Dr. Atkins killed me, suit says

Cancer victim faulted diet guru's 'quackery'

By HELEN PETERSON and DON SINGLETON
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

From beyond the grave, a woman who died of breast cancer is suing the late diet guru Dr. Robert Atkins for giving her the advice that she says ended up costing her life.
The suit, seeking unspecified damages, was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court by the estate of Carol Rubick, a woman who died of breast cancer on Jan. 18, 2003, after receiving five years of oncological treatments at the Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine.

The plaintiff, Linda Lou Poag, executrix of Rubick's estate, claims that Atkins and two other doctors at the Atkins Center were negligent in treating Rubick's cancer.

In 1995, Rubick, then 39, underwent a lumpectomy of her right breast for treatment of stage two breast cancer, according to court papers. The surgeon - not affiliated with Atkins - referred Rubick to a traditional oncologist for chemotherapy.

Rubick decided instead to pursue "alternative care" with Dr. Atkins, care that consisted of such "quackery" as dietary manipulation, enemas and vitamin therapy, the suit says.

In 2000, a new lump developed in Rubick's right breast and she underwent a mastectomy. Less than three years later, she died.

Poag's suit includes a physician's opinion that Rubick died "as a result of the care and treatment rendered by the defendants," and by their failure to advise her to go for chemotherapy.

An Internet search last week for information on the Atkins Center turned up an undated Web site carrying the following message: "Dr. Atkins is cutting back on his cancer practice - He is only doing cancer prevention and he does have a unique hormonal program for prostate cancer. He is focusing on his diet program."

In last week's published decision, Justice Joan Carey allowed the suit to proceed, granting a renewal of the original complaint, which was filed before the deaths of Rubick and Atkins.

Neither Poag; Rubick's lawyer, Roger Kunkis, nor Dawn Bristol, attorney for Atkins and his co-defendants, Drs. Fred Pescatore and Lawrence Kempf, could be reached for comment yesterday.

A spokesman for Veronica Atkins, Atkins' widow, did not return a reporter's phone calls yesterday.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/st...7p-180119c.html