Lost sailor Tim Shaddock beat bowel cancer 20 years ago

Lost sailor Tim Shaddock beat a grim bowel cancer diagnosis 20 years ago, and turned his back on modern medicine to do so.

Tim Shaddock, the Sydney sailor who survived adrift in the ocean for two months, had beaten a bowel cancer diagnosis 20 years ago and, ironically, claimed that eating raw foods had helped him before he was forced to resort to eating raw fish during his latest ordeal in the Pacific.

Regarded as a nice bloke and a free spirit among those who know him, Mr Shaddock was financially successful in the IT industry before he retired and threw himself into personal projects, including hiking in the Australian bush and also sailing.

In the early 2000s, Mr Shaddock was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer and was given a grim prognosis by doctors.

Amateur sailor Tim Shaddock survived three months drifting off the coast of Mexico by eating raw fish and sheltering under a canopy on a catamaran alongside his pet dog Bella. Picture: 9news.

However, he survived the disease and later gave an interview with a website called The Raw Food Kitchen on his decision to take a “holistic approach to healing instead of going down the conventional road of treatment”.

In the interview, Mr Shaddock said he ate raw foods after his diagnosis — somewhat similar to when he had to eat raw fish to survive on his catamaran.

“When my health was at a critical stage, it involved a lot of fasting, juicing and smoothies … I recall spending over three months living solely on green vegetable juice at one stage,” he claimed.

Old acquaintances told The Daily Telegraph that in retirement Mr Shaddock grew restless easily and was always looking for his next adventure.

“He’s got a bit of money, he gets bored and does new things,” one said