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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Science Surgery

The false dichotomies of “integrative medicine”

A lot of medical specialties have throwaway newspapers/magazines that are supported by advertising and somehow mysteriously managed to show up for free in the mailboxes of their practitioners. In my case, I’ve found myself on the subscription list for such papers about oncology, but, given that I trained as a general surgeon. I’m Board-certified as […]

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Clinical trials Surgery

Placebo effects in surgery

Although I’m a translational researcher, I’m also a surgeon. That was my first and primary training and only later did I decide to get my PhD during my residency, when the opportunity to do so with a decent stipend presented itself. From my perspective, clinical research in surgery is difficult, arguably more difficult than it […]

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Cancer Medicine Surgery

A spectacular failure of a state medical board

One of the greatest mysteries I’ve encountered since I started following the case of Stanislaw Burzynski is how he’s managed to keep practicing for 36 years after he first began treating patients with his concoction of peptides purportedly isolated from blood and urine that he dubbed “antineoplastons” (ANPs) because of their alleged ability to inhibit […]

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Cancer Clinical trials

In clinical research, the road to hell is paved with good intentions

I’ve written a lot about Stanislaw Burzynski and what I consider to be his unethical use and abuse of institutional review boards and clinical trials. Before that, I used to regularly write about Mark and David Geier and their unethical use and abuse of IRBs and clinical trials. In both cases, I lamented how they […]

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Medicine Surgery

Unforgivable medical errors

And now for something completely different. I’ve been on a bit of a tear the last few days beating on Mike Adams, someone who arguably deserves the title of Woo–meister Supreme, but it’s important to remember that defending science-based medicine is more than just having a little fun every now and then slapping down quacks. […]