A very warm welcome to Cancer Chat, Nabila. I wanted to stop by to reply as you mention you’re looking for information on Graviola (soursop) and the Gonzalez procedure.

Graviola is a substance that comes from a tree in the rain forests of Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. Overall, there is no evidence to show that Graviola works as a treatment for cancer. Many sites on the internet advertise and promote Graviola capsules as a cancer cure, but none of them are supported by any reputable scientific cancer organisations. We have more information on our website: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancer-in-general/treatment/complementary-alternative-therapies/individual-therapies/graviola

We also have information on Metabolic therapy and diets, including the Gonzalez treatment, on our website: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancer-in-general/treatment/complementary-alternative-therapies/about/safe/metabolic-therapy-alternative-diets. There is no evidence that any type of metabolic therapy or alternative diet can prevent, treat or control cancer. In fact, some of the therapies and diets are strict and restrictive, so it's impossible to get the right balance of nutrients. This can be a serious risk to your health if you are already weakened by cancer or by treatments such as chemotherapy, biological therapy or radiotherapy.

Some treatments used in metabolic therapies can cause harm. For example, coffee enemas carry a risk of causing a chemical imbalance in the body. And some nutritional supplements can be harmful in high doses.

If your dad is considering stopping treatment, please do encourage him to speak to his doctor first to make sure he has fully understood the options.

We have other members of the forum who are caring for loved ones with stage 4 cancer, and someone may well be along soon to reply with their experiences, too. In the meantime, if you’d like support, please feel free to take a look at and join in with the Caring for someone with cancer area of the forum.

If you have any other questions about your dad’s treatments, our team of nurses are just on the other end of a phone: 0808 800 4040 (Mon – Fri, 9am to 5pm).

Wishing you and your dad all the best,

Helen

Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi Nabila,

I'm sorry to hear about your dad. My dad has Stage 4 Prostate cancer. I can realte to some of the ways you're feeling. When I first found out about my dad I looked up anything and everything on the internet. I think what Helen said, I don't think it would be a good idea to completely depend on natural remedies as they aren't scientifically proven to work. However, I don't think there's anything wrong with trying certain foods or pills. As long as they don't harm the body. My dad takes Graviola pills, and we heard this can help with cancer. However, we don't just rely on natural foods and pills. I think it's always important to try to be as healthy as possible, but at the same time we need to try not to be vulnerable as some people may promise things that aren't true. It's a really difficult place to be in, as we want so badly to cure our parents.