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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Quackery

ASCO: Endorsing the Society for Integrative Oncology’s “integration” of quackery into oncology

In 2014, the Society for Integrative Oncology first published clinical guidelines for the care of breast cancer patients. Not surprisingly, SIO advocated “integrating” dubious therapies with oncology. Last week, the most influential oncology society, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), endorsed a 2017 update to the SIO guidelines, thus endorsing the “integration” of quackery with oncology and paving the way for insurance coverage. The advance of quackademic medicine in oncology continues apace.

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Naturopathy Skepticism/critical thinking

A naturopath’s got to know his limitations, but naturopaths never do

It’s no secret that I’m not a big fan of naturopathy. It is, as my good bud Kimball Atwood has said, a prescientific system of medicine rooted in vitalism, the idea that there is a “life energy” and a “healing power of nature.” Naturopaths invoke very simplistic concepts to explain the cause of disease, such […]

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine History Medicine Naturopathy

How cute. Naturopathic oncologists are pretending that theirs is a real medical specialty.

Naturopathic oncologists think that they’re real cancer doctors, to the point of even studying their specialty as though it were real. They couldn’t be more wrong.

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Cancer Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Naturopathy

An anonymous Canadian foundation grants $3 million to study naturopathic oncology

It’s no secret that I don’t have a high opinion of naturopathy. Just enter the word “naturopathy” into the search box of this blog, and you’ll quickly see what I mean. Indeed, when last I mentioned the topic a couple of weeks ago, I was discussing the revelations of Britt Marie Hermes, a former naturopath […]

Categories
Cancer Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Naturopathy Quackery

An anonymous Canadian foundation grants $4 million to study "integrative oncology"

Supporters of science-based medicine and keeping pseudoscience out of medicine have a few years to prepare for an onslaught of crappy studies “proving” the value of “integrative” oncology. No doubt at this point you’re wondering just what the heck Orac is talking about. I will tell you. It involves an institution we’ve encountered before and […]