MESSER

Naturopathic “Cancer Specialist” Has License Suspended

In 2016, Washington’s Board of Naturopathy suspended the naturopathy license of Lucinda Messer, N.D., for at least five years. The board’s action was based on its conclusion that she had “failed to meet the standard of care, resulting in harm or unreasonable risk of harm” to two patients with advanced colon cancer. (The patients are identified in the board’s public records as “Patient A” and “Patient B.”) At that time, Messer operated a clinic called Pacific Health Restoration Center and a residential “retreat” called The Goddess Sanctuary, both located in Kirkland, Washington. In 2011 and 2012, her Web site described her as specializing in “integrative oncology” and claimed that she was “able to help all cancer patients with alternative medicines.” The methods she offered included Gerson …