The search for a new cancer cure

Alternative cures and therapies are increasingly popular among many cancer sufferers, who see them as preferable to the physical rigours of chemotherapy and surgery or as a complementary treatment. This is especially true in London where a great many alternative practitioners have anti-cancer clinics.

Sir James Goldsmith, for instance, rejected Western medicine in favour of Ayurvedic treatment in the last weeks of his life while he was suffering from cancer of the pancreas. Incorporating exercise, massage and medicines based on herbs and ground-up minerals, Ayurveda aims to balance the five key elements within the body - fire, water, earth, air and ether.

Bob Monkhouse, the 73-year-old entertainer who is fighting prostate cancer, has recently turned to pills made from shark cartilage. The supplement is thought to attack the cancer by starving the growth of blood.

The unconventional treatment that Barry Sheene is practising was devised by Austrian Rudolf Breuss, a self-taught practitioner who claims to have healed thousands of cancer patients. Using the principle that cancer cannot live or grow without protein, Breuss devised a 42-day fast to starve the disease. Supplemented by the juice of organic fruits, herbal teas and vegetables, the fast aims to purge the body of impurities and toxins.

Other alternative treatments include The Gerson Regime, named after Dr Max Gerson. Based on the precept that cancer is a result of toxicity and deficiency, the regime excludes animal proteins and fat (apart from flax oil), and is low in sodium. It is high in potassium and centres mainly on organic fruit and vegetables, and requires participants to have regular coffee enemas. In his 1958 book, Cancer Therapy, Gerson presented 50 cancer patients who had lived on the regime for years against the predictions of their doctors.

The Plant programme, devised by geochemist Professor Jane Plant, is based on the theory that consumption of dairy products is the major factor promoting breast cancer. She backs this up with the low incidence of the disease in China and Japan, where cow's milk plays no part in most people's diet. Her regime cuts out dairy produce, dramatically reducing the body's exposure to antibiotics, biologically active chemicals and hormones shown to promote breast and prostate cancer cell growth. She claims that the regime has cured her own battle with five different incidents of cancer.

There are also several foods that have been found to aid the body's battle against cancer. Tomatoes contain lycopene, which helps protect against breast and prostate cancer. Broccoli and brussels sprouts contain key compounds - Indole-3-Carbinol and sulforaphane - that lower the risk of colon cancer. Red wine is a rich source of polyphenols (also found in grapes, tea, vegetables and chocolate). Polyphenols act as antioxidants, mopping up free radicals which are the damaging chemical intermediates in the body. And olive oil contains flavonoids, an antioxidant also found in high concentrations in onions, tea, red wine and apples.

It's worth remembering though that conventional surgery and chemotherapy are still the most proven technique for treating cancer. Many alternative treatments have not undergone scientific trials to prove that they work.