This article is from page 6 of the 2013-07-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
FORMER Killaloe doctor Paschal Carmody believes lives could have been saved if he was allowed to continue to provide treatment to cancer sufferers.
The 65 year old was struck off the medical register in 2004 but secured a Supreme Court judgment that allows him to practice biological medicene.
Speaking on Wednesday after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) withdrew outstanding charges against him, Mr Carmody said his greatest regret was not being allowed to continue to care for his patients.
“The great regret I had is that I had 150 patients at that time, long term survivors, five years plus. When I was stopped, and it wasn’t just photo-dynamic therapy, it was all treatments, the duty of care was stopped for these patients.”
He claimed that lives were lost as a result of the decision to halt the treatment. “I do believe lives were lost. I have no doubt, I saw myself people who were maintaining very well, treatments two or three times a year. That was taken from them.
“In effect, each person was on treatment that is not available through any other source. I was the only doctor at the time providing treatments like that, photodynamic therapy. They stopped all that. People died over the years and one has to suspect it was through the withdrawal of that treatment for that illness.
“These are issues I have deep concerns with, a lot more than what I had to go through myself,” he added.
Mr Carmody said the Irish health system is going to have to take a more holistic approach to the treatment and care of patients.
He said, “We did attempt to bring in other modalities of treatment that could influence the welfare of sick people. It wasn’t for any other purpose but to enhance their wellbeing and to prolong life. If you went beyond that, that was marvelous. Sometimes we did. We had patients that survived and are alive today. They are still alive today 20 years later. These are the issues that kept us going through these dark times.”
He added, “I would still believe that the future is in this type of approach, a much wider approach as opposed to one treatment for one disease. I would say there is one disease but many approaches.”
Mr Carmody also indicated he may mount a legal challenge to the Irish Medical Council’s decision to take away his medical license.
Mr Carmody described the alle- gation that he had offered patients a cure for cancer as “outrageous”. He said, “That was contemptuous. That was the most vile add-on to the charges imaginable. No doctor or no intelligent person would say, ‘I can cure you of cancer’.”