«I have never forbidden or discouraged my patients from following traditional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Everything they did was everyone's free choice."
Alba Veronica Puddu, a 52-year-old doctor from Tertenia, said this in the course of spontaneous declarations during the trial that sees her accused in the Court of Assizes in Cagliari.
Puddu is accused of aggravated voluntary homicide, circumvention of the incapable and fraud, because she allegedly treated cancer patients with alternative methods - such as ultrasound or radio frequencies - which, according to the indictment, would have reduced the life expectancy of the sick and accelerated death .
In his speech Puddu explained: «I have always explained to my patients that mine were not cancer therapies and that my treatments could work as pain therapies. I also underlined the pros and cons of the therapies», continued the doctor. Adding: «All three deceased patients (Davide Spanu, Franco Garau and Fiorenzo Fiorini, for the latter the murder charge remained standing, ed) were in a terminal phase of the disease. As for Fiorini, he had chosen not to undergo diagnostic tests and treatments».
The defendants of the defendant, Michele Zuddas and Nicola Oggianu, have advanced the request for an expert opinion to evaluate, at the material time, whether Dr. Puddu was capable of understanding and wanting, request however rejected by the President of the Court Tiziana Marogna.
The investigations had started after an investigation by "Le Iene" broadcast on November 19, 2017 on Italia 1, in which cases of cancer patients who had abandoned traditional therapies for those proposed by Alba Veronica Puddu were reported.
In 2018 the Lanusei prosecutor's office had seized part of her medical equipment in the professional's office in Tertenia. In May 2018, the Gip Francesco Alterio had banned the woman from practicing the medical profession. But before that she had been subjected to disciplinary proceedings by the Nuoro medical association.
