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Cancer Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

Cancer quack Robert O. Young loses a lawsuit to the tune of $105 million. We need more of this.

Robert O. Young
Robert O. Young

Robert O. Young is a cancer quack who claims to be a naturopath who promotes what he calls “pH Miracle Living.” He claims that cancer is caused by excess acid and that the way to prevent and cure cancer is to “alkalinize the blood.” Two and a half years ago, he was convicted of practicing medicine without a license. A week and a half ago, a woman whose breast cancer progressed to incurable while being treated by Young won a $105 million settlement in a lawsuit against him. Maybe civil suits can succeed where state medical boards have failed.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

The Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 was caused by an experimental vaccine? A conspiracy theory I hadn’t heard of before…

Spanish Flu 1918
Spanish Flu 1918

In this installment of Conspiracy Theory Bingo, Kevin Barry blames the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 on an experimental vaccine. Yes, Mr. Barry lets the conspiracy mongering and antivaccine tropes flow as he “investigates” the influenza pandemic of 1918. Being the antivaccine crank that he is, he concludes that the influenza virus didn’t cause the disease that killed over 50 million people a hundred years ago. No! It was—of course—an experimental meningitis vaccine that caused bacterial pneumonia in Army recruits. Let’s just say that there are numerous holes in Barry’s claims.

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center shows us how to write a press release on integrative oncology

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, the clinical partner of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Last week, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center issued a press releast touting its integrative oncology program. It’s a perfect example to demonstrate the formulaic nature of such press releases and the distortions behind them used to sell the “integration” of quackery into medicine.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

Vote as if your children’s health depends on it. Antivaxers are on the ballot.

Vote

Antivaxers have become politically active and, unfortunately, quite influential in several states. As you go out to the polls today, remember that, and vote as if our children’s health depends on it, particularly if you live in Texas and Oklahoma.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

Antivaccine misinformation by Dr. W. Gifford-Jones in the Toronto Sun: Retracted (under pressure) but not forgotten

W. Gifford-Jones, a.k.a. Dr. Ken Walker

A week ago, The Toronto Sun published a syndicated column by a pseudonymous Canadian doctor, Dr. W. Gifford-Jones. The column was packed with antivaccine misinformation and pseudoscience. Apparently due to complaints, the article was taken down after an uproar, but is still available on the website of at least one other Canadian newspaper. How is it that a physician who writes such twaddle can be syndicated in over 70 newspapers?