Carmody tells court his brother went into remission after treatment

FORMER GP Paschal Carmody said yesterday that a cancerous tumour and multiple lesions in the body of his brother, Peter, disappeared after he administered Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) treatment and other treatments to him.

At Ennis Circuit Court yesterday, Dr Carmody said Peter Carmody’s oncologist told him that there was nothing more he could do for him after his response to treatment was poor.

Dr Carmody said his brother had an enormous tumour in the central bone in his rib cage along with multiple lesions.

He said: “Despite all attempts with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, they had failed to reduce it. Irrespective of what they did, it kept growing.”

Dr Carmody said that without any promise of life extension or any other type of alteration in his welfare, he administered a series of treatments to Peter to relieve the pain. The treatments included PDT treatment and immunology.

Dr Carmody said: “For some reason or another, his response was dramatic. His pain diminished the next day and kept diminishing until it faded away completely. Better still, his tumour reduced and eventually it went away. The multiple lesions also disappeared.

“The joy of the story for the family was that Peter went into total remission.”

Dr Carmody added that his brother lived for another 10 years before dying from cancer in 2008.

Dr Carmody (63), Ballycuggeran, Killaloe, denies defrauding family relatives of two terminally ill cancer patients of €16,554 at the East Clinic in Killaloe in 2001-02 concerning the PDT treatment given to the two.

Seven of the nine charges relate to the late 15-year-old Co Wexford teenager Conor O’Sullivan, who died from an aggressive form of bone cancer in November 2002.

The remaining two relate to John Sheridan (58), Kells, Co Kilkenny, who died from liver cancer in November 2002.

Under cross-examination from counsel for the State, Denis Vaughan Buckley, Dr Carmody said that he never told the O’Sullivans that he would cure Conor’s cancer or keep him alive.

Dr Carmody said that it was his view that Conor O’Sullivan may have benefited from PDT and other treatments as he had some success with treating sarcomas.

Dr Carmody completed his evidence yesterday.

The State and defence have completed their cases and Judge Donagh McDonagh adjourned the case to April 26th for closing speeches and the judge’s charge before the jury retires to consider its verdict.