BMJ  2006;332:929 (22 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7547.929-a

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Dutch doctors suspended for use of complementary medicine

Utrecht

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The Amsterdam Medical Disciplinary Tribunal has struck off one doctor and suspended two others for their exclusive use of complementary treatments—including "vegatests," homoeopathic medicine, and food supplements—to treat Sylvia Millecam, the Dutch actor and comedian who died from breast cancer in 2001 at the age of 45 (BMJ 2004;328: 485[Free Full Text]).

In the high profile test case for use of complementary medicine the doctors, who were not identified by the tribunal, were judged to have ignored existing standards for treating breast cancer, used unsatisfactory methods, and withheld information during their treatment of Ms Millecam. She opposed conventional medicine and sought help from a doctor who also practised complementary medicine after she was given a diagnosis of breast cancer in May 2000.

The stiff measures are seen as a strong warning that doctors must urge seriously ill patients to seek conventional care. The tribunal found two of . . . [Full text of this article]

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