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It Is Better
to Be Hated than Ignored
When Change Is
the Goal
On
Tuesday, September 22, 2009 I gave a 4-hour presentation
for medical doctors and other health professionals in
the town of Chico, California. After two months of
far-reaching promotion to at least 500 local physicians
at the Feather River and Enloe Hospitals (and
surrounding areas) the final attendance was
disappointing to say the least; only 36 people showed
up—19 medical doctors, one PA, two RNs and 14
spouses. Could the promotion for my visit have made them
angry with me and/or have frightened them away? Judge
for yourself by looking over the
brochure. I warned them that I was coming to talk
about four instances where doctors are not telling the
truth—and are making good wages by doing so.
In my
opinion, by not attending this event, the community
doctors missed an opportunity to improve their patients’
health and defend their current practices. Better to
stand up now and against me, rather than later, against
the state, when the legislators pass laws to force long
overdue changes in medical practice, and when judges
hear malpractice suits addressing harms caused by
“currently accepted practices.” After my visit, there
is no longer the defense, “But there is no way that I
could have known that.”
Why
Was I Ignored?
It
wasn’t for lack of publicity—2000 brochures were printed
and distributed to every doctor's box in the hospitals
at both Feather River and Enloe (over 500 physicians)
twice, on August 1 and September 1, 2009. On August 15,
personal delivery of a brochure was made to most
doctors’ offices in Paradise, California (20 minutes
from Chico). On about August 20 and again on September
15 a fax blast was sent to every doctor’s office listed
on the Medical Staff of Feather River and Enloe
Hospitals. Ads ran in the San Francisco Examiner
and several other outlets. An article appeared in the
Chico paper about the Community Lectures and the
Physicians' Seminar. No health professional could have
missed the news that I was coming to town to offer some
very bold challenges.
Even
though the local physicians turned a deaf ear to me, the
community certainly heard that I was coming.
Enthusiastic crowds of over 130 people attended each of
the two lectures that were open to the general public in
Chico and neighboring Paradise. Patients are fed up with
doctors who practice with harmful clichés in mind, like
“there is a pill for every problem” and “eat a
well-balanced diet, generous in protein.” Just days
before this visit, I gave two separate presentations in
Portland, Oregon on September 20 to standing-room-only
crowds of over 500 people each. So I doubt there is lack
of interest in my subject matter or in my communication
skills.
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Personal Observations from an
Attendee at the Chico Physician’s Talk
“I had the honor and privilege of attending a
physicians’ seminar that the good doctor presented
yesterday. Not a doc myself, I want to thank Dr. McD. and
the local hospital outreach facilitator for making it
possible for me to attend. As you can imagine, in a roomful
of physicians (from the hospital across the street and
another up the hill) Dr. McDougall had one tough crowd! He's
so used to resistance from groups though, he was able to
disarm everyone. It was a pleasure just to be present with
him and watch him being so excited about his information.
Doc was very solicitous of questions and even invited the
other physicians to prove him wrong - very humble and
self-effacing, even though he never referred to himself that
way - I would say he more referred to himself as a
troublemaker and opinionated guy! Yet he has all the data to
back up his professional opinions, fascinating. During
the presentation, Dr. McD. kept inviting conversation from
the audience. He also challenged the audience to challenge
him. There were a few questions asked and yet no big
challenges were spoken out. Doc did suggest that perhaps
only the "choir" was there - and expressed the desire that
the room had had lots of cardiologists! All in all it was a
very respectful atmosphere, though there was an undercurrent
of expectation that at any time there could be strong
protests - but it just didn't happen, that I heard. Overall,
my sense from the presentation was that he was very
positively received.”
Lani Muelrath,
M.A., fitness coach, guest lecturer in Kinesiology at San
Francisco State University, web site
http://www.lanimuelrath.com
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My Subject
Matter Is Important
Doctors,
in particular those in the general practice of medicine,
need to know that they are being lied to by the drug and
device companies and by their fellow specialist physicians
(bypass surgeons, cardiologists, gastroenterologists,
neurologists, oncologists, and rheumatologists, to name a
few). The family doctors, general practitioners, internists,
pediatricians, and gynecologists are then passing these
dangerous falsehoods on to faithful people seeking their
guidance.
Here are
messages I want doctors to hear and respond to:
Message 1:
The current treatments for chronic diseases, like coronary
artery disease, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and type-2
diabetes are focused on signs and symptoms, not on resolving
the causes of underlying diseased tissues. As a result,
drugs given to lower cholesterol (statins) and blood
pressure produce minute reductions in heart attacks,
strokes, disability, and death. These medications should be
reserved as a last resort and for the very sick. Intensive
treatment of type-2 diabetics with pills and insulin
increases the risk of serious complications and dying.
Responsible treatment of common conditions must focus first
and foremost on the cause—the rich Western diet.
Message 2:
Research gathered since the introduction of bypass surgery
in 1968 and angioplasty in 1978 has clearly and consistently
shown little or no survival benefits from surgery performed
on people with chronic coronary artery disease. Yet, 1.5
million people annually in the US alone undergo these
treatments and the vast majority lives no longer or are
better off. The side effects of surgery are minimized to the
patient, and certain brain damage from the bypass pump is
never mentioned. Responsible treatment of artery disease
must focus first and foremost on the cause—the rich Western
diet.
Message 3:
Cancer is often fatal and the treatments are terrible (with
few exceptions). On average, early detection methods fail to
find growing tumors until they are widely disseminated
throughout the body; discovered too late to be treated
effectively. Only after an average of 10 years of growth can
the cancer be revealed by breast self-examination,
mammography, digital rectal examination of the prostate, or
PSA testing. Early detection is a misnomer. Surgery and
radiation destroy local disease only—but are usually too
late to show any “survival success.” Chemotherapy for the
cancer that has already spread is too toxic and too
ineffective to make a real difference. Responsible treatment
of the cancer patient must include a healthy diet as
fundamental care.
Message 4:
Over 75% of the diseases sickening people in Western
countries are caused by the high-fat, high-cholesterol,
high-protein, low-carbohydrate, low-fiber, rich Western
diet. Common sense says, “stop throwing gasoline on the
fire.” Most of these conditions are dramatically improved or
cured with a change to a starch-based diet—medications are
stopped, surgeries avoided, and people get their lives back.
The food is inexpensive and there are no side effects. The
halting reality is that there is also little profit from
this common-sense approach.
Doctors
Practice Faith-based Medicine
Doctors
believe that what they are doing is beneficial even in the
face of clinical and research evidence to the contrary.
Visit after visit, their patients with chronic diseases
remain fat and sick. The only objective difference from all
their hard work and good intentions is that their patients
are now carrying around a big bag full of drugs.
The
scientific research published in our best medical journals
confirms these observations from everyday practice. For
example, essentially all studies performed show angioplasty
with or without stents fails to save lives—there is no
argument on this matter, yet one million surgeries are
performed annually in the US without a single protest from
the patients’ primary care doctors. Drug representatives
sell billions of diabetic pills through faith-filled
doctors, even though six out of six major studies show
type-2 diabetics are harmed, and even killed, by universally
practiced aggressive therapies. Deep faith trumps facts and
reason; and the malpractice continues.
Doctors
Practice Fear-based Medicine
Doctors
live in fear. They do not want to be criticized by their
colleagues for questioning common wisdom and practices. More
frightening is their fear of becoming involved in, and
losing, a malpractice suit by failing to follow “the
community standard of practice.” Malpractice is specifically
defined by statute as a failure to comply with standards of
practice in “the same or similar community.”
Medical malpractice is essentially a departure from an
accepted standard of care—right or wrong—helpful or harmful
to the patient. Kill or maim the patient in a manner similar
to the doctor practicing down the street, and you will win
your day in court.
Patients
fall into similar traps—they believe in their doctors in the
face of obvious failures to be helped, and they fear
disobeying their doctors’ orders. The critical difference is
that the patient is not the paid professional relied upon
for expert guidance.
Don’t
Ignore Me; I Would Rather Be Hated
Ignoring
me does work, but not forever. The sincerity of my
intentions has led me to take extraordinary actions. I have
co-authored California Assembly Bill 1478, which will
require doctors to tell patients with chronic heart disease
that heart surgery fails to save lives and that aggressive
treatments of type-2 diabetics with pills and insulin kills.
I recently
asked the Attorney General of California, Jerry Brown,
to file a Qui Tam Action against the cardiologists and
bypass surgeons in our state for recovery of money that has
been charged under what I believe to be false pretenses.
(Please
read my letter to the Attorney General.) In the
truest sense, I am acting as a “whistleblower” to expose
misconduct in my profession. The Attorney General’s
Assistant’s response was “the matter would not be an
appropriate subject for prosecution under the False Claims
Act (FCA). In response to your request for suggestions how
you might proceed, I really don't have any suggestions other
than for you to consider presenting your case to qui tam
counsel.”
I have
often been asked, “You are a doctor, why do you speak
against the practices of fellow physicians?” I never took an
oath to protect the financial interests of people in the
medical industries. I did, however, take an oath to care for
the sick and to keep them from harm and injustice, and to
never give a deadly drug. I fully realize the views I
advocate cause people with vested interests to hate me. I
can live with that unfairness, but I won’t be ignored.
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 2009
John McDougall All Rights Reserved
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