A cancer patient who almost died after trying to treat her illness with a juice diet has warned others against ‘cutting out’ traditional medical advice.
LBC
Irena Stoynova said doctors tried to encourage her to use conventional cancer treatments after she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in June 2021. She instead “shut them out” and instead sourced alternative information online.
The former model said she took medical advice from a social media personality who has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media who made claims that the human body can “heal itself” with help of a radical lifestyle and diet changes.
Ms Stoynova, 39, from Crondall in Hampshire, followed various diets and holistic therapies for two-and-a-half years, which left her emaciated with fluid on her lungs.
Doctors, however, urged Ms Stoynova to go ahead with chemotherapy, which she initially ignored.
But after undergoing her diet and holistic therapy – which included a juice diet, a raw diet, intermittent fasting, boiling herbs, and special teas – doctors said Ms Stoynova was on the verge of death when she was taken to Frimley Park Hospital by ambulance in May last year.
Dr Clare Rees said the former model said she would likely die without treatment for her cancer, which had already advanced to stage three.
Ms Stoynova maintained her refusal for a number of days before finally agreeing to receive chemotherapy. She then spent 50 days in the hospital’s acute dependency unit.
After being diagnosed with cancer, Ms Stoynova said she decided against traditional treatments after “reading about and watching many doctors and professors talk about the success rate of alternative therapies online”.
Speaking about her initial diagnosis, the former model told the PA news agency: “I was devastated, the whole world just closed around me and I felt really alone.”
She said that she was advised to start chemotherapy, but she turned to the internet to find alternative advice and “everything started from there”.
“I found an American guy who has millions of followers who promoted holistic treatment,” she said.
“He had a podcast where he interviewed very knowledgeable doctors and professors who are talking about holistic treatment and they called standard treatment ‘outrageous’.
“They said that people who had chemotherapy are ‘lazy’ and don’t want to put in hard work of holistic treatment.”
She continued: “The guy has three or four books on how to heal cancer holistically – how to make salads, use different herbs, juicing, intermittent fasting – there were so many testimonials, so many people that did it.
“I spent £2,000 on juicers – one for smoothies, one for carrots, one for citrus and one for everything else. I spent two to three hours a day making juice for the next day. I was a fanatic. It was like tunnel vision.”
