Terry Thompson’s Blog

Medical schools are key to the advancement of integrative oncology.  Probably the most significant hold back in integrative medicine in general is the lack of preparation in the subject that doctors receive in their education.  Complementary therapies should be integrated into the curricula of all medical schools.  Medical degrees should require core courses in complements to conventional medicine.  It is especially critical that oncologists have full knowledge of the myriad of non-toxic, non-invasive treatments than can be openly discussed and prescribed for patients that choose that direction.  They need to be keenly aware of the latest in treatment options and follow closely the research being conducted for integrative treatment.  This has to be done in parallel with the opening up of the integrative medicine market and the lifting of the restrictions on its application.  There is no advantage in open-minded doctors with constraints on their practice.  Neither is there advantage in unconstrained practice with doctors ignorant of integrative medicine.

Unfortunately, medical schools have no incentive to add alternative medicine to their core curriculum.  That incentive must come from the government and professional agencies.  The Congress needs to enact legislation that legitimizes integrative medicine by mandating its inclusion in all medical schools.  The AMA policies would have to change to encourage research and development of integrative medicine with the same priority as conventional medicine.  Results would be published in the journals and would be studied in the schools. Big pharma will probably never invest in research of natural alternatives to high-priced drugs because of poor return on investment.  The obvious opportunity for such research would be within the major medical schools and medical centers.  Their funding is primarily through government appropriations and private grants.  Therefore, the future of integrative cancer treatment is in government funding earmarked for its research and development as well as private donors and foundations shifting their priorities toward the same purpose. 

The development process for new drugs or any new options for cancer treatment is broken and must be fixed.  A Tufts University study estimates the average cost of developing a new drug is over $800 million, and it takes an average of 12 years to get it to market.  A fierce war against cancer cannot be waged with that kind of supply system.  We are literally killing ourselves by accepting such a slow and burdensome process. 

Imagine a field general reporting to the Department of Defense that he was losing the war, and being told to hang in there for 12 more years while they try to develop a better weapon.  And, that is if they can find the $800 million to do the testing.  That would be even more troubling to the general if he knew that many new weapons that might bring victory were available, but just hadn’t passed the 12 years of testing yet.  Folks, if a cure for cancer were introduced today, and even if it were a natural, non-toxic substance, almost 7 million more victims would die before we could get the cure through our development process!  How unacceptable is that?  Even then, the likelihood is that it would be rejected in the process if it were not introduced through the conventional, big pharma industry.  It is the FDA and the AMA in partnership with the NCI that manage our drug development system with the support of Congress.  Laws should limit the ability of these agencies to overrule patients’ freedom.  Cancer victims deserve the right to choose products and practices adequately tested to indicate little risk of harm and a reasonable potential of benefit.  Our development system tells the cancer patient, “We have something very promising here, but we can’t let you have it.  So go ahead and die while we test it a few more years to make sure there are no dangerous side effects.”  We can effect change by becoming actively involved in a new strategy for the war on cancer.

As a significant departure from my typical posts on this site, I want to share from my heart the letter that I just sent to my senators and congressman in Washington.  It is related to cancer treatment in that we will never see a new strategy for the war on cancer until Washington experiences a fundamental re-engineering in values and policy.

Dear Senator,

This Independence Day holiday has been different from any of the other 62 that I have celebrated.  As I was growing up, July 4^th was associated with fireworks and fun.  In my young adult years, my zeal for my country as a young officer in the Air Force made the occasion extra special.  During 24 years of serving my country, I became more of a realist from a broader perspective and recommitted myself to strengthening this great nation on each Fourth.  Watching our decline in morals, influence, and prosperity over the last 20 years has led me each year to promise to pray more and resolve to work harder for a return to what we as a people were meant to be.  I refused to lose my confidence in our leaders and my faith in the resilience of our citizens regardless of the challenges we faced internationally and domestically. 

With great sadness and regret, I have to tell you that this Independence Day was different.  I marveled again at the fireworks, enjoyed friends at a picnic, honored fellow veterans at a local memorial, and worshipped God with a patriotic flair.  But, it wasn’t with the same pride and confidence as in the past.  For the first time in my life, I must say that I am still proud of my country, but not of my government.  The problem is, I’m not sure the two can be separated.  As the government goes, so goes the country.    

In a matter of a few months, the decline of this nation has become a precipitous freefall.  We are spending more than we will ever be able to recover from; the federal government has virtually taken over our financial institutions, many of our major manufacturing corporations, our energy industry, and is making a run on our entire healthcare system; and the future of the dollar has become an international joke.  Much of our judicial system is a sham.  Our reputation as a super power is at a century low as we cower to rogue nations and extremists that threaten and insult us while we legitimize them with “diplomacy.”  Our president has declared that we are no longer a Christian nation and has apologized for our history.  He has promoted abortion, placated the homosexual community, increased the size and authority of the federal government, and set the stage for a socialist society.  How can I really celebrate the greatest and most compassionate nation in the history of mankind when I see it in swift decline fiscally, socially, and morally?

My concern is not for myself and my generation.  My generation has experienced what I believe is the best that

You, Senator, with your colleagues can do a lot to reverse the fate of

Terry Thompson

As we pause to celebrate our 233rd birthday as a nation, I would like to dedicate a part of that celebration to our medical freedoms.  Today, we are at the threshold of a national health care system to be completely controlled by the federal government.  If this health care ”reform” becomes the law of the land, we will, for the first time in our history, lose our right to choose the type of care, and often the provider of that care, that we want.

Granted, there is a lot wrong with health care in our nation.  It is expensive and it is frequently constrained in by laws and tradition.  However, even with those downsides, we enjoy the individual freedom to make our own choices.  Regarding costs, we can choose to have health insurance or choose not to.  If we choose to be insured, we have choices of plans.  If we choose to be uninsured, we can pay out of pocket for our care or do without.  I know that is simplistic, and I understand that many people want and need health insurance, but can’t afford it.  But the answer is not to lose our freedom of choice.  We all have the freedom to work the political, legal, and commercial systems to resolve the problems.  The constraints on the medical industry that limit our choices are our fault, because we don’t choose to work toward relieving those constraints.

If the citizens of America would get fed up enough with the costs of health care and the lack of options available (such as integrative cancer therapy–my cause), we would put so much pressure on our leaders and on the market that it would force change.  That is the freedom we have!  Freedom is not the right to avoid a problem at the expense of another freedom.  Freedom is the right to change what needs changing.  We don’t need government control of another very personal part of our lives, we need to control government–that is what democracy is all about.  We need to demand reasonable health care costs and expanded access to medical options through the free market process.  It’s not revolution; it’s just good old patriotic involvement in the exercise of freedom. 

Make this year the year you choose to actively pursue affordable health care and availability of more options.  Don’t just depend on the government to squelch your freedoms in this area, too.

An Associated Press article today reported that the stimulus package included $1.1 billion toward research for the best treatments for numerous ailments.  Topping the list were heart disease, cancer, pain, and hearing loss.  Rather than funding research of drugs for these health problems, the money would fund research into determining the treatments necessary.

At issue is the “comparative effectiveness” of various treatments and tests.  There will clearly be winners and losers in this contest.  As federally run health care is looming on the horizon, the stimulus money will help choose some treatments over others, then the government will pay for the treatments.  Enter, big pharma lobbyists.  The article says the winner/loser questions will “drive fierce opposition from drug makers…who have a financial stake in the outcome.  That kind of lobbying has left the nation with a scattershot method of determining best medical practices.” 

Here is my interpretation and prediction.  Over a billion dollars will be spent on studies that will supposedly find the best treatment protocol for many diseases including cancer.  Congress will, as always, maintain oversight rights for these studies, since they control the appropriations and allocations.  Pharmaceutical corporations will dispatch their lobbyists to Capitol Hill with instructions to make sure these studies result in findings that are drug based.  Any attempt by researchers to report findings favorable toward use of natural, non-toxic, non-pharmaceuticals will be thwarted. 

Now is a good time to write your senators and representative about integrative oncology.  Ask them to become familiar with the advantages of complementary cancer therapy.  Request that they commit to give a new strategy of integrative cancer treatment the highest priority as they enter the stimulus spending and health care reform debates.    

This will be my last post about Farrah Fawcett.  Her life, her death, and even her funeral have served as a lighthouse for navigating the complex waters of cancer treatment.  She was just 19 days older than I.

Yesterday, Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles was the hostess for Farrah’s family and close friends in a rather private funeral service.  A sanctuary filled with pastel flowers echoed the bagpipes rendition of “Amazing Grace” as the celebration began of a most elegant and often troubled lady’s life.  Her longtime love, Ryan O’Neal and their son, Redmond O’Neal read Bible passages from Lamentations and Song of Solomon before honoring her with heart rending tribute.  Friends read her personal final letters to Ryan, Redmond, and her father, James Fawcett, a 91 year old retired Texas oil worker.  An excerpt to Ryan read, “When I figure out what it is all about , I can tell you.”  The letter to Redmond said in part, “The greatest gift of my life was to be your mother.  By leaving you behind, I hope you will be able to work out all your troubles and grow as a person.”  Her farewell to her father included, “You gave me life, and you were the greatest dad around.” 

Her son was in handcuffs and escorted by three law enforcement officers.  He was returned to jail immediately after the service.  He would have no more of mother’s compassion and counsel. 

The star-studded front rows were filled with her closest friends.  Her “Charlie’s Angels” co-star, Kate Jackson, had just gone through breast cancer treatment for the second time.  Also present were Alana Stewart, Marla Maples, Cheryl Tiegs, and several other actors and Hollywood executives.

Her principal oncologist, Dr. Lawrence Piro, and Alana Stewart shared the presentation of eulogies.  Apparently, she was buried in a crypt within the walls of the cathedral where other celebrities have been laid to rest including Gregory Peck.

Farrah wanted to live her life out with Ryan, continue to get Redmond straightened out, enjoy fun times with her good friends, and entertain her fans.  Toward the end, she just wanted the world to know about the viciousness of cancer that had cut those dreams short.  The best that we all can take from the life and death of Farrah Fawcett is a renewed dedication and commitment to fighting this disease with a vengeance.  It won’t happen by just tweaking the 40 year old traditional treatment strategy.  We MUST develop a new strategy of integrative therapy.  Don’t get involved just for Farrah.  Get involved for your friends and loved ones.  Get involved for yourself.