As the famous cancer doctor gets 45 years in jail, the doctor who has, for years, prescribed chemotherapy to perfectly healthy people, there is no amount of grief that can account for the sheer amount of suffering that those 553 victims of medical abuse went through.
The horror story behind this concrete case extends beyond the limits comprehensible by our imagination. It is a story worthy of Poe for its macabre substrate. It is evil. It is sickening to think of such a doctor being allowed to practice medicine. And last, but not least, it is impossible to grasp the level of dehumanization needed by a person to succumb to such ghastly deeds.
To voluntarily inflict radiation poisoning upon, living, healthy human beings, after falsely diagnosing them and traumatizing them with the news of their having cancer.
Dr. Farid Fata had seven offices in Detroit, Michigan. In these offices he invited people seeking help, compassion, and most of all, a good doctor. What they got was false diagnoses, unnecessarily expensive treatment, and chemotherapy. And in some cases, lots of it. 94 times the doctor gave chemo to one patient. 76 times to another. 8 times is the normal number for some of the most aggressive types of cancer.
During the whole two years in which he practiced his crimes, the doctor stole $35 million from the Medicare program. This money could’ve gone to treat other patients who actually needed the money. The doctor also stole money for his services from the actual patients, and in two years it is easy to understand how he became a multi-millionaire from money from so many hundreds of victims.
Dr. Dan Lango was one of the doctors from Harvard Medical School which investigated the doctors’ files. In his confession, he says that what Fata did was more than just aggressive cancer treatment, for which other oncologists had been jailed before. This was “over the top,” he says. The overwhelming number of injections and infusions stands as testimony to the number of crimes actually committed by the doctor: 9 thousand.
In trial since 2013, the man has been mostly silent. He had been previously convicted for money laundering, fraud, and conspiracy. He now stood trial for his other crimes. During the testimonies of his victims, the man was still silent.
Yet, the human psyche does eventually break, and so did his. After the sentence of 45 years in prison had been passed by the judge who named his crimes “huge” and “horrific”, the man spoke. What he said did nothing to alleviate the tension in the courtroom: he sobbed, and condemned his so-called will for power, and how the sin had entered him on account of his greed.
The victims are mostly relieved to see the man, who is 50 years old, get almost a life-sentence of four and a half decades. Some voices still claim that for his crimes, he should have been put away for life. Yet, what punishment is worse than having to live with yourself after confessing to such atrocities?
Image source: foxnews.com
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