Howard E (Harry) Walker

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Obituary- Walker, Howard 1

Howard Walker, 43, laetrile patient, dies

Howard E. “Harry” Walker, 43, Rossville, died peacefully at 11:20 a.m. Saturday in Memorial Hospital, after a four-week, laetrile-aided battle with terminal lung cancer.

His physician, Dr. Sidney Cohen, said this week Walker had ordered a reduction in the dosage of pain-deadening drugs to remain “very much in command” of the last few days of his life.

In the past 1 ½ weeks, Dr. Cohen said growth of the large cancerous tumor in Walker’s right chest had largely been arrested, although it was still growing extremely slowly.

Walker’s condition had gradually worsened during the last few days and Saturday the tumor finally blocked off the flow of blood to his heart, the physician said.

Cohen said Walker died peacefully, apparently while sleeping, in his hospital room.

Walker, a heavy equipment operator employed by Shawnee County, was given up for lost last month after conventional cancer treatments failed.

He went to court and succeeded in obtaining further last-ditch treatment with the controversial cancer drug laetrile, which has been condemned by some leading U.S. medical authorities, banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and largely suppressed in this country, despite its widespread use in foreign countries.

Walker had received injections of the substance – an extract from peach and apricot pits – for about four weeks.

Walker lived three weeks longer than doctors had estimated he would survive.

After he began taking the injections, Walker reported he was “feeling great.” Although neither he nor Cohen would attribute his improved condition – and continuing survival – to the laetrile injections.

Physicians had said the laetrile injections wouldn’t harm Walker, and Cohen had said that the injections might psychologically help his patient.

“I still don’t see what the big furor is about laetrile if it can be used in a setting of good supportive care for a patient,” Cohen was quoted as saying last month after Walker’s first five days of laetrile treatment.

Walker told a reporter Wednesday he was glad he had the chance to try the medicine. Walker had stressed he had tried all conventional forms of cancer treatment – and they had failed – before he turned to laetrile.

Walker said Wednesday, “I don’t know whether it’s the laetrile or a positive (continued on #2)

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