This is a book that seeks to demonstrate the true nature of cancer - that it is a cytoplasmic rather than a nuclear disease and that current treatment protocols are, and always have been, destined to fail because of this. Calling out the allopathic oncogene theory as a fundamentally flawed concept of biology - where DNA controls our cellular function, and therefore our health - Thomas Cowan MD upends this narrative, explaining that the root cause of cancer cell abnormalities lies in the structured water that forms the basis of cytoplasmic, and therefore, cellular health. He goes on to postulate that structured, or gel phase, water (also referred to as the fourth phase of water) is the essence of, or carrier for, the life force. Neither a homeopath, nor a doctor in the conventional sense, Cowan takes us on a historical journey of different practitioners both mainstream and alternative, who have attempted to demonstrate this, and through experiments, case studies and trials, to harness this life force (energy, chi, prana) to treat and cure both animal and human patients with cancer.

With the distinct intention of opening up debate beyond the constrictions of the normalised, allopathic view of cancer, this book is scholarly, polished, succinct and one-pointed - it is time, the author believes, that the implications of this new understanding are taken seriously, if not by the medical profession itself, then by the very people that might benefit from it most - the patients.

With excellent chapters on the key successful natural approaches to cancer, and in-depth explanations as to why and how they work, this is an extraordinary book - not just a philosophical and scientific polemic of a deep kind but a practical handbook too, with a set of naturopathic tools and resources that are tried and tested, including mushrooms, herbs and plants, water itself and NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydride) amongst others.

This is a timely and beautiful work that seems to me to open the door to a new way of thinking not just about cancer but about the nature of disease itself.