Nevada doctor receives ‘slap on the wrist’ for malpractice
A Carson City, NV doctor has admitted to malpractice for failing to diagnose colon cancer in an elderly patient who later died of the disease, state officials said. Dr. Frank Shallenberger entered a guilty plea before the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners concerning the care of his longtime patient, David Horton. Ed Cousineau, deputy general counsel for the medical board, said Shallenberger agreed to plead guilty in Horton's case to one count of malpractice. As a result, Shallenberger was fined $5,000, ordered to take 16 hours of classes on cancer screening, issued a public reprimand and ordered to pay investigation costs of about $6,500. Shallenberger, licensed as a physician, is also licensed in Nevada as a homeopath, or alternative medical doctor. In February 2000, Horton complained to Shallenberger of rectal bleeding and abdominal pain, symptoms of colon cancer. But the medical board complaint said Shallenberger told Horton that he suffered from hemorrhoids and advised him to use suppositories and take baths in witch hazel. Horton was later diagnosed by emergency room doctors with stage-four colon cancer and told he had six months to live. He returned to Shallenberger for homeopathic cancer treatments, records show. Horton, 76, died in October 2003. It's the second time in 12 years Shallenberger has been disciplined by the medical board. In March 1995, Shallenberger surrendered his California medical license after four patients claimed he was incompetent and grossly negligent in their care. Months later, Nevada's medical board gave him a public reprimand for surrendering his California license, stating, "Your conduct casts great discredit upon you personally and professionally, and upon the medical profession in general."
