Grace Gawler, a vegetarian from age five, went on to work in a veterinary clinic while still at junior high school. Thus the vegetarian interested in health and natural treatments became grounded in science, pathology, bio-chemistry, anatomy and so on. She had a desire for all things natural including an interest in natural cures for cancer in animals. Over the years, when appropriate, she experimented with natural medicine as a complement to conventional veterinary treatments. Eventually she concluded that both systems of medicine need to be utilized for the best outcome. Thus was born her integrative approach.
It followed that Grace’s cancer work, which began when her boyfriend, Ian Gawler, lost his leg to bone cancer, was a blend of both forms of medicine – conventional and alternative. Now with 35 years of cancer experience behind her, Grace describes her work as integrated cancer support medicine and is known for this stance within the medical community.
But not every cancer practitioner practices integrative medicine – there is still too much ‘either/or’ medicine. So what is needed to end the polarization between the cancer healing medicines? This is a topic we’ll be tackling in our new Grace Gawler Institute for Integrated cancer Solutions. Continue reading “Integrated Cancer Medicine requires Integrated Participants – part 2”
Although a tad sensational with an image of quarreling wives – Adam Cresswell has written a courageous article that reflects the truth of Australia’s most famous cancer remission story.
To be 100% clear, this is not personal in any shape or form. What has happened over the years is a morphing and misreporting of Ian Gawler’s story so that it resembles virtually nothing of the truth of what actually occurred. The story is still amazing and it still offers hope – but there is a public responsibility to tell it accurately. I addressed these errors in the MJA 20 September 2010.
I believe that sound nutrition is important for cancer patients and I have always taught the balanced view both when I was at the Gawler Foundation and since. Many suffer gross malnutrition from bizarre diets; especially vegan diets. The more advanced the cancer – the sicker the patient can become. I also endorse the practice of relaxation therapies – but extending meditation into a curative form as proposed in the MJA 2008 version of the story is simply not responsible. Continue reading “Grace Gawler – The Medical Journal of Australia article reported in the Australian by Adam Cresswell”
It’s rare for a naturopath/herbalist to be published in a prestigious Australian medical journal and even rarer that that she would take the opportunity to correct a famous alternative cancer healing myth that she was intimately involved with.
With stubborn persistence, including a decade when seriously ill, Grace Gawler has never stopped trying to correct the spread of errors regarding ex-husband, Ian Gawler’s famous cancer remission—a story she was intimately involved with for 22 years.
Now, The Australian Medical Journal, (MJA), has published her revealing letter, supporting proof and photographs. Grace Gawler is widely known as the sole care giver and researcher for Ian Gawler when he had bone cancer (1975) and given just weeks to live (1976).
Grace, respected for 35 years of contributions to cancer support medicine, highlights serious errors in an MJA article published about Ian Gawler in 2008.
Called ‘True Stories’ the article in question was written by Dr Ruth Gawler and Professor Jelinek, both employees of the Gawler Foundation, a foundation for cancer support that Grace inspired and co-founded.
The MJA article chronicles the 30 year cancer healing history of Ian Gawler. But is the ‘True Stories’ article actually true?
The following extracts from my memoirs Grace, Grit and Gratitude (self-published Oct 2008) aims to set right the long held concept that meditation and a vegan diet played a major role in Ian Gawler’s cancer cure.
For many years I have been trying somewhat unsuccessfully to correct published accounts of our story, however the true story as revealed, may hold many more possibilities, inspiration and research options for those going through the cancer experience.
To clarify, Ian first saw Ainslie Meares 12 December 1975 – when a bony metastasis was diagnosed in his right groin. Ian spent 6 weeks under Meares meditation directives – deteriorating significantly during that time; so much so that we abandoned his groups and his technique; choosing to explore other options. There has been much confusion about this point because in 1978 Meares erroneously reported Ian’s medical history, distorting the timeline and making it appear that Ian had attended his sessions when his cancer was widespread. Many may have seen the now famous pictures first published in You Can Conquer Cancer. These are not pictures taken when Ian first saw Meares (Dec 1975) but were taken July 1977 – 19 months after he first saw Meares. At that time Ian was quite well – but was carrying an enormous tumour load.
Meditation and diet had not impacted the cancer growth – but perhaps there was a silent healer within; unknown to us until Ian’s remission June 30 1978. More about that later.
In brief Meares’ error has provided the foundation for the volumes of misreporting of Ian Gawler’s remission.
February 1976:
Regarding Meditation-From my memoirs
“…..Ian and I knew how bad it was ‘24-7’, and that he would soon die meditating if we did not do something else, so that day marked the ending of our formal relationship with Ainslie Meares. I did not see him again, but Ian kept in touch with him from time-to-time.
While meditation is a wonderful tool that supports patients in many ways, it did not play the most significant role in Ian’s remission. How do I know? Simply because I was there, I was present before, during and after his cancer and believe my view to be accurate. During our darkest days when Ian’s prognosis was two to three weeks to live, an emaciated, pain riddled and rapidly deteriorating Ian kept hoping that Meares’ technique would be the turning point.
Our lives became a hellish continuum of sleepless nights, enemas and eventually morphine when the pain was beyond the pail. Weeks passed and as he tried and tried to meditate, day by day he became immobile, more ill and in greater pain such that I had to confront Meares on the ‘just keep meditating’ issue.
Ian had followed reluctantly but he knew that although meditation was helping him spiritually, it was not having the desired affects physically. He so much wanted to believe that meditation could cure; but the facts spoke for themselves; his condition was deteriorating at an alarming speed and had we not tried out other treatments at that time; he would certainly have died.
Ian in Philippines March 1976
We went on to discover the pathways of acupuncture and alternative medicine with a qualified general practitioner, which thankfully brought the first small window of pain relief. Ian’s pain had clearly become his disease and while it continued, he deteriorated so that all other therapies apart from large doses of love had little benefit. His pain absorbed every ounce of energy he had so that there was nothing left to assist his healing.”
After Ian’s remission in 1978:
PP 218-219 Grace, Grit and Gratitude
“An article that appeared in the Medical Journal of Australia saw our lives take a dramatic turn when a wave of media mayhem began due to an article titled ‘Regression of Osteogenic Sarcoma Associated with Intensive Meditation’ that appeared in The Medical Journal of Australia. (October 21, 1978)
The report summarized our healing journey in a few paragraphs and came as a complete surprise to me—I had not known about the release and publication, and felt flabbergasted by its content. The article begins “The patient aged 25 underwent a mid thigh amputation for osteogenic sarcoma, 11 months before he first saw me 21/2 years ago. He had visible bony lumps of about 2 cm in diameter growing from ribs, sternum and the crest of the ileum, and was coughing up small quantities of blood in which he said he could feel small spicules of bone…. etc.”
The article caused a media sensation, proposing a link between intensive meditation and remission of Ian’s cancer. However, as I was an intimate part of Ian’s cancer journey from the beginning and his sole carer, I could not make any sense of Meares’ version of our story.
Throughout Ian’s journey, I had documented and kept photographic records. My memories as the person who carried the daily loads during Ian’s illness were vivid, and I have no doubt that Ian’s history would have turned out differently, had we not moved on and incorporated other therapies other than meditation. I believe, as did doctors at the time, that his obituary, rather than an abstract about his recovery would have followed, had we not visited the Philippines. The supportive care, faith and love in action that we found there, inspired Ian; reconnecting him with his will to live, no doubt an element that helped him to survive.
I felt a weighing disappointment inside my body as I read the published case report, as if someone had reached into my chest and ripped out my heart. It was too late, our arduous healing journey now broadcast to the media, was an unacceptable misrepresentation that no doubt would be difficult to correct. I was angry that no one had consulted or informed me about the appearance of the abstract nor given the opportunity to review it before publication. I did not know what to do when our efforts were misreported and trivialised. Torn between acquiescence and accuracy, I had an ethical crisis. It was too late!
As predicted, the media soon ran the meditation cures cancer story while I became a voice lost in the wilderness. My concern was for the cancer population and their carers, a desperate group I had come to know well. I knew that patients and partners would try to replicate our story and I knew the unspoken hardships and pitfalls they would endure if they tried to assume our roles. Without our veterinary/medical knowledge, we could not have managed our situation—nor could we have made the crucial choices required when let down by therapy after therapy that failed us. More coming soon….
Great news for cancer patients and caregivers – Grace is back after a long absence from her not for profit Foundation work – now with her own health promotion charity – Integrated Cancer Solutions – located at Hope Island, Gold Coast Queensland. A generous donor who recognised Grace’s contribution to her previous organisation, the Gawler Foundation; has gifted funds so that once again, Grace Gawler’s services can be accessed by cancer patients and care-givers.
With services including support groups, consultations, residential programs (small numbers of participants for individualised help); the Trust and Centre will soon make its mark on the map. Grace is keen to share the following story because it gives credence to the necessity at times to help patients find their solutions outside of Australia. The new Trust already has strong professional liaisons with local and national integrative doctors as well as integrated oncology clinics around the globe – in particular, Germany.
Great news for cancer patients and caregivers – Grace is back after a long absence from her not for profit Foundation work – now with her own health promotion charity – Integrated Cancer Solutions – located at Hope Island, Gold Coast Queensland. A generous donor who recognised Grace’s contribution to her previous organisation, the Gawler Foundation; has gifted funds so that once again, Grace Gawler’s services can be accessed by cancer patients and care-givers.
With services including support groups, consultations, residential programs (small numbers of participants for individualised help); the Trust and Centre will soon make its mark on the map. Grace is keen to share the following story because it gives credence to the necessity at times to help patients find their solutions outside of Australia. The new Trust already has strong professional liaisons with local and national integrative doctors as well as integrated oncology clinics around the globe – in particular, Germany.
Australian paper’s headlines read…. Cancer death puts homeopathy in dock
Inquest hears of carers’ concerns
Dingle says wife unwilling to have surgery
The headlines discuss the Penelope Dingle inquest in Perth this last week – (see links to full articles and extracts of articles below)
This is a ‘hot’ topic with the potential to further polarise conventional and ‘alternate’ medicine. Mature dialogue is required so both polarities can see reason and become less entrenched. A glance around the internet reveals countless ‘skeptics’ blogs laced with the usual bias they purport to disdain. Continue reading “Cancer death puts homeopathy in dock – balanced dialogue required”
ABC FM Radio Gold Coast Interview – Nicole Dyer interviews Grace Gawler about her new Integrated cancer Solutions Trust. – by Pip Cornall
For 35 years Grace has combined conventional and complementary medicine to give her cancer patients the best possible outcomes. In this ABC radio interview she speaks about her history, the new charitable trust and the formation of a new integrated cancer solutions centre on the Gold Coast. The need for an integrated approach is illustrated by the controversial and tragic death of Penelope Dingle in Perth, which is receiving much publicity. (it will be featured in detail in my next blog).
When Grace Gawler and I reconnected in 2007 via an article I had written in the Sentient Times, I was living in Ashland, Oregon. My article was called Restorative Justice – The New Hope for Revitalizing Community. The goal was to educate the community about the benefits of a’ restorative’ system rather than a ‘punitive’ one with an end towards reducing violence.
My work had been reducing gender based violence and among other things I helped boys in juvenile prisons. Grace had spent a lifetime coaching cancer patients to choose healing pathways that drew from the best of all medical systems – an integrative approach. Her initial success with a dying husband when she was in her early twenties received widespread press and they soon established a centre helping thousands of cancer patients.
I’ve often seen human violence as a cancer – when cells on the global body attack each other and ultimately – destroy the host. Working alongside Grace I witness the ‘punitive’ mentality playing out in cancer healing. A restorative approach to healing would be much kinder to body/mind and involve tried strategies such as ‘convalescence.’
I’ve seen tragic cases in juvenile prisons yet my work there has rewarded me with deep spiritual moments. It was not the boys who were a cancer on society but the mentality underpinning a society that glorified violence and other sordid dysfunctions as attributes of a ‘real man.’
Similarly cancer work is not for the faint-hearted. Sadly in past months we’ve known some lovely people who have succumbed to the disease. It always lands hard and one wishes it had been otherwise – that we’d been in a position to have more influence over decisions made.
When you’ve worked at the ‘coal face’ of cancer guidance and healing as Grace has for 35 years, you have a grasp of what will work for this certain patient and a wide toolbag of skills to draw upon. Disturbing is the trend for patients to take advice promoted by internet ‘sensations’ – many have little experience or appropriate qualifications for caring for and guiding large numbers of cancer patients. This is dangerous and constitutes medical fraud.
Happily our new Integrated Cancer Solutions trust will make it possible to assist more patients with trustworthy and proven integrative strategies.
My goal for this post would be that we stop rushing for a moment to remember how fragile life is and for us to collectively wake up. Perhaps when we stop hurting each other cancer as a disease will also disappear?
The song “Fragile’ by Sting addresses it elegantly and may help us to ‘slow down.’
