William Donald Kelley

William Donald Kelley, DDS, MS (November 1, 1925 – January 30, 2005) was an orthodontist who developed "non-specific metabolic therapy", an ineffective alternative cancer treatment based on the unsubstantiated belief that "wrong foods [cause] malignancy to grow, while proper foods [allow] natural body defenses to work".

Kelley received no training in oncology; according to Quackwatch his ideas are "largely speculative and invalid". Not only is his therapy ineffective, but people with cancer who take it die more quickly and have a worse quality of life than those having standard treatment, and can suffer serious or fatal side-effects.

Kelley formulated his own ideas about cancer, basing them on those of Max Gerson. According to Kelley, cancer is a single disease caused by the lack of certain enzymes. His treatment involves injection of pancreatic enzymes, 50 daily vitamins and minerals, regular administration of laetrile, frequent body shampoos, detoxification using coffee enemas, and a specific diet. Kelley also added prayer and osteopathic manipulations to his treatment regime. >

In 1971, the American Cancer Society added his regimen to a list of "unproven methods".

In 1980, Kelley's most famous patient, Steve McQueen, came to him with a case of inoperable mesothelioma that had not responded to treatment. As Kelley's regimen was applied to McQueen in Mexico, McQueen was falsely reported to be in remission and his case enjoyed widespread press coverage; People magazine called him "McQueen's Holistic Medicine Man". McQueen died 3 months later, following an unorthodox operation to excise the growing tumors. Nevertheless, Kelley's regimen was subsequently sought out by many patients with terminal cancer.

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