反对 The cure for all cancer的意见

In my oncology practice, patients will often bring me articles or books on "alternative" medical therapies. I try to approach all of them with an open mind. One of the best chemotherapy agents ever developed is derived from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree. You never know where the next advance in medicine will come from. I tell my patients that I divide alternative medicines into three categories: known to help, known to harm, and not enough evidence to say one way or the other.

When I was handed this book by a patient, I was immediately worried by the grandiose title. Really, ALL cancer? From melanoma of the skin to metastatic breast cancer? As I read the book, I was initially shocked and eventually appalled by the recommendations. The advice that was given would, if followed, clearly result in harm and potentially death to cancer patients. Not only does Hulda Clark tout her own ridiculous theories on the origins of the disease, she encourages patients to follow her advice and to avoid therapies of proven benefit. I could not believe my eyes.

Curious (and not a little angry), I checked on Quackwatch, a website dedicated to debunking medical frauds. Sure enough, Hulda Clark has an entire section devoted to her. Before you buy one of her books, at least read what others have had to say. Understand that, for her to be correct, literally every physician and nurse you have every met would have to be part of a conspiracy to hide this truth. If a few zaps of electricity could cure cancer, then literally every drug company, every family doctor, every Nobel prize winner for the past half-century would need to be in on the lie. Or, if that seems a bit much, it could be the Hulda Clark is a quack. Ask yourself which seems more likely.

Now, I have no doubt that this review will be unpopular. When a person is diagnosed with a terminal illness, there is a tendency to latch on to and believe anyone who offers hope. Emotions like "what have I got to lose" are common. Here I am destroying that hope. I'm sure that some people who read this will be angry and look to dismiss what I write. All I can say is that I (unlike Hulda Clark) have nothing to gain from giving this advice (well, other than the satisfaction of calling out Hulda Clark). Before you cry "medical industrial complex" or something like that, my practice is in a military clinic. I make the same salary whether my patients follow my advice or hers. Sometimes, the simplest explanations are correct. I'm just a doctor who saw one of his patients being taken advantage of during a vulnerable time in her life. I hope this modest contribution can keep this from happening to others.