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As a former consultant breast surgeon who has battled breast cancer three times in the last 10 years, Dr. Liz O'Riordan knows a thing or two about treating the disease.
She has had a mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and a hormone blocker to fight the cancer, and she will have to stay on treatment for life. For O'Riordan, 50, there was no question about trusting conventional medicine, but the same can't be said for everyone as there has been a rise in people attempting to treat cancer through alternative methods.
Australian model Elle Macpherson, 60, made headlines in September by announcing that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017 and turned down chemotherapy for a holistic approach instead.
Former MTV presenter Ananda Lewis, 51, was diagnosed with the disease in 2019 and refused a mastectomy. She recently said that her cancer has metastasized to stage 4.
Newsweek reached out to representatives for Macpherson and Lewis for comment.
Previous analysis suggested that there has been an increase in complementary and alternative medicine use over the last few decades, from around 25 percent in the 1970s to 49 percent after 2000.
And a 2023 study found that over 52 percent of cancer patients used CAM, with 5 percent delaying their treatment in order to try it out first.
O'Riordan, who lives in the United Kingdom, told Newsweek that she started looking into the subject online after her diagnosis in 2014 and was "horrified by the amount of misinformation" that she found.
"While a mainstream doctor can never promise a cure, there are alternative and homeopathic practitioners who will falsely promise one," O'Riordan said. "I've had several patients who turned down some treatments to stop it coming back and I really struggled with it. I found it hard to understand and I got really angry with them. I thought I should put some common sense out there to help people understand."
Here, O'Riordan, author of The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer, debunks some of the more popular alternative therapies.
Juice Cleanse
The juice cleanse is often touted as a remedy, with some people believing that drinking nutritious smoothies will keep cancer at bay. But O'Riordan has one question: Where is the proof?
"There is absolutely no scientific evidence that living off juices can cure cancer, and the people who claim to have cured their cancer have usually had surgery first," she said.
"A surgeon removed the cancer and they've done juicing to stop it coming back. We know that if you eat a healthy diet full of fruit and vegetables and you maintain a healthy body weight, this can reduce the risk of cancer returning."
While not necessarily a bad thing, juices and smoothies alone do not constitute a balanced diet as they lack fiber and protein—a lack of which will negatively impact a person's gut health and muscle mass. "You're not getting everything you need to stay healthy and there's no evidence that it can cure cancer," O'Riordan added.
Vegan Diet
Again, O'Riordan says there is no evidence that following a vegan diet is enough to treat cancer. "You cannot cure cancer by diet alone," she said.
"Going vegan may be a healthy way to live, but you need to make sure you're getting calcium and protein too. It will not cure cancer or decrease the risk of it coming back—it's purely a lifestyle choice."
Taking Supplements
While supplements might help with the effects of treatment, they are not a substitute for it, O'Riordan said. It can be difficult to get all the fruit and vegetables we need daily, so some doctors may prescribe vitamin supplements while a person is undergoing chemotherapy.
Anyone considering taking a supplement during treatment should speak with their doctor as they can sometimes interfere with the cancer drugs.
The Carnivore Diet
This involves eating animal products—meat, fish and eggs—for every meal, with the aim of consuming zero carbs in a day, cutting out vegetables, fruits, legumes and seeds.
The Cleveland Clinic says that the carnivore diet is high in saturated fats, which can cause elevated cholesterol and increase risk of heart disease. Processed meats such as bacon are high in sodium, which can lead to kidney problems and high blood pressure.
"It's just awfully unhealthy," O'Riordan said. "There is no diet that can cure cancer. The only thing proven to cure cancer is surgery, and then we do chemotherapy and radiotherapy to reduce the risk of it coming back."
Cannabis Oil
Some cancer patients might take cannabis oil, or CBD, to help with the side effects of treatment, but it isn't equivalent to medical interventions, O'Riordan said.
"A lot of people think that strong cannabis oil can cure cancer, but it can't. There is absolutely no proof that it can do that. A lot of people find cannabis is good for supplements, good for anxiety and brain fog [but it] cannot cure cancer," she said.
Fasting or Low-Calorie Diets
These might help you lose weight, but that's about it, O'Riordan said. "There are great ways of losing weight if you want to try something like the 5:2 diet, but they don't cure cancer," she added.
Why Are People Drawn to Alternative Therapies?
O'Riordan believes many people are enticed by the idea of treating cancer without grueling chemotherapy or surgery. "I understand that feeling of being terrified and wanting to do anything to survive," she said. "Most cancer patients want certainty and hope, but a doctor can never tell you the answers for certain.
"You get celebrities like Elle Macpherson recounting her story and everyone assumes what she's saying is right. People believe what they hear because there is clever marketing selling these [alternative] products and patients feel like they need to believe in it to help them."
The National Cancer Institute says that cancer patients might use complementary and alternative medicine to help cope with the effects of treatment and ease stress or feel like they're helping themselves, but warns that something being natural doesn't mean it is safe. It adds that if a patient wants to try alternative medicine, they should ask their practitioner about the risks, side effects and cost and find out whether it's covered by insurance.
"For people like Ananda Lewis, it takes a lot of courage to come forward and publicly explain what happened," O'Riordan said. "It's tragic that her cancer came back so quickly, and we have no way of knowing what would have happened if she'd had the mastectomy.
"We rarely hear about the people who weren't cured by CAM. Clinics and practitioners fill their websites with glowing testimonials, but they never show the other side. This is the reality and it's so important to get this message out there so [that] vulnerable cancer patients can see both sides before they make a decision that could cost their life.
"I want people to know it's their choice, but they must make a properly informed decision."
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