Ernesto Contreras
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Ernesto Contreras (1915–2003) was a Mexican doctor. He operated the Oasis Hospital in Tijuana for over 30 years, treating cancer patients with amygdalin (termed "laetrile" or, erroneously, "vitamin B17").
Contreras received post-graduate training at the Harvard Children's Hospital in Boston. He served as the chief pathologist at the Army Hospital in Mexico City and was Professor of Histology and Pathology at the Mexican Army Medical School.
About extreme terminal cancer cases, Contreras said: "The palliative action [the ability of laetrile to improve comfort of patient] is in about 60% of the cases. Frequently, enough to be significant, I see arrest of the disease or even regression in some 15% of the very advanced cases." It must be noted Cecile Hoffman, Contreras' first patient and a firm supporter of laetrile, died of metastatic breast cancer after being treated for some time with intravenous laetrile injections.
Many of Contreras' patients came from the United States, where use of laetrile is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Laboratory and animal studies have shown little evidence of laetrile's alleged effectiveness against cancer, and it is known to cause cyanide poisoning.
[edit] References
- Oasis of Hope Hospital - Biography of Ernesto Contreras.
- U.S. National Cancer Institute overview of laetrile/amygdalin.
- The Rise and Fall of Laetrile, by Benjamin Wilson, M.D., at Quackwatch.org.
