The Telegraph, 25 June 2012
Vicky Sewart used a special diet to beat cancer Photo: APEX |
Vicky
Sewart said she was concerned about the side-effects of the medicine which she
was offered so opted to treat her condition with a health regime involving
exercise and special foods.
She used a
range of 'superfoods' including the spice Turmeric used in curries which she
claims "makes cancer cells commit suicide".
She said
she used the spice in dishes including curries, stir-fry and a range of other
food.
Now, four
years later and with no sign of the cancer coming back, the 44-year-old is at
the centre of a research project to study how lifestyle can be used to help
other victims of the disease.
Vicky from
Plymouth, Devon, told how she had an operation to remove a breast and lymph
node in June 2008.
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After
Vicky, who runs the Victoria Sewart Contemporary Jewellery Gallery on the
Barbican, in Plymouth, was diagnosed with a fast-growing tumour she underwent
chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery.
But then
she shocked doctors and her family when she refused to take Tamoxifen during
remission ~ saying she would be using her diet as her anti-cancer 'drug'.
Vicky said:
"It's very unusual for breast cancer patients not to take the drug.
"When
I told the doctors I didn't want to take it, they just advised me to keep
oestrogen out of my body, which is basically what the drug does.
"The
doctors absolutely will not say that the diet is going to do anything to help
the cancer in any way, other than to say a healthy diet is going to help in the
fight against any disease.
"This
was four years ago and I think attitudes are changing a bit now so that these
ideas are running alongside the more usual treatments.
"I
believe absolutely enormously that my diet has assisted my recovery."
Vicky
researched foods which, according to anecdotal evidence, might have helped the
recovery of breast cancer patients.
At first,
she adhered to a very strict diet. She became a vegan for a while and cut out
all dairy produce. She also added 'super-foods' to her diet and ate almost
entirely organic.
Vicky said:
"Fresh fruit, vegetables and juices are great, and frozen berries are
fantastic as a superfood.
"Turmeric
kind of makes cancer cells commit suicide and ginger and garlic are great to
cook with."
She
prepares all her food from scratch, makes her own body lotions from natural
ingredients and only uses chemical-free cleaners and detergents.
"I
decided that I was going to help myself and do as much as I could," she
said.
Another
element of her lifestyle is moderate exercise, which she believes was helpful
in her recovery from cancer.
Vicky made
her decision based on the side effects she could expect from Tamoxifen.
"It
was the worry of the drugs and the side effects, I didn't want to have to worry
about it, I wanted to be free," she said.
The
national research study is looking at how lifestyle can help prevent the
recurrence of breast cancer after surgery. It is the largest of its kind in the
world, involving 56 hospitals around the UK and 3,400 patients who have had the
disease.
For the
past four years, Vicky has provided blood and urine samples and filled in
regular questionnaires about her well-being, diet and lifestyle as part of the
national research.
She has
another year left of the trial and some findings are expected later this year
and the full results will be published next year.
Vicky is
hoping to mark her five-year remission in August 2013 and is getting ready to
marry her fiance Michael in September.
She added:
"People can die, or come back from it and enjoy life, you've just got to
be thankful you're still around. Make the most of life, everything will always
be alright in the end."
Dr Steve
Kelly, an oncologist specialising in treating patients with breast cancer,
based at Derriford Hospital, said: "Breast cancer deaths have been going
down steadily for over 20 years thanks to surgery, chemotherapy and
radiotherapy - all have helped.
"But
there are three things patients can do to help themselves, it doesn't guarantee
survival, but it does help.
"The
first is to exercise for thirty minutes three days a week, the second is to not
gain any weight and the third is to reduce fat intake.
"These
things help to reduce the chance of cancer coming back. For this patient, four
years on now, it is still early days."
Vicky's
father Dr John Sewart, aged 85, from Saltash, said: "I gave her advice
when she asked for it.
"I was
answering as a father first and a doctor second. It wasn't difficult, I agreed
with what she was planning to do, and I agreed with her decisions."
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