Photo by Dani Rendina on Unsplash

In March 2007, Dinneke Ferguson was diagnosed with MGUS(monoclonal gammopathy of unknown significance), by May 2008 it developed into multiple myeloma (a type of blood cancer).

After three rounds of chemotherapy and four failed attempts to harvest stem-cells for a stem-cell transplant, it felt all hope was lost for Mrs. Ferguson.

In 2008, because of the cancer, she lost her memory for three days and as a result of the myeloma, two of her vertebrae collapsed in November 2008, which subsequently were fixed with kyphoplasty, a type of Vertebral Augmentation.

By May 2011, no other traditional medical options were available. According to statistics at the time, her life expectancy was, at the very best, one more year.

Through Margaret’s Corner blog, Mrs. Ferguson found out that curcumin could potentially not only reduce but keep her cancer at bay. And in May 2011 she started to take high doses of curcumin (8g a day).

The protocol that she has been following as described in Margaret’s Corner blog, is the protocol used by the curcumin-myeloma clinical trial (2007) at the MD Anderson Cancer Research Centre, Houston, Texas.

Eight years down the line her cancer count is stable and not causing any more damage. As a result, her case was published in the British Medical Journal in April 2017 — Long Term Stabilisation of Myeloma with Curcumin. Subsequently, in May 2017, the BBC Radio 4 Food Programme in their Programme on Turmeric interviewed Dieneke and her consultant and co-author of the report Prof Jamie Cavenagh (Consultant Haematologist at London’s Barts Hospital ).

So, what is curcumin and why do people not know about this highly beneficial and natural compound?