PercyWeston

Percy Weston [2003 – 2004], author of Cancer: Cause & Cure

Percy Weston, an Australian farmer, in his book Cancer: Cause & Cure relates his experiences with phosphorous and super-phosphate fertilisers. At the age of six he became ill as a result of inhaling the fumes from phosphorous impregnated matchheads (this is before the days of safety matches). He had unpleasant experiences with phosphorous impregnated rabbit baits on the farm. He saw a school friend collapse in a science laboratory when an experiment involving phosphorous went wrong. These were separate and seemingly unrelated experiences; only later did he realise that phosphorous had been involved on each occasion.

Later, as a farmer, Weston – in common with others in his district – became involved in growing tobacco. This involved administering very heavy applications of super-phosphate fertiliser, at rates as high as a thousand pounds per acre. Subsequently, Weston noticed problems with his sheep – an arthritic condition affecting their knees and cancerous lesions on their ears.

When he moved the sheep onto pasture which had not been treated with super-phosphate, the sheep recovered. Weston moved some of the sheep back onto the treated paddock and they developed the same problems again. He moved them off it and they recovered. The pattern was undeniable.

Later again, Weston himself was afflicted with arthritis and a cancerous tumour which developed on his hand. Remembering his early life experiences and realising that phosphorous had been involved, and recalling his experiences with the sheep, Weston wondered whether reducing his own intake of phosphorous would have any effect. Like Hafer, he set about developing a low phosphate diet. He also experimented – as he had earlier with his sheep using mineral licks – with supplements of alkaline minerals such as magnesium and potassium, which he believed would counteract the harmful effects of phosphorous. The results exceeded his expectations: the arthritis eased and gradually disappeared; the cancer tumour dried up and broke away from his hand.

Weston has continued his experiments with his low phosphate diet for several decades. He is convinced that exposure to and consumption of phosphorous/phosphate can cause very serious health problems. Later still, he experienced adverse effects again as a result of the indiscriminate use of organo-phosphate sprays in his district. At this point, it is interesting to note that Agent Orange, used in the Vietnam War, was also an organo-phosphate herbicide.

Weston’s book is an outstanding read, full of fascinating detail about his experiments and experiences. It is indeed striking that Weston and Hafer, two investigators working at opposite ends of the earth from one another, have reached similar conclusions about the dangers of the high intake of phosphorous/phosphate. Both have achieved remarkable results in implementing the low-phosphate diet.

Weston, Percy: “Cancer: Cause & Cure”, Book Bin Publishing Pty Ltd, Adelaide, 2000; ISBN 0 646 40313 3.
Weston, Percy: “Cancer Fighting Foods”, Book Bin Publishing Pty Ltd, Adelaide, 2001.