Dr. Perry Nichols, B.S.,
M.D.
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Therapies (a-z)
It was in 1895, at age 32, that Nichols,
already a successful farmer and real estate agent, first learned of escharotic
treatment of skin cancer from two doctors practicing at an Iowa clinic called
the Cherokee Sanatorium. After talking to patients convinced they were cured,
Nichols set to work on his own escharotic formula, which he kept secret. In
1896, he spent time working with the same two physicians, and claimed to have
treated 40 to 50 patients successfully. By November of that year, he had opened
his own practice. Hampered by the lack of a medical degree, he hired a physician
in 1897, and pursued his own M.D. degree, which he received from the University
of the South-Sewanee in 1901.
Sideline becomes main business
Nichols moved to South Dakota intending to open a general medical practice.
However, his sideline of escharotic cancer treatment quickly became his main
business. In 1905 he was recruited to the city of Hot Springs to head an 80-bed
sanatorium.
In 1911, a branch was opened in
Excelsior Springs, Mo., and a year later, Nichols was recruited to Savannah,
Mo., a location he liked for its central location, available land, and good
transportation, including an interurban railway to bring patients to and from
St. Joseph. It was here that Nichols' practice thrived, and in 1924,
construction was started on a new brick building that had at least 200 beds.
Nichols became ill and died of
congestive heart failure in August 1925, but the clinic didn't close until 1956.
Secret' predates Mohs method
Secret' predates Mohs method
[1939] Cancer: Its Proper Treatment and Cure
by
See: Escharotics, Cancer Salves