Is there a miracle cure for cancer? The average person who turns to the Internet to find out might get the impression that cancer can be cured by fasting cleanses, asparagus, cabbage juice and even common pantry items such as baking soda. When it comes to miracle cancer cures, misinformation is not in short supply. Read on to find out about the origin of cancer cure myths, why they exist and how you can protect yourself against health scams.
Famous Miracle Cure Hucksters
Two of the most famous miracle cancer cures circulating on the Internet can be traced back to noted charlatans Stanley Burroughs and Tullio Simoncini. Self-professed physician Burroughs claimed that his Master Cleanse fasting diet could cure cancer. However, this "miracle cure" was debunked when Burroughs treated a terminal cancer patient with the fast, as well as numerous other unorthodox cancer treatments, and was charged by the California courts for second-degree murder in 1984. Secondary charges included practicing medicine without a license and selling a false cancer cure.
But Burroughs was not the only huckster charged with using false cancer cures. Simoncini's medical credentials were stripped by the Italian medical board due to wrongful death and swindling. However, this did not preclude him from practicing "alternative" medicine in Italy and the Netherlands by injecting cancer patients with baking soda. After a 50-year-old breast cancer patient died in an Amsterdam Hospital due to a baking soda injection in 2007, the Netherlands Health Inspectorate took action against Simoncini and issued a stern warning to other physicians that they would be investigated if they used baking soda to "cure" cancer.
Despite evidence that Burroughs' and Simoncini's miracle cures are ineffective, misinformation about the Master Cleanse (sometimes known as the Lemon Detox, Lemonade Diet or Maple Syrup Diet) and the baking soda cancer cure continues to be readily available on the Internet.
How Miracle Cancer Cures Sell
According to Stephen Barrett, M.D., and William T. Jarvis, Ph.D., who regularly author for the medical consumer site Quackwatch.org, miracle cancer cures "work" because the people pushing them are "supersalesman" out for your money. Quacks use frivolous disclaimers to get around how the purported miracle cure actually works. Be extremely wary of the words "cleanse" and "detoxify."
A typical claim used by a miracle cure huckster is that the false cure helps the body "heal itself." Other common tactics used by miracle cure hucksters is that the cure has been "under our noses all the time." Many claim that it takes too long to get their cure approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. In truth, the FDA would never approve these miracle cancer cures--and these hucksters are well aware of this.
Cancer Cures and the Federal Trade Commission
There is a fine line between the legal puffery that allows marketers to compete with one another by claiming that their product is the "best" and federal laws that prohibit marketers from inducing consumers into buying false medical cures. The Federal Trade Commission is charged with protecting the public against miracle cancer cures. Recently, the FTC has assiduously pursued "cleansing" and "detox" sites and products, such as the "21 Day Program for Advanced Cancers" and "7 Day Miracle Cleanse Program."
The injunction against the latter defendant resulted when the FTC was notified by the Electronic Retailing Self-Regulation Program (ERSP), a partnership between the Better Business Bureau and the Electronic Retailing Association. Of particular concern to the FTC are sites that purport to have a miracle cancer cure. The ERSP reviews various Internet site campaigns to ensure that such blatantly false marketing is reported to the FTC.
Cancer Cures and the U.S. Food & Drug Administration
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration is the federal agency charged with testing and approving all medical drugs, procedures and treatments for cancer. However, the FDA also issues warning letters to miracle cancer cure vendors warning them of future FTC intervention. As a service to the public the FDA has compiled a list of known false cancer cures and made it available to the public (see Resources), as well as copies of warning letters sent to Internet marketers who hawk miracle cancer cures.
Report a Miracle Cancer Cure
Until the agencies responsible for protecting consumers have knowledge about a new miracle cancer cure being marketed on the Internet, through infomercials or in print, they cannot take action against the huckster. You can do your part to protect cancer sufferers against charlatans by reporting these people and their products to the appropriate authority. Also, if you or a loved one has had experience with a miracle cancer cure or cancer cure huckster, Quackwatch.org urges you to share your story.
FDA MedWatch: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/default.htm
FTC Consumer Complaints: https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
Quackwatch: http://www.quackwatch.org/06ResearchProjects/cancerrsch.html
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar