Doctor faces accusations in flesh-eating paste case
By Associated Press
Published August 17, 2005
ROCHELLE, Ga. - A doctor is accused of assisting an unlicensed practitioner who allegedly treats cancer patients with a flesh-eating herbal paste that leaves them with horrible disfigurements, including mutilated breasts.
Georgia's board of medical examiners has accused Lois March, an ear, nose and throat specialist, of aiding and abetting Dan Raber's practice over the last three years by providing pain medication to patients who had received the treatments. One patient's flesh was eaten so badly from his shoulder that the bone was exposed.
Raber is under investigation and could face a felony charge of practicing medicine without a license. Raber, who has declined interview requests, claims on his Web site to offer a paste made with bloodroot that dissolves cancerous tissue, and when used in conjunction with his enzyme tablets, can eliminate cancer from the body.
The medical board said seven patients had sought treatment from Raber for breast cancer and that March knew or should have known that his use of the paste "mutilated their breasts and caused excruciating pain."
"All I can tell you is I'm not guilty," March said. "These are wild accusations that aren't true."
Raber's Web site advises those considering his treatments to arrange for pain management through a licensed physician. "This allows the doctor to help the patient take care of his health the way he, the patient, sees fit! Yet it allows the doctor to stay out of jail," the site says.
The board contends Raber was practicing medicine without a license - which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $1,000 fine. No charges have been filed.
