Food craving detects breast cancer

A woman’s bizarre addiction to eating lettuce saved her life after it helped to detect her breast cancer.

Fifty-nine-year-old Elsie Campbell from the UK woke up one morning and had an overwhelming urge to eat lettuce.

Her addiction lasted for months and it often saw her eat three or four whole lettuces every day, chunks at a time.

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It was not until her research scientist husband Jim looked at her condition on the internet did they realise something more sinister could be going on.

He discovered the vitamins and minerals that are present in lettuce leaves are the same as the nutrients that women lack when their bodies are fighting breast cancer.

Shortly after the discovery, Elsie found a small lump in one of her breasts and a diagnosis confirmed it was the early stages of breast cancer.

Fortunately, after receiving treatment Elsie has now made full recovery.

In discussing her addiction in a media interview, she said: “It was bizarre. I just couldn’t get enough of it and I could eat three or four whole lettuces a day and Jim thought there had to be some reason for eating all that lettuce.”