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LIVINGSTON'S CANCER RESEARCH Beginning in the late 1940s, Livingston was able to grow bacteria from cancer tumors; and when she and her associates injected cancer bacteria into laboratory animals, some developed cancer. Other animals developed degenerative and proliferative diseases, and some animals remained healthy. Livingston believed the "immunity" of the host was an important factor in determining whether cancer would develop.
Virginia Livingston MD (1906-1990) In 1969 at a meeting at the New York Academy of Sciences , Livingston and her colleagues proposed that cancer was caused by a highly unusual bacterium which she named Progenitor cryptocides-Greek for 'ancestral hidden killer.' Neverthless, Livingston claimed elements of the microbe were present in every human cell. Due to its biochemical properties, she believed the organism was responsible for initiating life and for the healing of tissue-and for killing us with cancer and other infirmities. Critics of this research continued to insist there was no such thing as a cancer germ.
In her attempt to use a variety of modalities (diet, supplements, antibiotics, as well as traditional methods) to treat cancer, she utilized an 'autogenous' vaccine derived from the patient's own cancer bacteria found in the urine and blood. Livingston explained it was not an anti-cancer vaccine, but rather a vaccine to help stimulate and improve the patient's own immune system. The administration of this unapproved vaccine caused a furor in the cancer establishment and eventually legal action was undertaken against her and the Livingston-Wheeler Clinic in San Diego. In spite of all her legal troubles, she continued seeing patients until her death at 83.
In March 1990, the year of her death, a highly critical article on the Livingston-Wheeler therapy appeared in the American Cancer Society-sponsored CA: A Cancer Journal for Physicians. (No authors were listed.) The report advised patients to stay away from the San Diego clinic and claimed: "Livingston-Wheeler's cancer treatment is based on the belief that cancer is caused by a bacterium she has named Progenitor cryptocides. Careful research using modern techniques, however, has shown that there is no such organism and that Livingston-Wheeler has apparently mistaken several different types of bacteria, both rare and common, for a unique microbe. In spite of diligent research to isolate a cancer-causing microorganism, none has been found. Similarly, Livingston-Wheeler's autologous vaccine cannot be considered an effective treatment for cancer. While many oncologists have expressed the hope that someday a vaccine will be developed against cancer, the cause(s) of cancer must be determined before research can be directed toward developing a vaccine. The rationale for other facets of the Livingston-Wheeler cancer therapy is similarly faulty. No evidence supports her contention that cancer results from a defective immune system, that a whole-foods diet restores immune system deficiencies, that abscisic acid slows tumor growth, or that cancer is transmitted to humans by chickens." (The full report is on-line at: Livingston-Wheeler therapy -- 40 (2): 103 -- CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians)
Full article at:
Virginia Livingston - Cancer Quack Or Medical Genius?
Virginia Livingston MD (1906-1990) In 1969 at a meeting at the New York Academy of Sciences , Livingston and her colleagues proposed that cancer was caused by a highly unusual bacterium which she named Progenitor cryptocides-Greek for 'ancestral hidden killer.' Neverthless, Livingston claimed elements of the microbe were present in every human cell. Due to its biochemical properties, she believed the organism was responsible for initiating life and for the healing of tissue-and for killing us with cancer and other infirmities. Critics of this research continued to insist there was no such thing as a cancer germ.
In her attempt to use a variety of modalities (diet, supplements, antibiotics, as well as traditional methods) to treat cancer, she utilized an 'autogenous' vaccine derived from the patient's own cancer bacteria found in the urine and blood. Livingston explained it was not an anti-cancer vaccine, but rather a vaccine to help stimulate and improve the patient's own immune system. The administration of this unapproved vaccine caused a furor in the cancer establishment and eventually legal action was undertaken against her and the Livingston-Wheeler Clinic in San Diego. In spite of all her legal troubles, she continued seeing patients until her death at 83.
In March 1990, the year of her death, a highly critical article on the Livingston-Wheeler therapy appeared in the American Cancer Society-sponsored CA: A Cancer Journal for Physicians. (No authors were listed.) The report advised patients to stay away from the San Diego clinic and claimed: "Livingston-Wheeler's cancer treatment is based on the belief that cancer is caused by a bacterium she has named Progenitor cryptocides. Careful research using modern techniques, however, has shown that there is no such organism and that Livingston-Wheeler has apparently mistaken several different types of bacteria, both rare and common, for a unique microbe. In spite of diligent research to isolate a cancer-causing microorganism, none has been found. Similarly, Livingston-Wheeler's autologous vaccine cannot be considered an effective treatment for cancer. While many oncologists have expressed the hope that someday a vaccine will be developed against cancer, the cause(s) of cancer must be determined before research can be directed toward developing a vaccine. The rationale for other facets of the Livingston-Wheeler cancer therapy is similarly faulty. No evidence supports her contention that cancer results from a defective immune system, that a whole-foods diet restores immune system deficiencies, that abscisic acid slows tumor growth, or that cancer is transmitted to humans by chickens." (The full report is on-line at: Livingston-Wheeler therapy -- 40 (2): 103 -- CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians)
Full article at:
Virginia Livingston - Cancer Quack Or Medical Genius?