Posted on 07/04/2004 6:02:54 AM PDT by NYC GOP Chick
From beyond the grave, a woman who died of breast cancer is suing the late diet guru Dr. Robert Atkins for giving her the advice that she says ended up costing her life. The suit, seeking unspecified damages, was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court by the estate of Carol Rubick, a woman who died of breast cancer on Jan. 18, 2003, after receiving five years of oncological treatments at the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine.
The plaintiff, Linda Lou Poag, executrix of Rubick's estate, claims that Atkins and two other doctors at the Atkins Center were negligent in treating Rubick's cancer.
In 1995, Rubick, then 39, underwent a lumpectomy of her right breast for treatment of stage two breast cancer, according to court papers. The surgeon - not affiliated with Atkins - referred Rubick to a traditional oncologist for chemotherapy.
Rubick decided instead to pursue "alternative care" with Dr. Atkins, care that consisted of such "quackery" as dietary manipulation, enemas and vitamin therapy, the suit says.
In 2000, a new lump developed in Rubick's right breast and she underwent a mastectomy. Less than three years later, she died.
Poag's suit includes a physician's opinion that Rubick died "as a result of the care and treatment rendered by the defendants," and by their failure to advise her to go for chemotherapy.
An Internet search last week for information on the Atkins Center turned up an undated Web site carrying the following message: "Dr. Atkins is cutting back on his cancer practice - He is only doing cancer prevention and he does have a unique hormonal program for prostate cancer. He is focusing on his diet program."
In last week's published decision, Justice Joan Carey allowed the suit to proceed, granting a renewal of the original complaint, which was filed before the deaths of Rubick and Atkins.
Neither Poag; Rubick's lawyer, Roger Kunkis, nor Dawn Bristol, attorney for Atkins and his co-defendants, Drs. Fred Pescatore and Lawrence Kempf, could be reached for comment yesterday.
A spokesman for Veronica Atkins, Atkins' widow, did not return a reporter's phone calls yesterday.
Mommas....don't let your children grow up to become lawyers.
Yes she died but was she slender? Sorry for being tacky but I am not a fan of alternative medicine, especially when you have cancer.
But the one who believed in the treatment won't be able to testify.
That is an odd title....one hopes the defendant said it before she died and not afterwards.
FCOL, the woman made a decision. Nobody twisted her arm. Dear God I'm so tired of the "victim" syndrome in this country. The woman would probably have died even if she had the chemo. Dr. Atkins didn't go out and drag her in off the street. I would chose alternative medicine because I would not saddle my family with huge medical bills. Better to die and be done with it. And my family had better not sue anybody either.
Let's face it. She didn't want chemo.
I'm sure she left a great lookin' corpse! ;-)
Medical news tell us all the time about dietary means as lowering cancer risk, etc.....every day, it's a new thing!
Great. Now we have dead people suing dead people. Another sign that "lawyering" has gotten out of control.
Lots of people die of cancer every day under many different treatment programs. Where was this womans family through all of this???
On the positive side, it should cut down on lengthy examination and cross-examination.
Ah vanity! I'm gonna look good if it kills me!
Oh good Lord.she was a grown adult who made a decision about her own personal care. She made the wrong one. But who's to know if this would have turned out the same no matter what treatment she choose.
I wonder what the survival rate is for type two breast cancer victims after chemo?
Suits can be killed and speak in the afterlife.
Your grammar school marm surrenders.
Not very good. It often goes into remission only to come back with vengence.
OK. So, assume that this woman also knew her chances of survival after a second round of chemo were slim, why not take a chance on an alternative therapy?
The only treatment a cancer patient seems to be offered in this country is radiation (like being a mile away from ground zero at Hiroshima) or chemo (lose all body hair, live in a "clean-room" and die after becoming a wasted skeleton). And for that, they blame Atkins?
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