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Bad science Bioethics Cancer Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Clínica 0-19 and IDOI: Not making DIPG history in Monterrey (part 4 of 4)

Orac has finally located the abstract published by Dr. Alberto Siller and Alberto Garcia, who are selling intra-arterial chemotherapy for the deadly brain tumor DIPG. Let’s just say that he’s…less than impressed by the results. Shades of Burzynski!

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Cancer Medicine Popular culture Skepticism/critical thinking

Dr. Kristi Funk: Angelina Jolie’s surgeon is spreading misinformation about breast cancer

Dr. Kristi Funk is a breast surgeon to the stars in Beverly Hills. She’s known for having operated on Sheryl Crow and Angelina Jolie for breast cancer. This year, she published a book about breast health and breast cancer. Unfortunately, it’s full of misinformation and radical advice with little or no basis in science.

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience

Complementary medicine use and cancer survival: A negative correlation

We know that alternative medicine use is associated with poorer survival in cancer, but what about the use of so-called “complementary medicine,” “complementary and alternative medicine,” or “integrative medicine”? Bad news. There’s still a negative correlation between the use of pseudoscientific and unproven medicine and cancer survival, even when used with conventional cancer therapy rather than instead of it.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Cancer Medicine Popular culture Quackery

Antivaccine woo attracts “alkaline diet” woo: Elle Macpherson is dating disgraced antivaccine doctor Andrew Wakefield

A recent spate of articles over the last couple of days report that Elle Macpherson is dating an antivaccine “icon,” disgraced antivaccine doctor and scientific fraud Andrew Wakefield. Given her love of “alkaline diet” woo, which she sells through her very Goop-like Wellco website, the attraction shouldn’t be surprising. It is, nonetheless, troubling. It wouldn’t surprise me if Macpherson is antivaccine herself, given that in “alkaline diet” lingo, vaccines are often viewed as “toxic acid” insults that “alkalinization” can reverse.

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Bad science Cancer Clinical trials Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

Clínica 0-19 and IDOI: Not making DIPG history in Monterrey (part 3 of 4)

This is the conclusion of my series on Clínica 0-19, the cancer clinic where Drs. Alberto Siller and Alberto Garcia see patients with DIPG, a deadly brain tumor, whom they treat at Hospital Angeles in Monterrey Mexico with an unproven combination of intra-arterial chemotherapy with up to 11 drugs and a poorly defined dendritic cell immunotherapy. Some people have asked me: What’s the harm? In this concluding post, I attempt to answer that question.