November, 1, 2007. Vancouver.

Dr. Abram Hoffer, 89, has won the inaugural Dr. Rogers Prize for Excellence in Complementary and Alternative Medicine for his work using nutrition and vitamins to treat disease.

The $250,000 award, funded by the Vancouver-based philanthropic Hecht Foundation, is the first award of its kind in Canada, and the largest in North America. The Dr. Rogers Prize for Excellence in Complementary and Alternative Medicine is named for Dr. Roger Rogers, a UBC Clinical Associate Professor emeritus who is also a recognized Canadian leader in CAM. Dr. Rogers began offering alternative treatments in Vancouver in the mid-1970s and later co-founded the Centre for Integrated Healing, now known as InspireHealth, to help cancer patients who have had limited or no success with traditional medical treatments.

The award will be shared with co-winner Dr. Alastair Cunningham of Toronto, creator of The Healing Journey, a non-profit program that helps cancer patients use relaxation and mental imagery to cope with the disease. Drs. Cunningham and Hoffer were selected from 57 nominees accepted after a nationwide call earlier this year. During lengthy deliberations, the judges attempted to arrive at a consensus for a single winner but judged that the contributions of these two recipients were of equal importance in terms of their impact on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Canada, and decided that the Prize should be shared.

Dr. Hoffer thanked those who stood with him over the years. He wrote: "Thank you so much for your messages which came flooding in yesterday and today. It does feel good to be recognized after nearly five decades of blood, sweat and toil and even more because this will draw attention to the important work we are all doing and will save many more patients from the real ravages of modern verticle medicine."

Angela Webster, the executive director of the Hecht Foundation, called Hoffer a true pioneer.
"His idea that nutrition is the basis for health and also a very good place to look to find the causes of disease is now mainstream," she said in an interview. "When he was first saying that in the '60s and '70s, it was heretical."

For more information on this exciting development, see the Vancouver Sun's coverage:

"Nutrition pioneer recognized with award"

Information on the Dr. Roger's Prize can be found here.

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