http://www.quackwatch.org/01Quackery...harmquack.html

How Quackery Harms Cancer Patients

William T. Jarvis, Ph.D.
There is an old saying: "The highwayman demands 'your money OR your life,' but
quacks demand 'your money AND your life!'" This statement is particularly true
when it comes to dubious cancer treatment. The harm done by quackery may be
categorized as economic, direct, indirect, psychological and societal.


Direct Harm

Dubious therapies can cause death, serious injury, unnecessary suffering, and
disfigurement.

Ruth Conrad, an Idaho woman, had a horrible experience as a result of
consulting one of the state's many unlicensed naturopaths. While seeking
treatment for a sore shoulder, she also complained of a bump on her nose. The
naturopath stated that it was cancer and gave her a black herbal salve to apply
directly. Within a few days, her face became very painful and she developed red
streaks that ran down her cheeks. Her worried phone call to the naturopath
brought the explanation that the presence of the lines was a good sign because
they "resemble a crab, and cancer is a crab." He also advised her to apply more
of the black salve. Within a week, a large part of her face, including her
nose, sloughed off. It took three years and 17 plastic surgical operations to
reconstruct her face.


Indirect Harm

Some of the worst quackery-related tragedies result from delay or failure to
act. An example of a needless death involved an Oregon man who treated his
basal cell carcinoma of the mouth with a mail-order remedy for 15 years. What
makes this case especially tragic is that since this type of cancer almost
never metastasizes, he had many years in which to correct his folly. Although
badly disfigured by the growing tumor, he continued self-treatment.



"Natural" treatments that can delay proper care are often advocated by
well-meaning friends and relatives who are culturally conditioned to believe in
their value. This thinking is deeply rooted in many cultures and is as old as
written records themselves.

Pasteur's discovery was made more than a century ago. But even today, many
people perceive cancer as a modern-day "leprosy" and consider it "a curse by
God." The notion of a cancer-prone personality -- capable of self-healing with
psychological gymnastics that include visualization, laughter and excessive
optimism -- is unproven and may represent nothing more than elaboration of the
old folklore.

The frequency of needless or premature death due to quackery is difficult to
ascertain. A survey of 166 California oncologists done for the National Council
Against Health Fraud in 1980 found 12 probable needless deaths and 14 other
adversely affected patients.

Psychological Harm

In addition to the unjustified guilt referred to above, cancer patients and
their loved ones can be psychologically harmed in several other ways.

Misplaced trust.
A case I investigated from Oregon provides insight into the thinking and
actions of "true believers." A health food store owner discovered a lump in her
breast. After diagnosing it as cancer, she boasted to her health food friends
that she was "going to prove once and for all that diet cure works!"
Unfortunately, although at least 80% of self-discovered breast lumps are
benign, hers was cancerous.

Her first attempt at self-treatment was to apply the methods in the book The
Grape Cure. the tumor from growing.

Next, she turned to a popular herbalist in her community who treated her with
herbal remedies for about six months without avail. She then went to Mexico for
laetrile.

The most shocking part of the story is that she went to her grave still
believing that she had done the right thing.