Less than a year later, at the age of 40, she died of breast cancer. Mind, body and soul. Some 40 to 50 med students showed up to learn about health care that goes beyond viewing illness as a constellation of physical symptoms. The group plans to bring in speakers, experiment with alternative medicine techniques like acupuncture and energy healing and share knowledge with one another. Dr. Don Temple, a cancer specialist and associate professor at UM who oversees the internships of third-year students, has observed that those entering medical school now are much more open to alternative healing methods.
Temple muses as to whether the new group is here to stay or an ephemeral passion born of youth.
Twenty-two, he grew up devouring books on Christian monastic teachings. He always wanted to be a doctor. But the gap between science and religion has been difficult for him to breach, and in undergraduate school, Dimitrov once considered giving up med school to become a monk. Now the association he helped found is at the forefront of a new era, an era in which some doctors are opening their visits with patients by kneeling with them in prayer. We are at a crisis point,'' Dossey declares. ''We can no longer turn to surgery and drugs alone.