Guest Post: Winning the War on Cancer by Sylvie Beljanski

Winning the War on Cancer: The Epic Journey Towards a Natural Cure (Morgan James, June 2018, (230) pages, $19.95, Trade Paper; ISBN 978-1683507246) by Sylvie Beljanski is the story of the discovery and attempted suppression – and finally confirmation - of a promising natural remedy for cancer.

President Nixon signed the “War on Cancer” into law in 1971. Some forty-five years and several billion dollars later, and looking at death rates globally, it looks like we have lost the battle. Or have we? What if a natural solution had been there all along, but had just been overlooked by the pharmaceutical industry?

Sylvie Beljanski, the daughter of Mirko Beljanski, PhD, outlines a personal journey of discovery of her father’s new, and promising, paradigm for the treatment of cancer. The research of Dr. Mirko Beljanski, who spent over 40 years at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, studying the environmental impact on DNA replication and transcription, addresses the hypothesis of "cancer resulting from a progressive and cumulative destabilization of the DNA due to environmental toxins." That led him to uncover the anticancer powers of certain botanical extracts. Several recent studies conducted in various American academic institutions have now confirmed that the extracts work at the level of the DNA with a selective action against many kinds of cancer cells, while exhibiting an excellent synergistic action with chemotherapy drugs like Gemcitabine.

In 1993, Francois Mitterrand, then President of France, turned to Beljanski during his battle with an advanced prostate cancer. Against all conventional wisdom, Mitterrand’s failing health improved and he was able to complete his second term as President. But instead of being hailed and embraced, Beljanski and his, natural and non-toxic way to address cancer were fiercely opposed by prominent scientists with strong ties to the pharmaceutical industry. When Mitterrand ultimately died about 18 months after he left office, the French government brutally shut down Beljanski’s laboratory and mercilessly persecuted him. “When my father, a biologist-biochemist who worked for many years at the famous Pasteur Institute in Paris, started to rethink the origin of cancer and find new solutions in order to develop molecules able to selectively block cancerous cell multiplication without killing healthy cells, he ran into major opposition,” remarks Sylvie. “The conventional oncology community ostracized him, despite the fact that his theories on cancer were aimed at complementing chemotherapy and radiation, not replacing them.”

Shortly thereafter, Beljanski became ill without access to his own products to save his life. Mirko Beljanski, PhD, was arrested in 1996, striped of most of the freedoms usually granted by the French constitution and never given a chance to have his day in court to defend himself. He died in 1998 before a hearing date was set by the Judge. An involved legal battle ensued, keeping these remedies from reaching people who need them, but also transforming the relationship between a father and his daughter—and launching Sylvie into a crusade, sworn on her father’s deathbed, to keep working to make them available.

With her father’s passing, Sylvie embraced her father’s mantra: “When we have the power to help, we have the duty of doing so.” Fulfilling a promise to carry on her father’s legacy, The Beljanski Foundation, a non-profit organization in New York City, was founded in 1999. Its mission to further Dr. Beljanski’s work by researching natural compounds with anticancer potential is being conducted within a network of prestigious institutions, including Columbia University Medical Center, Kansas University Medical Center, and Cancer Treatment Centers of America®.

The book is a narrative woven with scientific research and exciting stories of healing. While the scientific portion is certainly shocking and promising, it the personal story that is more unexpected and compelling. Beljanski’s journey of understanding her father as a researcher, grasping his immense impact, and wrestling with the opposition he faced is stirring, inviting others, especially young researchers, to pursue a cure with determination. The style balances exposition, dialogue, and narrative to keep the story moving forward in a way that’s richly textured. The pace is methodical, befitting the diligent nature of both scientific research and law. The voice is impartial in its portrayal of science and law, but has the passion and urgency of a dedicated daughter who’s unnerved by the suppression of lifesaving treatment.

The book has received numerous awards including:

·         Amazon Best Seller in 3 categories

·         2019 International Book Award

·         2019 Independent Press Award

·         2019 OnlineBookClub.org Non-Fiction Book of the Month (January)

·         2018 OnlineBookClub.org Non-Fiction Book of the Year

·         2018 New Apple Book Award

·         2018 Nautilus Book Award

·         2018 Foreward Indies Finalist

As well as being featured in:

·         Newsweek

·         The Hill

·         Barnes & Noble 5^th Avenue NYC Flagship Store

·         Over 100 Hudson News locations

It is now also going to be available in French under the title “Gagner la Lutte contre le Cancer, la Découverte dont la République n’a pas voulu” (Editions du Souffle d’Or).