'I nearly died after trying to cure my cancer by following advice of social media personality'

A woman nearly died life attempting to cure her cancer with a juice diet. Irena Stoynova has warned against disregarding traditional medical advice in favour of alternative information online.

The former model was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in June 2021. Despite medical professionals urging her to undergo conventional cancer treatments, she chose to 'shut them out'.

Instead of chemotherapy, Ms Stoynova sought alternative solutions on the internet and followed the advice of a man with hundreds of thousands of social media followers.

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She said he advocates for the human body's ability to 'heal itself' through drastic lifestyle and dietary changes. Ms Stoynova, from Hampshire, pursued various diets and holistic therapies for two-and-a-half years, which resulted in her becoming emaciated and developing fluid on her lungs.

She was on the brink of death when she was rushed to Frimley Park Hospital in May last year. Ms Stoynova was told that without treatment for her stage-three cancer, she would likely die.

Ms Stoynova continued to refuse treatment for several days before finally consenting to chemotherapy.

After spending 50 days at the hospital's acute dependency unit, she reflected on her initial decision to reject traditional treatment. She said she was swayed by 'reading about and watching many doctors and professors talk about the success rate of alternative therapies online', reports Bristol Live.

The 39-year-old sales professional recounted her journey through alternative treatments after her diagnosis, saying she tried everything from a juice diet for two-and-a-half years to raw diets, intermittent fasting and boiling herbs. She said: "I was devastated, the whole world just closed around me and I felt really alone."

Ms Stoynova revealed that despite being advised to start chemotherapy, she sought out other options online, leading her to an American influencer with a large following who advocated for holistic treatments. "I found an American guy who has millions of followers who promoted holistic treatment," she added.

The man's podcast features interviews with doctors and professors discussing holistic approaches, in which they they label conventional treatments as 'outrageous' and suggest those opting for chemotherapy are 'lazy'.

Ms Stoynova invested in multiple juicers and dedicated hours each day to preparing juices. She added: "The guy has three or four books on how to heal cancer holistically how to make salads, use different herbs, juicing, intermittent fasting there were so many testimonials, so many people that did it.

"I spent £2,000 on juicers one for smoothies, one for carrots, one for citrus and one for everything else. I spent two to three hours a day making juice for the next day. I was fanatic. It was like tunnel vision."

"I didn't stop. I was just so weak, I had sleep deprivation and hallucinations. I didn't even have the strength to open the door for the delivery man. I couldn't breathe because there was fluid on my lungs, I lost about 20 kilograms because of the dieting."

Despite being hospitalised in May 2023, she continued to seek holistic treatments for her cancer, leading to what medics called 'frustrating' discussions. It wasn't until after a 10-day stay in the hospital that she consented to chemotherapy.

Now in remission, Ms Stoynova said: "I now say to people that the side effects from chemotherapy are a piece of cake compared to the side effects that I got from trying the holistic treatment. When you have Instagram, Facebook, or even Google there are going to be millions of people who are going to say that they healed cancer holistically with organic carrots and parsley and celery.

"What I would say is it's great to have beliefs, it's great if they're backed by science, and please don't cut off your consultants. I cut off consultants and everything connected with standard medicine and I almost lost my life."

"If you have cancer, you need something much harder than organic carrot juice and celery."