A woman who had battled blood cancer for 5 years without success finally halted the disease with turmeric, it has been reported.

Dieneke Ferguson is now leading a normal life after giving up on grueling treatments that failed to stop it.

Doctors say her case is the first recorded instance in which a patient has recovered by using the spice after stopping conventional medical treatments.

With her myeloma spreading rapidly after three rounds of chemotherapy and four stem cell transplants, the 67-year-old began taking 8g of curcumin a day – one of the main compounds in turmeric.

The doctors wrote that the ‘biological activity of curcumin is indeed remarkable’, including its ‘anti-proliferative effects in a wide variety of tumour cells’. 

‘I hope my story will lead to more people finding out about the amazing health benefits of curcumin', Ferguson said.

Myeloma affects some 5,500 people in the UK every year, killing nearly 3,000.