Mum of four discovers she has breast cancer while dancing naked but shuns NHS treatment in favour of a VEGAN DIET
A MUM of four battling breast cancer has turned down conventional NHS treatment, and instead plans to "cure" her illness by adopting a vegan diet.
Sarah Valentine was diagnosed with cancer after she noticed an indentation on her left breast, as she danced naked in front of the mirror in December.
Specialists offered the 36-year-old a full mastectomy or lumpetcomy and radiotherapy on the NHS.
But, she has defied the medical advise, by declining both options.
Instead, she has overhauled her diet to eliminate meat and dairy.
“I’ve chosen the natural way to show cancer the door, pronto,” the 36-year-old said.
Never an unhealthy eater, Sarah, of Bethersden, Kent, is now following an alkaline-based vegan diet – believing it will give her the best chance of beating the disease, which has previously affected numerous members of her family.
It comes as BBC's Horizon exposed how a fake doctor, who advocates the "alkalising diet" and charged a terminally ill Brit £63,000 for treatments she believed would cure cancer.
Naima Houder-Mohammed, 27, died after staying at Robert Young's pH ranch in California, where alkalising diets were promoted as a "miracle treatment".
But Dr Giles Yeo, a Cambridge biochemist, has condemned the diet as a cancer treatment.
It maintains that eating foods that are more alkaline-rich, kale, broccoli and avocado, and avoiding acidic foods - meat and dairy - keeps the liver and kidneys healthy.
But Dr Yeo said this theory is "utterly at odds with the medical consensus".
He added: "I have studied haematology - the blood - for years, and it's true that is has a slightly alkaline pH, but there is nothing you can eat that will change that."
She also plans to buy a costly vitamin C and sodium sultanate drip, to boost her intake and regularly takes iodine supplements and bitter almonds, a source of vitamin B17.
I’m a mum to four children. They are my priority and I am not irresponsible. This is not a diet, it is life and death
Sarah Valentine
Sarah takes Golden Paste – a product made up of turmeric powder, water, oil and pepper – daily and has invested in a £300 water filter, which she attached to her tap, to purify all her water.
And she hopes her extreme measures will reverse the progress of her currently stage 1 cancer, which is made up of two tumours measuring 2.1cm by 1.7cm and 1cm by 1cm.
Sarah, whose cable jointer boyfriend, Richard, 35, backs her decision, knows some people will think she is making a mistake in declining conventional treatment.
But she is adamant her decision is the right one.
“I’m a mum to four children – Jesse, 15, Poppy, five Teddy, four, Billy, one,” she said. “They are my priority and I am not irresponsible.
“This is not a diet, it is life and death.
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“I think by feeding my body good things, it will have an impact. I’ve done a lot of scientific research into it. If it doesn’t work, I will reconsider my options, but at this stage I am trying this.”
Sarah also believes that surgery could damage her health.
She continued: “I think I stand a better chance doing this than having a mastectomy straight away.
“I believe if I had a mastectomy I would be dead within 10 years.
"This is about healing my body back to health. I’m 100 per cent sure that my cancer is emotional.
" I’ve been dealt some really terrible hands in my 36 years, but that’s all in the past and I’d really like to show the Big C the door.”
Sarah said her diet was never bad. She would eat free-range eggs, well-sourced meat and good quality butter.
Additionally, she was careful not to take hormones in tablets or her food and favoured natural products.
“I used bicarbonate of soda instead of deodorant, never had any hormones in pharmaceuticals or food, ate healthily and breastfed all my children,” she said.
“I couldn’t believe that I got ill.”
Sarah discovered her lump after stepping out of the shower and dancing in front of the mirror.
“I thought I’d lost weight, so was dancing around a bit,” she explained.
“It was then I noticed the lump.”
I believe if I had a mastectomy I would be dead within 10 years. This is about healing my body back to health. I’m 100 per cent sure that my cancer is emotional.
Sarah Valentine
Two days later, on December 5, she headed to her GP, who referred her to the breast clinic.
On December 19, at Buckland Hospital in Dover, Kent, a doctor examined her and, concerned, referred her to Kent and Canterbury Hospital, Canterbury, for an ultrasound, needle biopsy and mammogram.
But it was not until December 30 at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, that her cancer was confirmed.
“I knew already,” she recalled.
“As soon as I saw the indentation and felt a lump I realised.”
Sadly, this is not the first time Sarah has been affected by cancer.
Close family members have had it and her childhood friend, professional footballer Ernie Cooksey, died in 2008, aged 27, after battling skin cancer.
“Maybe my experience of the illness has made it easier for me to cope,” she said.
“I’ve seen people go through chemotherapy and be very ill as a result.
“And I’ve heard about others having mastectomies and still not surviving.”
Now Sarah is speaking out to make people aware that breast cancer can affect anyone and that a lump is just one sign. She hopes to get #Shakeyourtits – a hashtag encouraging people to examine their breasts for changes including lumps, indentations, changes to the skin and bumps – trending.
She said: “We should all be shaking, massaging, feeling our way around to spot any changes in our breasts as soon as possible.”
Sarah, who has left her makeup artist job to concentrate on getting better, also needs £30,000 to fund her natural treatment.
“I need to get vitamin C drips, supplements, a water distiller, thermo imaging to check tumour shrinkage and hormone-testing reports,” she said.
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