Foundation for Advancement in Cancer Therapy
Non-Toxic Biological Approaches to the Theories,
Treatments and Prevention of Cancer

2024
Our 53rd Year

The Physicians

Philip Incao M.D.

Philip Incao

A long-time advocate of the bio-repair approach championed by the Foundation for Advancement in Cancer Therapy (FACT), Dr. Philip Incao serves to introduce the film and conduct a revealing Q&A on alternative cancer treatments in the new documentary, Rethinking Cancer.

Dr. Incao received his B.A. degree Magna Cum Laude from Wesleyan University, then his M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1966.  From 1968 he served as a medical officer in the U.S. Navy and was honorably discharged in 1970 with the rank of lieutenant commander. Dissatisfied with the limitations of modern medicine, Dr. Incao spent two years in Europe in the early 1970’s studying Anthroposophical Medicine, which combines the insights of the perennial spiritual wisdom with the rational method of modern science. He then became one of the first practitioners of this specialty in the U.S.

Dr. Incao managed a busy family practice in upstate New York in a Waldorf School and biodynamic farming community for 23 years. In 1996, he moved to Denver to help the growth of Anthroposophical Medicine in the West. There, he founded and practiced at the Gilpin Street Holistic Center in Denver until August 2006, when he moved to Crestone, Colorado where he continues to practice part-time and also write and lecture.

His special interest is learning how to apply Rudolf Steiner’s profound insight into the human being in practical healing.  Dr. Incao has been studying children’s health, the immune system, infections and vaccinations since 1970, and has given many lectures and written numerous articles on these topics.  Dr. Incao wrote two chapters and the concluding summary of the book, The Vaccination Dilemma, edited by Christine Murphy and published by Steiner Books. 

Dr. Incao’s article on vaccinations and the immune system, “Supporting Children’s Health” in the September 1997 issue of Alternative Medicine Digest, generated much interest and was reprinted in Asia, Norway, Canada and Australia.

His special interest in alternative cancer treatment came about when his wife was diagnosed with the disease in 1981, setting him on a search that led to FACT founder Ruth Sackman.  Since 1990, Dr. Incao has been a featured speaker at many of FACT’s annual conferences on the topic of inflammation and cancer. He also authored the forward to Ruth Sackman’s book Rethinking Cancer: Nontraditional Approaches to the Theories, Treatments, and Prevention of Cancer (Square One Publishers). Dr. Incao hopes to have his latest book, Tending the Flame: Toward a Medicine of the Human Spirit, ready for publication by Steiner Books later this year.

Sheryl Leventhal M.D.

Sheryl Leventhal

A former New York Oncologist who is now practicing the “food as medicine” centric field of Functional Medicine, Dr. Sheryl Leventhal provides a thought provoking conclusion to the new documentary, Rethinking Cancer.

Dr. Leventhal received her undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Cornell University and graduated from NYU Medical School in 1986.  She completed a traditional Internal Medicine residency at Temple University Hospital, followed by a combined fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at New York’s Montefiore Medical Center. From 1992 – 2005, Dr. Leventhal practiced Adult Hematology/Oncology in Rockland County, New York, at both Nyack and Good Samaritan Hospitals. For nine years during this period, she also served as an Adjunct Clinical Professor in Hematology/Oncology at Columbia Presbyterian.   

During the time she was practicing and teaching, Dr. Leventhal became increasingly dissatisfied with her field, both with the lack of time allocated for direct patient care and in treating cancer at its critical end phase. Through several clinical trials she directed, Dr. Leventhal found her interest in biochemistry and nutrition renewed, which stimulated her to explore a career path geared towards cancer prevention and wellness. In 2002, she learned about the burgeoning field of Functional Medicine, which explores the link between environmental and chemical toxins and disease, with an emphasis also on how nutrition can bring the immune system back to a state where the body can heal itself.  Dr. Leventhal left Hematology/Oncology in 2005, then “retrained” at the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM), a 25-year old organization that emphasizes a science-based approach to finding and preventing the root causes of disease.  

In April 2008, she opened Hudson Valley Functional Medicine in Valley Cottage, in Rockland County, New York.  Together with her partners, Dr. Leventhal offers a personalized approach to the core clinical imbalances that lead to disease, utilizing an expanded traditional history and physical exam and laboratory evaluation, when needed. Diet and lifestyle modification are always incorporated first and supplements are often added to complete the care. More information can be found at http://www.hudsonvalleyfunctionalmedicine.org/

In the documentary Rethinking Cancer, Dr. Leventhal provides an understanding of the transformation she underwent as a medical professional in her approach to cancer and other serious diseases, one that puts an accent on preventing the root causes and treatment with safe, non-toxic nutrition and detoxification methods.