Caryl J. Guth,
M.D. '62

Caryl J. Guth, M.D. '62 lived with chronic pain for years before she discovered a source of relief—outside the traditional medical treatments. With some natural scientific skepticism, she tried magnetic, or energy, therapy. The pain was diminished. "It made me realize that physicians need to be more open-minded about non-traditional treatments," she said.

That experience contributed to her recent gift to the Medical Center to fund the Guth Family Fund in Integrative Medicine. The fund will support a pre-eminent physician, scholar and teacher expert in integrative, or complementary, medicine.

"Patients are seeking this care," she said. "The more I have learned about it, the more I realize that traditional medicine has not been maximally effective in preventing and treating problems related to chronic pain. I believe medicine should work to integrate those so-called alternative therapies that are proven to be effective and safe."

Dr. Guth, recently retired, had a distinguished career as an anesthesiologist, including a term as president of the California Society of Anesthesiologists (1982-83). The California state legislature passed a resolution at the time honoring her "innovative and productive" accomplishments as president of the society.