Once diagnosed with cancer, life as a patient knows it becomes harder and terrifying, because it involves giving ones life into someone else’s hand to help you overcome and win. However, there are many sick minded thieves who do anything to make money and in the long run they take the patients’ life. However, cancer patients should be careful but they are always left vulnerable and have little knowledge about the cancer schemes which have the “magical” treatments that cure fast, last resort help, cost less, and less painful than going through actual cancer treatment. At worst, fake cancer treatments, medicine, and therapies can cause death.
These cancer scams are run by heartless money stealing thieves. They post their treatments in misleading advertisements, news events, people who run charities, drug stores, and the worst way spamming e-mails. From this they make their “patients” by medication that will help them cure their pain and get rid of lumps or any other disorders that come about. One of the worst quackery-related tragedies which is a well-known one among cancer patients was committed by reeling in an Oregon man who saw that he can treat his cancer without seeing an oncologist and treat himself from mail-order remedy.
By not going to the doctor and using this medicine for fifteen years he was badly disfigured and the tumor grew bigger. This is a great example of how caner patients are willing to do anything to get cured and shows how the scams work and end result is devastating. Once being reeled into far cancer patients began to suffer from a psychological burden and do not think they can cure themselves, thus hurting the patient indirectly and making him or her lose precious time.
Research shows thirty-three respondents reported seven needless deaths and fourteen cases of hopeless prognosis due to diversion by quackery. In like manner an incident happened with a popular herbalist who treated her “patients” with herbal remedies. One of her victims had found out about her cures and went to her for six months. The herbalist had psychologically manipulated her and her husbands mind into sticking with her substance. After a few weeks she had died because the lesion had gotten worse.
The husband an arrogant and stubborn man, was not shocked and his reaction was that she did not use the diet the correct way. Once the patient has gone in too far psychologically they began to lose precious time. Cancer quackery does this best with stealing time from terminal cancer patients who do not get to use the little time they have to fix up their mistakes. Ann Margret spent her time finding homes for her ten kids that she was going to leave behind so they will grow up and have a successful and bright future. The quackery discourages people from making that difficult move.
Thus killing them with out letting them prepare for the future. These scams also put in misplaced trust for caring and telling the victims that they will be there every step of the way. In another instance regarding time cancer patient Diane Klenke had been told the worst by her doctor: “Mrs. Klenke you have three months to live, you should go home and put your affairs in order. ” From that she was so worried and had turned to bogus remedies and practices that made her waist her time and could not do what the doctor had told her (Walecia 3).
One of the best alliances that quackery scams have is when the media gets involved by helping them spread the word about a product and giving it good feed back. With today’s generation which loves to follow the media and whatever is in fashion done, thus making the media a big seller and an indirect helper of these scams. The product is not the only thing that gets cancer patients into scams but the stories of how people over come and were cured by the product. Sarah Wally, a nutritionist with the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D. C.
Says that “That it’s not fair to the consumer, particularly consumers with cancer who have a really strong motivation to try anything that might offer hope “(Gardner 2)” An example to prove their point is a story about Anthony Sattilaro a physician had used a one food – as- medicine approach called a macrobiotic diet for his caner. He told the news, magazines, books, and even on television appearances that his diet had worked. After gaining publicity and media involved other cancer patients had followed his way but soon had found out that Sattilaro had died from this.
Using popular terms, phrases, or expressions is another great weapon for cancer quacks. Today the most popular term used to veil cancer quackery is “innovative. ” This word reels cancer patients to try new medicine. This is done by showing the patients the new ground breaking medicine that cancer “researchers” have come up with works by using testimonials, claiming that patients will save money, and will not have to suffer the harsh cancer treatments such as chemo, and radiation. According to research done by American Institute for Cancer Research, buying fake cures is the most lethal especially a remedy known as black salves.
Black salves causes diseases from under the skin, can actually burn the skin and cause scarring. Sarah Wally, a head researcher, said it was “selling hope in a jar (Gardner 3). ” This is not fair to the cancer patient because they have a really strong motivation to try anything that might offer hope. The term “innovative” used my the quacks gives the cancer patients the strong motivation to try their product. By looking at the term “innovative” form the patients point of view, we can see that it gives the patient the idea and opportunity of hope.
Patients may believe that since it is a ground breaking and new medicine it may help and cure them. When diagnosed with cancer it is very hard to think and to plan out moves and this is all because a patients can lose their loves ones in a blink of an eye and then wind up being upset that they did not give that medicine a chance. This shows the patients vulnerability and last resort situation. The term “innovative” is a great word for catching cancer patients to try alternative cancer treatments, medication and remedies, but this word is killing hundreds.
The term is legitimate and gives both the predator and the vulnerable prey what they want, but once agin the innocent prey is hurt due to a lack in knowledge. In order to help cancer patients, researchers have come up with studies showing that there are three types of cancer quacks and given each a name. First there are charlatans who are fakes and claim they have special skills and operate without conscience. Second are the hucksters who are aggressive salespeople or promoters. These people have no knowledge in what the substance actually is.
Last there are the cranks who are the ones who somewhat are believable because they believe that their ideas will work. They reasons why they pull their scams off is because of how sincere they are to their work and how strong their beliefs are thus making it impossible for patients to object. After reading this and doing further research on cancer schemes, many doctors got together with the government and caught five major companies (Gardner 3). To battle against and help speak out against these quackeries, doctors and other health officials have created watchdog websites to help inform the innocent victims.
Also many patients have told their stories about how they have been effected by the quackery and have gotten their stories published in prestigious magazines, newspapers and books. Questia published an article by Richard Thompson, a FDA Consumer Advocate, who wrote talking about a crucial scam. The article he wrote is called “The Sad Allure of Caner Quackery. ” It discusses about how the scammers pull the victims in. For example a lady posed as an agent for treatment cancer called a patient and said to fly by and all expenses will be paid but, they need to give a deposit and stick with their plan for some time .
This cancer quackery was run by a husband and wife who had started their own clinic in Mexico and only “helping” patients from the U. S. Their brochure was so excellent by having those perfect words that get right at you. They had said that their center offered “an effective therapeutic approach to cancer. ” They also had began their advertisements and had started their own 800 number (Thompson 2). Their operation was a gold mind. They had ten condos where he rented them out for free for two weeks and in the end charge them $3,000,but charged for the therapies and remedies that he used which he would rent.
The married couple were making over a $100,00 0 a month. Another thing that their operation had fulfilled was that they had input the fear of doctors and actual cancer treatments (Thompson 4). However, in the end the two did get caught and had to face trial. But, these two had achieved the main goal of caber quackery, and that was installing fear in the patients hearts of actual treatments and the cheap cost. The information from this article shows relevance because it shows how innocent patients are being hoodwinked by fake doctors and remedies and are not even being educated on the topic by their doctors.
This article clearly gives the triple threat. Alternative methods, cheaper, and putting fear in the minds of the patients. Another way where doctors fought back and bringing down quacks was by publishing an article in the Time magazine. A very prestigious magazine that brings out and discusses major problems being faced in the past, today, and future. A article written by Dr. Charles E. Horton of Duke University hospital wrote an article about cancer quacks. The article is called “Medicine: Cancer Quacks.
” He broke the article down into causes and stories of patients who had used alternative cancer methods to be treated and how the quacks had reeled them in and the innocent patients had suffered. Dr. Hortans had done 64 case studies of men and woman who sought medical treatment from cancer quacks and then after had gone to Duke University hospital. Ten of these people never had cancer, 27 had cancer but suffered unnecessary cancer quacks, and 27 died because their cases had gotten too serious by the time they reached Duke. In all cases the cancer quacks were either not necessary or not effective (Horton 1).
There are many specific examples of cancer patients whom had undergone cancer quacks and in all cases the result was negative. These are few cases that show the negative out comes. A 37 year old housewife had a condition which she went to a cancer quack to cure. Ironically it turns out that this condition wasn’t even cancer. The cancer quacks made her condition worse and she ended up having a quarter sized hole open up her nasal cavity (Horton 3). Another example is where a 69 year old retired cotton mill hand developed a cancerous lesion on his cheek.
After failed cancer quacks the cancer was successfully removed at Duke. 58 year old housewife developed a sore inside her mouth and went to a heeler for cancer quacks and after two years of cancer quacks her conditioned worsened and her sore covered her entire cheek. By the time she reached Duke, she had died and suffered a major financial problem (Horton 3). The article showed these cases as its major points and arguments to get the points across. In all these scenarios cancer quacks have been proven ineffective and completely unnecessary. Cancer quacks is just a business.
Quacks are not only a money making scam, but they are morally incorrect. You are putting a persons life at risk by not providing them with the proper treatment they need. Dr. Hortan believes the medical profession should handle quacks by examining and studying each new cancer proposal. He also believes that doctors everywhere should seek strict laws and penalties against premeditated quackery. This article relates to my argument by showing how doctors are saying that these quakers need to be caught and have stricter laws against them as well as educating their patients.
The best tactic that doctors and other health officials have to fight against cancer schemes and give cancer patients information about quackery is Quackwatch a watchdog website, for cancer scams is a great website that has been put up by many doctors and other health officials. This website gives great info and knowledge about the ways the quacks will harm people mentally, physically, emotionally, and financially. The website also gives out what brings people into the scams (Stephen 1). It also gives out popular names of medicine and remedies as well as places where these quacks occur.
Over all this website is a guide book, a manual for cancer patients who should use this for their advantage so they will not be reeled into them and lose money and most important lose their life. Even with cancer scams having the best term, media, celebrities, and testimonies, doctors, other health officials, and the government are doing all they have to put them down. The story about Antonio Sattilaro a physician whose used a one food-as-a medicine called a macrobiotic diet and other herbal remedies to cure him self was heard all throughout by gaining publicity from the media.
He was on the news, magazines,books, and even television appearances telling them his diet worked. With getting the other cancer patients hyped up to try his idea, he soon had died. Doctors and other researchers had said because of his one time a day eating and using extreme amounts of herbal remedies he had died. Thus squashing the ideas of any bogus cancer therapies or cures that was not approved by the FDA and which had legitimate studies behind it was deadly.
I do not want to blame the cancer patients, I just want to point out the dark side and reveal the scams that are out there killing loved ones and taking their chance away to fight. Patients should be warned when they are getting reeled into cancer quackery especially when they are going to exploited economically, injury, and even death. To deal with this there needs to be more adequate ways of fighting the cancer scam epidemic. Health professionals have a job to take action when their patients are being abused especially in an area where they have vast knowledge.