[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 5 (Tuesday, January 29, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E39]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE DR. WILLIAM R. FAIR

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 29, 2002

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
great pioneer of medicine, the late Dr. William R. Fair, an 
accomplished cancer surgeon, who lost his brave battle with colon 
cancer on January 3, 2002. Dr. Fair was a tireless advocate for the 
scientific study of complementary medicine.
  From 1984 until 1997, Dr. Fair held the position of chairman of 
urology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Fair was a 
fruitful researcher who developed surgical techniques and treatments 
for prostate cancer. In collaboration with his colleagues, specimens of 
his tumor were used to develop an experimental vaccine for his cancer. 
Unfortunately, Dr. Fair never had the opportunity to use it.
  In 1995, Dr. Fair was diagnosed with colon cancer. In 1997, the 
cancer returned and according to his own words, ``there was little 
chance of a cure.'' That's when he embarked on medical approaches 
outside the confines of conventional cancer treatments. He began a 
regime of exercise, meditation, herbal treatments and a change in diet. 
He noted that he felt better and the tumors did shrink, if only for a 
while. Dr. Fair embraced complementary medicine, which is standard 
therapy matched with unconventional treatment. This practice, as Dr. 
Fair used to point out, is different than alternative medicine. As a 
medical scientist, he tested his approaches and was adamant about 
holding unconventional therapies to the same high standard as 
conventional therapies. In 2001, Dr. Fair and his son helped found the 
complimentary medicine center called Health, which is located in New 
York City. Dr. Fair firmly believed that unconventional therapies 
extended his life and to quote him ``even if they can't cure, they can 
certainly help heal.'' In fact, his own surgeon was astonished as to 
how long Dr. Fair survived after his 1997 recurrence of cancer.
  Dr. Fair was a Member of the White House Commission on Complementary 
and Alternative Medicine Policy. He received his doctor of medicine 
degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and did his 
residency in urology at Stanford University. He is survived by his 
wife, Mary Ann, his son, his brother, Charles, of Norristown, PA, and 
his sister, Margaret Murtha, of Turnersville, NJ.
  I strongly urge my Colleagues to take a closer look at the promise of 
Complementary Medicine in the treatment of disease, and the work that 
Dr. Fair brought to this area of discovery. Dr. Fair will be sorely 
missed.

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