Josef Maria Issels (November 21, 1907 – February 11, 1998) was a German

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

known for promoting an

alternative cancer treatment Alternative cancer treatment describes any cancer treatment or practice that is not part of the conventional standard of cancer care. These include special diets and exercises, chemicals, herbs, devices, and manual procedures. Most alternative ...

, the Issels treatment."Josef M. Issels; Pioneer in Alternative Cancer Treatment"
latimes.com. Retrieved July 13, 2023. He claimed to cure cancer patients who had been declared incurable by conventional cancer treatments. During Issels' lifetime, his methods were controversial, and in 1961 he was charged with

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

and

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

for allegedly promising fraudulent cancer cures and for the subsequent deaths of patients under his care who refused standard cancer treatment. An initial conviction on the manslaughter charge was overturned in 1964 on the grounds that Issels had genuinely believed that his therapy could cure cancer.German Doctor Acquitted
Published in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' on December 12, 1964; accessed August 8, 2008. Since at least 1972 the Issels treatment is described as unproven, and considered ineffective as a treatment for cancer.

Early life

Born in

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany, west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Netherlands, Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, th ...

in 1907, Issels received his medical degree in 1932 from the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. Founded in 1402, it is one of the ol ...

. According to an obituary in the '' Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine'', Issels made a name for himself as a young physician several years later by successfully operating in makeshift conditions on an ill passenger aboard a German steamer. Later, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Issels reportedly petitioned to resign his membership in the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

when he was ordered to stop treating Jewish patients. His petition was granted, but he was immediately drafted and sent to the Eastern Front as a ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

combat medic A combat medic is responsible for providing emergency medicine, emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injury or illnes ...

. Captured by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

, Issels spent several years in Soviet

prisoner-of-war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as Prisoner of war, prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, inte ...

s until his release at the end of 1945.

Issels treatment

Issels believed that cancer was caused by the weakening of the human

immune system The immune system is a network of biological systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to bacteria, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells, Parasitic worm, parasitic ...

and hence had to be cured by strengthening it again. However, he did not dispute the importance of conventional cancer therapies like

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

and

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

, and did in fact use them when treating his patients. Issels did not advocate a panacea-like new therapy, but rather prescribed various neglected, forgotten, or non-mainstream treatments, such as the Coley vaccine pioneered by

William Coley William Bradley Coley (January 12, 1862 – April 16, 1936) was an American bone surgeon and cancer researcher best known for his early contributions to the study of cancer immunotherapy, specifically causing infection as a way to fight cancer, a ...

hyperthermia Hyperthermia, also known as overheating, is a condition in which an individual's body temperature is elevated beyond normal due to failed thermoregulation. The person's body produces or absorbs more heat than it dissipates. When extreme te ...

, where

Manfred von Ardenne Manfred baron von Ardenne (; 20 January 190726 May 1997) was a German researcher, autodidact in applied physics, and an inventor. He took out approximately 600 patents in fields including electron microscopy, medical technology, nuclear techn ...

researched its effectiveness in cancer. Issels opened his Ringberg Clinic in

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

in 1951. As the clinic achieved greater fame, patients from around the world began to seek his treatment. However, other doctors did not approve of his practice, specifically the Bavarian Medical Council, which charged Issels with

and

. After a four-year legal battle, Issels' convictions on all charges were overturned, and his clinic was re-licensed. Issels centers and clinics continue to treat cancer patients around the world, with all types and stages of cancer. British Olympic medallist

Lillian Board Lillian Barbara Board, (13 December 1948 – 26 December 1970) was a British athlete. She won the silver medal in the 400 metres at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, and two gold medals at the 1969 European Championships in Athletics i ...

and Jamaican musician

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

were treated at his

Rottach-Egern Rottach-Egern () is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality (''Gemeinde Rottach-Egern am Tegernsee'') and town located at Tegernsee (lake), Lake Tegernsee in the district of Miesbach (district), Miesbach in Upper Bavaria, Germany, about 55 km ( ...

clinic for cancer, but both died from the disease. A review of Issels' claims by the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

concluded that there was no evidence that treatment with Issels Combination Therapy or any related treatments were effective against cancer.

Death and legacy

Issels wrote a number of books, including an autobiography in 1981, ''My Fight Against Cancer'', about his understanding of cancer, as well as many scientific articles. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

at the age of 90. His obituary in the '' Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine'' described him as the "Father of Integrative Medicine".

References

External links

Unproven methods of cancer management—Issels combination therapy
A review from the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Issels, Josef 1907 births 1998 deaths Alternative cancer treatment advocates Cancer researchers German expatriates in the United States German oncologists German military doctors Deaths from pneumonia in California German military personnel of World War II German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union

Early life

Issels treatment

Death and legacy

References

Further reading

External links