Cancer Cures?

The United States Food & Drug Administration is taking action against a number of companies that have been selling unproven “cancer cures”.  False cures have been around for decades, and some were considerably more dangerous than the cancers they claimed to treat.  Others, while not directly harmful, were a waste of money, and kept patients from getting more effective treatments.  The products contain ingredients such as bloodroot, shark cartilage, coral calcium, cesium, ellagic acid, Cat’s Claw, an herbal tea called Essiac, and mushroom varieties such as Agaricus Blazeii, Shitake, Maitake, and Reishi.

The FDA warns patients against any product that makes excessive claims, and gives these examples:

• “Treats all forms of cancer”
• “Causes cancer cells to commit suicide!”
• “80% more effective than the world’s number one cancer drug”
• “Skin cancers disappear”
• “Target cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone”
• “Shrinks malignant tumors”
• “Avoid painful surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or other conventional treatments”

“Cancer” is not a single disease, but a collection of different conditions, and not all are dangerous.  Some are so slow growing that they often don’t require treatment, while others can be effectively cured through conventional treatments.  There is no “one size fits all” treatment for cancer, and any product which claims to be effective for all cancers isn’t to be trusted.