How It Began
In the 1950s and 1960s, word began to spread about the power of Laetrile, a compound derived from the lowly Apricot Seed.
“I studied the available literature on Laetrile,” recalled Dr. John A. Richardson, MD, the late father of Richardson Nutritional Center's John Richardson, Jr. “But there was nothing urgent about it. I took the books with me on weekend vacations. Then a quirk of fate occurred: Our family cat got sick. It turned out he had a malignant tumor in his neck. I arranged to get hold of some Laetrile and began to treat the cat. It showed miraculous improvement, and the tumor gradually reduced in size. I had seen enough response to suspect there might be something to Laetrile.”
Dr. Richardson began to take a more serious interest in the apricot extract. He contacted Dr. Ernst Krebs, Jr. of San Francisco. Dr. Krebs’ father had discovered Laetrile and his biochemist son continued the research.
At about this time Dr. John Richardson’s nurse, Charlotte Anderson, approached him tearfully with news that her sister, Mildred Seybold, had just been diagnosed by the Kaiser Hospital as suffering from deadly melanoma cancer. The Kaiser doctors wanted to amputate her arm immediately. Nurse Anderson begged Dr. Richardson to treat her sister with Laetrile.
A Life-Changing Decision Made
“It was a big decision,” admits the doctor. "I knew that the traditional treatments for cancer, composed of cutting (surgery), burning (radiation), and poisoning (chemotherapy), were too often unsuccessful. I did know that the treating of cancer with Laetrile was frowned upon by Medical Establishment. But I knew I could not refuse to treat my nurse’s sister without breaking my Hippocratic Oath and becoming a traitor to my conscience. It was a momentous decision. What I did not then realize was that I was about to bring down upon myself and my family the vengeance and hatred of a medical machine that felt its authority threatened.”
Mildred responded beautifully to the B17 treatment. The tumor shrank.
After the treatment by Dr. Richardson, Mildred returned to Kaiser for a checkup. The doctors there were dumbfounded when they found she was clear of cancer. “Yet,” my father said, “they still wanted to amputate her arm. She asked them if they would recommend that if they had never seen her before. They said no, but because they had previously discovered cancer, they thought the safe thing to do was to amputate.”
Many years after Mildred’s treatment, Dr. Richardson said, “I recently saw Mildred at a wedding. She came up and grabbed both my hands—with both of her hands. I want to tell you, that was a very meaningful moment for both of us.”
Following the successful treatment of his nurse’s sister, and in strict accordance with his own careful investigation, Dr. Richardson become an outspoken advocate of the use of Laetrile. He conducted seminars and workshops for fellow physicians all over the country and began openly to use Vitamin B17 in his practice. Although it was not approved for treatment by the FDA, Dr. Richardson began successfully treating thousands of patients with Laetrile and metabolic therapy.
The War for Medical Freedom of Choice
The FDA, AMA, American Cancer Society, and other "powers" knew that a natural, inexpensive, non-patentable compound like Laetrile (Vitamin B17) had the potential to harm their Big Pharma piggy bank, so they began a decades-long demonization campaign against Laetrile and Apricot Seeds that remains highly active online to this day.
Dr. John Richardson fought for his patients to have Medical Freedom of Choice through the use of Laetrile. His rewards?
- His office was raided.
- His medical files were confiscated.
- He and his nurses were jailed.
- He was lied about and endlessly sued and slandered.
- He spent years fighting for his patients and his reputation in dreary, biased courtrooms.
- He lost his treasured medical license.
- And eventually, Dr. Richardson underwent a routine surgery. Air was pumped into his blood during the surgery, resulting in a long-term coma, ultimately ending his life in 1988.
Dr. Richardson's incredible results with Laetrile and metabolic therapy to help his patients are documented in the book, Laetrile Case Histories; The Richardson Cancer Clinic Experience by John A. Richardson, MD, and Patricia Irving Griffin, RN/BS. Originally written in 1977, the book was updated in 2005 with follow ups on the patients they treated.
Special Thanks: Parts of Dr. Richardson's story above were adapted from Gary Allen's incredible article about the courageous doctor's life and his decades-long fight for medical freedom of choice in the "A Doctor Who Dared" Cancer Control Journal from 1976, available in our store.
Our Commitment to You
RNC upholds the enduring legacy of Dr. John A. Richardson, MD, who courageously championed the utilization of vitamin therapy to help his patients. We genuinely care about you and your health, and our family promises to provide the best-sourced premium products available. The Richardson Nutritional Center is more than just a company—it's family.
