Charlotte Gerson was 12 years old, she was healed of tuberculosis by her father, Dr. Max Gerson and it is important to note that at the time, tuberculosis was considered a death sentence, Now 89, she has the longest survival record of anyone who has been treated by the Gerson therapy. She is also the world’s leading authority on its theory, background, and practice. The youngest of Max Gerson’s three daughters, she began in her teens serving as her father’s assistant, studying with him and working in his practice.

When the family fled Germany before World War II and the Holocaust, she was 11 years old. The Gersons’ first stop was Vienna, Austria, where Charlotte contracted bone tuberculosis, then considered an incurable, fatal disease. Dr. Gerson cured her using his now famous therapy before they had to flee Austria for Ville d’Avray, France, then London.

After they relocated in New York City, Max Gerson established a clinic for his seriously ill patients, where Charlotte spent many hours making rounds with him. She also continued her formal education, attending Smith College for two years before dropping out to marry her husband, Irwin.

When her father died in 1959, she vowed his work would not die with him. With funds in short supply and opposition by such powerful forces as the drug companies and the American Medical Association, it would have proved a daunting task for one without Charlotte’s determination. She has never wavered in her dedication to her father’s work and has trained her children, Howard Straus, now 68, and Margaret Straus Dego, 64, to carry on after her, as Dr. Gerson trained her.

Charlotte began lecturing, first locally, then around the country, and was even asked to appear twice on the Oprah Winfrey show in Baltimore and Chicago before Oprah went national. She has appeared on Christian Broadcasting, Trinity Broadcasting, and PBS and is regularly interviewed on radio stations nationwide. Until she was 82, she did annual lecture tours in England, Ireland, Italy, Hungary and Germany.

In 1977 she founded the Gerson Institute with Norman Fritz, president of the Cancer Control Society. The Institute established treatment centers and trained holistic physicians, nurses and kitchen help in the elements of her father’s nutritional treatment. Their training programs have expanded and now treat hundreds of practitioners and caregivers annually, coming from all corners of the globe.

She is renowned for her integrity and deep, intuitive understanding of chronic disease and its cure. She uses iridology, keen observation, skin tone, any clue she can to accurately assess a patient’s condition. She will often detect conditions and ailments the patient does not tell her about.

Howard Straus describes his mother: “There are people all over the world who love her and whose lives have been changed by the Gerson Therapy. She is a combination of Billy Graham’s fervent evangelism, Ralph Nader’s cautionary suspicion of industry, and June Cleaver’s warmth and maternal energy. She is absolutely rock solid, keeps her promises, generous, quite literally a world treasure, yet humble, like Dr. Gerson. Surgeons and naturopaths, chiropractors and patients seek her out with admiration and honor.”

Charlotte Gerson is the author of four books, with the most successful and acclaimed book being Healing the Gerson Way: Defeating Cancer and Other Chronic Diseases. This book, an update and upgrade of Dr. Gerson’s 50-year-old A Cancer Therapy: Results of 50 Cases, has been translated into a total of twelve languages and published in eight as of this writing. Her latest books are Defeating Obesity, Diabetes and High Blood Pressure: The Metabolic Syndrome and Defeating Arthritis, Bone and Joint Diseases.

Because of the large and increasing incidence of these conditions, her books sell well all over the world. Charlotte has appeared in four documentaries directed by Steve Kroschel: The Gerson Miracle, Dying to Have Known, The Beautiful Truth and Alive Tomorrow. Because of her sterling reputation of integrity and unwillingness to compromise her principles, Charlotte has become the “Grande Dame” of alternative medicine, and is invited to appear in a documentary approximately every month or two. Charlotte has also authored many articles for the Gerson Healing Newsletter, and is the author of a series of nine introductory booklets on healing various disorders using the Gerson Therapy.

At 90, Charlotte is a true reflection of her father’s medical philosophy. She is in robust good health and continues to work full time in her practice. In Healing the Gerson Way she describes the methods she has used successfully for six decades to help thousands of people recover from cancer, hepatitis, heart disease and other “incurable” illnesses. It’s a must-read for patients who have attended Gerson Therapy clinics and want to continue the work at home. Also, many people who could not attend a clinic have found the help they needed from the book alone.

Today Charlotte Gerson lives in Southern California, and makes weekly rounds at the Gerson Therapy clinic in Playas de Tijuana, Mexico. Though retired from the day-to-day operations of the Institute she founded, Charlotte remains an active member of its Board of Directors, participates in training sessions, lectures and appears on radio shows weekly, inspires, encourages and advises practitioners, patients, radio listeners and millions around the world.

It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the passing of Charlotte Gerson, who passed away peacefully on February 10, 2019 at her home in Italy. Charlotte was a sharp, charismatic, caring and passionate woman who forged a path that contributed to the movement in health and where it is today. In the late 1970s she founded the Gerson Institute as a vehicle to continue her father’s brilliant work by keeping his book in print. Little did she know that this very action would make such a big impact on the world. Her message of hope and empowerment resonated with people from all walks of life in all corners of the globe, and her tireless work to give a voice to the hopeless sparked a movement to walk a path less traveled, a path that she pioneered. The testament to Charlotte Gerson’s memory is in what we say today: a vibrant, dynamic, growing community working towards a healthier future for all. Our hearts are with Charlotte’s family, friends, and loving supporters. Condolence and Sympathy cards are welcome at the below address: The Gerson Institute Attn: Anita Wilson, Executive Director PO Box 161358 San Diego, CA 92176