Josef Issels

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Josef Maria Leonhard Issels (born November 21, 1907 in Mönchengladbach ; † February 11, 1998 near San Francisco ) was a German doctor who became known for his alternative medicine therapy concept for cancer . In 1972, when the American Cancer Society examined the literature and information, it found no evidence of any benefit from this therapeutic concept in cancer treatment.

Life

Issels was born on November 21, 1907 in Mönchengladbach. He studied medicine at the universities of Freiburg , Bonn , Munich , Vienna , Rostock , Düsseldorf and Würzburg . In Freiburg Issels became a member of the Catholic student association KDStV Ripuaria Freiburg im Breisgau in the CV . In Würzburg he passed the state examination and did his doctorate on the disease picture of leukemia . After six years of clinical training, he established himself as a general practitioner in Mönchengladbach . From 1939 to 1945, i.e. during World War II , he was a medical officer in the German Wehrmacht . From 1946 he practiced again as a doctor. From 1948 Issels devoted himself to the treatment of cancer patients in critical condition. In 1951 the foundation of a Dutch patient enabled the Ringberg Clinic to be founded in Rottach-Egern . In 1961 Issels was sentenced to one year suspended prison sentence. He was found guilty of negligence in killing three of his cancer patients for not advising them to have an operation. The clinic was then closed. In 1964, however , Issels was acquitted on all counts of the indictment on appeal . The Ringberg Clinic was reopened in 1965. After the clinic was closed, Issels practiced in Bad Wiessee from 1975 to 1985 . In 1977 he was the patron of the 1st Colloquium "Biological Cancer Aid" in Bad Bevensen , which was carried out by the then "Biological Cancer Aid" association under the direction of alternative practitioner and former chairman Leonhard Blume from Uelzen . From 1985 Issels worked increasingly in the USA, first in Florida and later in California , where he worked in an advisory capacity at the Gerson Cancer Clinic in Tijuana until his death . His wife continues to promote the Issels concept through the Issels Foundation in Arizona .

Therapy concept

Issels saw cancer as a “systemic disease” that could only be treated with “holistic therapy”. In his opinion, the immune system should be strengthened. According to Issels, inflammations and foci of infection, especially of the teeth, have to be repaired in cancer and dental fillings with amalgam have to be removed. In addition, Issels used a fever therapy induced by injections with Pyrifer (Asta) or E. coli and especially vaccineurin (Südmedica GmbH, Munich), a bacterial lysate from Streptococcus pyogenes and Serratia marcescens, and also used various controversial cancer drugs such as CH 23 ( F-16) or Novocarcin (Neocarcin), which are no longer relevant today. In addition, he recommended his patients rest, freedom from stress and frequent stays outdoors in the fresh air. On beverages such as tobacco and coffee, patients should generally refrain. Instead, they should have a special diet comply: Issels supported the raw - vegan "Intensive cooking" the dentist and nonfiction author Johann Georg Schnitzer . On the occasion of a lecture by Schnitzer in Bad Tölz , Issels told the audience that he had had good experiences with Schnitzer's “intensive food” in the treatment of cancer patients.

Scientific proof of the effectiveness of Issels' therapies has never been produced. They are classified as alternative medicine . The Issels Foundation offers a therapy scheme that includes the use of a "cancer vaccine" ("autologous dendritic cell vaccine") and adheres to the fever therapy according to William Coley ("Coley's mixed bacterial vaccine"). These treatments are being done in Mexico today because they are not licensed in the United States . The costs are to be borne by the patients themselves.

Prominent patients

Prominent patients of Issels' included the British athlete Lillian Board , the American actor Steve McQueen and the Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley . Lillian Board came to him for treatment in the fall of 1970 after she was diagnosed with incurable stomach cancer; However, the treatment failed and board died in December 1970. Steve McQueen died in 1980 in a clinic in the Mexican Ciudad Juarez at the age of 50 years after surgery - a complication of a heart attack . Bob Marley was admitted to Issels in November 1980 when his melanoma, diagnosed three years earlier, was in terminal stages. He died of it six months later on the return flight to Jamaica with a stopover in Miami .

Fonts

  • My fight against cancer. Memories of a doctor. Bertelsmann, Munich 1981, ISBN 3-570-04736-9 .

Literature and Sources

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See the entry of Josef Issels' matriculation in the Rostock matriculation portal
  2. ↑ Heinz Scholz: Stories that Dr. Johann Georg Schnitzer's life wrote In: Textatelier , 2005. Online .
personal data
SURNAME Issels, Josef
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Issels, Josef Maria Leonhard (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German doctor, alternative medicine cancer therapist
DATE OF BIRTH November 21, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Mönchengladbach
DATE OF DEATH February 11, 1998
Place of death near San Francisco