The Sentinal Guest Editorial

Dr. Quinn. speaks out

The world of alternative medicine has become a major spark in my life, and I am here to suggest the integration of Western and alternative medicine within our medical establishments. It would be an injustice to deny America the information about and access to alternative medicine, particularly as it has now been proven through laboratory and clinical research and has been shown to be cost effective with 100 to 500 years of reproducible clinical results.

I am not standing here as a scientist but as a concerned member of the public who has had the privilege to try these options which are supported by scientific evidence.

A recent article in JAMA estimated that there were 110,000 deaths annually from the use of medical drugs. It's the fourth cause of death in America. That is not to say that miracles have not been achieved with the use of prescription drugs. I am not here to vilify western medicine.

I am looking for inclusion, not exclusion.

I propose every hospital in America include a complementary medicine department, consisting of two or three licensed practitioners who direct the complement to (otherwise) unassisted treatments such as chemotherapy side effects and chronic but not life-threatening diseases. I propose the NIH stop withholding its billions of dollars in research funds from the implementation of natural medicines and protocols.

When I get sick, my children or my friends, I want to know that all has been done to protect their health. Everything! I don't want to feel that I have to choose one medical system over the other. Each of us can benefit from a portfolio of medical choices. I want all medical options available to me, to my family and to you. There must be room for all remedies that bring health to the patient. Isn't this hearing about healing? Alternative no longer needs to mean one or the other. There should be no alternative other than the best health care known to man.