Category: Cancer

Turbo cancer?

COVID-19 vaccine-caused “turbo cancer” nonsense just keeps getting more turbocharged

No matter how implausible it is or how weak the evidence for it is, the myth that COVID vaccines cause "turbo cancer" just won't die. Quite the contrary, alas. Antivaxxers are—dare I say?—turbocharging it with bad science.

/ April 22, 2024
Cancer cells

There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are causing cancers associated with “accelerated aging”

A recent presentation at AACR found a link between markers of accelerated aging and an increased risk of cancer. Then antivaxxers got a hold of it to blame COVID-19 vaccines not just for cancer, but for "accelerated aging" causing it.

/ April 15, 2024
Mark Sircus

Mark Sircus and “natural allopathic medicine”? Now I’ve heard everything from quacks

The term "allopathic medicine" was invented by homeopaths in the 19th century as a disparaging term for medicine. So to see a quack like Mark Sircus try to coopt it as "natural allopathic medicine" is quite something.

/ March 25, 2024

Best Hospital Eye Roll

Science: Figuring things out is better than making things up. A tee shirt I recently saw. Except… In a recent post Mayo Clinic Promotes Reiki, Steve seemed surprised that the Mayo was offering Reiki. I don’t know. Maybe he was channeling Louie. I know the Mayo is a top hospital, but I trained in Minneapolis at Hennepin County and we would have...

/ March 19, 2024

Fenbendazole is fast becoming the laetrile of the 2020s

Antivaxxers who "repurposed" deworming drugs like ivermectin and fenbendazole are peddling cancer "miracle cure" testimonials that remind me of laetrile and Stanislaw Burzynski. Truly, everything old is new again.

/ March 4, 2024
Whole body MRI

False balance in an NBC news story on whole body MRI scans

Over the weekend, NBC News aired a story on whole body MRI scans. Although it did include the usual cautions about false positives and the harm they cause, the caution was diluted by the story's focus a rare case of a woman who had a brain tumor detected. Overall, it was false balance that reminded me of vaccine/autism stories 20 years ago.

/ February 19, 2024
Ivermectin repurposing

COVID-19 antivax quacks are now “repurposing” ivermectin for cancer

A year ago, I noticed that COVID-19 quacks were touting the "repurposing" of ivermectin to treat cancer. Now, familiar COVID-19 antivaxxers—cough, cough, FLCCC—have turbocharged this quackery.

/ February 5, 2024

A good journal breaks bad: AAP spreads misinformation about glyphosate

The latest report from the American Academy of Pediatrics is filled with misinformation and missing key articles that support the well-researched conclusion that there is no legitimate evidence of negative health effects of glyphosate.

/ January 14, 2024
Harvey Risch

He pushed hydroxychloroquine three years ago: Harvey Risch and false claim of “turbo cancers” caused by COVID-19 vaccines

Last week, I discussed Dr. William Makis' false claims of "turbo cancers" due to COVID-19 vaccines. Now it's hydroxychloroquine-promoting epidemiologist Harvey Risch's turn.

/ October 9, 2023
Turbo cancer?

Dr. William Makis and “turbo cancer”: Falsely blaming COVID-19 vaccines for cancer

A prominent oncologist and cancer biologist, Wafik El-Deiry, recently amplified claims that COVID-19 vaccines cause "turbo cancer," wanting a "civil discourse about science and actual answers that are missing." Unfortunately, calls for "civil discourse" by an eminent oncologist about unfounded claims only lends undeserved credibility to them. So, once more into the fray...

/ October 2, 2023