The Hoxsey method essentially is chemotherapy. For more than 50 years my father and I have been treating cancer in human beings -- not in mice or rats -- with a great degree of success by means of chemical compounds and without the use of surgery, radium or x-ray.

We consider cancer a systemic disease. We don't pretend to know its fundamental cause (no one else does, either, at this writing). But we are convinced that without exception it occurs only in the presence of a profound physiological change in the constituents of body fluids and a consequent chemical imbalance in the organism. This concept, based on extensive practical experience in treating thousands of cancer cases, is in full accord with medically-accepted research outlined in the previous chapter.

For example, a boy bites his tongue in football practice and a sore appears; later it turns out that he has cancer of the tongue. In the course of the same year hundeds of other boys undoubtedly bit their tongues in precisely the same fashion, yet they did not develop cancer. It would appear obvious that in this case the bite was merely the mechanism that triggered the outbreak of the disease. Its real cause must be sought elsewhere, in the basic body chemistry and cell metabolism of the afflicted lad.

We believe that the organism's attempt to adapt itself to the new and abnormal environment produced by the chemical imbalance causes certain changes (mutations) in newly born cells of the body. The mutated cells differ radically in appearance and function from their parent cells. Eventually a viciously competent cell evolves which finds the new environment eminently suitable to survival and rapid self-reproduction. These cells are what is known as cancer.

It follows that if the constitution of body fluids can be normalized and the original chemical balance in the body restored, the environment again will cease to multiply and eventually they will die. Then if vital organs have not been too seriously damaged by the malignancy (or by surgery or irradiation) the entire organism will recover normal health.

That in belief is the theory of the Hoxsey treatment. We are convinced that cancer cannot be cured successfully as an isolated phenomenon, unrelated to basic body processes. We attempt to get at the roots of the disorder, rather than deal merely with its end result. Our primary effort is to restore the body to physiological normalcy.

We have a basic medicine which, taken orally, accomplishes this purpose. It stimulates the elimination of toxins which are poisoning the system, therby corrects the abnormal blood chemistry and normalizes cell metabolism. Its ingredients are not secret. It contains potassium iodide combined with some or all of the following inorganic substances, as the individual case may demand: licorice, red clover, burdock root, stillingia root, barberis root, poke root, cascara, Aromatic USP 14, prickly ash bark, buckhorn bark.

It is worth noting the potassium iodide is commonly used in chronic diseases like syphilis to dissolve fibrous tissue in lesions caused by these diseases, and as preparatory action for actual treatment with arsenicals, bismuth and mercury, etc. And that the synthetic anti-coagulant Dicumarol derives from spoiled clover.

We prescribe above medication to all cases of cancer, internal and external (Except where there is evidence of latent arrested tuberculosis, in which instance the use of potassium iodide is contraindicated). The exact ingredients and dosage vary, depending on the individual patient's general condition, the location of the cancer and the extent of previous treatment.

Until recently our medicine was taken in liquid form. Experience demonstrated that it was virtually impossible to standardize dosage in this form; each patient's concept of "a full teaspoon" varied considerably. Therefore last year we arranged with a reputable pharmaceutical firm to put up an improved formula in the form of pills, and these are now standard at our clinic.

In our laboratory we are able to demonstrate that the blood chemistry of patients does undergo definite change as the result of this medicine. And to some extent we also are able to show a change in the activity of the cells, as treatment progresses. Unfortunately the refusal of organized medicine to permit scientific investigation of our treatment in medically-approved laboratories has prevented any comprehensive study to determine specifically how these changes are brought about. And we have been too busy treating cancer victims -- and fighting court battles to keep our clinic open -- to spare the time, personnel and facilities for objective study.

In the near future we expect to have a full scientific report on the Hoxsey treatment and its effect upon blood and cell chemistry in the human body. A non-profit cancer research foundation affiliated with our clinic recently was chartered by the state of Texas. It already has begun work on the above project.

We have another type of medication which we apply locally in external cases. Its purpose is to hold the spread of the disease and the speed of necrosis (death) of cancer cells. It is employed either as a yellow powder, a red paste or a clear solution, in accordance with the location and type of cancer. Their formulas are not secret, either. The powder contains arsenic sulphide, yellow precipitate, sulfur and talc; the red paste has antimony trisulphide, zinc chloride and bloodroot; the liquid is Trichloro-Acetic Acid.

All of these are escharotics, and in one form or another were commonly used by the medical profession in the treatment of external cancer long before the development of "more scientific" (and more lucrative) x-ray and radium treatment. We have adopted techniques which result in effective therapy with much less pain and mutilation than that caused by surgery or irradiation. The yellow powder employed in our clinic is highly selective; it reacts only on malignant tissue, doesnot affect normal tissue. The paste and liquid forms are not selective. however, we are able to localize their effect by erecting a vaseline or zinc oxide fence around the area to be treated, thus avoiding damage to normal tissue.

In practice we have found that a small amount of our compounds, when placed on a large cancerous mass, cause a chain reaction which extends an inch or two beyond the point of application. The mass dies, dries, separates from normal healthy tissue and falls out.

In fact, organized medicine has conceded that we cure external cancer! (See Chapter 15).

In addition to two main groups of medicines I have discussed here, we follow standard medical procedure in the treatment of subsidiary disorders or diseases which may contribute to the normal blood chemistry of patients: for example venereal diseases, kidney ailments, etc.

Thus the Hoxsey method of treating cancer is a combination of three elements: internal medicine, external compounds and supportive treatment.

There is nothing secretive or complicated about it. Any qualified physician who knows the ingredients, has learned the combination and dosage most effective in each type of case and has studied their application in our clinic, can go home and treat his own patients with equal success. A number of doctors, as we shall see later, already have done so.

Now suppose that you are suffering trom cancer, and you decide to take the Hoxsey treatment. We do not prescribe medication or send it to patients we have not examined, so you will have to come to the Hoxsey Clinic. What is the procedure, how do our facilities compare with those of orthodox, medically-approved institutions?

You will find the clinic a clean, white,modern building about a mile from the heart of downtown Dallas. It contains 60 rooms including 5 waiting rooms; 10 individual treating rooms; 2 fully-equipped laboratories; a drug dispensary and pharmacy; 3 x-ray units for diagnostic purposes; an emergency room equipped with the latest apparatus for adminstration of oxygen, plasma and glucose; medical consultation rooms, administration and business offices, Incidentally, our laboratories were approved by the Government for the training of GI veterans.

Our medical staff at this writing consists of 7 physicians headed by Dr. Charles P. Barberee. Under him are Dr. Donald Watt, a certified roentgenologist; Dr. William Stokes, in charge of the external department; Dr. D.C. Logan, Dr. Alfred H. Staffa and Dr. Benjamin H.Harry, all assigned to internal cases. All of these are graduates of leading osteopathic institutions and are duly qualified and licensed to practice medicine without restriction in the state of Texas, as well as other states. Another staff member, Dr. W. F. Pickett,M.D, is a graduate of Baylor University and at this writing still a member of the Dallas County Medical Society. Assisting them are 26 nurses, 8 x-ray technicians and 5 laboratory technicians.

Entering the clinic you sign the register at the reception desk and are directed to the main waiting room, where you will usually find between 100 and 125 patients. Some like you are here for the first time (we process approximately 150 new patients per week); others are in various stages of treatment and report for periodic examination; still others,discharged as cured, have come in for their periodic check-up.

The routine for all new patients begins with an interview by a nurse who takes down your complete medical history. She inquires about previous diagnosis, biopsy and treatment, including the names of doctors and pathologists whom you've consulted. (Nearly all our patients have had a diagnosis of cancer or a biopsy bcfore they arrive, most of them have undergone treatment by surgery, x-ray or radium.) She lists all the symptoms of your complaint such as pain, bleeding, loss of appetite, inablility to sleep, nervousness, etc. She questions you about other illnesses and

When this is completed you are sent to the laboratory for tests. These include blood count and analysis, urinalysis, gastric analysis, bacteriological tests and any others which the doctor who has studied you history consider necessary.

Then you take your turn in one of the x-ray rooms where a full series of x-ray studies is taken. Our x-ray photogrphic equipment is the finest and most modern available. It includes three Mattern (two 100×100 and one 200×200) x-ray machines and stereoscopic apparatus. Our darkroom processes an average of 150 films (14×17) per day.

Next comes a thorugh physical cxamination by one of our doctors. He will probe the affected areas, attempt to determine by palpation and special examining instruments the location and extent of internal lesions are various stages of treatment.

Your completed record then goes to the doctors' consultation room where it is considered by the clinic's Medical Director, assisted by the examining doctor, the roentgenologist and other members of the staff. Your x-rays go up on a battery of reading boxes, then are carefully studied in the stereoscopic viewer. Our doctors do not aceept on faith any previous diagnosis you may have had; their final verdict is based on the sum total of the following:

1. Your case history. The symptoms of most cancers are so characteristic that a detailed list of your complaints may be sufficient for a strong presumption of cancer.

2. Your laboratory tests. Increased acid phosphates content of the blood is a commonly-accepted indication of cancer of the prostate; excess of albumoses in the blood and urine is a valid sign of myeloma of the bone, etc, etc.

3. Your x-ray studies. These are especially important in determining cancer of the lung, stomach, colon, intestines, kidneys, bladder, bone, brain, etc.

4. Your physical examination. one of the outstanding cancer authorities in this country, Dr. George T. Pack, has written:

"At least 50 percent of all cancers are visible on inspection or within reach of palpation by an examining finger; at least 25 percent more may be seen by the use of special examining instruments inserted within the orifices of the body."

Our diagnostic procedure has been attacked because it does not include biopsy. Medical authorities assert that a positve diagnosis of malignancy can be made only after pathological examination of tissue under a microscope.

Now it is fairly easy to take a sample of tissue from the surface of the body. But to take it from the interior of the body is quite complicated. It can be obtained by an electric snare, or by syringe aspiration; the most common procedure is a surgical operation, in which a sample of tissue is cut out with the scalpel.

Many highly respected medical authorities have opposed biopsies on the grounds that the very act of cutting into cancerous tissue may release malignant cells in the blood stream, bringing about metastases in cases where it has not already occurred. In the end this may cost the patient his life.

For example Dr. C. H. Mayo, the famous surgeon, once wrote in the AMA Journal (Vol. 2, p. 213):

"When they cut out the section and send it away for examination, they have first endangered the person's life through delay; they have next endangered his life through aggravating and stimulating the malignant growth."

A biopsy can verify malignancy and determine its degree,but it will not determine the extent of spread. As a matter of fact, the extent of growth and the spread (metastases) are far more important for prognosis and treatment than the paricular grade of cancer presented.

Moreover biopsies are not as reliable as most medical authorities would have us believe. They are as fallible as the doctor who takes them, and the pathologist who reads them. Even when taken by reputable surgeons and analyzed by a competent pathologist, they may be disputed. If negative, it may be proven that the surgeon missed the malignancy by a fraction of an inch. If positive, it may be demonstrated later -- after a limb or an important organ has been amputated -- that the pathologist's analysis was "in error," the tissue was not malignant after all! This is so common that no pathologist worth his salt will accept as definitive a biopsy report by another pathologist, however brilliant. And conflicting analyses of the same tissue by different pathologists are every day occurrences.

The result may be tragic. One such instance was related to me recently by a doctor who attended a surgical operation in a well-known New York hospital. A sample of suspect tissue was taken and rushed to the hospital's pathological laboratory. Two pathologists resected it and examined it under the microscope. One said it was definitely malignant, the other declared just as definitely that it was non-malignant. The patient was still on the operating table, so another tissue sample was taken. While the two pathologists were examining it -- and still debating -- the patient died!

Under pressure to prove to the medical profession that patients treated at the Hoxsey Clinic actually did have cancer, at one time we took samples of tissue from patients and submitted them to AMA-recognized pathological laboratories for analysis. It is noteworthy that in every instance the biopsy report confirmed our clinical diagnosis. This practice ended when the AMA stepped in and forced the pathologists to discontinue their dealings with our clinic. We then employed a qualified pathologist to perform the same work in our own laboratories, only to learn that organized medicine refused to accept our biopsy reports.

With this convincing demonstration that we would nerer satisfy our medical opponents, no matter what proof we ofter, we stopped worrying about biopsies and concentrated on improving other diagnostic techniques.

The fact is, most of our patients already have had biopsies before they come to us for treatment. Moreover we seldom get a case of cancer in its early stages, when diagnosis is particularly diffcult. The great majority of our patients are terminal cases who have come to us after long and unsuccessful treatment by conventional methods; by the time we see them the cancer is so far advanced that its symptoms are unmistakable. Another point: the thorough diagnostic procedure outlined earlier usually presents our doctors with enough data to insure a correct diagnosis.

I might add that each of our doctors sees more cases of cancer in a single week than the average practitioner sees in lifetime. And they are so careful that on numerous occasions patients who have come to us with a diagnosis of cancer by their own doctors have been informed that the latter were mistaken; the patient suffered from chronic colitis, ulcers, non-malignant prostate or rectal conditions, etc.

Thus we finally arrive at the diagnosis in your case. Both diagnosis and prognosis are recorded on your chart. Assuming that we have found cancer, the prognosis depends upon your general condition, the site and type of cancer and the extent of irreparable damage you already have suffered. These same factors (as already stated) determine the exact medication and dosage recommended in your individual case.

The examining doctor frankly discusses our findings with you. If the prognosis is "poor," you may be aceepted on a trial basis. This means that you will be given our treatment for a month; at the end of that time you must come back to the clinic for further examination and tests; if you have failed to show any response to the medication, we will then decide whether to continue or drop it. However, if you decide not to go ahead with our treatment, all you owe us are laboratory fees (which incidentally compare favorably with charges for the same services in any other clinic or laboratory). No charge what ever is made for consultation.

Suppose you decide to take the treatment. If there are cancerous lesions on the surface of your body, you go upstairs to the "external" treating rooms where the powder, salve or clear solutions prescribed in your case is applied. You are also given a prescription for the particular version of our basic internal formula recommended in your case, plus prescriptions for such supportive treatment as may be required. All these prescriptions are filled in our own dispensary. If yours is an internal cancer, you bypass the external treatment and get your supply of internal medication.

The routine outlined here usually takes the better part of two days. When it is completed you go to the business office to discuss the financial arrangements with our business manager or his assistant. The question of fees is never raised by any of our employees until you are ready to leave.

You are informed that we do not sell medication; we set a flat fee on the full course of treatment, depending on the severity of you case. In any case our maximum charge is ＄400, regardless of the length of treatment and the ability or willingness of the patient to pay more. An additional moderate charge is made to cover the cost of labratory tests and x-ray studies, Any patient discharged as cured by our clinic is entitled to periodic check-ups without further cost throughout his life.

Statistics show that the average cancer victim (or his family) spends more than ten times ＄400 for conventional treatment. Further comment as regards our fee would be superfluous.

If you cannot pay the entire fee we have set at once, you may make arrangements to pay it in monthly installments. If you present a letter from you clergyman, doctor or local authorities stating that you are financially unable to pay anything for treatment, we will treat you without cost. According to our records approximately 25 percent of all patients treated at this clinic are charity cases. We never turn away any worthy cancer victim because he (or she) cannot afford treatment.

One of the mischievous lies broadcast about our clinic is that we promise patients we will cure them. Before you leave you will be required to sign the following statement on your case history:

"It is expressly agreed and understood by the undersigned parties that the Hoxsey Cancer does not guarantee to cure any ailment or disease for which I may be treated."

No reputable doctor or medical in stitution will guarantee to cure cancer. We don't have to guarantee a cure; we stand on our record of thousands of case successfully treated over a period of more than 30 years.

You return to your home and take the medication as prescribed. (There are no provisions for in-patients at our clinic; bed-ridden cases are accommodated at nearby nursing homes and private hospitals.) You will be directed to return to Dallas for further tests, x-ray studies and examination at intervals of one, two or three-month periods depending on your condition.

When do we consider our patients cured?

As a typical cxternal case take H. W. Robbins of Rush Springs, Okla. He first came to our clinic April 1948 with a large sore on the lower lip. A biopsy taken at that time revealed epidermoid carcinoma Grade 2. Two months after he was put on our treatment, the cancer dried up and fell out. Five months later clean scar tissue had entirely filled the hole in his lip. When extensive tests showed no evidence of malignancy he was discharged as "clinically cured." He came back for regular check ups. After three years without a recurrence of the malignancy we considered him cured. At this writing he is still alive and well.

As a typical internal case take Mrs. Laura Bullock of Macon, Georgia. She first came to our clinic in November 1953 with a biopsy report showing cancer of the rectum. Her doctor said it was inoperable. She was having as many as 19 hemorrhages a day ,during the preceding year had received a total of 152 blood transfusions, was unable to do any of her household chores. A week after beginning our treatment the hemorrhages ceased; within two weeks she could get around the house without difficulty; within four months she gained 26 Ibs. In April 1954, physical examination, laboratory tests and x-rays showed no evidence of cancer any where in her system, and we discharged her as "clinically cured." She is directed to come back every year for a check-up. If at the end of five yiars there has been no recurrence of bleeding, pain or other symptoms of the disease, and she continues to lead a normal life, and our tests fail to turn up any signs of cancer, we will consider her absolutely cured.

Of course we don't cure them all. Many unfortunates come to us after they've undergone maximum surgery (as one patient remarked, "After a while you run out of lungs!") and taken the limit of x-ray or radium. The prognosis by our doctors is "hopeless." We inform the patient of the seriousness of his condition, tell him all that we can hope to do for him is to prevent further extension of the disease and relieve him of pain. If he still insists on taking the treatment, we give it to him -- frequently without charge. We do not reject any case, however hopeless, if the patient wishes us to treat him. These are calculated risks, and more often than not we fail to save them.

Frequently patients with "poor" prognoses do not recover. Occasionally a patient with a "fair" prognosis refuses to die and astounds everyone by making a miraculous recovery.

In all medical history no cure for any disease has ever proven 100 percent effective. We don't contend publicly or privately that ours is. But when our records are finally evaluated we are confident that they will demonstrate that we cure a far greater percentage of cancer -- including so-called "terminal cases" -- than surgery, x-ray or any other method now know to medical science.

We are not alone in that belief. Nearly every medical man who has visited our clinic, observed our treatmen, checked our records and talked with our patients has reached the same conclusion.

Last year a group of ten physicians from all over the nation assmbled at our clinic for an independent, impartial investigation of our treatment. They spent two days inspecting the facilities, going over hundreds of case histories and interrogating patients and former patients. On April 12, 1954, they issued a unanimous statement declaring, in part:

"We find as a fact that our investigation has demonstrated to our satisfactiion that the Hoxsey Cancer Clinic at Dallas, Texas, is successfully treating pathologically proven cases of cancer, both internal and external, without the use of surgery, radium or x-ray.

"Accepting the standard yardstick of cases that have remained symptom-free in excess of five to six years after treatment, established by medical authorities, we have seen sufficient cases to warrant such a conclusion. Some of those presented before us have been free of symptoms as long as twenty-four years, and the physical evidence in dicates that they are all enjoying exceptional health at this time.

"We as a Committee feel that the Hoxsey treatment is superior to such conventional methods of treatment as x-ray, radium, and surgery. We are willing to assist this Clinic in any way possible in bringing this treatment to the American public. We are willing to use it in our office, in our practice on our own patients when, at our discretion, it is deemed necessary.

"The above statement represents the unanimous findings of this Committee. In testimony there of we hereby attach our signatures."

The names signed to this statement, and the place where each physician practices medicine, are as follows:

S. Edgar Bond. M.D..................Richmond,Indiana
Willard G. Palmer, M.D..............Seattle, Washington
Hans Kalm,M.D.......................Aiken, So. Carolina
A. C. Timbs, M.D....................Knoxville, Tennessee
Frederick H. Thurston, M.D, D.O.....Boise, Idaho
E. E. Loffler, M.D..................Spokane, Washington
H. B. Mueller, M.D..................Cleveland, Ohio
R. C. Bowie, M.D....................Fort Morgan, Colorado
Benjamin F. Bowers, M.D.............Ebensburg, Pennsylvania
Roy O. Yeats, M.D...................Hardin, Montana

There is one essential difference between the Hoxsey method and conventional cancer treatments which cannot be demonstrated in the laboratory, brought out by investigation or proven by research. Nevertheless we are sure that it plays an important role in the amazing results obtained at our clinic.

We ofter the condemned victim what other doctors deny him: hope, and a fighting chance to conquer the dread disease

They tell him: "You are going to die."

We say: "You have a chance to live!"

We are not faith healers. But modern medicine has come to recognize a strong link between the emotional state of a patient and his physical condition. Doctors admit that emotional processes, acting through physical channels, may cause ulcers and even more serious organic disturbances. Psychosomatic medicine holds forth the hope that the emotional processes, if properly channeled, may help a patient to overcome many physical ailments.

Cancer is not only a disease, it is also a psychosis. Tell a victim he is " hopeless" (or let him discover it from his family) and the will to live becomes paralyzed. Show him a way out ,strip him of fear and hysteria, give him even a forlorn hope, and the will to live is stimulated. It becomes a powerful ally in the battle against death.

End of the chapter