Geerd Hamer’s discoveries on biological conflicts

The physician who demonstrated the impact of emotions on the onset of cancer

Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer was a brilliant cancer specialist for about twenty years. Then his destiny changed after the tragic and brutal death of one of his children. Three months after their son’s passing, he and his wife were both diagnosed with the same cancer, which led this oncologist to investigate whether there might be a connection between a violent emotional shock and the onset of disease.

For several years, he methodically studied over 6,500 cancer patient cases. This work led him to bring to light what he called the “five biological laws,” natural principles that connect deep emotions, a specific organ, and the symptoms developed.

His discoveries, innovative yet also disturbing, earned him the admiration and recognition of the many patients whose lives he saved, but also fierce conflicts with medical institutions. However, beyond these difficulties, they formed the foundation of what he named German New Medicine, an approach showing that every disease originates from a specific emotional experience. This vision opens the way to an entirely new understanding of disease and possible paths toward healing.

1. A brilliant and recognized cancer specialist, confronted with a violent ordeal

Ryke Geerd Hamer was born in Germany in 1935 and completed his medical doctorate in 1963 at the age of 28. His career was promising: he worked as an internal medicine specialist at the university clinic in Tübingen, then in Heidelberg, where he was responsible for cancer patients. Alongside his clinical practice, he demonstrated exceptional talent for medical innovation. He notably invented an ultra-fine blade electric scalpel, capable of cutting twenty times finer than a razor blade, as well as other innovative surgical instruments. These inventions provided him with the financial independence necessary to realize his dream: moving to Italy with his family and treating underprivileged populations in Rome’s poor neighborhoods free of charge.

It was then that tragedy struck. On August 18, 1978, his eldest son Dirk, aged 19, was accidentally shot while sleeping on a yacht near the island of Cavallo, in Corsica. The bullet came from the rifle of Prince Victor Emmanuel of Savoy. Despite all medical efforts, Dirk succumbed to his injuries four months later, on December 7, 1978, in his father’s arms. Three months after this devastating emotional shock, Dr. Hamer developed testicular cancer. His wife Sigrid, also devastated by the loss of their son, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. This troubling coincidence raised a fundamental question in this man of science: what if this brutal shock had triggered their cancer? Was it possible that an intense psychological conflict could generate a specific physical illness?

2. The definition of the five biological laws

Driven by this revolutionary hypothesis, Dr. Hamer undertook the systematic study of his cancer patients’ backgrounds. He questioned each of them about significant events that occurred before their illness appeared. To his great surprise, he found that all had experienced an unexpected and dramatic emotional shock shortly before diagnosis. But Hamer went further: by analyzing his patients’ brain scans and comparing them with their personal histories and organic symptoms, he discovered a systematic correlation between the type of emotional conflict experienced, a precise area of the brain, and the organ affected by the disease.

After examining thousands of cases, he succeeded in formulating what he named the “five biological laws of nature.” These laws constitute the foundations of what he would later call German New Medicine. They propose a radically different understanding of disease, not as a malfunction or error of nature, but as a sensible biological program, triggered by the brain in response to an insurmountable psychological conflict.

Law 1: Disease is a biological survival program triggered by an emotional shock

The first law stipulates that every disease begins with what Hamer named the “DHS” (Dirk Hamer Syndrome), in honor of his son. It is a conflict shock experienced as dramatic, acute, isolating, and unexpected, striking simultaneously on three levels: the psyche, the brain, and the organ. It is not just any stress or upset, but an event that catches the person completely off guard, without possibility of mental preparation. At the precise moment of this shock, the brain initiates a special biological program designed to help the organism manage this survival situation. What is called “disease” is therefore actually an adaptive biological response to a conflict that is insoluble at the psychological level. The body thus seeks, through organic modifications, to compensate for what the psyche cannot resolve.

Law 2: Each emotional conflict affects a specific organ through the brain

The second law reveals that the type of conflict experienced determines both the impacted brain area and the organ that will develop symptoms. This correspondence is not random: it is explained by the evolution of our species. Each area of the brain was programmed during our phylogenetic development to respond instantly to specific threats to survival. For example, a conflict related to fear of dying (panic from lack of air) affects the pulmonary alveoli, while a separation conflict affects the skin or the mammary ducts of the breast. A “morsel” conflict (not being able to catch, swallow, or digest a morsel, literally or figuratively) impacts the digestive tract. Hamer identified these correspondences with remarkable precision, literally mapping in the brain the relays of each organ and the type of conflict that activates them.

Law 3: Every disease unfolds in two phases

The third law describes the temporal course of what Hamer calls a “Special Biological Program.” If the conflict is resolved, the disease evolves in two distinct phases, each governed by a different branch of the autonomic nervous system.

First, the active conflict phase (or cold phase) corresponds to a state of sympathicotonia: the sympathetic nervous system is permanently activated, as if the body were in survival mode. The person is in a constant state of stress, thinks obsessively about their problem, sleeps poorly (notably in the second half of the night), has cold hands and feet due to peripheral vasoconstriction, loses appetite, and loses weight. At the organic level, depending on the brain area concerned, either cell proliferation is observed (tumor in organs controlled by the old brain), or necrosis or ulceration (in organs controlled by the cerebral cortex).

Then comes the conflict resolution phase (or hot phase), which begins as soon as the psychological conflict is resolved. The nervous system then switches to vagotonia: the parasympathetic nervous system, regulated by the vagus nerve, takes over to orchestrate repair and regeneration. The person relaxes, regains appetite and sleep, their extremities become warm through vasodilation, but they may develop inflammatory symptoms, edema, and fatigue. It is during this healing phase that the most spectacular crises often occur, what Hamer names the “epileptoid crisis,” an intense moment at the peak of the repair phase where the body rejects accumulated toxins and consolidates tissue reconstruction, before gradually returning to a state of balance.

Law 4: Microbes are our allies

The fourth law challenges the Pasteurian theory of germs as enemies. According to Hamer, microbes are not the cause of disease, but intervene during the healing phase as specialized workers. Each type of microbe has a precise function, determined by embryology: fungi and mycobacteria degrade tumors formed during the active conflict phase in organs controlled by the brain stem and cerebellum; bacteria participate in the reconstruction of necrotic tissues in organs controlled by the cerebral medulla; viruses intervene in the repair of ulcers in tissues controlled by the cerebral cortex. Microbes are therefore healing agents, present dormant in the organism and activated at the opportune moment by the brain itself.

Law 5: Nothing in disease is chance or error

The fifth law, which Hamer considered the quintessence of his discovery, affirms that everything in nature has meaning. There is no “malignant” or “benign” disease, no cells that rebel by mistake, no deficient immune system. Each symptom, even the most frightening, is part of a biological logic of survival inherited from millions of years of evolution. A lung tumor, for example, increases alveolar surface to capture more oxygen when facing panic fear of dying. Liver cancer helps digest an indigestible “morsel” (such as a conflictual inheritance). This law invites us to see disease not as a fate to be fought, but as a message from the body that always seeks to survive and attempts to compensate for an insoluble psychological conflict. Understanding this biological meaning then allows us to support the healing process with intelligence and respect for the organism’s innate wisdom.

3. German New Medicine: A new perspective on disease

Dr. Hamer’s discoveries radically upset the dominant conception of disease. Where conventional medicine sees a malfunction, a cell gone “mad,” a deficient immune system, or a microbial attack, German New Medicine reveals a coherent program implemented by the brain to help the organism survive a psychologically unbearable situation. This perspective completely transforms the therapeutic approach.

In this vision, cancer is not an enemy to be eliminated at all costs through aggressive treatments. It constitutes the adaptive biological response to a specific conflict that has found no solution at the psychological level. The appearance of a tumor in an organ corresponds to the body’s attempt to compensate for this conflict by modifying that organ’s function. For example, facing a brutal separation conflict (loss of a loved one, divorce), the mammary ducts of the breast may develop cell proliferation, as if the body sought to symbolically maintain the broken bond through the production of breast milk, the substance of bonding par excellence.

This understanding opens entirely new therapeutic perspectives. If disease results from an unresolved psychological conflict, then the key to healing lies in identifying and resolving this conflict. Hamer did not advocate abandoning all medical treatment, but insisted on the necessity of understanding the biological meaning of symptoms and supporting the person in their natural healing process. He emphasized that the most dangerous phases often occur during the repair phase, when cerebral edema can compress vital areas, or during the epileptoid crisis where symptoms intensify brutally. Appropriate support, aware of these mechanisms, allows avoiding complications while respecting the ongoing biological process.

It is fascinating to note that this approach joins ancestral knowledge. Traditional Chinese medicine, practiced for millennia, has always established precise correspondences between emotions and organs: fear weakens the kidneys, sadness affects the lungs, anger impacts the liver, worry disturbs the spleen, while absence of joy affects the heart. These correlations, known empirically by Chinese physicians long before our modern technologies, find a surprising scientific echo in Hamer’s work. This suggests that the biological laws he discovered are not theoretical inventions, but universal principles of life, observed across cultures and epochs in different forms. This convergence between ancestral wisdom and contemporary research reinforces the credibility of these discoveries and shows that there are laws of life that transcend medical systems and cultures.

German New Medicine therefore proposes a fundamental paradigm shift: moving from a vision of disease as an enemy to fight, to an understanding of disease as an ally bearing a message. This approach consists of creating favorable conditions so the body can naturally complete its regeneration process, rather than subjecting it to aggressive treatments that, while sometimes destroying the tumor, never resolve the conflict at the origin of the biological program. This joins my understanding that, when facing cancer, it is essential to act directly at the root of the problem by eliminating at all costs the carcinogenic factors that are at the origin of the disease, by definition. It is then desirable to replace them with elements I call “cancerifugal.” Cancerifugal is a word I invented and which for me is the opposite of carcinogenic. Carcinogenic means favorable to the appearance of cancer. According to my definition, cancerifugal means favorable to the disappearance of cancer.

4. A rigorous, brilliant, and courageous scientist whose message remains alive

Dr. Hamer’s scientific rigor cannot be questioned. He did not content himself with issuing an abstract theory, but methodically studied more than 10,000 patient cases, systematically analyzing their brain scans, organic symptoms, and personal histories. He documented his observations with remarkable precision, identifying in the brain the exact relays corresponding to each organ and each type of conflict. His discoveries have never been scientifically refuted. Quite the contrary, during his 1997 trial, a prosecutor was forced to admit that of 6,500 patients followed by Hamer, most considered “terminal,” 6,000 were still alive after more than five years. This survival rate of over 92% contrasts sharply with the statistics of the time for advanced cancers. To put this result in perspective, the overall 5-year survival rate for all cancers combined in conventional medicine was then around 30% in Germany. This exceptional therapeutic success, involuntarily recognized by his opponents themselves during the trial, testifies to the remarkable effectiveness of his approach. Indeed, it is far superior to that obtained by following conventional standard treatments.

Hamer paid dearly for his revolutionary discoveries. From 1981, when Geerd Hamer submitted his post-doctoral thesis titled “Hamer’s Syndrome and the Iron Rule of Cancer” to the University of Tübingen, he faced categorical refusal. This thesis rigorously presented his discoveries on the links between psyche, brain, and corresponding organ in the triggering and healing of diseases, particularly cancer. The university even refused to officially examine his work, an unprecedented case in the academic world. In May 1982, his file was rejected for scientific insufficiency in terms of form and methodology, without genuine study of the content. Despite a 1994 court decision ordering the university to continue examining his thesis, it declared it foresaw no validation process. This obstinate refusal to study observations that were nevertheless reproducible and documented according to the strictest scientific criteria remains difficult to understand.

In 1989, at age 54, Geerd Hamer was struck off the medical register for having refused to renounce his discoveries and conform to the dogmas of official medicine. This decision broke his career and forced him to continue his research under difficult conditions, deprived of direct access to patients and medical equipment.

The persecutions did not stop there. In 1997, he was sentenced to 19 months in prison for having given medical information to three people without having a medical license. In 2004, he was arrested in Spain and then extradited to France where he was imprisoned again. These repressive measures seem disproportionate, especially when compared to the sentence from which Victor Emmanuel of Savoy benefited: thirteen years after killing Dirk Hamer, the prince was sentenced to only six months of probation for illegal possession of a weapon.

Despite this relentless repression, Dr. Hamer never gave up. He continued to study, document, and transmit his knowledge through numerous works dedicated to German New Medicine. Thus, in the late 1980s, he published a book titled “Krebs ist heilbar” (cancer is curable). This book, available in German, exposes his alternative vision of disease as being linked to emotional and psychic conflicts, and affirming that cancer can be cured without the methods used by conventional medicine such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery.

His wife Sigrid never recovered from the grief of losing their son and the judicial harassment against her husband. She died in 1985, exhausted by these successive ordeals. Hamer thus continued his work alone until the end of his life, when he published a book titled: “Alone Against All.” In this work, Hamer recounts his journey, his discoveries, and his personal battles. He notably exposes his concepts of “German New Medicine” and describes the personal and professional ordeals he endured and the controversies that surrounded his work. The title expresses his situation as a physician and researcher on the margins of traditional medical systems, often in opposition to the dominant scientific and medical community. This expression also symbolizes his fight against what he considered systematic opposition to his discoveries, notably the idea that disease, including cancer, would be linked to a brutal psychic shock. Geerd Hamer left this world on July 2, 2017, at age 82, in Norway, where he had gone into exile to flee persecution. He thus joined his son Dirk, whose tragic death had paradoxically allowed the emergence of these crucial discoveries.

Today, despite attempts to discredit his work, German New Medicine continues to inspire thousands of therapists and patients around the world. His five biological laws are taught and applied by practitioners who recognize the value of this deep understanding of disease mechanisms, particularly in Latin America where patients seek effective, natural, inexpensive, and lasting solutions to their illnesses. His legacy remains alive, not as a fixed dogma, but as an essential contribution to a more global and respectful vision of human health.

5. My position regarding Dr. Hamer’s discoveries

I am convinced that Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer was at once a rigorous scientist, a genius through his innovative discoveries, and a physician filled with compassion and dedication to his patients. By revealing the links between psyche and disease, he opened an essential path that deserves to be recognized and integrated into a comprehensive approach to health. I discuss this in the following video that I invite you to watch :

However, certain practitioners of German New Medicine strictly limit themselves to Dr. Hamer’s discoveries, considering that understanding and resolving the psychological conflict is sufficient to treat any disease. This exclusive position seems reductive to me, even if it stems from a praiseworthy intention to respect the master’s teaching.

In my view, it is essential to assemble the research results of all relevant discoverers, such as Dr. Otto Warburg who demonstrated that cancer cells function through anaerobic fermentation rather than normal cellular respiration, or Louis-Claude Vincent who highlighted the importance of bioelectronic balance in body fluids. (see the articles Otto Warburg’s discoveries on cancer metabolism and Louis-Claude Vincent’s bioelectronics on this subject). These discoveries do not oppose Hamer’s; they complement them. Cancer is a complex phenomenon with multiple facets: psychological certainly, but also metabolic, energetic, nutritional, and environmental.

For children with cancer, it is important to understand the psychological aspect discovered by Hamer, without limiting ourselves to it. A child with cancer has indeed experienced an emotional shock, whether conscious or unconscious, personal or even transgenerational. Identifying this conflict and helping the child overcome it is an integral part of the healing process. But this is not enough. We must also address physiological aspects: restore cellular oxygenation, reestablish acid-base balance and bioelectronic balance of fluids, eliminate accumulated toxins, provide living and alkalizing nutrition, strengthen the overall biological terrain.

At the ¡Viva la Vida! center, children find themselves in a benevolent and supportive environment at the emotional level. They are free and encouraged in their personal initiatives. Inner peace and natural laughter in a child are medicines in themselves. It is also necessary to take into account physiological and energetic aspects for holistic healing, as Dr. Tal Schaller has demonstrated.

This integrative approach, which honors Hamer’s discoveries while enriching them with other complementary knowledge, seems to me to be the most respectful and most effective path to accompany a child toward healing. For a human being is not only psyche, is not only biochemistry, is not only energy: it is all of that at once, in an indivisible unity that should be cared for in its entirety.

Conclusion: The importance of considering the emotional dimension for lasting disease treatment

Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer’s discoveries have opened an essential door toward understanding the psychological origins of disease. By demonstrating that each symptom has biological meaning and results from a specific emotional conflict, he revolutionized our way of viewing cancer and diseases in general. His five biological laws constitute a major contribution that also joins ancestral knowledge such as that of traditional Chinese medicine.

His courage in the face of persecution, his scientific rigor, and his dedication to patients command admiration. The exceptional clinical results he obtained testify to the validity of his approach. However, for complete and lasting healing, particularly in children with cancer, it is appropriate to integrate his discoveries into a broader holistic vision, which simultaneously takes into account the psychological, physiological, nutritional, and energetic dimensions of the human being.

It is in this spirit of openness and synthesis that the ¡Viva la Vida! center accompanies children with cancer toward natural regeneration of their health, creating the cancerifugal conditions necessary for the expression of their formidable potential for self-healing.

This article was written by Claire Loiseleur, who is the founder and animator of the ¡Viva la Vida! center, whose mission is to offer children with cancer natural regeneration of health with all the Respect and Love they deserve.

To find out more about the ¡Viva la Vida! center and how it works, I cordially invite you to :

In addition, to go further and understand what the ¡Viva la Vida! center is basing on to fulfill its mission serving children with cancer, I invite you to :

Here is the list of articles published on WORKS AND BOOKS ON CANCER :

Go to the YouTube channel ¡VIVA LA VIDA! Center – english :

See the Facebook page : The Viva la Vida center

The Facebook group OFFERING MY CHILD WITH CANCER A NATURAL HEALING is a warm and friendly forum for exchange on the theme of Healing pediatric cancer using natural methods. It is open to all parents who have a child with cancer and who are curious to discover the extent to which the keys to natural health can help regenerate their child’s health. The aim is to help each other move forward, beyond the obstacles we face, in order to offer children with cancer natural healing with all the respect and love they deserve.