HUNTINGTON BEACH : Cancer Patients Given Fake Care, Police Say

A local physician has been charged with giving bogus treatments to cancer patients, police said Tuesday.

Dr. Glen C. Mahoney gave three cancer patients intravenous solutions of hydrogen peroxide, a common disinfectant that also is used to lighten hair color, Huntington Beach detectives said.

Mahoney, 61, was charged with three counts of giving fraudulent treatment and a single count of insurance fraud.

The charges were filed Oct. 11, but Peterson said police decided not to reveal the arrest until after the doctor’s arraignment, which had been scheduled for Monday in Superior Court. The arraignment, however, was delayed until December.

The filing of charges culminated a yearlong investigation that began when the family of an Irvine cancer patient called Huntington Beach police to complain about the treatments the doctor gave him.

“He was given some treatments that involved IV (intravenous) solutions containing hydrogen peroxide,” said police Sgt. Bill Peterson.

That patient, Kenneth Sims, 39, died during the course of the investigation from complications arising from his cancer, Peterson said. Detectives twice searched the doctor’s Main Street offices for medical records and have since found two women who were given the same treatment for cancer, Peterson said.

Mahoney remains in business. Neither he nor his attorney could be reached for comment Tuesday.

Hydrogen peroxide is sold in drug stores, but it is not commonly accepted as a cancer treatment.

“The effect of giving hydrogen peroxide intravenously may well be the destruction of the red blood cells in the blood stream,” said Dr. Steven Armatrout, professor of medicine at UC Irvine.