A mother who chose to fight her cancer through a vegan diet instead of having chemotherapy has died.
Katie Britton-Jordan, from Derbyshire, was diagnosed with stage 2a triple negative breast cancer in July 2016.
She claimed chemotherapy, proven to save lives, was like 'poisoning your body' and opted to take an alternative approach.
Mrs Britton-Jordan, thought to be 40, also refused a mastectomy and radiotherapy. She passed away on Saturday.
Katie Britton-Jordan, from Derbyshire, was diagnosed with stage 2a triple negative breast cancer in July 2016
Her husband Neil, 58, announced her death on Facebook, saying she was 'surrounded' by family and friends and 'shrouded' with love.
He said: 'It breaks my heart to be writing this but on Saturday 25th May, Katie, with the same grace and strength she handled herself through life, peacefully passed to the next.
'Delilah, her 'bestie' Elsa and I went and picked flowers and herbs from the garden and placed them all around Katie, she looked so serenely beautiful.
'Our little girl has learnt the hardest lesson at such a young age and I simply run out of answers when sobbing she asks 'why we have to say bye bye?'
'Feel free to leave comments just, please be thoughtful and respectful,' Mr Britton-Jordan's post continued, Metro reports.
'I know some people may have their own opinions on what Katie should or should not have done but whatever that is, it does not alter her bravery and dignity over the last three years.'
She claimed chemotherapy, proven to save lives, was like 'poisoning your body' and opted to take an alternative approach (pictured with daughter Delilah)
Mrs Britton-Jordan, thought to be 40, also refused a mastectomy and radiotherapy. She passed away on Saturday
Her husband Neil announced her death on Facebook, saying she was 'surrounded' by family and friends and 'shrouded' with love (pictured together with Delilah)
Dr Clare Morrison of MedExpress, a GP specialising in nutrition told Femail in 2017: 'Overall, I believe that treating terminal cancer with a vegan diet is dangerous and unwise.
'However, I do understand that patients gain some encouragement from feeling that they are taking control of their health, and if the situation is dire, then the patient’s mental wellbeing may take priority over their remaining lifespan, which is likely to be very compromised anyway.'
Dr Catherine Zollman, a GP for more than 20 years and medical director of Penny Brohn UK, said: 'In the case where the treatment offered on the NHS is potentially curative, treatment and monitoring are really important.
'If you miss that window, the potential for cure may no longer be there.'
Most cancer patients are offered chemotherapy, treatment that stops cancer cells reproducing, which prevents them from growing and spreading in the body.
But it comes with a host of unpleasant side effects, including fatigue, nausea, hair loss, an increased risk of infections, a sore mouth, itchy skin and diarrhoea.
Many of these side effects can be treated or prevented and most, if not all, will pass after treatment stops, the NHS states.
Other treatments include surgery and radiotherapy.
Mrs Britton-Jordan, a jewelry maker, started to feel pain in her left breast after knocking it while playing with Delilah.
She had a feel and spotted a small lump, prompting her to visit her GP who didn't expect it to be anything sinister.
Mrs Britton-Jordan was referred to the Royal Derby Hospital, Derbyshire, for a scan a few weeks later.
An ultrasound showed a couple of solid masses in her breast, with medics deciding to give her a mammogram to examine them closer.
She was called in to discuss her biopsy results a couple of weeks later, which confirmed three cancerous tumours in her left breast.
Stage 2a triple negative breast cancer is an early form of the killer disease, which experts define as still growing but contained.
Stage 2 breast cancer responds well to treatment usually, according to the US National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Doctors said the best course of action would be to remove the breast, followed by a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
They told her that although her cancer was treatable, without treatment, she would die, it was reported at the time.
Speaking in 2017 about shunning NHS treatment, she said: 'I have always been into alternative health.
'I started researching and decided there was no way I was having chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
'Initially I wasn't sure about the surgery. I didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing but the more I read into it, the more I decided I didn't want to do it either.'
She added: 'I had always had a healthy diet and I didn't eat red meat but I decided that I would go completely vegan and cut out sugar and gluten. I eat mostly raw food.'
Mrs Britton-Jordan also started to research holistic supplements such as iodine rich brown seaweed, raw turmeric and black pepper
