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Article reprinted from Australian Doctor with permission
For more new evidence about Ian Gawler’s cancer recovery see press media kit
If you, family or friends are seeking authentic information about Integrated Cancer Solutions see Grace’s website
CAUTION: As you may now becoming aware, there are many stories about miraculous cancer cures circulating the internet and bookshops. Cancer support veterans like Grace Gawler, have seen ‘miracle cures’ come and go and sadly most were not valid.
Indeed it has taken Grace decades to correct errors in the Ian Gawler cancer cure story – a story she was involved in 24/7 .
Please fact check and cross check all ‘miracle cure claims’ and do not abandon conventional therapies. Some common cures persist such as MMS, Hydrogen Peroxide, Hulda Clark’s ‘Parasiste Cure’ (It is not widely known she died of cancer) The Gerson Diet and many others.
Adam Cresswell-Doctors attribute sudden cancer cures to biology, not God…And medical experts say the phenomenon, while little understood, is likely to have biological rather than spiritual explanations says an article in this weekend’s The Australian. CLICK HERE
Now this is a topic dear to my heart and one that has been topical in my own sphere of work; as outlined in the Australian – Friday 8 October 2010 in an article also authored by Adam Cresswell. CLICK HERE
These two stories are related whether we are examining cancer healing miracles of Mary McKillop by religious means or patients with advanced cancer who claim to have been cured by lifestyle and meditation, thus creating the link to a spiritual intervention causing the healing.
Here is where the waters muddy – Are miraculous acts of healing associated with innate, natural biological responses and can these be triggered at a point in time when faced with death? Intangibles such as faith, will to live, love, hope, inspiration may weave a complex partnership between biology and spirit reaching a place where the criteria for healing can come together – AKA The Spontaneous Remission.
The Australian quotes Sydney oncologist David Bell, co-wrote a book on so-called spontaneous remission. He said he knew of about 400 confirmed cases worldwide over the past 150 years.
For hundreds of years, the phenomenon of spontaneous remission has fascinated the greatest minds in cancer medicine. US researchers Caryle Hirshberg and Brendan O’Regan authored a classic which are a must have for anyone researching the subject: “Spontaneous Remission: An Annotated Bibliography“. Continue reading “Grace Gawler – The Australian – Comments on Spontaneous Remission”
A regular visitor to my blog, Bob Ellal has a website and a true story worth reading. Bob’s remission was hard-earned – now 12 years after being diagnosed with stage four lymphoma in 1991 he was given six months to live. He read everything he could about people who had survived supposedly terminal illnesses. One common thread emerged— says Bob: “They utilized the mind/body connection as a complement to Western allopathic treatment. For the next six months, I was given double doses of CHOP chemotherapy to destroy the rampant disease that littered my pelvis—and that had fractured my hip.” Bob incorporated visualisation methods into his his cancer treatment program.
He adds: “At the end of six months, against all odds, I was cancer free. My oncologist was shocked. But over the following five years the lymphoma cancer would return three times.” Few books and websites mention the challenge of dealing with setbacks and their psychological affect on patients. Bob’s shares the strategies that assisted him during these times and his spirit of survival shines through as he partners with allopathic medicine and CAM to achieve the best result possible – his survival! I recommend a visit to Bob’s website and his book for anyone going through cancer – particularly men. The book is insightful, inspiring, candid and oozes with honesty of someone who has walked the path, battled the adversities and not given in. Highly recommended! Visit Bob’s website for a great read about cancer survival. You can read sections of his book online for free as well as ordering online. the book is available for download on Smashwords for free. It’s also on Kindle for $2.99 or in hard copy. http://www.bobellal.com
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”
By Pip Cornall – extracts from Grace Gawler’s memoirs – Grace, Grit and Gratitude – self published 2008 – are available on my blog
Grace wrote the book to ‘To Tell the True Story’ that the media would not publish – free downloads available on Google Books
Ainslie Meares 1978 Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) article gave medical authority to the inference that mediation cured Ian Gawler’s bone cancer after conventional treatments failed. Grace Gawler’s 2010 MJA article proves he and another 2008 MJA article inverted timelines – to make it appear meditation and a vegan diet cured his cancer. Grace shows, with photo evidence they both got it wrong! Click here
By Pip Cornall – extracts from Grace Gawler’s memoirs – Grace, Grit and Gratitude – self published 2008 – are available on my blog
Grace wrote the book to ‘To Tell the True Story’ that the media would not publish – free downloads available on Google Books
Ainslie Meares 1978 Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) article gave medical authority to the inference that mediation cured Ian Gawler’s bone cancer after conventional treatments failed. Grace Gawler’s 2010 MJA article proves he and another 2008 MJA article inverted timelines – to make it appear meditation and a vegan diet cured his cancer. Grace shows, with photo evidence they both got it wrong! Click here
Integrated Cancer Medicine needs Integrated Participants – by Pip Cornall
Grace Gawler’s cancer work which began when her boyfriend, Ian Gawler, lost his leg to bone cancer was a blend of conventional and alternative medicine – Now with 35 years of cancer experience behind her, Grace describes her work as integrated cancer support medicine and is known for this approach within the medical community.
But not every integrative cancer practitioner practices proper integrative medicine. Too often we hear ‘alternative’ describing conventional cancer medicines as ‘ slash, burn and poison.’ I’ve heard such put downs even coming from those who call themselves ‘integrative.’
So what is needed to end the polarization between the cancer healing medicines? This is our goal at our new Grace Gawler Institute for Integrated cancer Solutions.
Integrated Cancer Medicine is touted as a ‘new paradigm,’ and indeed it offers a lot of hope! At our centre—The Grace Gawler Institute for Integrated Cancer Solutions we have a strong focus on ‘integrated cancer medicine,’ but sadly we’ve seen that many integrated cancer practitioners are not practicing integrative medicine—and may not even know it. Continue reading “Integrated Cancer Medicine needs Integrated Participants”
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….
Last Saturday I was asked to give an impromptu talk and join a panel Q&A session at a health & wellness seminar on the Gold Coast. It was an excellent information afternoon and clearly demonstrated both the general public’s interest and confusion around natural therapies, supplements and self-help methods. Inevitably, at these functions, questions about raw food and vegan diets for cancer patients along with questions about the Gerson Diet are asked. Participants at these days are often surprised when I answer that in the majority of cases, I have not seen cancer patients respond well to raw food diets – especially vegan raw food diets. As well, although cases of remission have been reported; personally, I have not seen remissions brought about by the Gerson Therapy or raw food regimens. Because my name is Gawler, people always ask me about raw foods and the many dietary approaches used to ‘cure’ cancer.
Many ask me about Ian Gawler’s recovery from cancer often having been told by a health professional that his remission was due to meditation, positive thinking and adhering to a vegan diet. These stories are not accurate, and when taken out of context and without the whole story; they can be dangerously misleading.
February 1976
Ian’s recovery involved so much more; however like a ‘Chinese whisper game’, this amazing recovery story which occupied more than 23 years of my life has been so often misreported, even by the Gawler Foundation itself – that it is no wonder so many cancer patients are confused. Continue reading “Gawler Diet – Vegan, Raw, the Gerson Diet? Grace Gawler Comments”
