Giving people hope in order to enjoy a healthier, longer, and fuller life has been Dr. Yoshitaka Ohno’s mission since he left his medical practice in Japan over 20 years ago. He knew he could not practice the kind of medicine that was causing so much suffering to his patients. Japan’s medical system had become much like other western systems. It involves mostly drugs and surgery. It supplies misery rather than hope.
Dr. Ohno’s journey away from conventional medicine led him to what his mother called "humanitarian medicine." It allowed him to bring together six generations of medicine from his father’s family, and six generations of spiritual leadership from his mother’s family. He felt very fortunate to be the product of what has led him to mind/body/spirit medicine. This new medicine is based on having a close relationship with nature. Unless we pay attention to our natural environment and respect it, there will be no life left for our future generations. We are already killing nature. Soon it will be too late.
This book is the story of one doctor’s struggle to live his vision of humanitarian medicine. It is a journey through the pain of modern medicine, and the arrival at a new way of offering hope to people who are suffering.
PREVIEW:
DO NO HARM
by Yoshitaka Ohno, M.D., Ph.D.
The Story of a Doctor's Struggle to Live
His Vision of Humanitarian Medicine
She looked at me calmly. She was almost too calm.
She had surrendered herself totally to her decision.
There was no fear in her voice or in her eyes. She
was resolved in her conviction to die. She got up
from her bed and closed the door quietly, wanting
privacy so no one else in the hospital would hear.
"Please help me die, Dr. Ohno. Please show mercy
and help me die. I have asked you to stop giving
me the anticancer drug. I can't take it anymore! I
know you don't want to watch me suffer. Every time
you inject me with this drug, I know you are also
suffering as you watch me suffer. The other
doctors have always ignored me while I struggled
with the agony. But your eyes have always shown
me such concern. You are the only doctor who has
shown me such compassion."
When I decided that my patients were being
given too much of a dangerous drug, I decreased
the dosage. But other doctors on the staff would
change my order and raise the dosage without
notifying me, because they knew that would make
them look good to the Chief of Medicine.
She continued to talk to me as if I were her son.
She stopped and took another sip of her tea.
During the silence, I started thinking about what
she was saying. It was true that I was struggling
and I was showing the fatigue from my internal
battle. I was not sleeping well. As tired as I was, I
would lie in bed, unable to sleep. Then I would get
up and sit at my desk. I would think about her and
how I could help her. I often thought to myself,
"Why did I become a doctor?"
When I first became a doctor, I seemed to be able
to find ways to help my patients. But now,
instead of being a healer, I felt more like a murderer.
I knew my struggle would continue if I didn't find a
better way to help my patients like her, who
continued to suffer the pain and indignity of a death
that I was causing.
As I watched this woman collapse in sobs while
she continued to plead, a part of me was dying.
But I knew that I now had to present her with the
cruel facts. I spoke to her with tears in my eyes, as
honestly and kindly as I could.
"Your cancer has already metastasized through
your body, even to your brain. I am sorry but I
am recommending that you go to hospice because
there is nothing more we can do. The damage is
irreversible. The more chemotherapy you are given,
the sooner you will die. This drug not only kills
cancer cells, but also destroys the healthy cells.
You need to stop because the side effects are worse
and are causing too much suffering."
Just then the Chief of Medicine of the hospital
entered the room. He must have heard me because
he said, "Dr. Ohno, I will take care of this patient.
I can help her. Please have this patient signed over
to my care."
The Chief of Medicine looked firmly at the
suffering patient and began. "Dr. Ohno is right, but
I think I can save you with a new drug I developed.
It is still in the experimental stage, but it kills only
cancer cells and has no side effects"
His words were totally unexpected by her. Her
expression went from despair to hope. She began
to cry with tears of joy. The Chief of Medicine
stood there with the same arrogant and smug look
I had come to know since arriving at the hospital.
However, despite the deep emotion of hope that
filled the room, I was both sad and angry. I knew
that his anticancer drug had very strong side
effects and would cause this poor woman even
more suffering.
This was the first of what was to prove to be
many rude awakenings for me. After years of
medical school and training, of struggling to find
humane ways to treat people, I was now facing
the grim reality of having to allow my superior
to treat patients as though they were
experimental animals. It was obvious that he
had no empathy for terminally ill people. I wanted
desperately to step in and disagree, but I knew it
would be futile and would spell the end of my
medical career.
As I watched my patients suffer in agony from taking
anticancer drugs, I was experiencing my own
torment as well. I was becoming consumed with
the memory of my mother's words to me after my
father's death. The memory of that tragic period
of my life started to overwhelm me. My father was
a very famous surgeon who died when he was
42 years old. He worked long and hard to keep
his hospital operating at its peak. His dedication
cost him his life. He died of an aneurism during
surgery.
This book is about the times in my life when I had
to encounter many struggles in order to gain greater
insight and appreciation of the final
to encounter many struggles in order to gain greater
insight and appreciation of the final
outcome. While I report the horrors I experienced
during my years of practicing medicine in Japan, I
also show how I was able to find a way to answer
the cries of despair of my patients. This was not
easy. It required that I make a decision that would
put me at risk and force me to leave my practice.
But during this process, I learned to become a
better doctor, more concerned about the welfare
of my patients rather than the rewards of fame
and fortune, which, unfortunately, have become
the driving force of modern medicine.
I did not have to take this road. It would have been
easier to follow the program and do what my
superiors told me to do. I come from a very
prominent family in Japan and have always had
choices and opportunities. But the values given
to me by my family led to my decisions, which,
though distressing at first, brought me to what I
believe is my destiny.
I believe that there has always been an invisible
force within me, guiding my direction and encouraging
me to discover my true calling in life. As I have
proceeded on my journey, there is one principal
factor that has continually surfaced. This factor is
contribution, the act of giving to others, directly
from one's heart. This affects not only the recipient,
but something of equal importance: the essence of
our being.
I also believe, more than anything else, that my
mission to help humanity is derived directly from
giving people the awareness of how vitally
important contribution is to the soul of the benefactor.
My vision has become a vehicle that can assist
people to gain an understanding that, as they
direct their energies to give of themselves with a
pure and open heart, they will ultimately fill an
emptiness that resides deep within their spiritual
center.
Through years of study and experimentation in
seeking better ways of delivering good health care,
I found the significant interrelationship between
health and nature, and its impact on the quality
of life. The best example is our precious water
supply. After you read this book, you will
become more knowledgeable about water; all
water is not the same. You will learn that the
quality, content, and even the structure of the
water in your body can make the difference
between sickness and health.
In order to test this theory, I tested many water
sources. While I was conducting research in Japan,
I discovered a naturally magnetized water that was
being used by a prominent physician with his
patients suffering from serious diseases, many
which I had also been treating. As I observed
and studied these patients, it became
apparent that this water was unique and had
therapeutic benefits.
About Author:Yoshitaka Ohno, M.D., Ph.D.,
Founder and President
Ohno Institute on Water and Health
Dr. Ohno resides with his wife and three children in
Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
Published:
10/9/2001
Format:
E-Book
Pages:
172
Size:
E-Book
ISBN:
978-0-75964-052-8
Print Type:
B/W
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