On February 13, Mr. Moreland underwent a staging laparotomy — exploratory abdominal surgery — and removal of his spleen, a procedure often performed in patients with Hodgkin’s. Although the spleen was free of disease, a periaortic lymph node was positive for cancer. At the same time, a bone marrow biopsy was attempted, but the specimen could not be conclusively analyzed. Mr. Moreland was told he suffered advanced Hodgkin’s disease, officially recorded as: "Hodgkin’s disease, nodular sclerosed type, stage IIIB." His doctors advised that aggressive multi-agent chemotherapy was the only hope for prolonged survival, and proposed their standard six-month, six-cycle course of MOPP. Mr. Moreland agreed to the treatment, which he began in late February as an outpatient at the Vancouver Clinic.

After the first round of drugs, Mr. Moreland became extremely weak, fatigued, and anorexic. His symptoms did improve over a two-week period, but while undergoing the second cycle, Mr. Moreland became severely ill. He did struggle through a third course, but felt so debilitated he decided to discontinue chemotherapy. The attending physician warned Mr. Moreland that without appropriate treatment, he would quickly die, and suggested a six-month course of radiation as an alternative. Mr. Moreland accepted the plan and in late May received his first dose of cobalt to the chest.

Once again Mr. Moreland became ill, and in mid-July, after receiving a total of 4060 rads to the chest and upper abdomen, Mr. Moreland refused further treatment. At the same time, he was not believed to be cancer-free. According to Mr. Moreland, his doctors warned that he would die within a year, unless he agreed to additional therapy.

Mr. Moreland did not change his mind. Instead, after investigating alternative approaches to cancer, he met with Dr. Kelley in late July and shortly thereafter began the Kelley program. Within a month, he noticed improved energy and well being, and within a year, he says he felt better than he had for a decade.

Mr. Moreland followed the full regimen for three years, and today, nine years since his diagnosis, he remains in excellent health. He also has two healthy children, currently, aged four and six; this is unusual, since MOPP chemotherapy causes sterility in a majority of male patients. Despite his abbreviated courses of both chemotherapy and radiation, I believe Mr. Moreland is a relatively simple case to evaluate. Although there are, in the medical literature, several documented instances of patients with advanced Hodgkin’s enjoying prolonged survival after incomplete treatment with MOPP, such cases are extremely rare. While he did undergo radiotherapy, all of it was directed to his chest and upper abdomen. His extensive lower abdominal and pelvic tumors were never irradiated.

In summary, Mr. Moreland suffered Stage IIIB Hodgkin’s disease, treated with partial courses of chemotherapy and radiation. When first seen by Dr. Kelley, he was clinically debilitated and not, according to his doctors, in remission; it seems reasonable to attribute this patient’s prolonged survival and current good health to his nutritional protocol.