Clean up your diet and environment. Minimise in every way your exposure to chemicals. Eat organic wholefoods free of pesticides, and avoid chemicals such as hair dyes in the home and in toiletries.

Investigate food allergies. Foods and chemicals in the environment probably represent some of the biggest challenges to our immune systems. If you have been suffering from vague food related complaints such as bloating, aches, pains or headaches, now is a good time to consider seeking the help of a qualified nutritionist or allergist, who can help you determine if the problem is food allergy or sensitivity.

Is it microbes? A blood test may reveal whether you are suffering from a viral infection, which may have triggered your cancer. Several oncogenic (cancer causing) viruses carried by farm animals (such as herpesviruses and avian leukosis virus in chickens and other poultry, and papillomavirus in cattle) have been linked to NHL in farmers [Cancer Res, 1992; 52: (19 Suppl): 5496s-5500s].

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is known to play a role in the development of aggressive NHL. In one study of 104 NHL patients, blood samples revealed antibodies to EBV [Cancer Res, 1992; 52 (19 Suppl): 5479s-5481s], suggesting that subclinical immune suppression by this virus may be at work in the body long before NHL develops.

In the Italian population, the prevalence of those who have both NHL and hepatitis C virus (HCV) is very high and, like EBV, HCV infection can precede NHL, often by many years (Recenti Prog Med, 1998; 89: 63-7).

Alkalinise your diet. Recent research shows that the modern diet, high in animal protein, raises the net acid load in the body whereas fruits and vegetables add the alkaline bicarbonate ion to the blood, thus lowering the blood acid level. A typically high alkaline diet, according to People Against Cancer, would be 70 per cent vegetables, 10 per cent fruit, 10 per cent meat and 10 per cent grains.

Consider also investing in a water ioniser (alkaline water maker). For more information, contact Ion and Light Co. (tel: 001 415 346 1682; website: ionandlight.com), or The Watershed (tel: 001 517 886 0440; website: www. watershed.net).

Use home heat treatment. Heating the body to 40¼ C (104¼ F) in combination with taking ginseng or another substance to increase the effect of heat can be useful in cancer treatment and prevention. You can raise your own body temperature moderately by using whole body wet wraps, saunas and hot baths. Of these, the hot bath is probably the easiest to set up. Taking a hot bath with a cup of Epsom salts and a cup of baking soda mixed into the water will have a gentle detoxifying effect on the body.

Taking the bioflavonoid quercetin at doses of 1000-1500 mg three times daily can aid hyperthermia in two ways: it helps to make the cell less resistant to heat treatment, and it lowers the pH inside the cancer cell, making it less likely that the tumour will grow or spread (see Boik J, Cancer and Natural Medicine: A Textbook of Basic Science and Clinical Research, Princeton, MN: Oregon Medical Press, 1995, page 55).

Supplement your diet. Vitamins A, C and E have all shown significant anticancer effects in clinical studies and should be part of any supplementation programme, especially high doses of vitamin C. The pesticide lindane has been shown to deplete the beta carotene content of produce, leaving less available for human consumption.

Cancer patients have unique nutritional needs and other supplements should not be taken without the assistance of an experienced professional. For instance, while many cancer patients are deficient in B6, B12 can act as both a tumour promoter and inhibitor.

Watch and wait. For some low grade lymphomas which remain stable or slow growing, aggressive treatment such as chemotherapy has not demonstrated an ability to prolong life. Because of this, watching and waiting may be a reasonable option for some together with a general clean up of your diet and environment.