Alternative medicine: Deadly for cancer patients
By definition, alternative medicine has not been shown to be effective or has been shown to be ineffective. Thus, alternative medicine is ineffective against cancer and can best be represented as either no treatment at all or potentially harmful treatment. It is thus not surprising that cancer patients who choose alternative medicine have a higher risk of dying from their cancer. A new study confirms this conclusion yet again. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - August 21, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Cancer Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Naturopathy Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking chemotherapy epidemiology mortality Source Type: blogs
Naturopathy: When fake doctors cosplay real doctors
Naturopaths are fake doctors who fancy themselves to be real doctors, so much so that they call themselves "physicians" even when explicitly barred from doing so by law. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - August 15, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Naturopathy Politics Quackery colorado Source Type: blogs
How is it that antivaccine pediatricians keep their medical licenses?
There's one phenomenon I've never been able to figure out, namely antivaccine pediatricians. For a pediatrician, to be antivaccine is a profound betrayal of everything learned in medicine and a betrayal of patients. Here's another antivaccine pediatrician, one I have never encountered before. Special bonus quack points: She's a homeopath, too. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - August 11, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Medicine Source Type: blogs
Dr. Aviva Romm: Distancing herself from Goop after defending it
Dr. Aviva Romm, one of Goop's doctors, tried to distance herself from Goop's pseudoscience. It didn't go well. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - July 28, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Naturopathy Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking Aviva Romm Goop Gwyneth Paltrow Jen Gunter Source Type: blogs
The Failed MMR Vaccine Policies on College Campuses
Conclusions
The current policy on most college campuses requires verification that incoming students have received two doses of the MMR vaccination. The goal of this policy is to prevent the diseases measles and mumps. A longstanding federal trial against Merck, the pharmaceutical company responsible for making the MMR vaccine, accuses Merck of manipulating data to show the MMR to be more effective against mumps than it is.
Recent outbreaks of mumps on college campuses by students vaccinated with the MMR vaccine provides additional evidence that the MMR vaccine is ineffective. Data from the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting...
Source: vactruth.com - July 25, 2017 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Michelle Goldstein Tags: Michelle Goldstein Top Stories college vaccination Mandatory Vaccination MMR vaccine truth about vaccines Source Type: blogs
Are Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop winning against skeptics?
The ubiquity of quackery and pseudoscience of the sort epitomized by Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop empire can be depressing if you're a skeptic. Sometimes it feels as though it's not worth refuting the nonsense she peddles. But it is. Just maybe not in the way you think. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - July 21, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Naturopathy Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking detoxi detoxification Goop Gwyneth Paltrow vaccines Source Type: blogs
Gwyneth Paltrow ’ s quack empire goop strikes back against Dr. Jen Gunter
Gwyneth Paltrow's goop website is a wretched hive of scum and quackery peddling dubious "wellness" products like vaginal "Jade Eggs" to affluent women. Yesterday, she corralled a couple of her "medical experts" to strike back at a persistent critic of goop's pseudoscience and mystical woo. It did not go well—for goop or its enabling "integrative" physicians. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - July 14, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Naturopathy Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking Aviva Romm Goop Gwyneth Paltrow homeopathy Jade Eggs Jen Gunter Stephen Gundry vaginal eggs Source Type: blogs
You can ’ t have naturopathy without antivax
A reader asks me why I hate naturopaths. I don't hate naturopaths, but I do oppose naturopathy. Earlier this week, Tim Caulfield reminded me of one reason why: You can't have naturopathy without antivax. Antivax views are baked into naturopathy. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - June 26, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Naturopathy Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking letters Tim Caulfield vaccines Source Type: blogs
Deaths and complications due to treating the fake disease known as “ chronic Lyme disease ”
Alternative practitioners invent and treat fake diseases like adrenal fatigue and chronic Lyme disease. Unfortunately, as a recent CDC report on complications due to treating chronic Lyme disease with long term antibiotics shows, treating fake diseases can cause harm and, in some cases, even kill. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - June 21, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Naturopathy Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking antibiotics Borrelia burgdorferi catheter-associated sepsis CDC chronic lyme disease Clostridium diff Source Type: blogs
What is an “ altie ” ?
How does one identify a hard core believer in alternative medicine, sometimes called in the distant past an "altie." Well, this helpful list, culled from nine years ago, will aid you in spotting the identifying signs... (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - June 15, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Humor Naturopathy Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking altie Source Type: blogs
Cassandra Callender ’ s cancer is progressing, and the quackery isn ’ t stopping it
Cassandra Callender made national news a couple of years ago when at age 17 she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and refused chemotherapy. The court ordered that she undergo appropriate treatment, but unfortunately she relapsed. Now she's being treated at a quack clinic in Mexico even as her cancer relentlessly progresses. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - June 5, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking AARSOTA Autologous Antigen Receptor Specific Oncogenic Target Acquisition cannabis Cassandra Callender coffee enema Hodgkin' Source Type: blogs
Cassandra Callender ’ s cancer is progressing, and the quackery didn ’ t stop it. Let ’ s hope real medicine can.
Cassandra Callender made national news a couple of years ago when at age 17 she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and refused chemotherapy. The court ordered that she undergo appropriate treatment, but unfortunately she relapsed and chose treatment at a quack clinic in Mexico. Continuing to progress, she finally chose real medicine to treat her cancer. Let's hope that it's not too late to save her. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - June 5, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking AARSOTA Autologous Antigen Receptor Specific Oncogenic Target Acquisition cannabis Cassandra Callender coffee enema Hodgkin' Source Type: blogs
Citizen Petitions to Come Front and Center
In February, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint in federal district court charging Shire ViroPharma Inc. with violating the antitrust laws by abusing government processes to delay generic competition to its branded prescription drug, Vancocin HCl Capsules. The complaint alleges that because of ViroPharma’s actions, consumers and other purchasers paid hundreds of millions of dollars more for their medication.
FTC has been looking for similar case
Congress amended federal law in 2007 in the hopes of curbing underhanded petitions. It authorized the FDA to flatly reject petitions that clearly don’t raise legi...
Source: Policy and Medicine - May 25, 2017 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan - Policy & Medicine Writing Staff Source Type: blogs
The New York Times publishes fake news false hope in the form of a credulous account of dubious alternative medicine testimonials
It's been a bad week for the Gray Lady in the science department. Hot off the heels of hiring a climate science denier for its op-ed section, it's published a credulous article that uncritically touts a book full of dubious alternative medicine testimonials. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - May 3, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Naturopathy Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking Amy Thieringer Charlotte Walker fake news galvanic skin response idiopathic juvenile arthritis Source Type: blogs
Old wine poured into a newer skin: The Society for Integrative Oncology updates its clinical guidelines for breast cancer
Just over two years ago, the Society for Integrative Medicine issued clinical guidelines for breast cancer care. Now it's updated them. Unfortunately, mixing cow pie with apple pie for a little longer doesn't make the cow pie any better than it was last time. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - May 2, 2017 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Cancer Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Naturopathy Quackery acupuncture breast cancer Dugald Seely Heather Greenlee integrative medicine integrative oncology society for integrative oncology Suza Source Type: blogs
