Patrick M. McGrady

Patrick M. McGrady (1932-2003) was a science writer best known for his work as the Director of CANHELP, a cancer information and referral service, And Co-author of The Pritikin Program for Diet and Exercise which he wrote with Nathan Pritikin.

At the same time, he and his brother shared distinction for being the only two brothers who at the same time shared a spot on the New York Times Top 10 Non-Fiction Best-Sellers List. People Magazine published a profile on the two brothers for the momentous occasion.

Seamus McGrady, the youngest of the three brothers, runs a bed and breakfast in Lilliwaup Washington.

McGrady started writing for various newspapers, including The Chicago Sun, and later for magazines including Ladies' Home Journal and Vanity Fair.

His breakout article, The Cancer Patient's Quandry, published in Vanity Fair, became a frequently mailed and copied article sent among cancer patients and those who support them. From the number of contacts he'd received as a result of the article, and from the encouragement from his long-time partner Holly Redell, he formed CANHELP.

He was an early adopter of MEDLARS, and leveraged the massive medical database on behalf of cancer patients. He would read the MEDLARS search, judge the various suggested protocols per patient, and write a letter which would assess what he thought were that patient's best options for a consulting fee.

Although dismissed as a quack on Quackwatch.com, McGrady's contribution to the lives of some estimated 20,000 cancer patients' well being remains attested to by a) the volume of radio and television show guest appearances (on WOR with Barry Farber, Dr. Robert Atkins and Gary Null, and the fact that despite his frequent discussions and recommendations to cancer patients of what doctors and therapies to pursue, not one ever filed a lawsuit or a formal complaint against Mr. McGrady or CANHELP, thus discrediting Mr. Barrett's accusations on Quackwatch.

He is survived by two ex-wives, and three children.

His first wife was _____ Magnes, a professional Israeli pianist, with whom he had a boy, Ilya. Their divorce precipitated the mother's move to Israel, where Ilya was subsequently raised as an Israeli citizen.

His second wife was Colleen Benett, a prolific painter of visionary ICONS and heroic nature themes, based in Port Townsend, Washington. They had two children, Vanessa McGrady and Ian Franklin McGrady.

Bibliography

Critics in a Free society
Life Zones
The Youth Doctors
The Love Doctors
The Cancer Patient's Quandry
The Cancer Patient's Bill of Rights
The Pritikin Program for Diet and Exercize
The Rich are Not Ugly and Tired Like You and Me
Excess Baggage (Autobiography of Nancy Fielding, co-Author)(unpublished, unfinished manuscript)