Ellen White and X-rays

By Dirk Anderson, Oct. 2024

Ellen White is often extolled as being "years ahead of science." One SDA book lauds her for sounding "an early warning about overexposure in X-ray therapy," as if she provided the SDA people with supernatural information that was ahead of the common knowledge of that era.¹ X-ray therapy was certainly risky, especially before the dangers were well-understood. Did Ellen White tip off her followers with an early warning? In 1906, a small pamphlet was published for Sanitarium workers in Loma Linda containing this statement:

I have been instructed that much of the elaborate, costly machinery used in giving treatments did not help in the work as much as is supposed. ... I have been instructed that the X-ray is not the great blessing that some suppose it to be. If used unwisely, it may do much harm. The results of some of the electrical treatments are similar to the results of using stimulants. There is a weakness that follows.²

Although nothing is said of overexposure, Mrs. White warned against unwise use of X-rays. She expressed a generally pessimistic view of X-rays, saying, "the X-ray is not the great blessing some suppose it to be." Prior to 1981, this statement only appeared in this single publication and never get widespread attention.

Ahead of Her Time?

In the 1890s, Leopold Freund invented X-ray therapy. He used it to successfully treat various types of skin diseases. He was highly regarded by the medical community and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in 1906. The technology came to America in the early 1900s with much anticipation. Newspapers fueled the excitement. They contained reports of "miracle" cures using X-ray treatments. Before long public interest in the treatments grew. However, X-ray treatments were not without risks:

In 1903, Thomas Edison announced that his own health had been negatively affected by exposure to the rays six years before, causing poor digestion, lumps in his stomach, and eyestrain. It was in this report that the public learned of the illness of Clarence Dally, one of Edison's glassblowers, who had undergone a series of surgeries and amputations that had taken his left arm and was threatening his right. … Dally died the following year, and was promptly labeled a martyr in front-page obituaries that left little to the imagination as to the sort of agony he had experienced as a result of his exposure.³

After this negative publicity, more news articles began appearing in American newspapers, periodicals, and medical journals warning of the potential dangers of this new technology. After 1904, the medical community began to take the risks of X-ray exposure more seriously. As more reports of X-ray injuries accumulated, including cases of hair loss, radiation dermatitis, and cancer in medical practitioners who worked with X-rays, public awareness began to grow. The risks were debated in scientific and medical journals. Stories about the dangers of X-ray treatment began appearing in various newspapers in the early 1900s:

For all the general exuberance in the press toward the positive potential of x-rays, newspapers also made clear that the same rays could burn, maim, or kill. … The occupational hazards that x-irradiation presented provided an early and perennial stream of newspaper stories.⁴

Because of the extensive coverage of the dangers of X-rays in the American press, by mid-1906, many Americans were well aware of the risks. At this stage, the dangers of X-rays had already been published and discussed in many American newspapers, periodicals, and medical journals for several years. Thus, when Ellen White wrote her statement about unwise use of X-rays on June 17, 1906, the risks were already well-documented. This was not an "early warning." If anything, it was a late warning! She was not ahead of science. She was repeating current news on X-rays. Any SDA could obtain the same info from a newspaper.

Did Mrs. White Use X-rays?

Despite her pessimistic evaluation of X-rays and her fear that they would have the same effect as stimulants, Mrs. White used X-rays for her health problems. In 1911, five years after she warned others about the dangers of X-ray treatments, she went for X-ray treatments at Loma Linda and wrote about it in a private letter to her son:

For several weeks I took treatment with the X-ray for the black spot that was on my forehead. In all I took twenty-three treatments, and these succeeded in entirely removing the mark. For this I am very grateful.⁵

Ellen appears to have been blessed by this procedure and makes no mention of the treatment weakening her. Neither did she complain about the "costly" X-ray equipment purchased by Loma Linda. Later in life, on February 13, 1915, when Mrs. White fell down and fractured her left femur, she was taken to the nearby SDA sanitarium where she received an X-ray, presumably from "costly" X-ray equipment. In both of these cases, it appears X-rays were a great blessing to Ellen White even though her instructor said X-rays were "not the great blessing that some suppose it to be."

Conclusion

While it is possible her warning reached some ignorant soul and saved them from an unwise use of X-rays, it is equally possible that some SDAs avoided X-rays that might have benefited them out of fear it would weaken them. It is unknown how many avoided X-ray lungs scans that could have detected early indications of tuberculosis (TB). In the 1900s, X-rays played a crucial role in the early detection of TB, which was one of the leading causes of death during that time. The X-ray's ability to detect TB helped reduce its spread and provided early treatment to many patients who otherwise might not have been diagnosed in time. Early detection of TB through X-rays allowed doctors to isolate infected individuals more quickly, preventing the spread of the disease and allowing for better patient outcomes.

Today, X-rays are recognized as an incredible blessing, benefiting millions of people through diagnostic imaging, cancer treatment, and other medical uses. As a diagnostic tool, they are essential for identifying broken bones, lung infections, heart conditions, and dental problems. X-rays are used in radiation therapy to target and kill cancer cells. This treatment has saved millions of lives by effectively shrinking tumors or eliminating them entirely, while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. X-rays are used to guide minimally invasive procedures, such as the placement of stents or catheters, reducing the need for more invasive surgeries. This enhances recovery times and reduces complications for patients. Once proper safety protocols were implemented, the X-ray became an invaluable medical tool that blessed many people. If Ellen had been able to enunciate all the future benefits of X-rays, she might have bolstered her claim to be a prophet. But alas, she was only able to recite pessimistic cautions similar to the ones found in newspapers in 1906.

Citations

1. Herbert E. Douglass, Messenger of the Lord (1998), 332.

2. Testimonies and Experiences Connected with the Loma Linda Sanitarium and College of Medical Evangelists (1906), 95. Later published in Loma Linda Messages (1981), Paulson Collection (1985), and Spalding and Magan (1985), and 21LtMs (2015).

3. Matthew Lavine, "The Early Clinical X-Ray in the United States: Patient Experiences and Public Perceptions," Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences, vol. 67, Iss. 4 (Oct. 2012):587-625, https://doi.org/10.1093/jhmas/jrr047.

4. Ibid.

5. Ellen White, Letter 30, 1911. To J. E. White.