Dear FRONTLINE,

Medical science,both traditional and natural is an oxymoron. Medicine is a business and conducts itself as such. All supposed scientific results are dictated by their potential to generate profits, plain and simple.

lou feifter
san antonio, tx

Dear FRONTLINE,

I think and feel that your report was biased and tilted. Dr. Weil was given very little time. As well, there were not enough stories of those who have successfully used "alternatives" without the blessing of the medical community.

More importantly for me is that the premise of the the medical " scientific community" in attempting using "scientific methods" with "alternatives" is faulty. Only one or two medically trained doctors seemed to have gotten "IT."

"IT" is that persons who use alternative medicines are expressing, that the medical field is far too narrow, too intra-linked, too protective of its turf, too full of itself, and too (fill-in). It seems incapable of grasping that persons are more than a physical body. It seems incapable of grasping the fact that while there are some pills/some medicines that cure a physical condition there are many conditions that require several systems,eg, physical, spiritual, mental, emotional/ psychological, and social, to work interactively for improvement or healing.

I have a Ph.D. and I have conducted social science research and so I have an appreciation for science and research. I have also engaged the use of "alternatives" to conventional western medicine and treatments for three decades. I have rarely used conventional medicine and I do not shun such. I simply approach it as one of several means to an end.

These medical scientists must surely realise that few worship soley at the altar of "science" any more. There are alternatives!

Brenda Crawley

Dear FRONTLINE,

I am so glad I watched your show regarding alternatives in healing and medicines. I feel you attempted to do a very objective report. As a terminally ill individual, I had hoped to find a definite answer. But, what I came away with is even more confusion. I feel so many types of alternative therapies were overlooked, and that a few, like the tarantula therapy were used to make alternative medicine look a bit like voodoo.

I wish you would have revealed more studies' results. I hope you continue on with this investigation.

All in all, a very good program.

carol adlon
akron, ohio

Dear FRONTLINE,

My husband went to the Whitaker Clinic at Newport Beach for his cholesterol and high blood pressure. He had so many side effects from statins that he had to go to the pain center at Dallas Baylor for epidural shots. We had to discontinue the statins and drugs and find another way. The first morning there he had arrythmia at the hotel, and was unable to talk more than a few words. The clinic had a specialist in accupuncture for the heart and they immediately treated him, and within a few hours he was able to return to the hotel feeling better. They gave him one more treatment the next day. They also gave him a diet and instructions for controlling the hypertension and cholesterol using diet and exercise and supplements, and now he is normal without drugs.

Alternative medicine has literally saved his life --- from being virtually cripple to pretty good health again --- and he is 85 years old.

It scares the life out of us to read about the efforts to keep us from using our chosen methods.

Anne Ishiguro
Desoto, Texas

Dear FRONTLINE,

Scientific doctors were scorned when the promoted existence of bacteria, improved sanitation, etc. Thank goodness they eventually prevailed. Don't scorn the newer theories of today; especially those that take a new tack, not just replacing commercial drugs with herbs. There is growing belief that people can make themselves sick with their mental state and that they can also make themselves well.

In the meantime, I go to the doctor and take my blood pressure medicine.

William Ross
Shelby, NC

Dear FRONTLINE,

Firstly, Frontline is THE best non-fiction show on television.

I was slightly dissapointed in the lack of in-depth reporting on this piece. There is a great chance here for a news organization to make a real archive of the successes and failures of alternative methods by doing case studies with patients.

Lastly, Senator Hatch really made me laugh when he blamed the Left Wing for trying to impede on the individual's right to their own body. I am as liberal as can be and I am 100 percent behind alternative medicine; indeed, the vast majority of alternative health users that I know are liberal as well. It is the Right Wingers (you know, Conservatives) that are afraid of change; it is they who don't want people to have the choice of what plant they can smoke, or if a woman has authority over her own body. It is the Right Wing (and yes, some bad Democrats too) that is in the pocket of the pharmaceutical companies.

Ryan Leiderman
New York, NY

Dear FRONTLINE,

I am a self healer. I have been my own doctor for more than thirty years. I use all forms of alternative as well as conventional medicine to heal myself. The accupuncture placebo study is bogus. One of the theories of accupuncture is that the needle activates the body to send resources to the area being stimulated by the needle. The placebo study assumed that a prick was not accupuncture, the full insertion of the needle as well as a small prick serve the same purpose. I believe that an accupuncturist could design a better study. It shows that the study was designed by somebody who has no understanding of the theories of accupuncture. I believe that all forms of medicine should be study from a gene expression point of view. We should use micro arrays to study which genes are being up regulated and down regulated as a result of the treatment ...

jaan van de ven
herisau, switzerland

Dear FRONTLINE,

As a person with epilepsy since birth I have had to resort to enema's after seizures and to release the toxins that build up in the liver due to the heavy medications I am on. Watching Frontline and the alternative medicine of Dr. Gonzalez have helped to strenghten my views to coffee enemas.

Richard Zane

Dear FRONTLINE,

For 20 years I have looked to you for the best investigative journalism to be found on television. "The Alternative Fix" really shook my confidence in your editorial judgment.

Andrew Weil was allowed enough air time to make his basic point that the human body is not a machine. But you gave the impression that the only reason the National Institutes of Health has set up a complementary medicine section is that a couple of congressmen, for unsound personal reasons, pressured them heavily.

It is true that merchandisers of herbal products in search of profits are taking advantage of FDA's failure to control the quality and safety of such medications. But if your program were the only source of information I had on this subjecct I would conclude that it is unwise ever to go outside allopathic treatment patterns.

I'm deeply shocked that your point of view could be so retrograde.

Anne Richter
Pacifica, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

I actually expected the piece, "Alternative Fix" to list as one of its 'foundation' supporters a major drug company. That is to say the piece was wholly one sided and demeaning to the conscious, choice motivated citizens who've grown tired of the greedy proponents of the allopathic method.

In the spirit of science, you must give equal weight to the facts at hand. Perhaps you could have cited the statistics dealing with iatrogenic deaths and the unbelievable number of deaths from 'clinically proven' pharmaceutical drugs. Not to mention the criminal coverups that usually follow drug AER's.

Also, your choice of example cases and 'spokesmen' could have included more reputable CAM SCIENTISTS...and there are plenty to choose from.

What struck me as almost comedic was the litany intoned again and again by the detractors that 'we just don't have the studies that prove'... the efficacy of alternative therapies. Reminds me of the tale of the Idris Shah hero Nasrudin who spends the day helping someone look for their lost house key outside. Not finding it, Nasrudin asks 'where did you lose the key?' The peasant answers 'inside the house.' Nasurudin asks, 'why are we looking outside then?' 'Because there is more light out here.' the peasant answers.

There are literally thousands of valid placebo contolled double-blind studies available for review. The 'problem' is that the studies were not under the aegis of a drug company or the FDA. So in that vein I can see the dilemma these 'doctors' might find themselves in.

I work closely with PhD's in nutrition and MD's who've embraced the possibilities that CAM affords them. And the results are in a word amazing. Yes, there are montebanks and charlatans aplenty to be found in the CAM field. But I think we should look at the history of the deified Doctor and the AMA itself. They are not without blame and their pedgrees notwithstanding do not heal as much as produce palliative answers to health questions they don't even bother to ask. A reputable CAM Practitioner spends HOURS with their patients, asking all the cogent, relevant questions and then provides healing for the whole person, not just pills for a problem.

It is well known that the AMA-Pharmaceutical complex is the driving factor in our economy today. With outrageous R&D budgets at stake, it is short walk to the conclusion that they have something to lose. Let's not insult our citizens with the rhetoric that the drug companys are looking out for our health and safety.

I will say with equal fervor that educating the consumer of alternative therapies and medicines is critical and even a matter of life and death. As a practitioner who regularly uses herbal medicines and homeopathy, it is my first concern to find out if the client is taking any presciption medicines and what if any are the contraindications. Not surprisingly, there are legitimate reference books based on decades of clinical trials and scientific evidence that I use. One book, the PDR for Herbal Medicines, is based on the German Kommision E monographs. This is REAL BIOCHEMISTY, again based on decades of research.

To conclude, you are doing a great harm in airing such one sided views, especially when it concerns an issue which is possibly one of the most important of our time. The days of the citizen looked upon as an idiot child that needs to be ruled as such fell away with Rome. The FDA or the NIH does not have the market share of the Scientific Method. Science is an art. It is not just a mathematical model or an Aristotelian Categorical problem to be solved within strictly linear limits. The greatest scientists in history were creative thinkers who employed all aspects of their intellect which naturally included curiosity, openmindedness and above all Humanity.

Mike Ryan
Santa Barbara, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

Nice try! I can't believe you ran a program on "alternative medicine" without speaking to one licensed Naturopathic Physician, especially when there are four accredited Natropathic colleges in the U.S.

One of the oldest and best schools in the country for Naturopathic medicine is in Portland, Oregon (The National College of Natropathic Medicine). They have many doctors there that are more than qualified to make significant contributions to your show.

These Natropaths receive 4 years of rigorous medical training including clinical work. When they graduate, they have many tools at their disposal including so called "traditional medicines," (i.e., naturopaths can prescribe antibiotics in licensed states), homeopathy, massage therapy, herbal medicine, etc.

These naturopaths are true pioneers and are slowly changing the face of modern medicine. Without their input, your show lacks credibility and a balanced view.

Vincent Schreck
Portland, Oregon

Dear FRONTLINE,

I grew up in San Francisco's Chinatown. I took for granted that what was availabe and what worked in either tradional or western medicine and sometimes both, was readily available outside of Chinatown. From my own western medical experiences, and not so fortunate tolerance. That I often revert back to accupunture, Chinese herbal medicine as well as homepathic. I will use sulfur base antibiotic for bacterial infection due to the fact I am sensitve to other forms.

What truly amazes me and befuddles as well, is Western medicine is a very young, like this country, we are a very young country. China is very old and in many ways, is wise. I find the ignorance and arrogance disturbing. If it cannot be research and define in specfic terms, then it means it does not work? It's like telling over a billion Chinese and other Asian countries that our old world does not work and cannot be place in proper western context.

There are thousands who have died from prescribed as well as ove the counter medications,annually, along with hospital induced deaths, prematurly...Example, the surgery was a success, but the patient died from the after effects of anethesia...Or some kind of infection set in, etc...

There is room for both worlds and one needs to learn from the old as well as the new...What works in one world, may not world in another. We don't have medical freedom, we have personal freedom...

Doris Clevinger

Dear FRONTLINE,

It's amazing to me that you could do an entire piece on Dr. Gonzalaz's thrapy and not mention Max Gerson the founder of this treatment.

Max Gerson was the first to use the coffee enemas, diet and supplements effectively to treat cancer as well as other deadly diseases. He was chased out of the U.S. but not before taking his fight to congress (with the help of Senator Claude Pepper)Albert Schweitzer lauded his genius at curing his wife of a deadly disease. read the Book!!! "A cancer Therapy'

evelyn labriola
armonk, ny

Dear FRONTLINE,

After seeing The Alernative Fix, and reading through the various articles and information on your website, I have to say both thank you, and congradulations for the sheer volume of information you've researched and presented, but also the presentationb format as well.

As an applied scientist I have a deep commitment to the scientific process as well as the theotical construct and models based on proof, such as evidence based medicine. However, as a human being that derives more pleasure from activities and emotions that are hard to qualify let alone quantify, I can understand, even sympathize with viewers and readers that feel alternative medicine is either not getting a fair shake or as some as put it, feel "western medicine offered no hope."

My personal belief is that the philosophy that molds and drive each discipline - traditional and alternative medicines - have the most to gain from sharing "what works" as opposed to trying to settles things with a measurement system that neither exists nor can - or will likely ever - be agreed upon.

When a double blinded, multi-center, placebo controlled, statistically significant trial shows strong medical efficacy for a new, possibly life saving medication, by one measure - evidence based medicine - it works. When thousands of patients taking an ancient herbal medication feel better, report fewer sick days, have fewer or decreased clincal presentation of various symptoms, it too, works.

I recently saw an anolog to the current medical debate on another, excellent, PBS special: the unification of the various String Theories. My understanding is that Ed Witten was able to not just quell the waring amongst the advocates of five different, and opposing theories, but by showing that each theory was the same as the others - albeit it from a different frame of reference - united their efforts and contributions going forward.

Given that many traditional physicists see String Theory as more philosophy than science, perhaps Dr. Witten and his colleages could help convince the people engaged in fight for medical system supremacy that like the five string theories, the goals and objectives traditional and alternative are one in the same... just viewed from different perspectives.

Robert Howard
Mill Valley, CA

Dear FRONTLINE,

Your presentation of Alternative Medicine in "The Alternative Fix" attempts to be even handed, but comes up a little short of the balanced documemtary you tried to present.The pressures to make alternative medicine available is not occuring in a vacuum.The track record of conventional medicine in dealing with the serious diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes has been dismal at best.

Patients are justiiably dissatisfied with the high technology medical procedures ranging from Coronary Bypass Surgery for Heart Disease to Chemotherapy & radiation for Cancer.These are not very effective in the long term, but are too big a money maker to discard even after major medical journals have exposed them as being not very effective.

The Office of Technolgy Assessment of the US Congress found that only 21% of conventional medical treatments had ever been shown to be safe and effective, as repoted in 1978 in it's "Assessing the Efficacy and Safety of Medical Technologies" This was completely ignored and it was "presumed" that conventional medicine was scientifically proven, It isn't so for the overwelming number of treatments.Taken in this light the interest and avorable attitude toward alternsative medicine is easily explainable.

I represent the Consumers Health Freedom Coalition and we have been working to make these treatments more available to consumers and defending the supplements and the licenses of the doctors who use these alternative treatments. It has been said it is very profitable to "treat" disease but unprofitable to cure it. So much so, most doctors never even think of trying to find out why the body has developed the condition to be treated. With this band aid approach, there is no possibility of restoring real health to the patient and of course they will look elsewhere.The evidence is piling up that they are finding it and the medical profession is playing "catch up".

Arnold Gore

Consumers Health Freedom Coalition

Email:arnoldgore@aol.com

Arnold Gore
New York, New York