Saengchai Haelerttrakul first experimented his cancer-treating herbal medicines with stray dogs before testing them with critically-ill, homeless people. His only hope was to find a cure for his daughter who had brain cancer.
"There were hundreds who died and hundreds who survived," recalled Saengchai of his first batches of the herbal cancer remedy he concocted based on a formula he exchanged with a Cambodian folk doctor.
"My daughter had brain cancer. Her doctor said the final treatment was an operation that meant a 50/50 chance of waking up. There was nothing to lose for us so I decided to give her my medicine."
Video by Jetjaras Na Ranong and Arusa Pisuthipan
Three months later, there was no trace of cancer left in the body of his now 22-year-old daughter -- living proof of the herbal capsules' efficacy. Since 2006, he then started giving out free medicine to help cancer sufferers across the country. From a few hundred patients, it grew to thousands.
Now every first weekend of the month, up to 30,000 people flock and queue up in front of his house in Muang district of Prachin Buri province with their fingers crossed that these blue-and-white capsules will eradicate malignant cells inside their frail bodies. After more than a decade of free drug distribution, in February, Saengchai -- also known as Mor Saeng -- was issued a certificate from the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicines (DTAM), officially making him a folk healer. With such an approval from authorities, this enabled him to continue his cause against those who brand him as an illegal doctor prescribing a cure that has never been properly studied and tested.
Saengchai Haelerttrakul. Jetjaras Na Ranong
Saengchai's fame wasn't without criticism especially from conventional doctors, the authorities and some in the medical profession, who view alternative health approaches with suspicion. The Facebook page "Bantuek Ruang Naroo by Dr Adune" (Medical Titbits by Dr Adune), operated by surgeon Dr Adune Ratanawichitrasin, recently addressed Saengchai's medicine: "The success of a treatment must be proven thorough studies and examinations, not just by word of mouth."
The page also encourages those whose condition doesn't improve while using Saengchai's herbs to come out and speak the truth.
"Let's tell the truth so that people will not miss an opportunity to get treated," writes Dr Adune.
Radiation oncologist Dr Petch Alisanant of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital's Division of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology criticised Saengchai's herbal drug. The cancer specialist applauded the folk healer's good intentions but commented that his discovery needs scientific examinations and tests with lab animals as well as human beings before being prescribed to cancer patients considered both physically and emotionally vulnerable.
"Mor Saeng falls short of these processes," Dr Petch told reporters in February. "And now society is questioning why conventional doctors are against it given the medicine's effectiveness. In fact, we are not against it. We only need it to be done right, which means to be scientifically proven."
Battling such counter-attacks for over a decade dispirits the folk medicine practitioner, he said.
"The objective of the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicines is to promote and preserve folk wisdom. So when it comes to folk wisdom, do you think it entails laboratory tests, research and all that? They keep saying that my medicine is not approved by modern doctors. The department should shut themselves down."
A manager at Prachin Buri's Provincial Electricity Authority by day, Saengchai is a drug maker by night. To prepare for up to 350,000 capsules to be given away at the beginning of each month, he has to start mixing various herbs two weeks before. His formula contains 70% rice bran. The rest includes the Chinese herb chong cao or caterpillar fungus, bird's nest, and the Thai herbs khao yen nua and khao yen tai. Each herb undergoes a six-month curing before being mixed together. Saengchai himself is the only mixer to keep the recipe stable. Capsuling and packaging is done with the help of more than 10 people. The folk healer claims his medicine is chemical free.
Of course, Saengchai's herbal capsules are not a resurrection pill. But for many, they are an elixir of life. A 63-year-old woman diagnosed with first stage endometrial cancer, for example, claimed she got better after a month while also receiving 25 sessions of radiation therapy simultaneously. There also is a long list of other testimonials from people who shared their stories mostly on social media.
Saengchai does not diagnose. Those who receive his herbs must come with a medical certificate from elsewhere, stating they have cancer. Such a medical certificate must be presented to police officers at Mueang Prachin Buri Police Station who will issue a notification paper that is later handed at Saengchai's house together with the patient's identification card to receive 10 capsules per month, or sometimes less depending on the popularity at the time of distribution.
"Patients take one capsule a day and come for another 10 capsules in the following month," Saengchai explained of the dosage. "We cannot give 30 capsules each because this is already our maximum production capacity. You just take whatever you have and let it kill your cancer."
Dr Petch, nonetheless, earlier told media that there is no such thing as a universal drug. He stressed he has nothing against herbal medicine, which he deems suitable for basic symptoms like a cold or bloating. Cancer, he added, is a complicated disease that means the treatment must be carefully studied and approved given patients have a limited time to live.
It seems, however, the folk healer doesn't really care about such a backlash.
"I never claim myself to be a doctor. I only give hope to the hopeless. Everyone here waiting for my medicine comes with hope. So I just do whatever I can.
"I never tell patients to stop going to modern doctors and only take my medicine. I tell everyone to see their doctor first. Radiation and chemotherapy all comes with side effects. If they can stand that, go for it. If not, they can take my drug. Or they can opt for both approaches."
A frequent roadblock to practicing his folk medicine is the fact that conventional doctors at hospitals often refuse to issue a medical certificate for cancer diagnosis, he said. Without the papers, Saengchai cannot give patients his herbal pills.
"My words for those doctors: Please give these cancer patients a medical certificate. I won't steal your job."
Amid all this drama, resentment, stories of survivors and those who died, the fight with the authorities, oncologists and all that, Saengchai still doesn't think the rising popularity of his herbal remedy, which subsequently leads to his growing reputation, signifies a failure in the country's public health system.
"All this is not a loophole or a decline in Thailand's healthcare management, whatsoever," he said. "This whole story is just another alternative for patients. My medicine only means one more choice for those who want to try herbs. That's all. So just give them the rights and opportunity they are supposed to have."
