Speaking out against Faith Healing and Miracle Cures Part 2
Some of you might wonder why I feel the need to speak out against faith healing and miracle cures. If I don't believe in these things, then why do I need to comment at all? Well, for over 13 years, I have watched as my clients have spent precious time, money, and hope on miracle cures and faith healing. I started my medical massage practice with a curious interest in treatments and remedies that I had no experience or knowledge of. My skepticism grew as I watched their dashed hopes, their dwindling savings, and their delayed treatments all contribute to the worsening of their quality of life. I have witnessed hundreds of cases like this - none of them have been cured - but it took the death of two that I had come to care a great deal about before I would decide to speak out.
Story #1
Barry had been diagnosed with Stage III Prostate Cancer in 1996. Though he allowed surgeons to remove his prostate gland, he refused Chemotherapy or Radiation treatment. He refused treatment solely because a close friend convinced him that he could have a miraculous recovery using a protocol developed by Dr. Nicholas Gonzalez. The friend provided him with convincing testimonials from other patients who had been cured.
Barry became a patient of Dr. Gonzalez (refered to as 'Nick' by his patients) and started a program of twice daily coffee enemas, pancreatic enzymes, nutritional supplements and a special diet. His progress was monitored by hair analysis.
Barry was refered to my medical massage therapy practice in 1997 and requested weekly 1 1/2 hour massages from me. I watched week by week as Barry's functional levels declined over the next few years. Several times, I tried to talk to him about his program, suggesting that he reconsider his options. His response was that he had FAITH that this program would cure him. He believed that God had directed him to Nick and that he would be healed. He described his worsening symptoms as 'detox'.
While Nick's hair analysis was showing improvements, Barry's cancer was metastesizing. He never gave up hope and in his last months, he used all the strength he had to get on the bathroom floor to do his coffee enemas. When severe lymphedema set in and his children finally insisted that he go to the hospital, Barry was days away from death.
The NCI website now has an information page about Nick and cites a 2009 article published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
In this study, one group of patients followed the Gonzalez regimen while another group was given standard treatment (chemotherapy). Results in the two groups were compared to see if the Gonzalez regimen works better than the standard treatment and if it has bad side effects. Results of the study were reported in the peer-reviewed Journal of Clinical Oncology in August 2009. Patients treated with standard chemotherapy survived a median of 14 months and patients treated with the Gonzalez regimen survived a median of 4.3 months. Patients treated with chemotherapy reported a better quality of life than those treated with the Gonzalez regimen.
Story #2
When Esther was first diagnosed with Stage IV Ovarian Cancer, her friends bought her a gift certificate so that she could get a treatment from me. She was the wife of the local chiropracter and had a strong belief that alternative therapies could cure her. Over the next few months, she came to see me on a regular basis. She was also persuing various other treatments including acupuncture, Reiki, and sessions with a Faith Healer who claimed that she, herself, was healed through prayer.
During one session with me, I could feel that the area around her right rib cage had become hard and inflammed and I urged her to get it checked. Sadly, the cancer had now spread to her liver. At this point, Esther stopped all treatments except the one with the Faith Healer who told her that she had to pray in order to shrink the tumor (plus continue her 3X per week Faith Healing sessions).
I didn't hear from Esther again until 2 weeks before her death. She called me asking if I would come and do some gentle massage/touch with her in her home. The Faith Healer was telling her that the tumor was almost gone, but Esther now had doubts. I visited her and climbed onto her bed to treat her, gently putting my hands over the area where the tumor had grown. "It's not going to get better, is it?" she asked. I shook my head no. She cried in my arms, telling me that for the past few months, she had done nothing but follow the Faith Healer's advice. She shut out her husband and her children and had spent all of her time praying constantly to get rid herself of the cancer. She regretted that she hadn't listened to her oncologist who told her that she had only months to live. Had she listened, she would have spent every minute she could with the people she loved - her 4 young children, her husband, her friends. Now, she only had a short time left and was too weak to engage with any of them.
Esther died on my 40th birthday. Until then, I had kept quiet about my skepticism in faith healing and miracle cures. At her funeral, I vowed that I would no longer be a silent witness to these practices.
