In
October 2008, at the Las Vegas meeting of the American College for
the Advancement in Medicine (ACAM), the Townsend
Letter was honored for 25 years of publication. The Legacy
Media Award, conferred by ACAM president Jeanne Drisco, MD, was
accepted by Townsend Letter publisher
and editor-in-chief Jonathan Collin, MD, with his wife, Deborah,
daughter, Affinity, and son, Sam, joining him at the podium. The
award recognized the contribution of the Townsend
Letter in reporting on and reviewing the field of alternative
and integrative medicine.
Dr. Collin's award speech thanked Townsend
Letter columnists and medical editor Alan Gaby, MD, who have
faithfully written for 300 issues of the Townsend
Letter. Dr. Collin noted that while great strides have been
made in alternative medicine, conventional medicine and mainstream
media still deride many alternative medicine approaches. Dr. Collin
also pointed out that while integrative medicine clinics recognize
and offer patients access to alternative therapies, local community
clinics and hospitals, as well as academic institutions, do not
accept alternative medicine on a quid pro quo basis. Only the occasional
herb or vitamin supplement is accepted, and broad inclusive protocols
such as chelation for atherosclerosis or herbal therapies for cancer
remain distrusted.
In his address, Dr. Collin also mentioned his concern that the future
of alternative and integrative medicine might depend on creating
cooperation between the different schools of natural healing, which
sometime act in conflict. Founded by MDs and DOs to bring together
doctors using chelation and nutritional medicine, ACAM is now celebrating
its 35th anniversary. Today, ACAM is an international body with
membership extended to NDs and other health professionals. Dr. Collin
congratulated ACAM for this step in integrating natural medicine
providers.
At a special fundraising dinner for the ACAM foundation, Suzanne
Somers, actress and author of numerous books on bio-identical hormone
treatment, was presented with the Legacy Individual Award. Somers
has previously attended ACAM meetings to champion the need for conventional
medicine to recognize the need for treating age-related hormone
deficiency with natural hormone therapies. Although many MDs and
other health professionals have recognized the importance of such
hormone supplementation in restoring health, Somers has been criticized
for championing the use of bio-identical hormones instead of pharmaceutical
treatment. Somers' award coincided with the publication of her latest
book, Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness.
While her previous books examined health strategies that Somers
favored, Breakthrough is based on
the cutting-edge strategies of individual doctors Somers interviewed.
Her interview of Jonathan Wright, MD, (who was in attendance at
the celebration dinner) is eye-opening and a testimony to Somers'
ability to get in a few words about best-treatment approaches. More
than anything else, Somers' speech was an inspiring thank you to
ACAM members, one that should encourage doctors to continue practicing
holistically, despite the resistance of the critics.
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