PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Alan C Goldhamer
AU  - Michael Klaper
AU  - Afsoon Foorohar
AU  - Toshia R Myers
TI  - Water-only fasting and an exclusively plant foods diet in the management of stage IIIa, low-grade follicular lymphoma
AID  - 10.1136/bcr-2015-211582
DP  - 2015 Dec 10
TA  - BMJ Case Reports
PG  - bcr2015211582
VI  - 2015
4099  - http://casereports.bmj.com/content/2015/bcr-2015-211582.short
4100  - http://casereports.bmj.com/content/2015/bcr-2015-211582.full
AB  - Follicular lymphoma (FL), the second most common non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), is well characterised by a classic histological appearance and an indolent course. Current treatment protocols for FL range from close observation to immunotherapy, chemotherapy and/or radiotherapies. We report the case of a 42-year-old woman diagnosed by excisional biopsy with stage IIIa, grade 1 FL. In addition to close observation, the patient underwent a medically supervised, 21-day water-only fast after which enlarged lymph nodes were substantially reduced in size. The patient then consumed a diet of minimally processed plant foods free of added sugar, oil and salt (SOS), and has remained on the diet since leaving the residential facility. At 6 and 9-month follow-up visits, the patient's lymph nodes were non-palpable and she remained asymptomatic. This case establishes a basis for further studies evaluating water-only fasting and a plant foods, SOS-free diet as a treatment protocol for FL.