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American Morning

Alternative Medicine; 'Minding Your Business'; One Good Turn

Aired February 06, 2006 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Soledad is off. I'm Zain Verjee, giving Miles a bit of a hard time this morning.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Not at all.

VERJEE: He's managing.

MILES O'BRIEN: A couple of weeks with Zain, no problem at all. We'll miss Soledad, but good to have you here as well.

Kelly Wallace is in the newsroom for us.

Good morning, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you both.

And hello, everyone.

Some news just into CNN this morning. A bus collision in Fairfax County, Virginia, and that is in suburban Washington. We're just getting some of these pictures from the scene there. The accident, a head-on collision involving a school bus and a metro bus. We understand emergency crews are on the scene. Fire department officials say it looks like at least one person is hurt.

And we're taking a look now at some live pictures there. You see, obviously, some emergency officials on the scene there and you see the Metro bus there. Obviously, we are following this story. We'll give you more details as they become available.

Jury selection beginning today in the penalty phase of the trial of the Zacarias Moussaoui. He's the only person charged in the United States in connection with the September 11th attacks. Moussaoui pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy charges. Jurors must decide whether he should get life in prison or the death penalty. Five hundred potential jurors will be asked to fill out questionnaires this morning. The process could take about a month.

Civil rights leader Coretta Scott King continuing to break borders. She is the first woman and the first African-American to lie in state in Georgia's state capitol. More than 40,000 people paid their respects this weekend. President Bush and the first lady are expected to attend her funeral tomorrow. Today, King's body will be viewed at the original Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and that is where her late husband, the late Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., preached in the '60s.

President Bush urging Congress to make his tax cut permanent. The president is sending his $2.8 trillon budget to lawmakers today. Congressional sources say it boosts spending for the military and homeland security, but cuts funding for Medicare and other non-defense programs.

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales set to testify before Congress this morning. He is expected to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee that the domestic spying program by the National Security Agency can "make the difference between success and failure in stopping the next terrorist attack." The hearing set to begin in about two hours.

And if you own a yellow terrible towel, you're probably celebrating this morning. You've been probably celebrating all night long. The Pittsburgh Steelers winning 21-10 over the Seattle Seahawks for their first Super Bowl championship since 1980. The game, as you know, was played in Detroit. Some Steeler fans, though, were watching it in sports bars throughout Pittsburgh. No official plans have been announced yet, but we're expecting a massive victory parade there in the next couple of days.

Certainly got much more exciting in the second half than the first half, Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: That was my sleeping half of the two halves. If they could have done the second half first, more akin to my hours, that would have been nice.

WALLACE: First, it would have been better for you.

MILES O'BRIEN: By the way, do they still drink Iron City (ph) beer in there? Do you know?

WALLACE: I don't know.

MILES O'BRIEN: That's kind of a trick question, Kelly. If you knew the answer to that, I'd be worried about you.

WALLACE: Well, I don't know. We will find out and report back to you.

MILES O'BRIEN: Good you don't know. (INAUDIBLE). Thank you, Kelly.

WALLACE: OK.

MILES O'BRIEN: More now on the death of Coretta Scott King and her desperate trek for treatment. Toward the end of her life, Mrs. King went to a Mexican clinic for alternative cancer treatment. The cling, its founder, the treatment all questionable at best. As a matter of fact, the Mexican government has shut that clinic down. AMERICAN MORNING's Dan Lothian with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Across the border, 16 miles south of San Diego, Michigan Army Veteran Dick Dolesky (ph) put his life in the hands of a small, alternative medicine clinic after he was diagnosed with cancer. He was referred by a relative who had been treated there.

DICK DOLESKY: Just been great (INAUDIBLE) ever since. I said, I ever get cancer, that's where I'm going.

LOTHIAN: Santa Monica Health Institute in Rosarita Beach (ph) has claimed its holistic approach of magnets, diets and oxygen therapies can heal chronically and terminally ill patients like those battling cancer. What some have called quackery was just the right prescription of Dolesky who says he's suspicious of traditional treatments and the U.S. healthcare system.

DOLESKY: They don't want to cure cancer. It's all money.

LOTHIAN: But here, patients say they were offered hope.

BRENICE BRITT, PATIENT: I would have died if they had not taken me.

LOTHIAN: The families of other patients have been less impressed and blame the clinic's unorthodox treatments for hastening the death of relatives being treated there. Just days after 78-year-old Coretta Scott King checked in for treatment of advanced ovarian cancer and then died, the Mexican government ordered the facility closed citing unproven treatments and unauthorized surgeries. The clinic claims the government's action is unrelated to King's death. The founder and director say they are "working with the health department to correct any alleged infraction" and he expects the clinic to reopen soon.

This case puts the spotlight on alternative clinics growing in popularity south of the border. They are often controversial, operating outside of U.S. regulations and oversight. And experts say the claims they make and treatments they offer are sometimes dangerous.

But patients who say they've exhausted all traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation or have lost faith in those therapies say they're willing to take the risk.

BRITT: They know what they're doing. They're saving lives.

LOTHIAN: And, in this case, they seem unaware of or unfazed by the criminal record of the clinic's founder, 72-year-old Kirk Dansbar (ph). Among the list of charges and accusations, court records show he pleaded guilty to federal charges a decade ago of smuggling illegal medications into the U.S. from Mexico. And Dansbar, who has no medical degree, was charged by authorities in California during the '70s for practicing medicine without a license.

For now, his Mexico operation is closed. Patients told to find other facilities. But it's clear more and more Americans will keep traveling south of the border hoping to find the miracle cure.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN: We should tell you, the clinic founder declined to be interviewed by CNN for that report.

And on that whole issue of people seeking those treatments south of the border or anywhere else for that matter, the question is, do they offer some sort of real hope or is it a terrible false hope that is played upon people who are very desperate? Dr. Sherwin Nuland is the author of the best selling book, "How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter." He joins us now.

Dr. Nuland, let's talk about magnets and diets and oxygen treatment. Any clinical basis for any of those?

DR. SHERWIN NULAND, AUTHOR, "HOW WE DIE": Neither for those, nor for any of the others that have been touted in some of these clinics.

MILES O'BRIEN: So, basically, if there's no scientific basis and yet there are many people who pay a lot of money to go to these clinics, what is going on? Are they being sold false hope?

NULAND: Well, some of them are being sold false hope, but some of them are desperate. And they're desperate because it's their only possibility. They've been told that there is nothing that standard medicine can do for them and they're willing to take this chance.

Actually, the majority of them, though, have turned away from standard medicine. I think you, just a moment ago, heard about some of these things. And if I were to put a single word on it, I would say disillusioned or disappointed in what we, so-called allopathic physicians, have to offer.

MILES O'BRIEN: So what is the -- is that the concern then that people, for whatever reason, have turned away from conventional medicine and see this as a better alternative?

NULAND: Miles, it's been going on for 2,000 years. There have always been nonstandard physicians, no matter what we want to call them, and they've always appealed to a certain mindset that is disillusioned or, as I say, disappointed with what we can offer, or has problems with the authority of the medical provision.

MILES O'BRIEN: How big is this right now? Is there any way to estimate how many millions or billions are spent?

NULAND: It doesn't have to be estimated. We have the figures for 2004. $27 billion in this country is being spent every year for alternative treatments of one sort or another. Now, the vast majority of those are not the least bit lawful. And it doesn't mean that people are turning away from regular care, they're just supplementing with this. In that same year, 2004, 48 percent of American adults took some form of alternative medicine or saw an alternative practitioner. So this is a huge thing. It's a huge business.

MILES O'BRIEN: Putting myself in those shoes though, at the end of your rope, you've exhausted every other alternative, you have the means to do it, is any harm done in pursuing these avenues?

NULAND: Well, harm can be done because, as you say, at the end of one's rope, there's often a lot of suffering. There's pain. There is psychological problems. There is spiritual problems. And they ought to be treated. Just because we can't cure anything or just because we can't prolong life, doesn't mean that we don't have a great deal to offer by way of palion (ph), by way of comfort care, by way of solace, the nursing profession and the social service profession, the medical profession. It's not a wise thing to go scooting down to Mexico in the hope that some great, wonderful event will happen.

MILES O'BRIEN: And finally, a word on those who would prey on people in this position?

NULAND: Well, as I say, it's been going on for 2,000 years. It's a vicious, awful kind of thing and, ultimately, it is a business.

MILES O'BRIEN: Dr. Sherwin Nuland, who is the author of "How We Die," thank you very much for being with us this morning.

NULAND: Thank you, Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: Zain.

VERJEE: Miles, let's check back on the weather. Chad Myers is at CNN Center with the latest weather update.

Good morning, Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VERJEE: Andy is "Minding Your Business." Everyone else business, except his own.

Andy.

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am, Zain, thank you very much. A lot of talk these days about paying CEO's for performance, but what about paying your surgeon for performance or your shrink? Think about that one over the break and stay tuned to AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: Now, I was getting confused. Was Zsa Zsa in "Green Acres" or was that Ava?

SERWER: No, Ava. Ava. Eva or Ava. Right.

MILES O'BRIEN: Zsa Zsa was just, you know, a celebrity for being a celebrity, right?

SERWER: Just a va va voom kind of gal. MILES O'BRIEN: A va va voom . . .

VERJEE: Zsa Zsa with va va voom.

SERWER: Yes, with the accents.

MILES O'BRIEN: Zsa.

SERWER: Yes.

VERJEE: Yes.

A nationwide drive is underway to ensure that child care workers get the respect and the pay that they say they deserve. Andy Serwer's here to tell us about this.

SERWER: Zain, this is a tough job, no doubt, taking care of preschool kids. And 1.2 million Americans work in child care centers. Often these are just their homes. Very low pay. Less than $10 an hour often case. And no healthcare coverage. And a survey said that only 18 out of 770 jobs pay less than this. And it is a critically important job.

But now unions are looking to organize child care workers, which could be a real groundbreaking trend. Ten percent of these employees are now being unionized. The Service Employees International Union, SEIU, has made some inroads, particularly in states like Illinois where they've been able to raise pay by 35 percent and get healthcare coverage.

And I like this description in this piece. They were talking about one woman who is working at a center where she took care of five to eight kids and she said, one afternoon, one child was vomiting, another had bad diarrhea, two were fighting over a toy and the telephone kept ringing. That's a tough job. And so maybe if they get paid a little bit more money, it might not be a bad thing.

MILES O'BRIEN: You might think they deserve a few more bucks if they are, after all, our kids.

SERWER: Right.

MILES O'BRIEN: They're supposed to be important, right?

SERWER: That's right. And instead of just turning on the TV, you know, we really expect them to do some stuff.

MILES O'BRIEN: You might think.

SERWER: Want to talk about doctors a little bit?

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, let's do that.

SERWER: This is an interesting program.

VERJEE: Raising (ph) a new program to rate them. SERWER: Yes. This is in California, Zain, and we can actually rate doctors and then they actually get compensated on how well they do. It's the California Pay for Performance Program for doctors. Ratings are out today. And you can see these ratings. This would impact their pay by about 1 percent now. But in five years, it would be as much as 10 percent. They get bonuses for how well they do. And you can see how these ratings work at california.gov, office of patients advocacy. And, of course, the big question is, will this program be rolled out nationwide and I think a lot of people would see it.

VERJEE: What areas do they -- what areas of . . .

SERWER: All sorts of areas. General practitioners. All sorts of areas.

MILES O'BRIEN: So if you see a Mercedes driving down the road with, how's my doctoring on it, call 1-800, obviously . . .

SERWER: They're doing all right.

MILES O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE) a doctor trying to (INAUDIBLE) get a few points.

SERWER: Yes.

VERJEE: Yes.

MILES O'BRIEN: Do wiretaps work?

VERJEE: That's the question we're looking at today.

MILES O'BRIEN: Tracking terrorism may not be quite so easy. A very interesting look into the communications game is coming up a little bit later.

Also ahead, how do you repay someone for saving your life? Well, flowers would be a good start. But they say one good turn deserves another. These two seen here, actually there were three there, but two of the three there, we will meet them and tell you their amazing story in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: Well, one good resuscitation deserves another. And when Kevin Stephan was 10, playing little league, he got hit by a pitch. He almost died. But he lived because Penny Brown was there to give him CPR. And now he has done the same for her. An amazing twist. Penny Brown, Kevin Stephan, now 17, joining us from Buffalo to share their amazing story.

Good to have you both with us.

We'll try to do this chronologically, if we can. Let's go back to the beginning. 1999 and a little league game. Penny, tell me what you saw and what you did. PENNY BROWN, SAVED KEVIN'S LIFE IN 1999: It was a little league game. My husband was the coach. And Kevin's little brother Robbie and my son Mike were on the same team. And Kevin was the bat boy. And he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got hit in the chest with a bat, in fact. And he immediately collapsed to the ground. And I witnessed what had happened and my husband was yelling for me, so I ran from the stands and I pounded on his chest and he wasn't responding. So I administered CPR and, after a short time, he started breathing and his heart started beating again.

MILES O'BRIEN: Excellent. You're an intensive care nurse, so you're using your skills and you saved a life and that must have made you feel great.

BROWN: Yes, it did.

MILES O'BRIEN: Kevin, yes, a wonderful moment and you think that's the end of the story. Kevin, you were 10. I assume you have some memory of all of this and remember her and remember that moment pretty well right?

KEVIN STEPHAN, SAVED PENNY'S LIFE 10 DAYS AGO: Yes. Actually I just remember walking into the practice cage and then got hit in the chest with something and turned around and passed out. And, actually, I didn't know who Mrs. Brown was until -- up until the restaurant. And so . . .

MILES O'BRIEN: All right. Let's talk about the restaurant. You were working in the restaurant and you heard there was a patron, you didn't know who, was having some trouble. And they came to you because you're a volunteer firefighter and have some training in all this, right?

STEPHAN: Yep.

MILES O'BRIEN: So what happened?

STEPHAN: Well, I was in the back and I was putting away dishes and all of a sudden my manager came into the back and was yelling at me to go out to the front. And all the cooks were telling me to go out there. And I walked out there and I saw one of the waitresses attempting the Heimlich maneuver. And she was unsuccessful. And I went over there and I did two thrusts and then the food became dislodged. And Mrs. Brown started breathing again. I set her down at her table and then my mom had came over and she was like, that's Mrs. Brown. That's the lady who saved you. And I was just in total disbelief.

MILES O'BRIEN: So your mom happened to be there as well?

STEPHAN: Yes.

MILES O'BRIEN: And it never -- you had not seen Penny since you were saved?

STEPHAN: Correct. MILES O'BRIEN: I mean you're 10 years old. So this is the first time you'd seen her?

STEPHAN: Yes. Yes. It was a weird coincidence.

MILES O'BRIEN: I should say. So what went through your mind at that point, Kevin?

STEPHAN: I was just in disbelief. I couldn't believe like what had just happened. I mean I saved the woman who saved me. So I was just shocked.

MILES O'BRIEN: And, Penny, when you finally -- I've choked on a piece of food before. It's such a horrifying experience. And to get it dislodged is also a great experience, too, because you suddenly get a little bit of fresh air, which is a good thing.

BROWN: Sure is.

MILES O'BRIEN: Did you know who it was? And when did it click with you?

BROWN: No, I had no idea. My -- you know, like I had said, my husband had first started and, at that point, I really didn't know what was happening. I just knew I couldn't breathe. And I didn't even realize that he was the third person to try to dislodge the food. So, you know, it was pretty amazing once I realized who had done it.

MILES O'BRIEN: So try to capture for me the emotions of that moment when you both realized you were there together and what had just happened?

BROWN: Again, you know, it was an extraordinary feeling because you just -- not only are you appreciative of someone, you know, who saves your life, you just -- you just can't believe that it was, you know, the fact that you had done the same for him. And, you know, it's a good feeling.

MILES O'BRIEN: All right, I think you guys are going to stay in the same zip code henceforth, right, just in case?

STEPHEN: Yes.

BROWN: I think we should.

MILES O'BRIEN: Make sure you trade cell phone numbers and all that because you never know, there might be a third occurrence. We hope not, but you never know.

BROWN: You're right.

MILES O'BRIEN: All right, congratulations to you both. It's really good you're both here and it's amazing how events can lead to other events. Congratulations.

STEPHAN: Yes. Thank you. Thank you. BROWN: Absolutely. Thank you.

MILES O'BRIEN: Penny Brown and Kevin Stephan, thanks.

The American Red Cross and the Boy Scouts are working on special award ceremonies for Kevin. Well-deserved.

Zain.

VERJEE: Miles, thanks.

In a moment, they say your memory is one of the first things to go right after your eyesight, but there are ways to prevent your memory from fading.

And investigating wiretaps. The Senate wants to know why they don't know more and it could lead to some tough questions for the attorney general.

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien.

VERJEE: And I'm Zain Verjee in for Soledad.

MILES O'BRIEN: A clear and present danger to the world. A global alert put out on 13 escaped al Qaeda terrorists. One of them is linked to the deadly attack on the USS Cole.

VERJEE: Muslims angry about offensive cartoons getting more violent, embassies attacked. Now it's Muslim against Christian.

MILES O'BRIEN: Wiretaps without warrants. Are they legal? Today the White House will answer the Senate on that.

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