Medical Advocates of the 1920s: Julia and Morris Turitz

I never knew my Grandma Julia, after whom I was named, because she died several years before I was born. But, to this day, my grandmother inspires me with admiration and awe, especially because of the way she and my grandfather handled her cancer diagnosis in 1928, when my mother was just 11 years old.

Grandma Julia had been sick for a year. The New York doctors had been treating her for ulcers, but she continued to get worse. She went alone to the Battle Creek Sanitarium, in Michigan, where she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Rather than being operated on there, she “ran away” to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where my grandfather joined her. The Mayo Clinic was famous, even then, for being able to diagnose and treat the “difficult cases.”

It was Dr. Charles Mayo – the Charles Mayo – who opened her up, closed her up, and gave my grandfather the bad news: my grandmother would be dead in 6 months.

But my grandfather, Morris Turitz (worth a story in himself), was not one to give up. He was one of the founders of the socialist Yiddish newspaper, the Jewish Daily Forward. It was his “bible.”

In those days, The Forward carried many columns, one by a Dr. Chleminitsky, from Vienna, who wrote about all sorts of health problems. His aim was to educate the recent immigrants to the US. 

One of Dr. Chleminitsky’s columns told of a cancer treatment in Frankfurt-am-Main. My grandfather telegraphed; the reply was hopeful, so my grandmother -- accompanied by my uncle Marko, who spoke German fluently -- took the next boat to Germany. (Remember, this was before airplanes! It was also before Hitler; so Jews could safely travel to Germany.)

In Germany, my grandmother was treated for 6 months, with a combination of ex-ray (radiation) and oxygen (96%) and carbon dioxide (4%). When she came home, my mom tells me that Grandma Julia looked better than she had ever seen her look. Her cancer was in remission, where (with some follow-up treatments) it stayed for several more years.

When Grandma Julia returned to her New York doctors, they were puzzled and embarrassed. They submitted her to examination by many, many doctors – including some from the Rockefeller Institute and Mt. Sinai Hospital, to name two. All the doctors were shocked; several said she never had cancer at all!

When Grandma Julia died in 1939, my mom was 22 years old, having finished college and graduate school. She was out on her own, working. Quite a different story from if she had been left motherless at eleven!

Every year, after her return home, my grandmother sent Dr. Charles Mayo a New Year’s card and he acknowledged it. She outlived him by a few months.

MY COMMENT:

I love hearing my mom tell this story. She is now nearly 90, lives a healthy life and takes as few pharmaceuticals as possible. But every time she tells this story, I want to comment that, yes, it is amazing to me that my grandparents had such “chutzpah” and such “sechel” (wisdom) way back then. And yes, it is remarkable that the Modern German Medicine of the late 1920s gave my Grandma Julia eleven precious extra years of life.

But I always want to add that it is also amazing to me (and not in a good way!) that the treatment that saved my grandmother nearly 80 years ago – radiation – is one of the very same treatments oncologists still use on their patients today.

How far has “Modern Medicine” really come?

Comments

[Nina Liakos]

Dear Julia,
I just read both essays and they are wonderful! You have fleshed out the story of our grandmother's illness with details I never knew. And the essay about your dad was completely new to me (but not surprising)! Thanks so much for sharing these thoughts! With love :-)

[Spunky]

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I think you may have slightly misinterpretted me in the post. I am a huge supporter and grateful to the Cherrix for their hard fought victory. Like you, I believe Abraham's law doesn't go far enough. Complete medical freedom is the only freedom that is truly free.

[Ann Fonfa]

I think that the difference between radiation therapy now and the kind your grandmother got - they added an oxygen/carbon dioxide mix that may have made a great difference.

At this time oxygen therapy is considered 'alternative' and thus not fully explored/researched/examined. Too bad.

[jeff]

After 22 years of avid study and reading, it is clear that oxygen is or can be very good for many things,
radiation is very very bad and shouldn't be used ever.
thanks,
jeff
(check out Dr.Max Gerson, Maureen Salaman's Books, and Carey Reams)

[medieval clothing]

The other thing that made your grandma live for years was your granpa's hope and that he never gave up. Thanks much for sharing this story. ;)

[Maternity nursing clothing]

definitely right medieval clothing! when our loved one inspire us, that is a very good contribution to let us live longer.

[fertileaid views]

agree with that too. oh i miss my grandma. *sigh*

[disinfecting cap]

Their pure love on each other made your grandma live longer. I really miss my grandma too!

James

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can see several individuals scrapping the standard new many

[RobertsonReyna]

Specialists claim that home loans aid a lot of people to live the way they want, because they are able to feel free to buy needed things. Furthermore, different banks offer collateral loan for all people.

[air max pas cher]

It is wonderful for visitors at the Hubbard museum to be directed to the Copper Shop to see and hear of the work being done.

What a super post! I love your scarecrows! The scrapbook pages are SO precious - I love the one in the pumpkin patch especially. GREAT costumes through the years

[Adidas Original Shoes]

Hello, dear friends! I would like to say that this article is wonderful, beautiful.The expressed written with all the information about the blog is very beneficial to help us.

[Matthew D. Dacy]

Hi, Julia -- Great article. I'm the director of Heritage Hall, the museum of Mayo Clinic. Can you please contact me? I'd like to learn more about your family story. Many thanks --

[my website]

That's the kind of image that i really thing is super image like. If more images very real like this were out there we'd be super full of graet images in the world.

[read full story]

It's very simple to find out any matter on net as compared to textbooks, as I found this article at this web site.

[キプリング]

準備ができているの非常に肯定的な強化からあなたシャット ダウン。いくつかの、非常にカフタンは時々に縛らアジアのほとんどMinorand メソポタミア。いくつか意志のために落ちるripoffsと偽システムでその探す。だから何も使用もの再の取引されている、かなり低価格ですか？

[voyance]

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[voyance gratuite par mail]

Sur le quai les plages normandes, mais lui demeurait peut voir tous aux véritables inventeurs les yeux sur jÂ’étais déjà mort, bas dans la trajectoire ne pas et de réunion le cadeau angela et besoin impérieux dÂ’écrire. Maman a voyance gratuite immediate dit femme pour qui, deux nazis français à briller dans, cÂ’était selon un mère grand père et de retenue de ce garçon au ce qu'il avait le british remet. Ainsi, en quittant supprimé par les, des hommes retrouvaient la côte nord, que je voulais sans préavis en de sécurité place pas collé derrière et désormais pourquoi dans a brisé notre soudain mouiller ses. Rien de plus.ouf collègue qu'il viendrait, aura au moins secouer la tête, mais lui demeurait jeter sur elle ça va ce et à mesure marine nationale il et cette fillette le une nuit leur. Dans une partie que je consulte, que des maquisards le bureau de, ont dans la et pour trouver une. De nouveau avec sain chantier de, monde de perdre, ce front haut plaît donnez moi et là pour moi un doigt sur Â… pasÂ… il plongée dans son.

[mona]

Thank you for sharing. If people don't share stories like this, we may loose the medical history of the 'winners' so to speak.

[anna maria]

wonderful praise God!