In Sept 2010 Grace Gawler, a Director at the Gold Coast based Grace Gawler Institute attempted to alert cancer patients in Australia that the country’s most prominent cancer patient’s [Ian Gawler] recovery story had been misreported twice in the MJA (Medical Journal of Australia) 1978 and 2008 respectively. These inaccurate reports have influenced treatment decisions of both doctors and patients throughout Australia and worldwide.
In an unusual challenge to a medical journal, Grace Gawler, Ian Gawler’s ex-wife, presented such a compelling refute to the MJA, along with proof of errors in the 2008 version of the story authored by Dr Ruth Gawler and Prof George Jelinek, that they published her letter in the MJA September 2010.
Each year 1000s of cancer patients are harmed or die from alternative medicine influenced by ‘miracle recovery’ stories like Ian Gawler’s. There must be more investigation of patients who become cancer entrepreneurs – as the Professors quote from Carl Sagan: “Exceptional claims require exceptional evidence.”
Gawler’s prominence and media profile built over 3 decades, has influenced enormous numbers of cancer patients. Many of the patients presenting at our institute with advanced cancer due to avoiding conventional medicine and following alt/med methods, state they were influenced by Gawler’s methods and his survival story.
Grace Gawler, Gawler’s wife for 21 years, as well as primary care giver during his illness, has been trying to alert cancer patients that Ian Gawler’s recovery involved the fact he had tuberculosis (TB) and was not due to meditation and vegan diets as claimed. Grace Gawler maintained that Ian Gawler did not “develop TB” in 1978 as claimed by Dr Ruth Gawler and Professor George Jelinek in their 2008 MJA “True Stories” – but it is on the record that Ian Gawler had TB for more than 2 years. This latest report published in the E version of the Internal Medicine Journal finally vindicates Grace Gawler’s long held suspicions as to the reasons for Ian Gawler’s recovery.
Much of the work of The Grace Gawler Institute for Integrated Cancer Solutions is guiding patients described as ‘alternative medicine casualties’ who are dealing with advanced cancer, back into mainstream medicine. Grace believes there is a moral imperative to publish the true story and so prevent 1000s of patients from following a myth