Bob Ellal

Tyrell Dueck, a 13-year-old boy from Canada, lay dying of cancer on a hospital bed in Tijuana, Mexico. An IV dripped laetrile, a concoction made of ground apricot pits, into his vein. He drank powdered shark cartilage dissolved in liquid. Alternative treatments that supposedly cure cancer. The treatments failed. The cancer spread from the tumor on his leg, into his other bones, and finally into his lungs. He died a couple of months after leaving the clinic and returning to his home in Saskatchewan.

Tragic—yes. But the real tragedy is that if his parents had allowed conventional treatment proposed by oncologists in Canada—chemotherapy and amputation of his leg beneath the knee--Tyrell had a good chance of surviving his cancer. A 65% chance. Instead his parents opted for unproven alternative therapies—shark cartilage and laetrile. And their boy died a miserable, and probably unnecessary, death.

What was the cost of this "alternative" cancer treatment? $6,000 a week, for a grand total of $65,000. Not covered by insurance, of course. A lot of money to dish out for remedies that do not work and provide false hopes of a “miracle cure.”

Cancer Scams: Preying on the Desperate

Desperate people do desperate things. There are few people more desperate than those affected by cancer—a terrifying disease which often proves fatal. And there are scores of alternative health practitioners and companies who are willing to take advantage of their desperation by selling them products which have no scientific evidence to back up their claims that they can cure cancer. Shark cartilage pills and powders, laetrile and other herbal remedies fit into this category. Miracle cures for cancer are a billion-dollar industry—and they are scams!

Shark cartilage showed promise as a weapon in the fight against cancer back in the ‘70s. It was erroneously believed that sharks did not get cancer because their cartilage, which comprises their “skeletons” instead of bones, has properties that inhibit angiogenesis—the development of blood vessels that feed tumors. Cancerous tumors, which need blood vessels to provide oxygen and nutrients to fuel their growth, can be “starved” and shrunk if these blood vessels are prevented from forming.

Enter William Lane, PhD, a biochemist who ran with the ball and wrote a book entitled “Sharks Don’t Get Cancer.” Research today by marine biologists proves him wrong—they do get cancer.

Lane formed a company which sold shark cartilage pills and powders, despite evidence that the protein in shark cartilage is digested by enzymes in the digestive tract and is not absorbed into the bloodstream, where it would inhibit angiogenesis. In other words, swallowing shark cartilage pills and powders have no effect against cancer at all—and is a colossal waste of money.

Andrew Lane, his son, formed a company called Lane Labs, again touting the effectiveness of shark cartilage in curing cancer. In 2005 a federal judge agreed with a Food and Drug Administration request to ban the company’s shark cartilage product “Benefin,” which Lane promoted as a cancer cure. Lane Labs was ordered to pay eight million dollars in restitution to customers who had bought Benefin and two other products.

Studies Prove Shark Cartilage Treatment is a Scam

Studies by responsible and well-respected doctors and researchers show shark cartilage pills and powders had no effect on tumor growth:

In 2007 a study was designed to see if patients with advanced lung cancer would live longer if they ingested shark cartilage. Directed by Dr. Charles Lu of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, the study tested a liquid shark cartilage extract being developed as a drug by Aeterna Zentaris, a Canadian company. There were 384 lung cancer patients in the test. Those who received the shark cartilage extract lived a median of 14.4 months. Those who received a placebo—a sugar pill—had a median survival of 15.6 months—longer than the patients who received the extract! (http://www.skepdic.com/shark.html).

In the July 1st, 2005 issue of "Cancer", a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, Mayo Clinic oncologist Dr. Charles L. Loprinzi and his colleagues in the North Central Cancer Treatment group related their findings: In breast and colorectal cancer patients, there was no difference in overall survival between patients who received shark cartilage and those who had received a placebo. As a matter of fact, the study showed that the patients ingesting shark cartilage often became ill from its effects. In essence, they had a poorer quality of life than those who received a placebo. (http://www.interscience.wiley.com/cancer-newsroom).

Laetrile—a “Cure” That Can Cause Cyanide Poisoning

Laetrile (which is actually the chemical amygdalin) is the other “miracle cure” that unfortunately did not save the life of poor Tyrell Dueck. It is found naturally in the kernels of many fruits—apricots, peaches, plums, bitter almonds and others. Cultures as diverse as the ancient Egyptians and Chinese have been using this chemical as a medical remedy for thousands of years, particularly in the case of bitter almonds.

In 1920 Dr. Ernst T. Krebs, Sr., a California physician, began using an extract of laetrile to combat cancer. In 1952 his son, Ernst T. Krebs, Jr., a biochemist, developed a purified form of laetrile for injection into cancer patients. Neither the doctor nor his son had the evidence of replicable, controlled laboratory experiments to back up their beliefs about the efficacy of laetrile as a cancer cure. Only a few testimonials from former patients, which may or may not have been accurate and true.

Despite this, the “legend” of laetrile as a cancer cure has stubbornly survived throughout the last half of the twentieth century until present day. Cancer patients and some well-meaning doctors embrace it as a way to cure cancer without suffering the all-too-real and debilitating effects of chemotherapy and radiation. In the 1970’s movie star Steve McQueen hailed its benefits in his fight against lung cancer. He died shortly after from the disease at a treatment center in Mexico.

It’s not just that laetrile does not work and is outrageously expensive as a treatment: it has dangerous side effects, too. In the body, laetrile ultimately breaks down into the poison cyanide. Patients have reported fevers, rash, nausea and vomiting and other ill effects. A few have died when high cyanide levels poisoned them.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as the American Cancer Society (ACS) have concluded that laetrile is worthless in the treatment of cancer (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3dx_laetrile.asp). There are dozens of tests, both on laboratory animals and humans, which back them up:

In 1973, researchers Isidore Wodinsky and Joseph K. Savinorsky, under contract to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), conducted laboratory tests using laetrile as treatment on four types of rodents with cancerous tumors. Laetrile proved completely ineffective, either as a cancer cure or in preventing tumor growth. Results were published in the September/October 1975 issue of Cancer Chemotherapy Reports.

Another similar experiment conducted under NCI auspices by W.R. Laster Jr. and F.M. Schabel Jr. of the Southern Alabama Research Institute found laetrile manifested no anti-tumor activity in mice with various types of tumors. Results were published in the above issue of Cancer Chemotherapy Reports.

Trials of laetrile on humans were performed between 1979-1981 at various medical centers around the U.S. In all, 175 patients with myriad types of cancer were treated with laetrile. Ninety-one percent had tumors progress after three months of treatment; after eight months of laetrile injections, all of the patients’ tumors grew and metastasized (www.encognitive.com/node/2576).

Yet, despite a multitude of tests conducted by respected physicians and researchers over several decades, people continue to believe laetrile will cure cancer. Why? Desperation. In some cases, patients have exhausted traditional chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment, and feel they have no where else to turn. They want to survive, as do we all.

In other cases, people driven by conservative or fundamentalist religious beliefs reject Western pharmaceuticals and believe only “natural” treatments fit into their spiritual paradigm. And frankly, many don’t want to face the debilitating effects of chemotherapy and/or radiation, which are very real.

As in the case of the boy Tyrell Dueck that begins this article, the costs of these bogus “miracle cures” can be staggering. And not covered by medical insurance, of course. Caveat emptor!

The Cancer Treatment Is “Natural” –It Must Be Safe and Effective?

People want to believe that natural substances—something that arises out of Mother Earth—have to be good, as God or evolution intended. But “natural” doesn’t always mean safe and effective. Various varieties of mushrooms are poisonous, for example. And one wouldn’t want to roll around naked in a patch of poison ivy.

Similar dangers exist in natural herbal remedies. Scammers promote unproven and potentially dangerous remedies such as “black salve” (an herbal concoction), laetrile, Essiac and other herbal remedies with claims that the products are “natural” (and therefore apparently safe) and effective.

A red flag here! Many herbal remedies are benign and perhaps helpful for various ailments if used in moderation; they have stood the test of time. However, no one has yet come up with an herbal remedy that is proven to cure cancer. Additionally, some botanical substances can either block or speed up the body’s absorption of prescription drugs, either nullifying their effect or accelerating them to dangerous levels. One has to be extremely careful using herbal concoctions when undergoing chemotherapy.
(http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_How_to_Know_What_Is_Safe_Choosing_and_Using_Dietary_Supplements.asp).

One must beware of the claims of some “natural” herbal remedies. Advertisers tout them with certain catch words that sound healthy and impressive—but really don’t mean anything when put under a skeptical microscope. A few examples: detoxify, purify, revitalize, balance, strengthen, support.

Advertisers may claim that a certain remedy “purifies” the body, or “balances” the immune system—but how would you, the consumer, ever know? Without the evidence of a series of controlled lab experiments conducted by respected researchers such claims are worthless. Let the buyer beware!

Vitamin Mega Doses to Cure and Prevent Cancer—“Natural” and “Safe?”

The sale of vitamins and supplements is a billion-dollar industry. One is constantly bombarded with television advertisements stressing the need to take anti-oxidant vitamins to destroy “free radicals” in the body. Free radicals are unstable molecules produced through normal internal functions of the body as well as by exposure to toxic environmental pressures—chemicals and radiation. They attach themselves to normal cells in human tissue and can spur on the advent of cancer.

Several decades ago, Linus Pauling, Nobel-prize-winning biochemist, promoted the idea that mega doses of anti-oxidant vitamins are critical in preventing or curing cancer. In the late seventies he and a Scottish surgeon, Ewan Cameron, conducted experiments that seemed to indicate cancer patients survived longer if they ingested mega doses of Vitamin C.

However, in the decades since, a series of studies conducted at the Mayo Clinic have shown no evidence that Vitamin C taken in large doses inhibits tumor growth. As a matter of fact, the tests show that it might actually accelerate cancer growth! (http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedEpics/cancer/chtml).

In other controlled experiments conducted in 1999, researchers found that Vitamins A and E—two other anti-oxidants promoted as cancer preventatives, might actually protect cancer cells in their infancy from the natural cancer-killing cells that exist in the human immune system. And neutralize the effects of chemotherapy and/or radiation, by protecting cancer cells from being eradicated by these treatments (http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/19991114042505data_trunc_sys.shtml).

According to experiments conducted under the auspices of the American Cancer society, mega doses of many vitamins can be dangerous and toxic. For example, too much Vitamin C can interfere with the body’s ability to absorb copper—essential to properly functioning body chemistry. Too much phosphorous can inhibit the absorption of calcium, vital to bone growth. Large doses of Vitamins A, D, and K are not eliminated by the body quickly and can easily reach toxic levels when too much is ingested (http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3x_How_to_Know_What_Is_Safe_Choosing_and_Using_Dietary_Supplements.asp).

Many doctors will tell you that the best way to get one’s vitamins is through proper diet. The body is designed to absorb vitamins through the digestion of food. Until controlled experiments prove otherwise about the efficacy of vitamin mega doses, cancer patients must be careful!

Are Doctors and Pharma Companies Concealing the Truth about Miracle Cures?

People love conspiracy theories. Nowhere is this truer than in the field of medicine, especially concerning cancer treatment. No doubt the treatment of cancer is a billion-dollar industry in this country: oncologists, oncology nurses, chemotherapy drugs and radiation. Conspiracy junkies seize onto the fact that a lot of money is being made in this arena and declare that the hundreds of thousands of doctors, tens of thousands of cancer researchers and pharmaceutical executives are in a massive conspiracy to make money by concealing the “truth” about miracle cures. In short, the conspiracy theorists believe the medical establishment doesn’t want to cure cancer: it wants to keep people sick so it can make money from their misery.

Is this a proper bead on reality? Are the hundreds of thousands of doctors in this country all evil sociopaths? Did they put in the arduous years of medical school after college and several years in residency solely to make money while their patients suffer? Doctors get cancer, as do their family members and friends. Does it make sense that they would choose death for themselves and their loved ones if there were simple cures for cancer available?

Certainly, pharmaceutical companies exist to make money. That is the nature of large corporations, no matter what products or services they market. But cancer also afflicts pharma executives and their families at the same rate as the general population. Would they choose pain and death for themselves and their loved ones just to keep their profits high?

The notion is absurd. Such thinking defies human nature. Cancer treatment conspiracies don’t make any sense when one applies them to the human level of the alleged conspirators.

The Warning Signs of “Miracle Cure” Scams

Medical scams have been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years. With the advent of the Internet, they have “metastasized” like out-of-control cancers. Internet cancer cure scams generally share these things in common:

• Ancient Indian Herbal Remedy Cures All Cancers! If you see an advertisement making this claim run—don’t walk—in the opposite direction. Cancer actually comprises about 200 different diseases—each unique in its own right. For example, ovarian cancer is comprised of entirely different cells than lymphoma. Oncologists treat each disease with different chemotherapy medicines. Claiming a remedy can cure 200 different diseases is outlandish. Not only that, but each person’s individual body chemistry reacts differently to medication—no two people respond to chemotherapy in the same way, for example. It’s that way with many medications for many ailments and diseases.
• Vague language or technical jargon that sounds impressive—but was probably skimmed from a medical dictionary. It’s better to talk you your doctor and have things explained in plain language.
• Testimonials—which may be entirely made up, promoted by actors or models who are paid to endorse the product. Even when testimonials are put forth by actual consumers of the product, it is not credible evidence. Science demands results that are replicable under controlled laboratory conditions; two or three people who seemingly were helped by a product—out of tens of thousands who used it—is not evidence of a cure.

The bottom line? Talk to your oncologist about a remedy before you waste your money.

Get the Lowdown from Your Doctor—Questions to Ask

Before you buy “alternative” remedies for cancer, which may be quite expensive (in some cases, as with laetrile clinics, that may actually bankrupt you and your family), talk to your doctor. Ask a few pointed questions:

• Is the product safe? What are the risks involved in ingesting it?
• Does this product have any research—lab experiments by impartial researchers—to back its claims of effectiveness?
• Will taking this remedy interfere with my current treatment plan? As stated earlier, certain herbal remedies and other natural products can diminish the effects of chemotherapy or accelerate its absorption by the body, leading to toxic levels that may be dangerous or outright fatal (www.ftc.gov.curious).

If your doctor doesn’t know, do some research on your own to answer these questions. The Internet is a good place to start; it can provide answers or lead you to places to look for answers. Be an intelligent consumer. Caveat emptor applies to every dime one spends.

How to Report Bogus Claims

If you buy and use a product and it doesn’t live up to its claims, you have recourse. You can report scams to a number of official entities—both to get your money back and to prevent other people in search of cures from being led down the garden path. File complaints to:

• The Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov/complaint)
• Food and Drug Administration (www.fda.gov)
• Your state attorney general. Check out this site to find the links for your state: (www.naag.org).
• American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org) or 1-800-207-2395

The Bottom Line

“Miracle cures” promise much but may not—and probably don’t—live up to their claims. Again, be an intelligent consumer. The Internet is at your fingertips; take advantage of it to do your own research.

As always, the old adage applies: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Bibliography

Videos:

• Anatomy of a Cancer Treatment Scam (www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO_Z7VsD9GI}
• Shark Cartilage Scam (http://video.asterpix.com/v/300582221/shark-cartilage-whaaa/)

Books:

• ‘The Remarkable Substance That Inhibits Tumor Growth and Reduces Pain: Shark Cartilage –Rita Elkins, M.E., Woodland Health, 1997
• ‘Sharks Don’t Get Cancer’ –I. William Lane, Linda Comac, Avery Publishing Group, 1992
• ‘Voodoo Science’ –Robert L. Park Oxford University Press, 2000
• ‘Trick or Treatment: The Undeniable Facts About Alternative Medicine’ –Edouard Ernst, Simon Singh, W.W. Norton & Co., 2009
• ‘Snake Oil Science: The Truth About Alternative and Complementary Medicine’ –R. Barker Russell, Ph.D., Oxford University Press, 2009
• ‘The Cure Within: A History of Mind/Body Medicine’ –Anne Harrington, W.W. Norton & Co., 2008
• ‘The Power and the Glory: The True Story of Tyrell Dueck’s Public Battles With Cancer and the State’ –Owen B. Griffiths, Seventh Generation, 1999
• ‘Natural Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About’ –Kevin Trudeau, Alliance Publishing, 2005
• ‘World Without Cancer—the Story of Vitamin B-17’ –G. Edward Griffin, 1997
• ‘Calling of an Angel: The True Story of Rene Caisse and an Indian Herbal Medicine Called Essiac—Nature’s Cure for Cancer’ –Dr. Gary Glum
• ‘How to Feel Better and Live Longer’ –Linus Pauling Ph.D., Camino Books, 1996
• ‘Cancer and Vitamin C: A Discussion of the Nature, Causes and Prevention and Treatment of Cancer with Special Reference to Vitamin C’ –Ewan Cameron, Linus Pauling, Ph.D., Camino Books, 1993
• ‘The Anti-Oxidant Miracle’ –Lester Packer, Carol Colman, Wiley Books, 1999