- "The lung metastases present one year ago have completely
vanished. It is, therefore, clear that cancer is curable by natural means."
-
- MUNICH -- A couple who lost
custody of their young son to social services after insisting that his
bone cancer was treated by using alternative medicine last week won a lengthy
legal battle to get him back.
-
- Dominik Feld, 9, became a cause celebre in Germany after
his parents, Josef and Anke, defied a leading oncologist's advice that
their son's right leg should be amputated if they wanted to save his life
and stop the disease spreading.
-
- When the specialist, Dr Heribert Jurgens, also warned
that Dominik had a less than one-in-five chance of survival with chemotherapy,
the Felds decided to pursue "cell therapy" treatment instead,
involving high doses of vitamins and minerals.
-
- Perturbed, Dr Jurgens tipped off officials from Germany's
social services, who decided that the Felds were not acting in Dominik's
best interests. In November 2003, they obtained a court order to remove
the boy from his parents' custody. The order prompted a heated debate in
Germany over parental rights, particularly as Dominik's cancer seemed to
improve while he was receiving the cell therapy treatment.
-
- While the Felds, from Siegen in central Germany, appealed
against the decision, protesters staged rallies outside the high court
in Koblenz each time a hearing was set. A family petition attracted more
than 30,000 signatures. Donations from supporters helped to fund their
appeal and temporary injunctions brought by the Felds to ensure that the
cell therapy continued.
-
- During the five-month legal tussle, which culminated
in last week's victory in the high court, Dominik remained in hospital,
officially in the care of social services. The amputation was postponed.
-
- Last week Mrs Feld, 38, said "We are delighted -
but the best gift of all will be when Dominik finally returns to full health.
We are not against conventional medicine, nor in favour of unproven alternative
medicine, but when there are medically proven alternatives from qualified
professionals, we believe it is the right and duty of parents to choose
what they want for their child," she said.
-
- "The conventional treatment we were offered had
a less than 20 per cent chance of success and as a result we had no alternative
but to look for something that would give our son a better chance of survival."
-
- Mr Feld, 41, a mechanical engineer, said: "The whole
family is delighted about the court decision. Dominik had his ninth birthday
on Monday and this was the best birthday and Easter present we could have
hoped for.
-
- "We have had the catheters removed that were used
for chemotherapy this week. We won't need them any more, although the cell
therapy is continuing."
-
- The Felds, who also have four daughters aged five to
17, realised that Dominik was ill in September 2002. "The bottom fell
out of our world," said Mrs Feld. "He had been playing football
and fell badly and hurt his leg. When we took him to hospital they thought
it was broken and put his leg in a cast. He was in a lot of pain and when
he was examined in more detail they discovered the cancer."
-
- Dr Jurgens, a specialist at Munster University Hospital,
claimed that the osteosarcoma in Dominik's right leg was too advanced for
treatment to be worthwhile, and insisted that only amputation would save
his life. Dr Jurgens also said that the cancer had spread to his lungs
and that strong doses of chemotherapy were necessary.
-
- The Felds agreed to the chemotherapy but watched their
son grow progressively weaker and his weight fall to just 35lb.
-
- Seeking a second opinion, they heard about a method pioneered
by Matthias Rath, an alternative health "guru" who is a qualified
doctor but prefers to promote natural cures for his patients. In this treatment,
cancerous tissues could be removed from bone marrow - avoiding the need
for amputation - and the cell therapy substituted for chemotherapy.
-
- Mrs Feld said that they were just in time to stop the
amputation. "We looked everywhere for an alternative and it was only
at the last minute, with hours to go before the operation, that we were
told a hospital in Munich believed they could operate to remove the tumour
and save the leg," she said. "That was in December 2002.
-
- "We allowed him to continue on chemotherapy but
stopped it in May last year. After allowing him to regain his strength,
we started him on the cell therapy in June."
-
- The Felds later received a letter from social services
warning them that Munster University felt that Dominik was not being treated
properly. Their right to care for their son was subsequently removed.
-
- Dr Rath, who helped the Felds with their "Save Dominik"
campaign, maintains that under his care the boy's condition has improved.
-
- "The X-ray CT [computed tomography] images of Dominik's
lungs speak for themselves," Dr Rath said.
-
- "The lung metastases present one year ago have completely
vanished. It is, therefore, clear that cancer is curable by natural means."
-
- He said he had no doubt that Dominik would beat his cancer
if his parents agreed to their son continuing the cell therapy.
-
- Dr Jurgens, however, has served Dr Rath with a court
order barring him from calling him a "drug industry lackey" and
dismissed Dr Rath's claims that Dominik's health has improved.
-
- "The truth of the matter is that a patient appears
to be doing better when in fact the cancer is spreading. It is simply that
the symptoms appear to have ameliorated somewhat," he said.
-
- "But that does not change the long-term prognosis,
nor does it mean that therapy ought to be set aside."
-
- The family remains optimistic. Dominik says he feels
better when treated with cell therapy and wants to carry on with it. His
parents point out that the cancer removed from Dominik's leg during surgery
has not returned.
-
- "We are not capable of seeing the future, but we
are very optimistic," said Mr Feld.
-
- "There are no traces of the cancer in his lungs
and although there are still cancer cells in his blood, they are no longer
active. From now on it's just a question of waiting - and of hope."
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/04/11/
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