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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Quackery

Resistance is futile, part 3: Maybe resistance is not futile after all

Well, I won’t back down No, I won’t back down You can stand me up at the gates of hell But I won’t back down Gonna stand my ground Won’t be turned around And I’ll keep this world from draggin’ me down Gonna stand my ground And I won’t back down From I Won’t Back […]

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Quackery

Can it be real? The FDA brings the hammer down on bogus cancer cures

I’m a cancer surgeon, and if there’s one thing that drives me straight to the liquor cabinet it has to be quack cancer “cures.” Very early in the history of this blog, I discussed one of the biggest quacks of all time, a woman who thinks that all cancer is caused by a liver fluke […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Naturopathy Politics Quackery

“Doctors” of Naturopathy in Minnesota? Or: Barbarians at the gate

I know I’m a bit late to this game, but those of you who read ERV, Denialism Blog, and Pharyngula didn’t think that their prior mention of this story about how the State of Minnesota is going to allow naturopaths to claim the title of “doctor” would stop me from jumping right in even if […]

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Clinical trials Medicine Science

A medical school only to train physician-scientists?

This story, first brought to my attention by Drugmonkey, is something that I’ve been meaning to blog about since I first saw it. The reason, of course, should be obvious, given that my career is an example of the end product that the medical school described is going to be designed to produce: that of […]

Categories
Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Essential reading: Why prior probability is important in considering the results of clinical trials of so-called “complementary and alternative medicine”

I’ve become known as an advocate for evidence-based medicine (EBM) in the three years since I started this little bit of ego gratification known as Respectful Insolence™. One thing this exercise has taught me that I might never have learned before (and that I’ve only reluctantly begun to accept as true) is one huge problem […]