There is no time to wait for alternative cancer therapy to work err… fail

The reason that this blog came to be is the existence of cancer quackery, sometimes called alternative cancer treatments.

Many websites including this blog explain what is wrong with alternative cancer treatments and why they are dangerous and there are horrible examples of what happens to patients who chose to forgo conventional treatment and opt for some kind of alternative treatment instead. But the internet is littered with testimonials touting the successes of miraculous alternative cancer cures that are often claimed to be suppressed. Such testimonials can be very persuasive, especially if the reader/video viewer is afraid and not aware of what to look for, so it is no wonder that people get confused.

If a cancer treatment works in a mouse it works in a human right?? — Well, not necessarily

Researchers are constantly on lookout for new substances that are more effective and safer as cancer treatments than what is already available. In an ideal world it would be possible to know which substances would have effect on cancers and at the same time be safe. But the world isn’t perfect. So the researchers have to use some kind of experimental model to select substances that might be useful to patients. And they publish the results of these experiments.

Health Ranger Mike Adams And The Death of Steve Jobs

As was to be expected, it didn’t take Mike Adams long to inform the world of the cause of Steve Job’s death. It was of course, as it always is, conventional cancer treatments – chemotherapy and radiation in particular – and not cancer, for in Mike Adams’s world-of-miracles-that-never-happen, there is no such thing as dying from cancer.

Our Problem with Alternative Cancer Treatments

The purpose of this blog is to warn against alternative medicine, alternative medicine for cancer in particular. With alternative medicine we mean medical treatments which are used instead of standard therapy and for which there is no reliable indication of any efficacy.

Why It Is Morally Wrong To Believe Something Without Good Evidence: Arthur Schafer on The Ethics of Belief

Some time ago we blogged about the “ethics of belief”, in which we discussed the question whether a person’s sincere belief can exonerate him when something goes wrong due to the consequences of his belief.

In October 2010, Professor Arthur Schafer, Director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba, gave a presentation for the  Winnipeg Skeptics, on the “Ethics of Belief” which we are happy to post here:

Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch Sued by Doctor’s Data

Stephen Barrett is a retired American psychiatrist. He is also an author, co-founder of the National Council Against Health Fraud(NCAHF), and the webmaster of Quackwatch. His activities focus on consumer protection, medical ethics, and scientific skepticism.

Recently, Barrett wrote an article on a urine tocix metal test done by a firm called Doctor’s Data, in which he explains why in his opinion this test is used to defraud patients.

Many scientists have stated that Barrett’s article is perfectly correct and have spoken out in support of him.

Sadly, most alternative health practitioners are not keen on scientific debate and prefer legal thuggery instead.

Doctor’s Data is no exception, and they have deciced to sue Dr Barrett for the sum of $10 million.

Please help Dr Barrett in his legal defense by donating to Quackwatch here.

9 Questions that Stump Every Pro-Vaccine Advocate and Their Claims – Plus 9 Answers and Some Counter Questions

Although the article referred to in this post is about vaccines and not cancer, we still think it is very relevant, as it clearly shows the methods applied by many altmeds to discredit science and scientists.

On his website, David Mihalovic, who describes himself as a naturopathic medical doctor specializing in vaccine research, asks 9 questions about vaccines which he claims no vaccine-expert can answer.

Well, Mark Crislip on Science-Based Medicine does answer them – and at the same time presents some counter questions to be answered by David Mihalovic.

Alternative Healer Dr Thomas Lodi of ‘Oasis of Healing’ Threatens to Sue Blogging Cancer Patient

Seanty, cancer patient and blogger at MyMalignantMelanoma (which is on our blog roll), was recently threatened with legal action for defamation by Lodi’s marketing director Shayla McCallum. The threat was made because Seanty linked to an article in which some some critical remarks were made about Dr Lodi’s ideas on how to treat cancer. How despicable is that?

Well, so much for alties and an honest discussion.

See also:
Holford Watch
Respectful Insolence

Alternative Medicine: Does Belief Exonerate? Philosophy of Science for Beginners

Right from the start of this blog, purveyors and proponents of alternative medicine have posted comments or sent us emails explaining why we are wrong in thinking alternative medicine is dangerous and that we have no right to say it is deceptive.

German New Medicine (GNM) and Debunking Hamer on Cancer Metastasis: Slam Dunk

Ryke Geerd Hamer, inventor of the German New Medicine, claims that there is no such thing as cancer metastasis.

Hamer also claims that cancer does not spread through the bloodstream.

However, these claims can easily be checked out, and that is just what jli, our pathologist, has done in this post.