Life and Work of Prof. Hackethal
Prof. Dr. med. Julius Hackethal (* 1921; † 1997) was a surgeon, a controversial author, and an untiring pioneer for humane, biologically oriented medicine. Following his academic career and surgical practice in clinical operations, he increasingly turned toward a fundamental criticism of the excesses of established cancer medicine.
Milestones and Key Motifs
With his bestselling books, he transformed the awareness of countless cancer patients in Germany. He coined the famous medical distinction between the benign, slow-growing "pet cancer" (Haustierkrebs), which should be accompanied gently, and the aggressive "predator cancer" (Raubtierkrebs), which demands rapid action. His core demand was always: No mutilation or destruction of quality of life through premature, radical surgeries or toxic over-therapy.
Holistic Legacy – The Testament of Prof. Dr. med. Julius Hackethal
The legacy of Prof. Julius Hackethal is more than a historical retrospective; it is a living, highly topical mission for the medicine of the future. At the heart of this holistic legacy stands the unyielding demand for a compassionate medicine from human to human – free from the shackles of purely economic constraints and protected from the interference of third-party authorities in the deeply private, natural doctor-patient relationship.
The Patient at the Center – Not a Number in the System
Holism means, first and foremost, placing the individual human being back at the center of a comprehensive medical ethic. Throughout his life, Prof. Hackethal fought against degrading patients to mere, medicine-believing "service recipients" or doctors to dogma- and fee-conscious "service providers" controlled by politics and health insurance companies.
His legacy calls upon us to oppose the creeping transformation of free medical professions into subservient cogs of the medical industry, which threatens to turn the physician into a mere administrative servant of modern times.
Activating the Inner Physician
In the tradition of Paracelsus, Julius Hackethal incessantly emphasized that the best medicine for a human being is loving care. Effective and honest medicine must not exhaust itself in mere symptom suppression, but has the fundamental task of awakening and sustainably strengthening the self-healing powers – the so-called "inner physician" – of the patient.
Where a thoroughly commercialized economic system poisons interactions with the sick and creates artificial dependencies, we actively advocate for genuine healthcare prevention, health diligence (Gesundfleiß), and natural healing aids in the spirit of this holistic legacy.
Measured Technology and Humane Dying
The holistic legacy does not disregard the value of technical progress; technology in medicine is important and necessary. However, Julius Hackethal vehemently warned against blind over-technologization and a soulless apparatus-based medicine, where the individual's quality of life is lost along the way.
This ethical responsibility covers the entire span of existence – from birth to the end of life. Therefore, a courageous and open approach to the topic of "Humane Dying" belongs inextricably to our holistic legacy. When a highly technologized medical system often makes a natural death almost impossible, we bear the duty to support dignified, self-determined, and compassion-driven regulations for this most difficult stage of life for those affected and their relatives.
The Later Years at Chiemsee
In his later years, he practiced at his own clinic at Chiemsee, employing innovative, immune-strengthening biological cancer therapies. The foundation continues this scientifically critical spirit.
