Keep track of physical red flags regardless (4.5) [synthesis].
  • Client asks you to endorse it or to say whether it works. Say you are not the right person to judge a cancer treatment; offer to help them prepare questions for the oncologist and dietitian [synthesis; source: CRUK on talking to the healthcare team].
  • Client asks you how to do it, or for tips on coping with hunger. Decline to advise on the regimen; route questions to the medical team; explore what makes the fast hard to bear [synthesis].
  • Client asks you to keep it from their doctor. Explore the fear behind the request; explain confidentiality limits around serious risk; keep encouraging disclosure [synthesis].
  • Rupture: client feels you are against them. Name it, take responsibility for your part, restate that the choice is theirs, and refocus on their goals [synthesis].
  • Visible deterioration in session (weakness, confusion, fainting). Stop the therapeutic agenda; advise urgent medical help or call emergency services; refeeding and electrolyte disturbance can be life-threatening [source: NHS Highland].
  • Fast stops but restriction continues, or the client starts another cleanse. Re-screen for eating-disorder patterns and refer if suspected [source: NICE NG69 pathway].
  • Family conflict escalates in session. Shift to a structured joint conversation focused on shared values; offer separate support for relatives [synthesis].
  • Disease progression while on the cure. Expect shame and fear of returning to doctors ("they'll say I told you so"); help the client re-engage and ask for palliative or supportive-care input [synthesis].
  • Therapist's own reactions. Frustration, fear or rescuing urges are common; take them to supervision rather than into persuasion [synthesis].

Harm account

What was actually done

  • Rudolf Breuss, in Austria, devised the regimen and published it from 1978 onwards; he reported treating over 2,000 patients from 1950 and claimed tens of thousands of cures, mainly on the strength of letters [source: CAM Cancer].
  • As set out in his book, people with cancer were told to stop eating solid food entirely for a prolonged, fixed period and to live on sipped vegetable juices and herbal teas, on the stated basis that this would starve the tumour [source: CAM Cancer; t-online].
  • They were advised to postpone the regimen for some months after surgery and to avoid other therapies during it; the original German text forbade radiotherapy and injections, while the English edition omitted this ban [source: CAM Cancer].
  • Progress was judged by how the person felt and by testimonials, not by medical tests [source: CAM Cancer]. The 2022 German edition's listing still carries testimonials of lumps disappearing and gives no medical caution [source: Nova MD listing].
  • In 1984 Douwes and colleagues ran a small uncontrolled study of the cure in eight patients with metastatic cancer [source: CAM Cancer].
  • Today the cure is mainly self-administered from the book, and a bottled juice is sold under the Breuss name [source: Shop Apotheke].

How it caused harm

  • Starvation and cachexia. In 1979 Senn and Jungi reported rapid, clinically significant cachexia in several patients following the cure; in the 1984 study patients lost substantial weight [source: CAM Cancer]. Malnutrition in cancer is linked to higher complications and mortality, longer hospital stays and poorer quality of life [source: CAM Cancer].
  • Deaths. In the 1984 study one patient died during the study and two shortly after; the authors did not attribute these deaths to the regimen [source: CAM Cancer]. No published report attributing a death directly to the cure is cited by CAM Cancer [source: CAM Cancer]; individual deaths reported elsewhere are [uncertain: not verified].
  • Forgone treatment. Because the regimen rejects or delays conventional treatment, patients may forgo therapies of proven benefit [source: CAM Cancer]. The Swiss Society for Oncology and the Swiss Cancer League advised against it in the 1980s, and the Freiburg University Tumour Centre classes it as harmful [source: CAM Cancer; t-online].
  • Refeeding and electrolyte risk. Anyone restarting food after prolonged fasting, especially people with low weight, weight loss, chemotherapy or insulin-treated diabetes, is at risk of refeeding syndrome, which can be fatal [source: NHS Highland].
  • Other physical risks of juice regimes. Kidney-stone risk from high-oxalate juices such as beet; serious infection from unpasteurised juice in the immunosuppressed [source: NCCIH].
  • Psychological harm [synthesis]: false hope followed by despair, self-blame when the cancer progresses, family conflict, and reinforcement of restrictive or orthorexic eating.
  • Most at risk: people with cancer who are already undernourished, people on chemotherapy, people with diabetes or kidney disease, people with a current or past eating disorder, children, and pregnant people [source: CAM Cancer; NHS Highland; NCCIH; NICE NG69 pathway].

Recognising it today

  • Names and rebrandings: Breuss-Kur, Krebskur total, Breuss cancer cure, "juice fasting cure", "original Breuss juice", juice days, detox [source: t-online; Shop Apotheke].
  • Phrases and rationales: cancer "lives on solid food"; "starve the tumour"; "surgery without a knife"; cures "apparently incurable" diseases [source: CAM Cancer; Nova MD listing].
  • Red flags in a practitioner's or group's offer: advice to delay surgery or avoid radiotherapy or chemotherapy; testimonials as the only evidence; claims to treat or cure cancer (in the UK this may breach the Cancer Act 1939) [source: CNHC 2024]; discouraging contact with doctors; pressure to buy products.
  • How legitimate approaches differ: oncology dietitians aim to prevent malnutrition and support treatment, and professionals do not recommend fasting before or during chemotherapy [source: CRUK]. Integrative oncology is complementary to standard treatment, never instead of it (see entry 172).

What to do instead and how to help those harmed

  • Safer alternatives: referral to the oncology team and a hospital dietitian for nutrition during cancer; the CRUK nurse helpline for information [source: CRUK]; psycho-oncology and palliative or supportive-care services [synthesis].
  • Assessment of affected clients [synthesis]: physical status (urgent medical review if recently fasted, see 4.5); eating-disorder screen (4.6); depression, anxiety, suicide risk; grief, regret and guilt; financial losses; family relationships.
  • Treatment: supportive and grief-focused therapy, evidence-based treatment for any eating disorder via specialist services [source: NICE NG69 pathway], and health-anxiety approaches where relevant (Domain II) [synthesis].
  • Ethical, reporting and legal duties: document; inform the medical team with consent; follow safeguarding procedures for children and adults at risk; report illegal cancer-treatment advertising to Trading Standards in the UK and practitioners to their register or regulator [source: CNHC 2024]; do not sell or endorse products [synthesis].

Sources

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