Meet the Health Rebels: Five Women Doctors Who Bucked the System

Alternative medicine was once considered the province of shady quacks and earthy-crunchy types. Not anymore. Meet five top women doctors who turned to alternative treatments — such as meditation, herbs and hypnosis — to heal their patients. Read part one of a five-part series.
by Nancy Wartik

All around the country, Americans are turning to alternative medicine to ease their aches and pains — not to mention soothe their psyches. Treatments that were once considered fringy, from massage to the best-selling mood-boosting herb Saint-John's-wort, have entered the mainstream, and many are now covered by major insurers. A 1998 study by Harvard University researchers found that the number of people who have tried acupuncture, herbs, homeopathy or dozens of other unconventional treatments rose by nearly 25% in the past seven years. In 1997, 42% of all Americans said they'd tried at least one kind of alternative remedy.

The study found that women make up the vast majority of these pioneers. "They have more reason than men to use alternative care," explains Mary Ann Burg, Ph.D., research director of the community health and family medicine department at the University of Florida. "They have higher rates of misunderstood illnesses like fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue. They have PMS or other reproductive-health problems that aren't always treatable by traditional methods. So they're likelier to search for a variety of options."

Yet until now, many alternative therapies haven't been rigorously evaluated and tested, which has fueled the continuing skepticism of mainstreamers. In the past decade, that has begun to change. Well-respected centers such as Harvard and the National Institutes of Health have established alternative programs. And New Age M.D.'s such as Andrew Weil and Dean Ornish (Dr. Ornish revolutionized therapy for heart disease by emphasizing the importance of a low-fat diet) continue to challenge the notion that prestigious medical credentials and alternative therapies don't mix.

The five women profiled here aren't as well-known as some of their male colleagues...yet. However, they are linked to some of the country's best hospitals. Just as important, they're committed to exploring the best of what modern health care has to offer, whether that means trying an alternative approach or sticking with something that's strictly by the medical book. These healers with heart talked to Lifetime about what they do — and why they rebelled.

Part One — Pain, Pain Go Away: Margaret Caudill, M.D.
Part Two — Fighting Infertility the Natural Way:
Adriane Fugh-Berman, M.D.
Part Three — Healing Children Through Hypnosis:

Karen Olness, M.D.
Part Four — Using the Power of the Mind to Battle Breast Cancer: Elisabeth Targ, M.D.
Part Five — Using Herbs to Heal Her Patients:
Kathi Kemper, M.D.