Fitness blogger attacked online after saying ‘cancer is your body trying to save you'

'Most people view disease and cancer as a horrible monster'

Instagram (oliviabudgen)

A Brisbane-based blogger has come under fire for a controversial Instagram post in which she wrote: “cancer is your body trying to save you”.

Olivia Budgen had set out to challenge perceptions surrounding diseases by suggesting they might not be “bad at all”.

Her comments quickly backfired as commenters accused the “raw food educator” of spreading “ill-informed nonsense”.

“CANCER AND DISEASE IS YOUR BODY TRYING TO SAVE YOU,” the post begins, accompanying a photograph of Budgen wearing a pink sports bra and holding a large green drink.

The young health coach explained that many people wrongly believe disease is an indication that your immune system is failing.

(Instagram/oliviabudgen (Instagram/oliviabudgen)

“Being open-minded and changing your perspective around what disease actually is and why it’s happening, will allow you to take back control of your health and realise that your body is ALWAYS working for you, and never against you,” she wrote.

“The immune system is always there to keep the body free of contaminates.

"Unfortunately in many cases this isn't possible because organs such as the liver, large intestine, lungs, kidneys and skin become overtaxed with toxins and don’t eliminate efficiently.”

She added that “cancer is a survival mechanism” defending the body from toxicity.

“Disease is a natural defence mechanism to prevent a much more serious situation from occurring.”

Some Twitter users have been comparing Budgen to Belle Gibson, the Australian blogger who falsely claimed that diet changes cured her of multiple cancers.

Gibson was recently fined more than A$410,000 (£240,000) after she released a bestselling app and cookbook off the back of her claims.

Budgen's post has since been removed from Instagram and cancer specialists have been quick to refute her claims.

“The recommendations in Ms Budgen’s social media post bear no relation to any scientific facts about how cancer starts or how it can be treated,” Martin Ledwick, Cancer Research UK’s head information nurse, told The Metro.

“Her stance is extremely insensitive to people who have cancer and to those who have lost someone to cancer, as it implies that a few changes to diet will save them.”

The Independent has contacted Budgen for comment.