The Dictatorship
What it’s like watching ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ as a cancer survivor who trusted her doctors
The popular new Netflix series, “Apple Cider Vinegar,” based largely on the true story of Australian wellness influencer and fraudster Belle Gibsonaffected me deeply. Gibson claimed her wellness treatments cured her terminal brain cancer, a brazen and consequential lie that risked the lives of her followers.
As a two-time breast cancer survivor, I know cancer treatments are not for the fainthearted or noncompliant. But they have kept me — and millions of others — alive. Meanwhile, research shows patients who reject or delay the advice of their doctors are much more likely to die.
Today, after an ordeal including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, I am 10 months cancer-free. And free, also, to binge this drama, enraged by the premise.
In the warped world inhabited by so-called wellness warriors, a strong person rejects conformity, and a weak person passively complies with the medical establishment.
In the warped world inhabited by so-called wellness warriors, a strong person rejects conformity, and a weak person passively complies with the medical establishment. This argument distorts the global medical community, twisting “the establishment” into a nefarious moneymaking conspiracy. But while Big Pharma does rake in billions, cancer treatment is not a scam. And influencers who try to lure vulnerable people away from established science are toxic, in every sense of the word. Just as we have seen with Covid deniers and vaccine skepticsdisinformation can kill.
I could not watch any movie, series, program or TEDx talk on cancer while I was in the middle of my own treatments and recovery. There was nothing entertaining about the stories, or the characters — too many of whom died. I just knew I didn’t want to be like them.
When I was first diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer in 2006, I eagerly did everything my surgeon and oncologist told me to do. I got the lumpectomy. I submitted to the prescribed brachytherapy (internal seed radiation) twice daily for one week and many years of Tamoxifena hormone-blocking medication with uncomfortable and inconvenient side effects.
I wanted to live. And I trusted my doctors and medical team wanted me to live as much as I did.
A single mom with sole custody of three sons, then 13, 16 and 18, I wanted to see them all through high school, college, weddings, my grandchildren and my eventual retirement.
Almost two decades later, in June 2023, a second breast cancer identified as triple-negative, invasive, aggressive Stage 3 showed up on my ultrasound. The three tumors measured 7 centimeters all together. Once again, I did absolutely everything my oncologist, surgeon and cardiologist ordered — including eliminating alcohol after reading about the link between drinking and cancer. I also gave up diet soda at the suggestion of my oncologist. Why not?
Because the truth is that cancer is scary. And highly motivating. The other main protagonist in “Apple Cider Vinegar” is Milla Blake, a character who seems at least partly inspired by a real woman named Jessica Ainscough. Diagnosed with a rare cancer in her early 20s, Ainscough eventually stopped chemo and adopted an intense (and unproven) regimen of juices and coffee enemas. I deeply empathized with her honesty, vulnerability and courage as she searched for answers. She was aiming to fight for herself, not build a wellness empire based on lies.
But Ainscough also reportedly convinced her mother to forgo doctor recommendations and try the alternative therapy route. Her mother died from breast cancer in 2013. Ainscough would succumb to her own cancer a few years later. A tragedy layered on top of a tragedy.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2022, the latest year numbers are available, over 600,000 people in the United States died from cancer. There are 18 million people with a history of cancer who are still alive, according to the American Cancer Society.
Survival rates vary by cancer type, diagnosis timeline and various other personal variants. But the overall five-year survival rate for breast cancer in women is 90% — if those women follow the recommended surgery, chemotherapy and radiation protocol.
On the other hand, the Mayo Clinic notes that alternative treatments may be able to help with some symptoms, but they are not cures. If they were, doctors would use them.
As accurately presented in the series by screenwriter Samantha Strauss, chemotherapy is almost intolerable; my own treatments were cut short and surgery for a radical mastectomy moved up more than three months because my system could not handle the stress.
I also went completely bald, just as the character Lucy did in the series. I wore a wig for a bit, until my hair began to grow back months after radiation ended. Chemo gave me mouth sores and made everything taste like gasoline; I ultimately lost more than 30 pounds.
And still, I listened to the experts. Any anger I felt was directed at my cancer, not at my doctors. Unlike in most every other aspect of my professional and personal life, when dealing with cancer, I was completely obedient.
A number of my friends have had their own cancer experiences, and I adamantly advise them to do everything their doctors and nurses recommend. I darkly joke that I spent my 30s sending flowers to my friends in hospitals having babies; in my 60s, I send flowers to my friends in hospitals having surgeries.
Ultimately, the tragedies presented in “Apple Cider Vinegar” are real. But there is nothing inherently weak about following the science. And nothing inherently brave about ignoring it.
Michele Weldon is an award-winning journalist, author, TEDx speaker, emerita faculty at Northwestern University and senior leader with The OpEd Project. Her latest book is “The Time We Have: Essays on Pandemic Living.”
Healthcare executive Rick Jackson clinched the Republican gubernatorial nomination on Tuesday, pulling off a win over Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and securing a spot in the November election against Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms.
The pair advanced from the Republican primary after neither candidate secured the majority needed to avoid a runoff on May 19.
The contest came as Republicans seek to hold the governor’s mansion in a state that has become one of the country’s premier political battlegrounds. Gov. Brian Kemp is term-limited and cannot seek re-election, creating the first open governor’s race in Georgia since 2018. Kemp threw his weight behind Jones over the weekend.
Jackson, a businessman who entered politics as an outsider candidatesought to position himself as an alternative to career politicians. His campaign focused heavily on economic issues, government spending and opposition to what he describes as establishment politics.
Jackson has argued that Republicans need a nominee who can energize voters frustrated with the political system. He has also attempted to appeal to conservatives who want a candidate outside Georgia’s existing political leadership structure.
The runoff highlights divisions within the Georgia Republican Party over the direction of the state’s conservative movement after Kemp’s tenure. While both candidates embraced many of the same conservative policy positions, they have differed over experience, electability and the future of Republican leadership in the Peach State.
The race also attracted attention because of Georgia’s importance ahead of the midterms. Democrats have made significant gains in the state over the past decade, winning presidential and Senate races while turning Georgia into a key battleground. Republicans, however, have continued to perform strongly in statewide races, including Kemp’s decisive re-election victory in 2022.
Bottoms, who served as Atlanta’s mayor from 2018 to 2022 and later worked in the Biden administration, secured the Democratic nomination and is preparing for a competitive general election campaign. Democrats view the open-seat contest as an opportunity to regain control of the governor’s office for the first time in more than two decades.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at BLN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.
A federal judge who was disciplined after an investigation found that she had sex with a police officer in her chambers and attended a partisan event, then lied when confronted with the allegations, has recused herself in a fight over Georgia election records after the U.S. Department of Justice raised questions about her ability to be impartial.
The Justice Department sought to remove U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross from the case, citing her reported attendance at an event for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who prosecuted President Donald Trump. Ross on Tuesday filed an order recusing herself, writing that she was doing so “out of an abundance of caution for the potential perception of bias.”
The Justice Department had sued Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger seeking an unredacted statewide voter list, and Ross was presiding over that case.
“Both the Trump administration’s present and Willis’s past efforts have become heavily polarized,” Ross wrote, explaining that she “cannot discount” that an objective observer might interpret her attendance at an event sponsored by Willis’ campaign as support for the district attorney’s position, even if she only went to see former colleagues.
Ross received a “private reprimand” after a court investigation found that she had sex in the courthouse with a high-ranking uniformed police officer within earshot of staff, attended a partisan event and then initially lied to deny the allegations.
The investigation report says Ross went to an event hosted by a district attorney’s campaign. The judge said the district attorney had been a friend since 1999 and acknowledged having gone to the a private mixer held on the sidelines of the event to visit with former colleagues in the district attorney’s office.
Ross previously worked in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and overlapped there with Willis there before Willis was district attorney.
Willis in August 2023 obtained an indictment against Trump and 18 others, accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. That case was ultimately dismissed in November.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is rallying support within the State Department to help secure a visa for the mother of a World Cup goalkeeper who was unable to attend her newly-famous son’s match in the United States.
Jeffries learned of the situation after Republic of Cabo Verde goalkeeper Josimar Dias helped his team secure a 0-0 draw with Spain during the island nation’s World Cup debut on Monday. Dias stunned fans after making seven saves against the 2010 World Cup champions.
Dias told ESPN that his mother was unable to attend the match in the U.S. because of difficulties obtaining a visa.
“She didn’t manage to be here because of the visa,” Dias said in press conference after the match, noting that the World Cup was the “most important moment of our lives.”
“The money we have to pay for the visa, we didn’t manage on time. And I would like her to be here,” the goalie said.
After learning of Dias’ story, Jeffries said he reached out to Secretary of State Marco Rubio in hopes of helping the goalie’s mother attend Cabo Verde’s the next match in the U.S.
“No mother should miss the chance to see her child make history,” Jeffries wrote on X.
The Cabo Verde national football team shocked Spain on the strength of a historic performance by goalkeeper Vozinha.
His Mom was unable to be there because of visa complications.
No mother should miss the chance to see her child make history.
I have asked Secretary of State…
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) June 16, 2026
In an effort to prevent visitors from overstaying their visas, the U.S. State Department requires that eligible travelers from certain countries, including Cabo Verde, “must post a bond for $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000.”
The Department said that it will waive those visa bond requirements during the 2026 World Cup for “athletes and team members — including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives — who are nationals of countries that are competing,” provided that they meet all visa requirements.
While Dias suggested money was a factor for his mother’s inability to attend the match, a State Department official told MS NOW that it has no record of her applying for one. The official said all relatives of players are eligible for visa bond waivers, and said the State Department is attempting to help with the matter.
Dias, known to fans as Vozinha, is significantly older than most players at 40 years old. Nevertheless, he was named FIFA’s “player of the match.”
After his standout World Cup performance, his following on his Instagram page grew from about 10,000 before Monday’s game to more than 10.5 million by Tuesday.
Cabo Verde’s next match is against Uruguay in Miami on Sunday.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
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