Cancer remains Australia's biggest cause of death but around half of the people who died before age 75 could have delayed it if they had better education on the subject.

A father-of-two claims he found a remedy that has cured him of brain cancer.

Dom Tripodi, 30, was told he could die within a year after doctors found a grapefruit-sized tumour in his brain. He had surgery to remove the tumour but was diagnosed with stage-four glioblastoma a month later.

After chemotherapy left him bedridden, the Perth man decided to heal his body naturally through a vegetarian diet and now claims his tumour has gone.

However, according to Australian cancer specialist dietitian and spokesperson for Dietitian Association of Australia, Jane Freeman, as far as curing cancer, there is no evidence of specific diets or foods curing cancer.

She said it was difficult to give a blanket answer on whether a specific diet was good or bad for cancer patients as it depended on their type of cancer and stage.

“But eating more of healthy, plant-based diet can be beneficial, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a vegan diet,” Ms Freeman told news.com.au

“Going through cancer treatments puts a lot of extra stress on the body, and one of the things going on is repair and healing, so you need a high protein diet at that time, and the protein you have should be good quality.

“Your blood counts are being affected, so your diet needs to be supporting that. That means a nourishing and higher protein diet.”

DOM TRIPODI’S BATTLE WITH BRAIN CANCER

In October 2017, Mr Tripodi had a seizure when he pulled into his parents’ driveway after work.

Also in the car was his seven-year-old son Zeke.

“I got to the driveway with Zeke in the car, we both undid our seatbelts, and then according to him, I sneezed, and that’s when I had my seizure,” Mr Tripodi said.

“I planted my foot on the accelerator and crashed into my dad’s shed and greenhouse. I don’t remember any of it though.”

Mr Tripodi was rushed to hospital where he had a CT scan that discovered a massive tumour in his brain.

“The doctors said it was five centimetres in width, length and depth, but when they removed it, they said it was the size of a grapefruit,” the mechanic explained.

Mr Tripodi immediately began radiotherapy and chemotherapy in a bid to remove the remaining cancer, but within weeks his health declined rapidly.

“Doctors told me that chemotherapy was the next thing I had to do, so I did it because I trusted their advice. I started taking Temolozide in December, it was a pill to take every day for six weeks,” he said.

“It took a couple of weeks for it to kick in, and by Christmas I was a mess — I don’t remember the day at all.”

The father of two young boys became bedridden and “zombie-like” as his condition worsened, saying it affected his ability to be a dad to Zeke, 7 and Chase, 4.

Mr Tripodi was forced into a wheelchair and was unable to eat and sleep for up to four days at a time.

DOM’S SWITCH TO VEGAN DIET

During a check-up appointment, doctors found his tumour had grown from 4mm to 15mm, with his next round of chemotherapy worsening his condition.

This is when he shifted to a vegan diet, cutting out sugar, alcohol, gluten, coffee and soy to raise his alkalinity.

He claims these changes stopped the tumour from growing, and in February 2019, a scan revealed there was no tumour left.

Mr Tripodi remained vegan for a month before changing to vegetarian for more protein.

“Before changing my diet, I would have a strong coffee in the morning and then not eat until the evening when I’d usually have a meaty meal. I would also binge drink alcohol on the weekends,” Mr Tripodi said.

He bought alkaline test strips to make sure alkaline levels were high, “which in turn keeps blood sugar down and starves the cancer”.

“I went full vegan initially, but after a month I started struggling with protein sources, so now I’m organic vegetarian,” he said.

Mr Tripodi said he now made his own prognosis “because according to the professionals I should be dead”.

“I had three doctors try and push me to do chemotherapy, and when I told them I was stopping, they told me I was good as dead,” he said.

Scans show there’s no tumour left, but Mr Tripodi said he couldn’t be classed as “cancer free” for a few years.

Ms Freeman said the challenge in a vegan diet was getting enough protein, as it cuts out good sources of protein like quality lean meats and dairy foods like yoghurts, milk and cheese.

“These foods are supporting cell-building foods, so if you choose a vegan diet you need to find enough suitable alternatives to replace these foods in your diet and make sure you’re still getting enough protein,” Ms Freedman said.

“It’s just about understanding where you’re at, and as far as curing cancer, there is no evidence of specific diets or foods curing cancer.”

Seek professional advice before making any dietary changes.