Tag: cancer
Human Flaws Demonstrate Evolution, Not Intelligent Design
The human body is clearly not the product of an intelligent designer. Its many flaws tell the fascinating story of evolution's accidents and constraints.
More, please! A victim of cancer quack Robert O. Young wins a $105 million settlement
Robert O. Young is a cancer quack who claims to be a naturopath who promotes what he calls "pH Miracle Living." He claims that cancer is caused by excess acid and that the way to prevent and cure cancer is to "alkalinize the blood." Two and a half years ago, he was convicted of practicing medicine without a license. Last week, a...
Cancer disparities: It’s money that matters (along with a lot of other things)
Cancer is a complex set of diseases. I commonly discuss complexities in its biology and treatment. However, there's another layer of complexity that leads to marked disparities in cancer incidence and death rates. One major factor associated with such disparities is socioeconomic status.
Crowdfunding: The fuel for cancer quackery
Ever since I first started taking notice about cancer quacks like Stanislaw Burzynski, I noticed how crowdfunding using social media and sites like GoFundMe appear to be an integral part of the business model of quack clinics. Thanks to an investigation by The Good Thinking Society published in BMJ last week, I now have a feel for the scope of the problem....
Electromagnetic Fields at Work Show No Brain Tumor Risk
A new study finds no significant correlation between workplace exposure to radio frequency (RF) or intermediate frequency (IF) electromagnetic waves and the most common brain tumors. This is more reassuring evidence that non-ionizing EMFs are probably safe.
Alternative medicine kills cancer patients, “complementary” edition
By definition, alternative medicine has not been shown to be effective or has been shown to be ineffective. Thus, alternative medicine is ineffective against cancer and can best be represented as either no treatment at all or potentially harmful treatment. It is thus not surprising that cancer patients who choose alternative medicine have a higher risk of dying from their cancer. A...
What’s the Truth behind The Truth About Pet Cancer?
The Truth About Pet Cancer (TAPC) is a slick bit of propaganda. Although it contains some interesting, even promising ideas, these are unfortunately served with a heavy seasoning of misinformation and fear-mongering. Hypotheses and opinions are presented as established facts, and anyone who disagrees is suggested to be ignorant at best, venal and corrupt at worst.
Clínica 0-19: False hope in Monterrey for brain cancer patients (part 3 of 3)
This is the conclusion of my series on Clínica 0-19, the cancer clinic where Drs. Alberto Siller and Alberto Garcia see patients with DIPG, a deadly brain tumor, whom they treat at Hospital Angeles in Monterrey Mexico with an unproven combination of intra-arterial chemotherapy with up to 11 drugs and a poorly defined dendritic cell immunotherapy. Some people have asked me: What's...
ASCO endorses the integration of quackery into breast cancer care
In 2014, the Society for Integrative Oncology first published clinical guidelines for the care of breast cancer patients. Not surprisingly, SIO advocated "integrating" dubious therapies with oncology. Last week, the most influential oncology society, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), endorsed a 2017 update to the SIO guidelines, thus endorsing the "integration" of quackery with oncology and paving the way for...
Another pebble in the quackademic integrative avalanche
We've documented the infiltration of quackery into academic medicine through the "integration" of mystical and prescientific treatment modalities into medicine. Here, we look at a pebble in the quackademic avalanche. Is it too late for the pebbles to vote?