A history of false cancer cures

Cancer, one of the saddest and most harrowing of illnesses, has for a long time provided a way for a whole array of charlatans and quacks trading on offering false hope to exploit the suffering for profit. A cure for cancer is a task that has so far defeated modern medicine. Unfortunately, that has not stopped hoaxers from offering false alternative cancer healing therapies to the desperate.

Natural cures

A 'natural' cure Charlatans offering a 'natural' cure for cancer are to be treated with extreme caution, especially if they are using the words 'detoxify' and 'cleanse' in their promotional material. Many so-called natural cures have been offered by fraudsters, including the use of fasts and special diets. John Burroughs One of these so-called 'natural treatments' was offered by self-styled physician John Burroughs in the United States, who maintained that cancer could be cured by a programme of fasting. Burroughs was charged for second degree murder in the American state of California in 1984, after using his methods on a patient with terminal cancer.

Zappers

Hulda Regehr Clark Another person to offer a false cure for cancer was Hulda Regehr Clark, who believed that all human illness, including cancer, was the result of parasitic infection. She claimed to be able to remove all the parasites with her 'zapper', an electrical device which she also marketed. The Clark zapper The Clark zapper has since been discredited by range of authorities, from American government bodies such as the US Federal Trade Commission, as well as figures from alternative medicine, such as Andrew Weil, a physician who looks to integrate conventional and alternative methods of treatment.

Holisitic cures

One term often used by those selling alternative cancer therapy online is 'holistic cures', or 'holistic remedies', which can supposedly leave the sufferer cancer-free. One such method of 'treating' cancer was offered by Italian 'doctor' Tullio Simoncini. Simoncini Simoncini was stripped of his medical credentials by the Italian authorities, but that did not prevent him from continuing to practice 'alternative' medicine in Italy and the Netherlands, where a female breast cancer sufferer died after he injected her with baking soda, in 2007.

False online promises

Many 'cure for cancer' websites offer information purporting to give fantastic hope to sufferers of terminal illness, often by claiming that they have discovered something new and amazing which has been under our noses for years. Websites Websites such as that of Bill Henderson offering a book detailing specific diets which can cure cancer should refer to their NHS doctor for professional and expert advice when it comes to the risks and outcomes of using such diets rather than conventional treatment.