Father with terminal brain tumour claims high-fat diet of meat and dairy is the reason he’s still alive
Dave Bolton, 35, was given 12-months to live, but thinks his diet may have shrunk his brain tumour
A MAN with terminal brain cancer who was given a year to live, claims that ditching CARBS and eating plenty of fat could be the reason he is still alive today.
Last July dad-of-two Dave Bolton, 35, was given just 12 months to live with treatment - or three months without - when he was diagnosed with a terminal Glioblastoma Multiform 4 brain tumour (GBM4).
Dave from the Wirral, Merseyside, had previously been given a five year prognosis in July 2014 - after doctors discovered a tennis ball-sized grade two Astrocytoma tumour in his brain.
However, Dave has now given up eating carbs, fruit, vegetables and sugar and has switched to consuming a diet high in meat, dairy and fats, and his scans now reveal that mass on his brain has almost completely disappeared.
Dave, who is also a former world champion kickboxer, said: "After my diagnosis all these thoughts were running through my head – I wondered whether I would ever be able to walk my daughter down the aisle or watch my son grow up.
"I believe the diet, my attitude, supplements and a host of other alternative treatments alongside conventional treatment have reversed my cancer.
"I shouldn't be here now, but at my last scan the tumour had all but gone apart from a few cells.
"When the doctors told me the tumour had almost disappeared I came out and cried – but for once they were tears of joy.
"I'm not cured – the fight has switched to keeping it at bay – but I know I will still be here in 10 years or longer.
"People always ask me how I stay so positive, but for me it's the only way to live.
"Although it may shock some people, in a way I am thankful for this tumour as it has given me a better outlook on life.
"I have more time with my family – before I thought I needed to make money so my kids could have whatever they wanted, but really they just wanted me at home.
"It has taught me not to take life for granted as it can all be taken away from you in a blink.
"All I want to do now is use my horrific situation to help others and give them hope you can beat a terminal diagnosis."
Dave is dad to son Josh, 11, and eight-year-old Halle and has been married to wife Sam Bolton, 34, a district nurse, for nine years.
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The tumour shrinking isn’t the first time the dad-of-two has defied the odds.
In 2004, when he was just 23, he learned to walk again after a near-fatal motorbike accident in Wales - despite doctors saying this would never happen.
Incredibly, he then then went on to become world lightweight kickboxing champion after competing with the Great Britain squad just a few years later, in Italy in 2009.
Dave, who has also served in the RAF, worked for Merseyside Police for 13 years and was used to high-pressured situations.
However, in May 2014 he suffered a violent 15-minute seizure during the night and was rushed to hospital.
It was there that doctors discovered a tennis ball-sized tumour in the frontal lobe of his brain.
Good-humoured Dave jokingly named the Astrocytoma II tumour 'Terry', and the following month underwent surgery at The Walton Centre for Neurology in Liverpool to de-bulk it and needing no further treatment.
The Sun's Dr Carol Cooper says:
“There is no evidence whatsoever that this would cure cancer.
While healthy eating is beneficial to surviving during disease, there is no proof that a singular dietary change will cure anything.
People should not be deluded by such claims and anyone trying out any ‘weird’ remedies shouldn’t stop getting proper medical help.”
But, last July a routine scan revealed that the mass had returned and this time is had become a malignant Glioblastoma Multiform 4 (GBM4) – a tumour nicknamed 'The Terminator' by doctors because of its low survival rate.
Dave underwent a second nine hour brain operation to remove as much of the tumour as was possible and then began six weeks of combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy which was followed by six month-long cycles of intensive chemotherapy at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Birkenhead.
It was after his treatment ended, in December last year, Dave decided to begin following the ketogenic diet after agreeing to take part in The Walton Centre's clinical feasibility study on the effects of the regime on four patients who were already undergoing chemotherapy.
The diet was originally developed in 1924 for epilepsy patients, and meant Dave giving up his old diet in favour of meat, full-fat dairy products, nuts and some berries and greens.
Dave now gobbles a minimum of 120g of fat a day – totalling a generous 2,200 calories – 90g to 130g of protein and just 20g of carbs, through fruit and vegetables.
Astonishingly, in March a scan revealed that the tumour had shrunk and in June doctors gave Dave the good news that there were only a few cells left of the mass.
Dave claims that his ketogenic diet – which reportedly works by fuelling the body by ketones, a by-product of the fat, rather than carbohydrates and blood sugars which could 'feed' cancerous cells – has even given him more energy than he had before his diagnosis.
He also credits only eating organic food, keeping fit and mentally calm and taking supplements including frankincense oil, myrrh oil and legal CBD cannabis oil with his remarkable prognosis.
He added: "It gets really repetitive so you do have to be creative, research recipes and think outside the box.
WHAT IS THE KETOGENIC DIET? (INFORMATION FROM THE BRAIN TUMOUR CHARITY)
• The ketogenic diet, created in 1924 by Dr Russell Wilder to reduce seizures in epilepsy patients, is a special high cat, low-carbohydrate diet which also requires careful measurement of proteins.
• It is called ketogenic because it restricts carbohydrate intake, forcing the body to produce an alternative form of energy molecule from fat, called ketones.
• The diet was first used almost a century ago as a way to manage epilepsy in children who didn't respond to existing medication.
• Over the past few years there has been a surge in interest regarding the potential of the ketogenic diet in treating brain tumours.
• Supporters argue cancer cells are dependant solely on sugars (simple carbohydrates) and so strictly reducing the intake of carbohydrates and sugar can starve the tumour while the body fulfils its energy needs by producing and using ketone molecules, a by-product of the fat converted in the liver.
• However, The Brain Tumour Charity said there is currently no proven scientific evidence supporting the effectiveness of the diet in treating brain tumours
"Cancer feeds on glucose and fructose so that is why sugar and carbs had to be cut out completely.
";It completely changed my diet as I used to eat lots of fruit and vegetables and love bread – the rest of my family still eat a normal diet, and our food bill has definitely rocketed.
"But what I have realised is that you still have to live your life and once or twice a month if it is a special occasion I will eat what I want.
"As long as I don't go crazy I can get back into ketosis within one or two days.
"But I'm not cured and now the fight has switched to keeping the tumour at bay.
"I don't believe there is one cure for cancer but a multitude of approaches are needed to defeat it.
"This is what has worked for me, but everyone is different and no cancer is the same."
Dave was told weightlifting would put too much strain on his brain so nowadays he trains using calisthenics - a form of bodybuilding which uses gymnastic moves and no equipment.
He is now also a professional strength and conditioning coach, working at the Underground Training Station gym in the Wirral, and has pioneered the gym's charity, the UTS Foundation, which will fund post-operative cancer care and support people with disabilities, disadvantaged children and adults and mental health services.
Dave documents his cancer journey on his blog, , and on his website
A spokesman for The Walton Centre for Neurology said no one was available to comment.
A spokesman for The Brain Tumour Charity said the charity does not currently campaign for the ketogenic diet to be more widely available as a treatment for brain tumours because its efficacy is yet to be proven in a robust clinical trial, but said it welcomed any new findings.
Sarah Lindsell, chief executive of The Brain Tumour Charity, said: "We are delighted to hear that Dave is doing well.
"We know there are not enough effective drug treatments for glioblastoma, which is why we are committed to investing millions of pounds in research into the disease.
"But we would urge anyone who is considering the ketogenic diet to talk to their doctor first, to ensure there are no reasons why it might cause them further health problems."