The jury orders Robert O. Young, author of a miracle book on pH, to pay $ 105 million to a patient with cancer

A San Diego jury has ordered the author of the best-selling books pH Miracle to pay a large sum to a cancer patient.

according to The San Diego Union-TribuneRobert Oldham Young, a naturopathic practitioner, was sentenced to pay $ 105 million to Dawn Kali, a mother of four, who said Young had falsely promised to cure her breast cancer.

Young, 66, has written several books, including the bestseller The miracle of pH: balance your diet, recover your health, which was first published in 2002. The book became so popular that it was translated into several languages.

Young's books deal with holistic healing and an alkaline lifestyle. His works and treatments were based on the idea that acidity in the body was the cause of diseases and that an alkaline diet was the answer to these physical problems.

In 2015, Kali sued Young, alleging negligence and fraud, telling him that he had advised him to give up chemotherapy and traditional treatments to follow a treatment consistent with his alkaline theories.

Kali said Young advised him to delay the usual chemotherapy treatment and spend thousands of dollars on colon cleansing, massages and baking soda during Young's Valley Center retreat.

The treatment is rather expensive. Young's treatment of intravenous fluids mixed with baking soda costs up to $ 500 each.

Kali finally asked for medical help in 2013 when his cancer spread to his bones. She now has stage four cancer. Her doctor also told her that she has about three or four years to live.

The jury ordered Young on Wednesday to pay medical expenses and damages to Kali.

The $ 105 million reward is more than double what the woman originally asked for. It includes almost $ 90 million for pain and suffering and $ 15 million in punitive damages.

The judge called Young a fraud on Friday. District Assistant Attorney Gina Darvas said the author was using her pseudoscience to end desperate dying.

She also testified that Young's credentials came from an unapproved "diploma mill" where Young was successful in obtaining a Ph.D. in just eight months in 1995.

Patrick Swan, one of Kali's lawyers, said his terminally ill client felt justified by the verdict.

"The jury listened carefully and understood the seriousness of the evidence, and gave a verdict to the extent of the damages suffered by Ms. Kali and will suffer," said Swan.

The lawyer also hopes the verdict could have an effect on "the cancer industry, a miracle cure".