By Dr. W. Gifford Jones
Would you like to make thousands of dollars easily? Well, there's a catch. You have to be corrupt, unethical and totally lacking in moral principles. You also have to be willing to lead cancer patients to their death. Not exactly an attractive job description. Regrettably, there are unscrupulous scoundrels willing to do it.
I recently received a call from an old friend. He is an intelligent, successful executive who had been aware of rectal bleeding for several months. But since he had an aversion to doctors he had ignored the bleeding.
Ultimately the diagnosis was not pleasant news. He had a cancer of the rectum that would require colostomy.
Like any patient faced with such shocking news he started looking for other types of treatment. Friends told him of a doctor in Switzerland that could treat this condition. Others had a variety of herbal suggestions. Then someone gave him the name of a "healing clinic". It struck the right chord.
He made an appointment , and called me excitedly following the visit. He had been told that he would not require surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. Eventually, I heard the whole story.
The female practitioner, it seems, had a "complicated computer" with flashing lights. An attachment to the computer was placed on the tip of one of his fingers. This simple, singular, act alone diagnosed the presence of malignancy.
But that was not all. This same computer also analyzed intestinal bacteria, blood, kidney function and numerous other bodily functions. And the result was good news. The cancer was not as bad as he had been told. He could be cured.
The first visit required $3,000.00 in cash. And the patient was given instructions on how to use a variety of herbal and other medications.
What an amazing computer! No rectal examination was required to feel the cancer. No sigmoidoscopic procedure needed to visualize the malignancy. No X-rays. No nothing. Just a small probe to touch his finger tip.
This is an incredible farce! Equally unbelievable is the fact that an astute businessman was duped by flashing lights. But he too wondered how a simple touch of his finger could produce 25 pages of graphs outlining many aspects of his health. P.T. Barnum was right. A sucker is born every minute. This won't change. But quacks who prey on cancer victims should be strung up by the thumbs.
How hard is it to get a nutritional diploma? Several years ago Dr Victor Herbert, a professor of medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, answered this question.
He announced to the Leukemia Society of America that Charlie Herbert was now a certified member of the International Academy of Nutritional Consultants. That Sassafras Herbert also had a beautiful certificate with a gold seal from the American Association of Nutritional and Dietary Consultants. They had each paid $200.00 for the diplomas.
But don't consult these nutritional experts. Charlie was Dr. Herbert's dog and Sassafras his cat!
Dr. Herbert went on to explain to his astonished listeners that a little more money would obtain a PhD degree. He described a California chiropractor with three criminal convictions who would sell PhD's in clinical nutrition to anyone for $3,000.00.
It's estimated that about half of all cancer patients eventually seek unrecognized forms of therapy. The majority turn to either nutritional remedies or machines with fancy dials and flashing lights.
How can so many cancer victims prove P.T. Barnum right? There are times when the diagnosis of cancer diagnosis is on the charlatan's side. Some people mistakenly believe they have cancer. Sometimes their malignancy is progressing so slowly it appears they've been cured. Or the malignancy may have undergone spontaneous remission. Or cured by standard medical treatment.
Nutritional snake salesmen never mention death during their treatment. They also have friendly, congenial personalities offering new hope and optimism. But they are wolves in sheep's clothing.
The Cancer Journal for Clinicians has a wide range of cancer cures that are foisted on the public. Cures such as cobwebs saturated in arsenic which, when used as a poultice, draw out cancerous cells. Or substances prepared from the pooled cancer tissue of animals which destroy malignancy.
Be suspect of the charlatan whose office resembles a T.V repair shop. Fancy machines with flashing lights do not cure cancer. It is understandable that cancer victims want to clutch at straws. Hope is one thing. False hope another, as it provides only temporary escape from reality. Keeping Charlie and Sassafras in mind will hopefully save cancer patients from the P.T. Barnum list.
W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com
My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:
Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1
Pre-2008 articles by Gifford JonesPursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2024 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2024 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement