Six years ago, my partner developed dermatomyositis, a crippling autoimmune disease. The Montreal Neurological Institute advocated high dose intravenous cortisone (prednisolone) to control the inflammatory process. Because I had attended one of your lectures, I was aware of essential fatty acids as an alternative approach.

Instead of drugs, we used 8 tablespoons of Udo's Blend daily, plus curcumin, bromelain, and garlic. The results were dramatic. Within days, blood tests showed that the breakdown of muscle tissue was slowing. Within three months, it had returned to normal and there has been no recurrence of the disease in the last six years.

Despite this simple cure for a condition which is supposed to have no cure, not one of the many doctors we dealt with showed any interest in our method since it did not conform to standard medical/pharmaceutical practice. In the interim, research has linked predisolone to cancer which occurs in a very high number of people with dermatomyositis. I shudder to think what would have happened had we not known there was a safer, more effective way to deal with dermatomyositis and, I suspect, all autoimmune disease.

Every time you stand up to speak, there is someone like me in your audience who will change their life, or someone else's, because of what you have to say.

My partner, Sandra Gathercole, has already sent you a comment about my recovery from the autoimmune disease dermatomyositis... I'm appending it (with) a few small points.

The disease attacks muscle tissue which meant I didn't have the strength to raise my arms to hold a telephone or comb my hair, or stand up without help. Onset was sudden and virulent. The disease is rare and mystified most of the doctors I saw, though it was confirmed with a biopsy at the Montreal Neurological Institute. While there, I was used as an example to teach doctors and interns how crippling the disease could become.

The normal therapy is cortisone which controls, but does not cure, the disease and, of course, has serious side effects. For the last 50 years that has been the standard medical solution. It is a prescription I would have taken except Sandra said she knew a better alternative using natural anti-inflammatories, vitamin E, and omega 3/6 from your oil. She also eliminated food allergens, particularly wheat, from my diet. Your lecture at Ruby Foo's in Montreal a couple years earlier had alerted her to this alternative, as had her reading.

The biggest problem I had taking this approach was the fact that after an extensive search of the literature on dematomyositis, there was not a single example of anyone who had not taken cortisone once diagnosed with this disease. We were in unknown territory, and I had to depend on her entirely once the doctor who prescribed prednisolone said it would be "unconscionable" to pursue an alternative non-cortisone therapy.

The course of the disease could be measured from CPK levels in my blood, and that was a psychological help as I saw the CPK falling while my strength gradually returned.

Within 3-4 months I recovered completely.
That was 6 years ago. The disease has not returned.

My biggest surprise in this saga was the fact that the various doctors I saw showed no interest in my case once I decided not to follow their treatment. They also did not seem curious to know how or why I recovered.

I'm glad Sandra attended your lecture.

Thank you,
Kirwan Cox