Each week, large numbers of clientele approach the Grace Gawler Institute for help after they have taken an exclusive Alternative Medicine role; sometimes for years, in order to treat their cancer. As a result,we see some horrendous cases of physical tissue destruction; where self-help and self empowerment in combination with the internet, books or workshops including the thought that meditation alone can cure their cancer; has led to self destruction.

By that stage often afraid to visit a doctor/oncologist, these patients often fall though the gaps in all systems of care and spend their final moments in palliative care, often in pain, isolated from friends or family and wondering where it all went wrong for them. People often ask me if working with cancer patients is sad or depressing - I have always said an emphatic no! However during the past 10 -12 years with the tremendous shift in how patients choose to treat their cancer & information available to them, I have found new feelings arising. Not depresssion – but anger towards  those who  influence patients down such a self destructive path in the name of healing. Yes – anger is an appropriate action- even for a meditator!

This brings me to the subject of today’s blog which is dedicated to the subject of the role of meditation in cancer recovery. In response to patients questions on my email since the Melbourne Age’s recent article “Too Good to be True“- that challenged the fact that Ian did not have secondary cancer; primary bone cancer yes…but secondary cancer no!  I offer the following which will answer the majority of questions.
For several months now I have been trying to convince a woman from the Sunshine Coast to seek a surgical solution for her advancing breast cancer. We have never met, but she maintains contact and occasionally sends a photograph of her suppurating breast: swollen, red, about to fungate and as tight as a basketball; she has had faith for 2 years that meditation in particular, and alternative medicine will cure her. Sadly she has reached a point where she can no longer cope with the pain! As well the cancer has likely spread internally.

Why do some cancer patients make ideological choices that override rationale? Many patients tell us they are inspired by the late Ainslie Meares work with cancer patients and most patients who come to see me believe strongly in Ian Gawler’s story – of how he conquered his cancer using meditation, diet and positive thinking. But patients do not know the necessary details of this now famous story. So they can make wise choices about what meditation or relaxation can achieve in reality; it is important to examine Ian’s case history – first published by Meares in an October 1978 MJA Abstract, 1978 Meares article  Although the article launched the idea that intensive meditation could influence the growth of cancer – the information that Meares published was severely flawed. He may not have been aware of this when the article went to print.

1. A important timeline had been reversed - an error 19 months in the clinical timeline gave an impression that the patient, Ian Gawler had more disease than he actually had. When he “first saw Meares”- Dcember 1975 – there were no visible tumours as had been reported in the MJA - these “bony lumps” were in fact in line with the date on ”famous chest wall photos” photographs published for the first time in the same article and labelled July 7 1977. Meares did not mention that at that stage Ian had advanced TB-likely he did not know or thought it incidental or post chemotherapy immune deficiency as Ian had not formerly had sessions with Meares since February 1976.
2. This error – obvious if you do the maths; has never been challenged but has dangerously been a factor in creating the myth that meditation was a pivotal factor in Ian’s Gawler’s cancer being cured. The Meares Abstract title “Regression of osteogenic sarcoma associated with intensive meditation” says it all. This has had a huge influence in promoting unrealistic benefits of meditation. No wonder patients not privy to Ian’s actual story have been misled – believing if Ian can do it then they can do it too!
3. Only recently (published in the Australian Doctor), did Ian agree that Meares had indeed been wrong with timelines and that he saw no need to correct it!
4. Has anyone thought to ask that if Ian Gawler actually had lethal secondary bone cancer… and it went away…then why didn’t the meditation also influence the TB to disappear?
   Even a quote in A Dragon’s Blessing – Ian’s Biography-Page 164 states that when he had his “all clear” - June 1978, when the TB was first discovered; that the TB was visible on x-rays for at least 2 years prior! i.e it was at least visible June 1976 – meaning Ian would have definitely had TB before his chemotherapy which began in October 1976. Now IMJ 2012 Haines and Lowenthal, two oncologists suggest that there was no secondary cancer – just advanced TB creating calcified abscesses mimicking bone cancer. With no biopsy- they are likely right! Many health professionals now have no doubt including prof Alex Herzog from famous integrative oncologist from Germany.

• So…What can meditation do for cancer patients?
  Deep relaxation: The most important thing you can do for your self. Can be very helpful especially lying down upon the floor and surrendering your body to gravity, breathing deeply, letting go of muscle tension…….or sitting in a comfy chair works for some. Yoga exercises are excellent for this and it does help with becoming more aware of your body and where tensions lie. It is ESSENTIAL for the majority of would-be meditators to deal with past trauma before beginning meditation. Relaxation is safe and you see and feel benefits quickly.
• Mindfulness meditation can be helpful. I recommend the work of Herbert Benson – “the Relaxation Response”, Jon Kabot-Zin’s “Wherever You Go – There You Are!” and Thich Nhat Hanh – ‘The Miracle of Mindfulness”. These are classics-simple, practical, do-able-no mystique approaches to relaxation.
• Focussing- Being Present: Many meditation techniques can be “mind-games” …while you ask your body to relax – it simply doesn’t listen!! Reduction in unnecessary physical tension caused by chronic stress, is  overall, a huge deposit in anyone’s health restoration bank account!
• Other helpful practises:  Tai Chi, QiGong. Go fishing, look at a sunset, re-engage with a lost passion and more. Anything that brings you into the moment will help get more out of life rather than trying to use meditation to cure cancer.
• But …………Can meditation “cure” cancer? I think not. When combined with physical relaxation – it can however increase life quality.
  I often ask patients if they have a bump or skin tag/mole that they would like to get rid of…I then set the task saying…When you can meditate your mole away you might be ready to try and tackle a cancerous growth.Is it important that the true & accurate version of  story of Ian Gawler’s recovery be known to cancer patients? Absolutely – their lives depend upon it !Read more:      Jack Kornfield has some very good articles on meditation.  Click the link below to read some insights about trauma, old wounds and meditation. Highly recommended reading!
  http://www.buddhanet.net/psymed1.htm

For further information join our free Survive and Thrive Club at
www.gracegawlerinstitute.com

Mary writes: I attended early groups at the Gawler Foundation; the diet was really helpful to me ,but it seems that at some point, the thrust of the Gawler message changed. I did not have a vegan diet but found the relaxation good. Grace, I am struggling to understand what has happened and why?

Hello Mary….The work of Ian Gawler, myself and the Foundation we co founded in the early 80′s; set a precedent in the way that lifestyle factors could be incorporated into a cancer recovery program. During those early days, the majority of our patients were having conventional therapy or had completed conventional therapies; adding our lifestyle changes as an adjunct to treatments.  Patients were assisted by stress reduction strategies, sensible changes to diet i.e. lowering saturated fats and processed foods, increasing fruit & vegetable consumption and fibre, while lowering red meat & increasing fish consumption. Basically a mediterranean style diet.  We made no claims that the lifestyle cahnges in themselves could or would cure cancer.
I eventually qualified in nutritional studies at distinction level in 1986 and had significant input into the diet presented  at our  residential programs during  the  founding years and up until I resigned in 1996.

At our residentials, a lacto-ovo vegetarian style diet was utilised for convenience- some people on chemo were sensitive to cooking smells such as fish so we did not include it. However a vegetarian diet was recommended as a short-term option for those whose diet was sub optimal before attending a program. I counselled patients in one on one sessions about how they could individualise their diets for optimum help when they returned home. I also referred patients to oncologists, radiation therapists, endocrinologists and GPs recognising they would likely need ongoing assistance and monitoring.

 I resigned in 1996.  In 1997 I was occupied with my own survival and recovery from complications associated with a routine surgery that had left my entire pelvic area and colon paralysed. During the following years significant changes had occurred that deviated from our original story –  the things that Ian and I did to help keep him alive and bring about his recovery had been changed.

A 2008 MJA “True Stories” article was reproduced on the Gawler Foundation website. A former patient alerted me to anomalies in the story and suggested I should investigate. Although I was in recovery from my last surgery performed in Singapore, I researched the article and was shocked by what I read. I wrote to the MJA and suggested they had to correct the errors in the story – lest it become an inaccurate record thereby negatively influencing choices that desperate cancer patients might make. The premise of the article was that:

1. “…Meares and the patient attributed the remarkable recovery to intensive meditation….” 
2. “…He still regularly meditates and teaches others with cancer to do so. His fastidious adoption of the Gerson diet for 3 months, followed by adherence to a plant-based wholefood ‘vegan diet’ may also have played some part. Such a lifestyle approach, incorporating meditation and a vegan diet, has recently been shown to cause significant modulation of gene expression and biological processes associated with tumour growth…”

Regarding these points

1: As a result of my refute letter MJA 2010 – Ian admitted that Meares published incorrect timelines in his 1978 MJA abstract that implied Intensive Meditation had been associated with his remission. The timelines were inverted making it appear that Ian had more ‘tumours’ than he actually did when he first saw Meares. Please refer to Ian Gawler Cancer “Cure’  on the main menu. This fact significantly alters the entire history. It also appears Meares was not informed of Ian’s TB diagnosis in 1978 and the fact it had been present for more than 2 years  as he did not mention it in his abstract. Thirdly, Ian attended Meares sessions for just 6 weeks and could not continue as meditation had not helped his condition-in fact his deterioration caused us to move on from Meares. Against Meares specific advice; Ian experiemented with imagery, mindfulness and many forms of meditation….yet claimed Ian’s recovery was associated with his style of meditation.
Relaxation is very helpful for cancer patients – but I do not believe it to be in any way curative for cancer.

2. Ian never had a vegan diet during the time of his recovery 1975-1978….through until 1997. I pointed this out in my refute letter published in the MJA September 2010. Ian has  since conceded in one of his blogs, that he has never had a vegan diet.

3. His adherance to the Gerson diet played no part in his recovery…he lost weight and deteriorated to the point of being immobilised while on the diet. following our experience, in the early days Ian and I strongly advised cancer patients not to follow the Gerson Diet Regimen.

Meryn writes: Did Ian really have TB or are these oncologists out to get him?

Hello Meryn – I am pleased you asked this question. I am the only living person who was present 24/7 for Ian throughout his illness and so the only one that can truly speak to this controversy. First of all –  It was presumed Ian had secondary cancer- but there were not proper investigations – no biopsy, but his condition was deemed at the time as “not typical of secondary osteogenic sarcoma“. Back then – this was no one’s fault – biopsies weren’t as routine as they are now.

No one is doubting Ian had primary osteogenic sarcoma- he may have even had TB in his bone way back then as we had lots of exposure to Tuberculin, used in our veterinary work to TB test cows. He was likely cured by his primary treatment – leg amputation. Many people were cured by leg amputation in the 1970′s and before that time. But when someone has such an influence on thousands maybe millions of cancer patients saying:  “If I can do it you can do it to…” and… if there is reasonable doubt that the diagnosis even 30 years on was incorrect – this becomes an important public health matter.

There is one way to solve the issue but unfortunately Ian has refused to have the “bone spicules” he coughed up during his recovery, examined. He also has a remaining calcified lymph node in his groin – the first ‘bump’ to appear  in November 1975. This could be biopsied – plus his actual history from the 1970′s could be examined if he wanted to set the record straight.  The latter day accounts of medical interventions that Ian is quoting as proof of his illness are of little relevance to what happened during the 70′s as he had no bony deposits in his lung or chest from 1978 until he left our marriage  in 1997.

In my practice I see a large number of patients who present with horrendous tumours. They have tried meditation, veganism, positive thinking and alternative medicine instead of conventional medicine. Many have spent tens of thousands of dollars on alt med supplements and infusions. Many die as a result of their choice – we help them where possible- but many become palliative patients. This is very sad as some of them would have high potential to be cured by conventional medicine instead of the pain, depression and misery that often results.
As an original inspirer and founder of the Gawler Foundation and the person who assited Ian throughout his illness – I have a public duty of care to raise concerns should any new and plausible view of Ian’s condition be put forward as has been done by Haines and Lowenthals IMJ paper.

Read more at http://gracegawler.com/Institute/?page_id=3454
The Gawler Story is recorded in my Memoirs:  Grace Grit and Gratitude – a self published book.  You can read most of this book online for free via Google books. It is also available from Brumby books Melbourne or via my website Bookshop.

Following on from “Cancer cure” claim – Ian Gawler – A Current Affair, Good Friday;  http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/article/8447811/cancer-cure-claim
this week saw the Melbourne Age newspaper publish not one, but two articles on the controversial subject of Ian Gawler’s remission from bone cancer in 1978.

On Monday 16 April, Dr Rod Anderson, a Melbourne GP said “…he had supported Dr Gawler since he read You Can Conquer Cancer, in which Dr Gawler tells of how he survived secondary cancer, despite being given just months to live. Among other things, Dr Gawler, a veterinarian, says meditation, coffee enemas and controversial alternative healers in the Philippines and India helped cure his cancer. Having been diagnosed with melanoma, Dr Anderson said he wanted to know that there was another option if he ever suffered advanced cancer, but had changed his attitude towards Dr Gawler’s story since he studied the tuberculosis hypothesis.”
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/gawler-did-not-have-cancer-gp-20120415-1x1vi.html

Today the Melbourne Age published their third article; an in depth feature story about the likelihood that Ian Gawler suffered from advanced TB and not cancer. Gathering more support from various doctors including the eminent integrative  oncologist Prof Alex Herzog from Germany who has revealed a similar case of advanced TB masquerading as bone cancer that he also published in Medical journal said: ”It was clear from the beginning the Gawler case was TB. This was a misdiagnosis.” Herzog said “Gawler’s patients may have been ”misled” into believing they too could be cured by alternative means.”

http://www.theage.com.au/national/health/too-good-to-be-true-20120420-1xcgn.html

Today’s article provides several opinions that lend weight to the fact that Ian Gawler was critically ill with advanced TB and not cancer. Although I was involved with Ian Gawler’s case first hand/24/7, a fact which many seem to ignore; I have always suspected that TB played a role in his recovery. In these early days there was no internet – so research had to be carried out in libraries. I have always been interested in the science aspect of healing and recovery and thrived on the teachings of Prof Julius Sumner Miller’s TV program ‘Why is it so’ when I was in primary school.

I have always asked this question around Ian’s recovery. This whole scenario began without intent to mislead anyone. Misdiagnoses happen all the time – it’s a fact of life. But when we know or suspect there has been an illdocumented case- it is a serious matter…. especially if it becomes famous.
The case demonstrates why I practise the way I do today.

1. Ongoing collaboration between treating practitioners is essential
2. Accurate case notes and records of scans etc need to be catalogued
3. Second or third opinions need to be sought after if any doubt re diagnosis
4. Biopsies must be used to rule out other conditions especially in difficult cases
5. Patient authenticity and disclosure is essential for best results
6. Conventional and complementary treatment concurrently is essential.
7. Consistent monitoring and follow up is necessary – wishful thinking that all is well – is dangerous

As stated before – this is not an attack, not a Spanish Inquisition, not a personal issue from a past marriage breakdown – this is a much overdue scientific appraisal of an issue that affects the decsion making of  the cancer public. In my practice – 4-5 times each week I hear patients saying ” If Ian did it – then I can do it too.” Well – if Ian was misdiagnosed – then surely this has to be the public health issue of the century. The Melbourne Age with true investigative journalism has done a valuable service in letting the public know. More on this in next blog.

You can read the majority of my self-published  memoirs Grace, Grit and Gratitude online at google books for free It is also available from Brumby books Melbourne or on my website in hard copy or e-Book at www.gracegawlerinstitute.com  Email : institute@gracegawler.com

We see this trip to Germany as an opportunity to explore first-hand, several clinics includng the hospital of Prof Alex Herzog and the clinics of Dr Ursula Jacob,  and Dr Peter Wolf. All use hyperthermia as a part of a comprehensive cancer treatment program. We will also meet with Prof Thomas Vogl famous for his method of chemotherapy delivery; called chemo-perfusion which is often a partner to hyperthermia treatment, adding to the possibility of successful outcomes.

Hyperthermia is now also used in some hospitals in the USA. Cancer Treatment Centers of America website is now promoting the benefits of hyperthermia in cancer therapy. The following video has excellent information about hyperthermia and as well, there is an inspiring patient story:

Breast cancer hyperthermia, is now a leading-edge medical treatment in the USA and is used to heat and destroy or damage cancer cells. A non-invasive therapy, breast cancer hyperthermia works by delivering microwave energy directly to the tumor. By exposing a small area of cancerous breast tissue to high temperatures (about 106 degrees), hyperthermia therapy damages proteins and structures within cells, thereby shrinking breast tumors.

The heat increases blood and oxygen circulation within the breast tumor, helping to make cancer cells more vulnerable to the effects of other treatments, like breast cancer radiation therapy and certain chemotherapy drugs. Thus, hyperthermia is often used in conjunction with one of these other therapies. The radiation oncologist  typically uses hyperthermia to treat superficial breast tumors located within a few centimeters from the surface of the body. Hyperthermia is also a promising option if you have advanced or recurrent breast cancer, as the treatment may help to improve your quality of life after breast cancer radiation therapy. To watch a short video about breast cancer hyperthermia- click the link:
http://www.cancercenter.com/breast-cancer/hyperthermia.cfm

The Grace Gawler Institute specialises in preparation, liaison and collaboration with clinics of excellence worldwide so that you can access the best in cancer care. We organise your medical files and dialogue directly with doctors about your treatment plan and quote. All you need to do is arrive at the airport – we ensure you have a friendly face waiting for you at your destination airport. Having had several pioneering surgical procedures myself in a foreign country – I personally appreciate the important journey patients make in order to extend their lives and hopefuly arrest their cancer. Remember also that overseas treatments may not be the magic bullet – there are things you may need to change /attend to in your personal life to lower your risk of recurrence. As well, it is imperative that you have treating oncologist who is prepared to continue treatments or monitor your situation on return to Australia. Support groups after returning can be helpful – we will begin online webinar support groups before June this year – you can log on from anywhere in the world! An announcement will be made on this blog.
All the overseas clinics/hospitals we recommend, practise integrated oncology – they are not alternative medicine practices.
Please contact me for further information at Email: institute@gracegawler.com  website www.gracegawlerinstitute.com 

SE Queenslanders – Please remember to support our Gold Coast Fundraiser 2nd March at Hope Island – Pre-booking is essential contact or buy tickets on line at the website above.

Unfortunately, we mainly see or connect with  patients with advanced cancer because when they were diagnosed, they did not know that any organisation such as ours existed to help them navigate the increasing complex cancer maze. They were not aware of the importance of psycho-oncology or how collaborative medicine could them to fine tune treatment strategies and get all treating practitioners communicating with each other for the patient’s benefit. By the time they reach our Institute, many patients are already finacially exhausted, especially by long term use of expensive alternative medicine supplements. In order to help them, we subsidise their consultations and find innovative ways of referring them into the public system for treatments. We turn no one away and each week we consult with a few patients at no charge. This means that fundraising functions like the one below are very important to us to keep our services active. We receive no Government funding and have limited corporate funding at the moment.

Ways you can support our work: A small amount donated by many, can make a real difference. If you can’t join us for our fundraising evening – you might like to consider a donation to The Grace Gawler Institute  (tax deductible for amounts over $2 for Australian donors) receipts provided. We are a registered non-profit health promotion charity located on Queensland’s Gold Coast. You can also support programs for women with cancer by purchasing on line in my  just released e-Book 23 Feb 2012 - Survivors Secrets – A woman’s guide: Strategies for surviving life-challenging illness. All proceeds from this purchase  support our women with cancer programs for 2012.
To buy online ( $9.99 AUD)                    click link to our Bookstore:

                   Our event 2 March 2012: Hope Island Gold Coast:
                   Book online for this “Grace Pink Event”  Click here

 
Tickets will be mailed immediately upon booking or you can… Purchase tickets directly from Grace (07 5577 2997) or from The Hope Island Deli ( address above). All proceeds go directly to support the work of the Grace Gawler Institute’s programs for women with cancer in 2012. Our institute maintains low overheads and admin costs with a high service delivery to patients.

For subscribers who have been enquiring about booking for our one day Survive & Thrive workshops: Please note our new workshop dates have been listed on the website.

Multiple foci TB spine compression fractures vertebrae

This case demonstrates that even today, misdiagnoses can be made.  Professor Herzog’s report, published in 2009, makes for fascinating reading in relation to the recent case of Ian Gawler.

Since the 31 st December 2011 when the Melbourne Age published the headline: Cancer experts challenge Gawler’s ‘cure’   there has been interest from cancer patients, the general public and some doctors, as to what happened in Ian Gawler’s case. How could TB be mistaken for cancer and the obvious question; why it has taken 30 years to explore an unexpected remission from Australia’s most famous cancer patient?

To answer the above as briefly as possible. No one questioned Ian Gawler’s diagnosis. It was presumed he had metastatic disease. There had only been one diagnostic biopsy in Ian’s medical timeline 1974 – 1978 and that was in January 1975. That biopsy positively identified as osteogenic sarcoma (bone cancer), resulted in his right leg being amputated. From those times there is a lot of evidence in the medical literature, that amputation alone was a cure for some with this disease. 

Because Ian’s prognosis was thought to be poor (if in fact it had been bone cancer) very few medical practitioners became involved in his case during that period; we were mainly in charge of whatever resources we could muster! When Ian first consulted Ainslie Meares in December 1975, Meares also presumed Ian’s illness to be metastatic cancer. When he wrote his famous MJA published abstract in 1978, Regression of osteogenic sarcoma metastases associated with intensive meditation;  it is likely he had no idea Ian had suffered from TB, he certainly had little of the case history; Ian had only attended Meares groups for 6 weeks, stopping the sessions due to his rapid deterioration. His symptoms at that time were not typical of osteogenic sarcoma but with later knowledge were symptoms of TB. Unknown to Meares, Ian had practised a smorgasbord of techniques including imagery, yoga and Buddhist methods forbidden by Meares, as his method was based on stillness and silence. Without an adequate medical history and  background, as well as publishing copious errors of fact;  Ainslie Meares’ acknowledgement and endorsement of Ian Gawler, gave his ‘remission’ story great credibility and served as the fuel that fired an entire alternative medicine movement.

That credibility has never been questioned until now; Prof Haines and Lowenthal have come forward as the only two oncologists who had followed the story, throughout the decades suspecting error. My 2010 MJA letter addressing errors in the story provided them with a series of anomalies that they suspected existed, but were never able to track down.

Famous photos:July 1977 Advanced TB or cancer?

The question of timing – why now? Why explore a remission from 30 years ago? If Haines and Lowenthal are correct with their recent IMJ published hypothesis; and I believe from first-hand  being there experience, that they are; then the medical history books must be re-written and Ian must subject himself to appropriate medical scrutiny with regards to his history, presenting his samples for independent pathological examination. Cancer patients base their treatment decisions on Ian Gawler’s story; I hear it in my practise from people with advanced cancer at least 4-5 times per week – “Well if Ian did it , then so can I!” If it wasn’t secondary cancer that he had – cancer patients must know this fact.

This is a scan of a person with TB - mediastinal calcifications are evident

It is interesting to compare these two images. Above left Ian Gawler’s chest wall 7 July 1977. Left: Scan image of a patient with TB (not Ian Gawler) Note: tubercular adenopathy  – abscesses of the lymph nodes. These can become calcified abscesses.

Now – back to Professor Herzog’s paper: This is a medical journal report that highlights the fact that TB can mimick cancer Please select the link to read the PDF: Herzog – Dangerous Errors in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Bony Tuberculosis

In brief: Prof Alex Herzog published a journal article about a patient with tuberculosis of the bone mistaken as metastatic cancer.
The patient had been in a University hospital in Germany and had started induction chemotherapy before he visited Professor Herzog who diagnosed that there was no metastatic cancer but tuberculosis. The patient received treatment and was cured with a combination of antibiotics over 2 years. The article can also be found on the public medical record at:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19890413  The message is clear – biopsies and accurate diagnostics are necessary when dealing with any cancer related situation.

Hopefully this series of blogs will answer the many questions that cancer patients and the public are asking about how Ian Gawler might have been misdiagnosed?

After Meares and Gerson diet: Mid March 1976 – Ian Gawler

 After all, we would normally think of TB being associated with a ‘shadow’ on the lung, not large calcified lumps such as the those photographed on July 7 1977 – Ian’s chest wall…(below left).
In my next blog we will look at how misdiagnosis can happen and how TB can mimic even bone cancer. The following will form a background and framework for what has happened and make sense of this complex story.

Famous photos:July 1977 Advanced TB or cancer?

 I was once quoted as saying “I would rather be married to a live anecdote than a dead statistic.” At that stage I had no idea that our story would become so famous and that people would try to emulate what we did throughout the course of Ian’s illness. I had neither the maturity nor expertise to tease apart various medical incidents that had always left me wondering.

Now in 2012, having walked in the world of cancer medicine for 38 years; by logic, you would have to think that I have seen a thing or two! Add to that my experience as sole caregiver/partner for Ian Gawler throughout his illness; first in 1974 as girlfriend when he was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma; then supporting him throughout his assumed recurrence; marrying him when he’d been given a few weeks to live, and following through with support until he returned to full health. Given that background, you would have to think that I know a thing or two!

Coming back to current time, Ian Gawler and supporters mistakenly believe they are at war with the medical profession who are simply out to discredit because he recovered from secondary bone cancer despite them. This debate has reached the heights of blind emotionalism fanned by Gawler’s blogs calling it the Spanish Inquisition! Rather than welcoming enquiry, the Gawler Foundation has published links to these emotive blogs on their front page! Has anyone from this group stopped for moment to consider why, as an ex wife I would expose myself to public and medical scrutiny by correcting errors of fact about Ian Gawler’s ‘remission’ in a medical journal? We separated long ago – so although it makes for exciting press, there are no duelling Mrs Gawler’s as has been implied. I have been preoccupied since 1997 with a medical condition myself and family responsibilities, so could well do without the hassle. We should also ask why two eminent professors of oncology would risk their reputations publically and medically by investigating Ian Gawler’s recovery 30 years on? Bringing a tone of logic to the matter, it is recommended that Ian Gawler’s supporters read the evidence as written in the IMJ report before making assumptions about wars and conspiracies. Haines and Lowenthal’s report is well written and scientifically intelligent and for me who was intimately involved in Ian Gawler’s recovery; in 2012 ‘science-speak’ – it sure makes a lot of sense!

We must remember that medicine was a very different entity in the 1970′s. Sophisticated scanning wasn’t around and diagnostics were perhaps more dependent on the patient’s reporting of symptoms. There were very few medical practitioners involved in Ian Gawler’s case; they were not of long duration and, as well, we had much geographical relocation during his illness. No one picked up the symptoms of TB, no one knew of the BCG vaccines he had used as immune stimulants and no one knew of the tuberculin he used for TB testing cows in veterinary practice in those days. No one asked if indeed there had been a biopsy performed 11 months after amputation when a bony lump appeared in his groin. No one asked about biopsies for the duration of his illness; it was presumed they had been done. Maybe this assumption was due to the fact that Ian Gawler was a Veterinarian who would know these things. In a nutshell, this is how much of his story/history, simply passed under the medical radar without questions and eventually became a well reported ‘anecdotal cure.’

When Ainslie Meares reported Ian’s story in 1978 in the MJA – there was one missing piece to the puzzle – Meares did not know Ian had been diagnosed with advanced TB in June 1978. Meares had written and submitted the abstract when the calcifications on Ian’s Chest disappeared – he too presumed the growths had been metastatic cancer – in the absence of knowledge about Ian’s TB. He also inverted Ian’s medical timeline which has helped fuel the current confusion in terms of what happened when?

The ‘Dragon’s Blessing’, Ian’s biography was published October 2008. Dr Alistair Robertson is quoted in the book. He had reviewed Ian Gawler’s case in 1978 and made the diagnosis of TB.  This was the first time Ian had consulted him, so he had little or no background about the case. He looked at x-rays from previous years; back to 1976 and compared them with the current-time June 1978 films.  Robertson said: “TB had been evident for at least two years” however, the lung ‘shadow’ was evident early in 1976 on x-ray. I remember asking Ian’s radiation oncologist about it in February 1976 but I had never seen TB; as a veterinary nurse in wasn’t in my repertoire.

Enter the MJA “True Stories” December 2008 – a 30-year follow up report about Ian’s survival. Authored by Ian’s GP wife Ruth and his work colleague George Jelinek, the report was not only flawed with reversed timelines, inaccurate dates including original dates removed from photographic material relating to key parts of Ian’s medical history, but there was also a ‘not true element’ such as the vegan diet Ian never had that formed a part of their conclusion as to why he recovered! A lot was left wanting and it is incomprehensible that the report had been published without adequate fact checking.

Then, September 2010 my MJA Corrections letter was accepted and published after almost a year of fact checking. The Gawler/Jelinek 2008 MJA “True Stories” resembled nothing of the story I had been involved with from 1974 – 1978.  Gawler/Jelinek’s response in the MJA was obscure with little relevance to my corrections. Again they questioned the date of the famous chest wall photographs; I was wrong they said. However as well as having originals with dates that correlated with my corrections, Ian Gawler’s You Can Conquer Cancer had already reproduced 250,000 copies of the photographs with the date that was the same as mine!

Gawler & Jelinek had stated that Ian Gawler developed TB in 1978 and then it was treated by conventional drugs. Had they read Ian Gawler’s biography released just a couple of months before their MJA, they would have seen Dr Alistair Robertson’s comment about ‘concurrent disease’ and the thought that it may have had something to do with his remission.

It seems my corrections letter had opened a can of worms. TB was clearly becoming an important and contentious element in the morphing of the Gawler ‘remission’ story. There is no mention of TB in all reprints and editions of You Can Conquer Cancer, Meares 1978 abstract and many other publications.

Then to my surprise and amazement, Haines and Lowenthal had checked in with information available on the public record and began to join the ‘tubercular dots’ which formed the basis of their 2012 IMJ Hypothesis. With additional knowledge that were no biopsies of Ian Gawler’s ‘metastatic’ disease; they could make a much more plausible assessment of his medical condition.

Despite media hype and reporting, paradoxically, much of Ian Gawler’s medical history and timeline had remained wrapped in a cocoon of silence because no one had asked the question! Haines and Lowenthal finally asked the question and came up with some scientifically plausible answers. They say it all in the conclusion to their paper:

This hypothesis is advanced for two reasons. The first is to underline the modern recognition of the need to consider diagnostic investigations, including biopsy, before assigning the diagnosis of advanced cancer to any patient. This principle is especially vital in cases where two diseases can present in the same way. The second is that there a risk that if diseases are incorrectly labelled, incorrect treatments may be given. This can lead to misleading interpretations being made about non-traditional treatments providing “cures,” which can influence the decision-making of patients seeking answers and even lead them away from potentially curative traditional treatments.

 For more see: www.https://theconversation.edu.au/coffee-enemas-dont-cure-cancer-reviewing-the-remarkable-claims-of-ian-gawler-5242

Professor Haines recently experienced his own exciting story of survival.  The e-published Internal Medicine Journal  article may not have had one of its authors alive to discuss the importance of the report to cancer patients because just as Professor Haines was driving out of the Melbourne Cabrini Hospital carpark in late November 2011, on his 57th birthday, he had a cardiac arrest and was clinically dead.
Watch video interview with Professor Haines Channel 7 Melbourne: Click here

Fortunately, Dr Peter Jenkins followed by orderly & CPR expert Jonathon Cooper came to the rescue and in an intense 7 mins effort, Ian was brought back to life – a second chance and a miraculous recovery event. A long time advocate for cancer patients and well published researcher, Professor Haines is now a survivor in his own right. I was thinking about survival yesterday as it was the 10 year anniversary of my own survival when I travelled to the Netherlands to have my “world first” bionic colon implant  – a miraculous surgery that saved my life and gave me back life quality. The lower end of my colon had been paralysed – an unexpected post surgical complication following a hysterectomy in Dec 1997. I am eternally grateful to the researcher/colo-rectal surgeon who took a chance and gave me a second chance at life and a return to my career.

Like Professor Haines - if not for modern medicine, neither of us would be here to continue my work and assist those with life challenging illness.

www.gracegawlerinstitute.com  E- institute@gracegawler.com

The cancer public needs to be aware of the previously inexplicable anomalies of Ian Gawler’s clinical history and the content and reason behind the  publication of a well researched report that for the first time in more than 3 decades, provides a different perspective & hypothesis for his ‘cure’.
Misinformation is being generated about the motive and intentions behind the latest e-published paper however, cancer patients have not yet had the opportunity to see or the review the full report and discern for themselves the motive and the importance of the publication for the cancer community.

If the history books have written that Ian Gawler had metastatic bone cancer, and…. if it is proven that he actually had widespread TB instead – isn’t this a matter in the public interest?  Many patients say ” If Ian did it – I can do it too!” Many give away conventional oncology believing that lifestyle medicine methods as reported by Gawler & Jelinek in the MJA Dec 11 2008 can impact cancer, and in Ian’s case; likely cured his metastatic cancer.

However that report  is chronologically incorrect with many errors of fact – most patients are not aware of this. Patients should be aware that 2 flawed versions published in the MJA are still listed on the Gawler Foundation media website, despite Ian commenting that the timeline in 1978 & 2008 articles were incorrect. He has also stated on his blog that  he never had a vegan diet…..other issues remain unadressed by the authors. “Case report in the December 2008 edition of the Medical Journal of Australia

So getting back to the current IMJ paper –  there is no Spanish Inquisition, no medical profession out to get Ian, and no one in the latest scientific article  is disputing Ian Gawler personally or work wise; the paper is a professional scientific document that takes account of  previously unconnected history surrounding Ian Gawler’s medical timeline and exposes a new and likely hypothesis for his “cure’.

To also be clear – this matter of Ian’s ‘remission/cure’ is not personal. Because I was with Ian throughout his entire recovery process 24/7 - my experience is valid and first-hand. My recorded original medical history is indesputable. I have always had more questions than answers when it came to Ian’s disease process.  I too have devoted my life to assisting cancer patients and those with life challenging illness and I am interested to explore the science and know the truth as this was also a momentus part of my life. What really happened throughout Ian Gawler’s recovery and what was the relationship between his TB and his cancer? This is a scientific and now public issue - not an emotional question. Being a fan of Professor Julius Sumner Miller when I was young – I learned to question and ask his famous question: “Why is it so?”

From my perspective; there are no ‘ex-wives quarrels or duelling Mrs Gawlers’ – as previously reported in the popular press when Ian’s history was challenged previously -in fact such headlines served to smoke-screen important professional issues with regards to my corrections/refute  letter MJA 2010

RE TB – Gawler & Jelinek’s 2008 MJA states that Ian Gawler : “….developed pulmonary tuberculosis in June 1978 and was treated for this condition for 12 months.”
Actually – Ian Gawler did have TB – but he had it for 2+ years – it remained undiagnosed until June 1978.
Haines and Lowenthal’s paper titled Hypothesis: The importance of a histological diagnosis when diagnosing and treating advanced cancer. Famous patient recovery may not have been from metastatic disease” is far from an inflammatory title. Prof Ray Lowenthal and Prof Ian Haines IMJ abstract.
 To be continued….

Cancer Experts Challenge Gawler’s Cure – The Age 31 december 2011 http://www.theage.com.au/national/cancer-experts-challenge-gawlers-cure-20111230-1pfns.html

Grace Gawler – First wife disputes….The Australian Oct 2008

The article is gaining media momentum around the country. For those of you who are regular subscribers to this blog; you are no doubt aware that the Medical Journal of Australia published a refute letter authored by me in 2010 as a response to an inaccurate review of Ian Gawler’s remission story titled “True Stories” MJA Dec 11 2008. The authors of the published manuscript, Dr Ruth Gawler and Professor George Jelinek had reported a previously incorrect clinical timeline, with incorrect dates  along with serious errors and omissions. The famous photograph of Ian’s chest wall  was incorrectly dated – I have the originals. After many attempts to open a dialogue, the authors failed to respond…there was a ‘cocoon of silence’!  Unfortunately, my refute letter was smoke-screened and deemed by media as “quarrels between ex wives” in The Australian newspaper (Oct 2008) while the Australian Doctor reported the published letter quoting the “Duelling Mrs Gawlers”. These were the only 2 follow up articles at the time. A surprise for a subject so important in the public interest and given Ian Gawler later admitted in the Australian Doctor that he knew Ainslie Meares had the timeline of his story wrong – an error of 19 months! Later on his personal blog – Ian Gawler cleverly worded that he had never followed a vegan diet. However, cancer patients in the public domain were never privy to the disclosures.

The real true story therefore did not get to the most important group of people; cancer patients who should know the facts before making informed decisions about what treatments to take on board. Fortunately, my letter alerted two prominent oncologists who took my refute letter seriously and followed their investigations through to today’s exclusive press release to the Melbourne Age which reads:

“AN EXPLOSIVE new medical report has cast doubt on whether Melbourne alternative therapies guru Dr Ian Gawler ever suffered the secondary cancer from which he has claimed for 30 years to have cured himself.

The online report in the Royal Australian College of Physicians’  Internal Medicine Journal says Dr  Gawler, Australia’s most famous cancer survivor and founder of the Gawler Foundation, had advanced tuberculosis rather than the secondary bone cancer he was told he had in the late 1970s….Read more by selecting the link to the Melbourne Age:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/cancer-experts-challenge-gawlers-cure-20111230-1pfns.html

To read more about this intriguing story select the following link. http://gracegawler.com/Institute/?page_id=3454

My Memoirs – ‘Grace, Grit and Gratitude’ – was published (self published) October 1^st 2008 after Curtain University’s Black Swan Publishing lost funding for the project. They had listed it for their Blockbuster Christmas release a couple of years prior. The book had been in process for about 8 years and unlike The Dragon’s Blessing, Ian Gawler’s Biography authored by Guy Allenby; Grace , Grit & Gratitude covers areas Allenby omitted and gives a open and frank discussion about the role that TB had likely played in Ian’ Gawler’s recovery. Anomalies and the atypical pathway of his metastases was always a question for me – I knew that his TB diagnosis had  something to do with this extraordinary remission  - but there was non one willing to entertain or discuss the issue. At last – entering 2012, there are some answers for this atypical medical case in which I was so intimately involved.  Grace, Grit and Gratitude is available in soft cover or as a downloadable eBook.