Two doctors in Holland are to be prosecuted over use of complementary therapy

A Dutch appeal court has ordered the prosecution of two doctors and a faith healer, known simply as Jomanda, over their treatment of Sylvia Millecam, an actor and comedian, who died from breast cancer in 2001 (BMJ 2007;335:13; doi: 10.1136/bmj.39262.561134.DB).

The public prosecution service originally dismissed the case against the three, accepting that Ms Millecam made a conscious choice for alternative care. But the Amsterdam court believes that questions remain over how Millecam’s decision was made.

The court said that she had placed trust in the doctors’ and Jomanda’s statements that her disorder was not breast …