Donald Factor, the son of cosmetics entrepreneur Max Factor had Carcinoma of the Lung with metastasis to Liver and Spine. In a letter dated November 1, 1999, he tells how Metabolic Therapy in Doctor Contreras' Oasis of Hope Clinic saved his life. This is his testimony:

"My name is Donald Factor.  I was living in London in November of 1986 when I was diagnosed with carcinoma of the lung that had spread to my liver. Basically the doctors in England didn't hold a lot of hope for me. They were very apologetic and offered a treatment which they thought might extend my life for a little while, but not for very long. I didn't feel like accepting that prognosis and decided to go and see Dr. Contreras. 

I'd met Dr. Contreras a few years before in a conference in England and was very impressed with his approach. He told us they used modern medicine combined with other natural things and a lot of love and faith. My wife and I moved from England to Los Angeles and then we drove down to Tijuana to the Oasis Hospital where I was treated.

When I arrived I was in an extremely weak condition. It was 10 days after the original diagnosis and the cancer had spread to my spine. I was in excruciating pain with my sciatic nerve affected so I could hardly walk. I was losing weight rapidly too. They took a look at me at the Contreras clinic and were quite concerned. They too were not very optimistic about my future, but as Dr. Contreras Sr. said, because both I and my wife were very committed to doing everything possible to beat the cancer, they were prepared to work with us.

To make a long story short, it succeeded... I was very impressed with the Contreras clinic [Oasis Hospital] when I went inside and met the people; I had never experienced a hospital where the doctors would treat me as a human being instead of a bunch of symptoms or a disease walking through the door. Suddenly, there was a team of people there who were interested in me and they were involving me in the course my treatment I would take. I was being asked, I was being informed and suddenly I was part of the team that was treating me. I wasn't just an object that was being treated. And that was tremendous and I realized there was another side to Tijuana that I never imagined possible in my youth.

This all happened in 1986 so it will be 13 years this November. After the initial metabolic treatment and about a year of home therapy, I was totally clear of any sign of cancer. I went back regularly for check-ups and after about three years of being in remission, the doctors said I was cured. I said, 'I thought in the cancer business you were never cured.' And they said,' Well it is silly to keep writing down 'Remission' year after year. We'll see you whenever you want to come back.' And that was that..."

I already had a lot of ideas about the orthodoxy, I suppose I’d call it, of modern science. I was never happy with it. I had known people with HIV and Aids and I was always rather disturbed at the way that disease was treated and how in those days it seemed that anyone who was diagnosed with HIV was dead within a couple of years. It didn’t seem right to me, it seemed to me that there was something else and I knew a bit about alternatives and complimentary medicine. My wife had been involved with some hands on healing work before that, so I was very open to other ways of doing things. I had never had a direct experience myself as a patient being involved in a place where love and human kindness were actually applied as part of the program. I have to say it was a revelation.

My name has been given to people and I have happily talked with them telling them pretty much what I tell you now. I think one of the main things that helped early on in my treatment was the use of a catheter which was able to feed the medications directly into my liver.  I think it was a Hickman catheter inserted into my umbilical vein that was able to stay in for about a year. It made taking all the medication much easier. One could simply inject whatever was needed into the end of a plastic tube and it would get through the catheter to the body without the worry of needles and veins. That was wonderful. It made life much easier and the quality of the treatment better. It worked amazingly."