Sadly, the Following Story is Non-Fiction  Fraudulent Cancer “Cure” Attracts Desperately Ill Patients

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By Shirley Eileen Fitzgerald, RN

Ten days before his death, at the peak of his career, Ken was an extremely bright, vibrant, financially secure 39. A very “eligible bachelor” with two steady girlfriends, he owned and operated his own very successful software business. But Ken also had a secret.

For more than 20 years, Ken had battled with his genetic inheritance. Ken, who suffered from Crohn’s disease, required massive doses of steroids and eventually surgery to remove his ulcerated colon. The years of steroid therapy had slowly destroyed the function of his immune system, and like his mother, Ken was eventually diagnosed with cancer.

When he called me that night gasping for breath, too weak to get to his oxygen at the foot of his bed, I sent a friend to climb through the second-story balcony access to help Ken get his supplemental oxygen.  I tutored the friend over the phone in the use of a blood pressure cuff and obtained the information I needed to make a physical assessment over the phone. Ken was dying, but he wouldn’t allow us to call paramedics and take him to the hospital.

A friend stayed through the night with Ken, and the next morning he finally agreed to go to the hospital. It would take nine units of packed red blood cells and another few hours before he could speak; but then the real story came out.

In his desperation, Ken had sought a variety of “alternative” therapies from all over the world until he was finally convinced through a local church that Dr. Mahoney could cure his terminal cancer, which had already proved resistant to traditional radiation and chemotherapy. The doctor’s requirements were simple. He was selecting patients who had already been diagnosed as terminal by reputable oncologists, who had no close relatives and lots of free cash. Ken would never have fallen for the sales pitch if he hadn’t been so desperate … for only $3,000 cash or credit card, Dr. Mahoney would cure his terminal cancer. Ken was placed on a special protein-free diet and given amino acids intravenously for three weeks in preparation. He was cautioned repeatedly that if he told anyone about the “cure,” it would not work. Finally he was given the cure; intravenous hydrogen peroxide! Again, he was reminded that if he told anyone about this therapy, it wouldn’t work. He was also told that if he sought any alternate forms of medical treatment within 48 hours after receiving the cure, it would not work.

I’ll never know quite how I broke through the bureaucracy, but miracles do happen. Within hours of Ken’s final hospitalization, I managed to convince both the Board of Medical Quality Assurance and local law enforcement to take statements from Ken regarding the “cure.”

Five years of court delays allowed for a tremendous amount of research, and in retrospect, it seemed to be a perfect scheme. The credit card charge would clear before the death and estates seldom question paid bills. The lack of close relatives meant there would probably be no one checking up on the patient, and if hospitalization had actually been refused by the patient for 48 hours after receiving the “cure,” the coroner would unquestioningly accept cancer as the cause of death. Even investigation would turn up scant evidence after the death as hydrogen peroxide dissipates, and malnutrition (induced by protein-free diet) and jaundice (destruction of red blood cells by the peroxide) are common in cancer deaths where traditional chemotherapy has been received.

The Board of Medical Quality Assurance eventually prevailed upon the local District Attorney, and Dr. Glen Clifton Mahoney stood trial under California statues for promoting fraudulent cancer cures and manslaughter.

The verdict: A hung jury.

The result: Dr. Mahoney “voluntarily surrendered” his California M.D. license.

The caution: Question any cure that requires secrecy or sounds too good to be true.

Ms. Fitzgerald is president of Med-Legal Consulting, Inc. and is affiliated with American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants, Oregon Women Lawyers. She is currently serving as the Vice-President of the Greater Portland Chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. She can be reached at 503-629-5109.

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