A new mother has started expressing milk for her father’s morning coffee, after reading research that breast milk could help kill off cancerous cells.
Jill Turner, 30, from Rugby, Warwickshire, started looking into alternative uses for breast milk after giving birth to her son, Llewyn, in October.
“I was researching online when I came across an article for alternative uses for breast milk,” she said.
“Since then my husband, Kyle, 30, has used it on his eczema and we have also used it on Llewyn’s conjunctivitis.”
“But when I mentioned to my family that it has links with cancer they thought I was joking and never did I think that my dad would agree to drink it.”
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Ms Turner’s father, Fred Whitelaw, was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2015 and recently received the news that it had returned.
“I got myself a double pump and started expressing enough for Dad, but I am always conscious that I need to make sure there is enough for Llewyn first,” Ms Turner explained.
“So far he’s only been drinking it for a month, so we don’t know if it has helped in any way just yet, but he is having more tests done in a few weeks so it will be interesting to see what the results are.”
Ms Turner added that her family had been supportive of the unconventional usage, revealing that her mother had even purchased a table top fridge to contain the milk.
Ms Turner is pictured with her little boy, Llewyn. (Image via Facebook / Jill Turner)
At this stage, Ms Turner’s father only adds breast milk to his coffee but may well take it in his porridge too.
“He doesn’t drink it on its own though, for now he has it in coffee but I’m hoping he will also have it in his porridge if I can express enough,” she explained.
She added: “I just want to do anything that I can to help and I don’t see the problem in giving my dad something that is natural.”
The first time mum now hopes to promote the added benefits of breastmilk by sharing her unique story.
“A scientist has found a protein in the milk that can help kill off cancer cells without harming other cells.”
“At the moment it’s just trial and error, there isn’t much research available, which is a shame.”
“I know there is a professor in Europe who has been researching the effects but no one has taken her seriously yet. Hopefully she will get the funding she needs to carry it further.”
“I’m not clued up on the portions but I just hope it makes some sort of difference.”
“We will be seeing an oncologist in four weeks’ time who regularly takes my dad’s bloods so it will be interesting to see if there is any change in his levels.”
