Mrs Phillips, of Paddington, northwest London, said her husband had been reassured by testimonials online. “It was not the cure,” she said. “If people are thinking, ‘Should I try it or not’ — I want them to know there could be harm in it.”
A search for “cancer cure” on Amazon brings up thousands of books such as The Cancer Cure That Worked and How to Cure Cancer Naturally. Many are also available from other bookshops.
Mr Phillips, an investment banker, chose The Breuss Cancer Cure: Advice for the Prevention and Natural Treatment of Cancer, Leukemia and Other Seemingly Incurable Diseases.
He had bowel cancer diagnosed in September 2008 and received surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. By 2010 he appeared to be recovering. “He said, ‘What can I do to make myself healthier?’, ” Mrs Phillips said. “He found this diet on the internet . . . you only eat beetroot and radish juice, and that is all for 40 days. He was very, very determined. If he was going to do something, he was going to do it.
“He lost weight — that is what it is supposed to do. You are supposed to starve yourself and the cancer cells. A lot of people on the internet say, ‘I tried it and it cured me’. ” Blood tests showing a dangerous drop in sodium levels 31 days in were missed and the family left for the trip to Wyoming.
“On the first day of skiing he started hallucinating and very quickly his motor functions deteriorated. By the evening he was in hospital. It was very scary,” said Mrs Phillips. “The symptoms were very stroke-like. He was unconscious for maybe a week. At the worst point his breathing started being constricted.”
He was flown to a London hospital where tests revealed he had central pontine myelinolysis, which occurs when the myelin sheath covering nerve cells in the brain stem becomes severely damaged. In late 2011 the cancer returned and he died on June 25, 2013.