THE widow of a man who died from cancer said she felt cheated by the doctors at the Killaloe clinic where he received photodynamic therapy.
Bernadette Gallagher, from Mull- ingar, Co Westmeath, lost her hus- band John James through cancer of the liver, in September 2002.
He underwent photodynamic treat- ment at Mr Carmody’s clinic in Kil- laloe, in February of that year.
In court last Friday, Mrs Gallagher repeatedly broke down in the witness stand as she described how she felt that herself, her husband and their three children were “cheated and lied to” by Mr Carmody and Dr William Porter, who administered the treat- ment.
She said that Mr Carmody told them he was opposed to chemothera- py as it was “barbaric.”
Instead, he recommended photo- dynamic treatment, which, he said, was suitable for all types of cancer and would destroy her husband’s cancer. They paid €14,000 for the treatment.
She said Mr Carmody told her hus- band the treatment was ‘just like magic’ and they thought it was too good to be true.
Mrs Gallagher said that Paschal Carmody told her husband it was his mission in life to find a cure for cancer.
She said that her husband com- plained of loss of appetite and loss of energy in July 2000, which was unu- sual as “he had never missed a day from work over illness.”
He was initially told it was down to gastroenteritis, an ulcer or his gall bladder, but went for a second opin- ion in London.
There, it was discovered he had a large tumor in the stomach and also a problem with his liver. In Septem- ber 2000, his stomach, spleen, pan- creas and one-third of his liver were removed. That December, he got the all-clear, but after Christmas, he got lumps under his arm.
In January 2001, he started chemo- therapy and again got the all-clear that May. In November 2001, it was
revealed that the cancer had returned to the liver and the chemotherapy was resumed.
She said she visited Dr Paschal Carmody in January 2002, having herself been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome. Whilst there, she said she mentioned her husband’s ill- ness to Dr Carmody.
“He went on to tell me it was a shame he hadn’t come to him be- cause they had hit on a miraculous or magic cure.
“He was totally against chemother- apy. He said if any member of his family had cancer in the morning, he wouldn’t let them have chemothera- py, as it was barbaric and killed all the good cells,” she said.
She said her husband was out in the car and Dr Carmody “opened the door and invited” him in.
“T was excited. Dr Carmody started to explain to my husband about the photodynamic treatment.
‘He said it was his mission in life to find a cure for the people of Ireland, the people who suffered from cancer. My husband said, ‘Surely my cancer is too severe’. He said it was suitable for all cancer,” she said.
“My husband said, ‘It sounds like magic.’ Dr Carmody laughed and said, “Yes, just like magic.’ We thought it was too good to be true,” she said.
“We were ecstatic. We couldn’t be- lieve what we had hit on. I had for- gotten why I went there. I’d forgotten it was about me,” she said.
“J (her husband) said, ‘Imagine we ve found it and we weren’t even looking for it.. He used to pray a lot. He thought it was his prayers answered. J couldn’t wait to tell the kids,’ she said.
She said her husband was given herbal remedies to build up his im- mune system and was on 66 tablets a day.
“He didn’t call them tablets. He called them bullets, they were so big,” she said.
She said their daughter Lisa, who was nine or 10 at the time, asked Dr Carmody, “You’re not going to hurt my dad” and he said “No.”
Their son Tecwen, now 23, asked Dr Carmody would he keep his dad’s cancer at bay. She said he replied, ‘“We’re not alone going to be able to hold it at bay, we’re going to destroy it. Aren’t we Bill?”
“Bill Porter replied, “Yes’,’ she said.
She said after her husband under- went the treatment in February 2002, the tablets were making him very ill. She phoned Dr Carmody and he ad- vised her to open up the capsules and put them into a milkshake, but that made ‘J’ even more ill.
She said her husband began to spit up “black. It was almost gooey. I rang Dr Porter. He was excited over
the phone. He said it was the cancer dispersing. My kids were so excited and so was my husband and every time it happened he told us ‘I got rid of more of it’,’ she said.
On February 18, 2002, she said they returned to Killaloe, where “Dr Por- ter said to us that he was clear, that my husband was clear of cancer.”
Senior Counsel for the Prosecution, Denis Vaughan-Buckley asked her did he mean “Cured?” and she re- plied, “Yes.”
Her husband had been due to attend the Mater for his fourth session of chemotherapy around this time, but cancelled it.
However, a CT scan in London on March 6, 2002, revealed that the can- cer had not gone.
“It was slightly larger than what it was in the previous scan. The doctor could see large quantities of herbal remedies in the lower bowel,” she nee
Her husband phoned her from Lon- don and said, ‘It’s back. It’s not gone. It’s lies.’
‘I was so angry I got through to the East Clinic. Carmody was not avail- able. I spoke to Dr Porter. I called him, I’m sorry, a lying bastard, that he didn’t know what he had done to my family. I said, “Stop making false promises to people’,” she said.
‘He said, “You know, Mrs Gallagh- er, it works on some people but not on everybody.’ I said, “Why did you tell us it would work. You are one bastard, you didn’t say that when you were taking his money’,” she said.
Asked by defence counsel Pat Mar- rinan did she bear a great deal of animosity towards Drs Carmody and Porter, she replied, “I feel cheated, I feel my husband and my children were cheated. What provoked me into making the phone call was hear- ing my husband’s voice in London and hearing he was upset. Both of them lied to me.”
Mr Marrinan’s cross-examination is due to resume today, ‘Tuesday.