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Home / Lifestyle

Mum dies after rejecting medical treatment in favour of vegan diet and alternative medicine

NZ Herald
4 Jun, 2019 07:51 PM4 mins to read

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Katie Britton-Jordan lost her battle against breast cancer last weekend after rejecting medical treatment. Photo / Facebook

Katie Britton-Jordan lost her battle against breast cancer last weekend after rejecting medical treatment. Photo / Facebook

A mother who rejected medical treatment in favour of going vegan after being diagnosed with breast cancer has died.

Katie Britton-Jordan discovered she had 2a triple negative breast cancer in July 2016 after she stopped producing milk in her left breast while breastfeeding her daughter, the Sun reports.

She then suffered severe pain which got worst before discovering a small lump.

Katie Britton-Jordan spotted a lump in her boob while breastfeeding baby Delilah. Photo / Facebook
Katie Britton-Jordan spotted a lump in her boob while breastfeeding baby Delilah. Photo / Facebook

Instead of having a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy the then 37-year-old, from Dalbury Lees, Derbyshire in England favoured a holistic approach.

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The mother of Delilah, 5, died three years after using alternative treatment.

Her husband, Neil, and parents, Carole and Ron, supported her decision to deny the advice of doctors.

Alternative medicine

When Britton-Jordan found the lump she visited her GP who sent her to Royal Derby Hospital for a scan.

A few weeks later she found out she had three tumours in her left breast.

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The doctors advised her that she should have a mastectomy, followed by a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy and if she didn't follow this treatment plan she could die.

However, after she researched alternative medicine she decided to take a different approach, believing it was her "best option".

Katie decided to reject conventional treatments and sought a holistic approach with alternative therapies. Photo / Facebook
Katie decided to reject conventional treatments and sought a holistic approach with alternative therapies. Photo / Facebook

In 2017, she turned down the NHS treatment and changed to a vegan diet.

"I feel really fit and well and I'm still able to work and look after my daughter. My diet, which involves mainly raw fruit and vegetables, has really helped," she said.

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"If I had chemo, I think I would be almost bed-ridden. I have seen friends have chemotherapy and they are affected for life by it. It's horrible.

"You are poisoning your body. In my opinion, there are lots of options out there that I think are much more valuable than poisoning yourself."

Britton-Jordan also tried holistic supplements such as iodine rich brown seaweed, raw turmeric and black pepper capsules.

She had also tried hyperbaric oxygen chamber therapy, which involves breathing pure oxygen at higher than atmospheric pressures in an enclosed chamber.

The mum-of-one discovered the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and was fundraising for immunotherapy abroad. Photo / Facebook
The mum-of-one discovered the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and was fundraising for immunotherapy abroad. Photo / Facebook

It's said to cause oxygen to be absorbed by all body fluids, cells and tissues.

However, in February this year she discovered that her alternative medicine was not working and her cancer had developed into stage 4 and had spread to her lymph nodes.

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She was advised by doctors that radiation and chemotherapy would only slow down the progression and shrink the cancer.

Britton-Jordan decided to fundraise to be able to get treatment from specialist immunotherapy outside of the UK before she died.

Heartbreaking tribute

Her husband shared a heartbreaking tribute on Facebook, sharing his condolences after losing his wife.

"It breaks my heart to be writing this but on Saturday 25th May, Katie, with the same grace and strength she handled herself through life, peacefully passed to the next," he wrote.

"She was surrounded by family and friends and shrouded with love.

Katie Britton-Jordan turned to veganism in the hope that she would cure breast cancer with alternative methods. Photo / Facebook
Katie Britton-Jordan turned to veganism in the hope that she would cure breast cancer with alternative methods. Photo / Facebook

"Delilah, her 'bestie' Elsa and I went and picked flowers and herbs from the garden and placed them all around Katie, she looked so serenely beautiful….

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"Our little girl has learnt the hardest lesson at such a young age and I simply run out of answers when sobbing she asks 'why we have to say bye bye?' We cuddle for a mo' and then she'll suddenly tell a little story of what or how mummy would do it, start to giggle and right there!

"I can see the spirit, resilience, strength and everything that was and will always be in her Mamma, in our little girl. She hasn't gone far yo'.

"I know some people may have their own opinions on what Katie should or should not have done but whatever that is, it does not alter her bravery and dignity over the last 3yrs."

Dr Catherine Zollman, a GP for over 20 years and medical director of Penny Brohn UK, previously to MailOnline: "We've learned over 35 years of supporting people affected by cancer that you can combine the best of the lifestyle, dietary and complementary treatments alongside conventional treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and by doing this, you can reduce side effects, improve wellbeing and have a better chance of long-term survival.

"In the case where the treatment offered on the NHS is potentially curative, treatment and monitoring are really important.

"If you miss that window, the potential for cure may no longer be there."

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