Teresa Kay was 25 when she was told that she had cancer and warned that without immediate chemotherapy she would be dead within a month. So when she spurned the traditional medical advice and treatment in favour of an organic diet of fruit and vegetables, few rated her chances of survival, writes Katharine MacAlister.

Yet, two years on, sitting in her Iffley home, she radiates good health - her hair shines, her teeth gleam, her skin glows and her eyes sparkle.

Teresa, 27, says doctors have just told her the cancer is in remission, against all medical odds.

She says knew she was better because she has devoted the past two years to fighting the cancer, but she has been overwhelmed by the reaction of her relatives and friends.

"They were reduced to tears and totally euphoric," she says.

"All this time they have been secretly worrying about me. But I have been totally calm because I knew I was better. It was nice to have it confirmed but I knew what they were going to say already."

However, not everyone is convinced. A clinical oncologist at the Churchill Hospital, in Headington, says: "The question orthodox doctors would ask in cases like this is whether the original diagnosis was correct. "Some infections can look like cancer and an inexperienced pathologist may read it as such.

"The other point is that cancer of the lymph glands, or lymphoma, has a very long clinical course and in some people the glands shrink down and disappear for a while, only to come back later on.

"It's difficult for anyone to give the all-clear with this type of cancer after two years -- more like five years. If it really is clear, then that's brilliant. But you would have to make sure it was really clear with biopsies and scans."

Teresa's plight touched Oxford Mail readers in 1999 when she told her story to raise funds for a £10,000 three-week spell in a Mexican clinic where she learned about the Gerson therapy, which she claims has saved her.

Treatment is a daily routine of drinking freshly squeezed juices, conforming to a strict diet, inserting coffee enemas, having an injection and taking natural supplements, all at precise times and in specific quantities.

"Basically, my body totally detoxed in order for it to rebuild and fight the cancer," Teresa says.

When she was first diagnosed with cancer of the lymph glands she was working as a film designer for the BBC in Bristol and living a hectic life. She says: "I wasn't looking after myself very well. I was out every night, working very hard and not eating well. I didn't do myself any favours."

She then found a lump in her armpit which, was sending sharp pains through her body. "I wasn't sleeping and was taking painkillers, but they told me it was benign," she says.

"So when eventually I went for three days worth of tests and was told I had non-Hodgkins lymphona, known as cancer of the lymph glands, I thought 'that's it, I'm going to die'.

"When they told me it could be treated I was so grateful. But my body reacted badly to the chemotherapy. Everyone's does, but mine was particularly bad after one dose.

"My hair fell out in a week, and all my joints and muscles swelled so that I couldn't eat or move. I knew if I completed the six months of treatment my body would not survive."

Then a friend sent her a book that changed her life. It was all about Gerson therapy and as soon as Teresa read it, she says she felt a strong intuition that this would be the best way for her to fight the killer disease.

"It made sense to me. I just couldn't ignore my body's natural instinct. I believe the body has the power to heal itself. I believe illness is a culmination of a lot of things. "My immune system was down and I hadn't been looking after myself since my father died in a car crash when I was 13. There had been so much stress and sadness after that."

The only time Teresa doubted her decision was when she broke the news to her hospital consultant.

"She told me I'd be dead in a month if I didn't go ahead with the chemotherapy," she says.

Once Teresa made the decision to reject conventional medicine she moved home to Iffley to be with her mother. Unable to afford to travel to the Gerson centre in Mexico, she began the treatment at home.

"There is a lot of equipment and preparation involved and it is very specific, so it was hard to start with," she says.

But when Teresa's story appeared in the Oxford Mail, donations started pouring in. She even found herself on Richard and Judy's This Morning programme, by which time she had the money to go to the clinic.

When she returned three weeks later, she says her body "went through a massive detox" and the lump under her arm disappeared. Since then, Teresa has stuck rigorously to her routine.

She says her quality of life has vastly improved over the past two years. She has moved into an annex flat near her mother's home and is making a life for herself.

She says she takes pleasure in the simpler things in life -- taking long walks, manning the Gerson helpline, spending time with her boyfriend, studying for her Open University course in health and social welfare and planning a cookery book.

"I notice things now," she says. "The seasons changing and nature, where for 25 years I was oblivious to all of that. I have a huge appetite for learning and reading."

Teresa soon has to make a decision about whether to wean herself off the Gerson diet and pursue a more normal existence.

"Sure I miss other foods sometimes," she says.

"I still get huge chocolate cravings and I used to wake up in the middle of the night having dreamt of sausage rolls and huge steaks. But my comfort food these days is porridge with lots of honey. "What I find ironic is the medical profession refuses to acknowledge that Gerson therapy works. Instead they say it must be spent remission, luck, or a miracle.

"Chemotherapy works for some people, but it's not the only way. Everyone has to make their own journey. That's what I have learned in the past two years."

Meanwhile, scientists in America claim to have discovered that hot tea and citrus peel can protect people against skin cancer. The researchers found people who developed skin cancer drank a lot less hot tea than those who avoided the disease.

The team from the University of Arizona hopes to use its findings to develop food supplements to help prevent skin cancer. The research has been welcomed by cancer charities, but they have warned the best way to reduce the risk of skin cancer is to limit exposure to the sun and use high-factor sun screens.