A budding wellness blogger from Brisbane has been forced to apologise after she posted on Instagram that she believed cancer could actually be ‘good’ for the body.
In the since-deleted post shared last week, Olivia Budgen suggested cancer and other diseases ‘might not actually be bad at all’ and were instead created by the body to ‘help save you’.
‘What if these conditions were not actually bad at all? What if they were created by the body to help save you? What if disease is your body’s survival mechanism?’ she wrote.
‘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.’
Many of Olivia’s 10,000 followers argued with her thinking, commenting that her views were irresponsible.
‘I have a family friend who ate healthy and exercised daily and still got cancer. Cancer doesn’t discriminate,’ one person wrote.
Others labelled her a ‘Belle Gibson wannabe’ and said her advice on eating healthy to avoid or treat cancer could be extremely harmful to those suffering from the disease.
‘What an incredible combination of ignorance, stupidity and ego all rolled into one post! I’ve reported your account for being incredibly harmful,’ one follower commented.
The blogger has since apologised for the post, sharing a video saying she was “in no way” trying to minimise the seriousness of cancer and was actually sharing the views of another published author.
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