By Pip Cornall – In the somewhat sensationalized but revealing article by Adam Cresswell in the AUSTRALIAN last Friday, Oct 8, Ian Gawler was quoted as saying…
‘Dr Gawler said he believed it was “inappropriate” of the MJA to allow him to be identified, and that the journal had breached medical ethics by publishing the letter’ (MJA – Medical Journal of Australia)
It is important to state that Grace Gawler, author of the refute, knew there was no patient confidentiality issue because the Gawler Foundation had clearly identified him in their own brief – 2008 MJA article on their website Dec 10, 2008 – see below
“Medical Journal of Australia – Ian Gawler case study – Posted on December 10, 2008 by gawlerfoundationmedia
Case report in the December 2008 edition of the Medical Journal of Australia, written by Prof. George Jelinek and Dr Ruth Gawler. It is a 30 year follow up of the remarkable recovery of Dr Ian Gawler who conquered serious cancer through meditation, diet and loving support. A 1978 case report in the Journal by Dr Ainslie Meares described a 25-year-old man with disseminated osteogenic sarcoma whose metastases regressed after treatment with diet and intensive meditation. Thirty years later, there has been no recurrence of his cancer, and a recent pneumonectomy for chronic bronchiectasis revealed mature cancellous bone in the resected lung. The man is otherwise well. (MJA 2008; 189: 663-665) Read Dr Meares’ original case study”
Grace Gawler, as someone intimately involved in this story, saw it as a duty of care to point out the multiple discrepancies in the 2008 MJA article. Grace has always been concerned for cancer patients who may make treatment choices based on the Gawler story. A further concern is that doctors who assume credibility in peer reviewed MJA articles, may also give advice based on an account written under the banner of ‘true stories.’
Grace Gawler’s Sept 2010 MJA article provides unequivocal photo evidence that the reported story was seriously flawed. The article can be accessed here
More detailed accounts can be found on Grace’s site at Press Media Kit
Well known oncologist, Prof Ray Lowenthal, had for decades been concerned about Ian Gawler’s healing story and its widening influence – as the Gawler Foundation grew. Click here for his article in Cancer Forum ( scroll down to see the Ian Gawler reference)