125 Fake Cancer 'Cures' Consumers Should Avoid
Firm | Product |
|---|---|
| Robert Cloutier, Nu-gen Nutrition Inc aka Vitasalus Inc aka Equinox Products LLC 1301 Rankin Dr Troy, MI 48083 | Ocean Treasure Coral CalciumColostrum Electrolyte Formula (Cantron) Ellagenol Squalamax Ultramarine Omega-3 Virgin Salmon Oil Gelcaps Ultramarine Shark Liver Oil |
| Millenium Health LLC 619 New York Avenue Claymont, DE 19703 | Ellagic Acid 1000mg |
| Mary Spohn, Herbs for Cancer 12611 N 103rd Ave Ste A Sun City, AZ 85351 | Bladder Cancer Tea Formula Bone Cancer Tea Formula Breast Cancer Tea Formula Colon Cancer Tea Formula Esophageal Cancer Tea Formula Lung Cancer Tea Formula Malignant Lymphoma Tea Formula Nasal Cancer Tea Formula Prostate Therapy Tea Formula Skin Cancer Tea Formula Special Tea Formula Stomach Cancer Tea Formula Tongue and Oral Cancer Tea Formula Uterus and Cervical Cancer Tea Formula Ellagic Acid |
| Coral Calcium Factor 89989 Green Hill Road Eugene, OR 97402 | Coral Calcium Daily |
| John Seleen, President, JHS Natural Products 1025 Conger Street, Suite 6 Eugene, OR 97402-6937 | Pectasol |
| Vitapurity, Vitapurity Corporation, Vitpurity Nutraceuticals 5246 Dobrot Way PO Box 5462 Central Point, OR 97502-0060 | Citral Ellagic Ultra Lycopene 25 Pacific Ocean Shark Cartilage Miracle Mushroom Blend Buffered Vitamin C Crystals |
| William Isely Gemtronics Inc. 964 Walnut Creek Road Franklin, NC 28734-9533 | Agaricus Dried Grade A Agaricus Dried Grade A Powder Agaricus Capsules Agaricus Sweet Extract Agaricus Strong Extract RF 1000 Extract APM Extract RAAXII Extract OPC Extract |
| Road To Healing 3121 Old Marksville Hwy Pineville, LA 71361 | Cat's Claw Chloro Plasma Melatonin Native Herbal Tea Rene Caisse's Original Formula Red Clover Plus |
| Nutrition 2000 4108 Rucker Boulevard Enterprise, AL 36330 | Cesium and Potassium Combo Curcumin Men's Prosta-Life PC Hope Platinum Protocel Formula 23 Protocel Formula 25 Surcan |
| James R Overman, Precision Herbs LLC 9804 Township Road 89 Killbuck, OH 44637 and Overman's Healthy Choices Inc 9227 Township Road 82 Millersburg, OH 44654 | Activase Amorph Apritum CanAlk CancerGene Carcinogex Fungustum Molex Neoplasmex Pau d Arco Bark ThermaPop TNF-Max Tum-go Tumorex VX-O |
| David Tan, Paul Brucato, USA Golden Vision Inc 2211 S. Hacienda Blvd, Suite 100H Hacienda Heights, CA 91745-4637 and 2862 Antisana Pl Hacienda Heights, CA 91745-5301 | SunRecome in Packets and Capsules |
| Ageless Cures LLC aka Atman Home LLC 1732b Michigan St Houston, TX 77066 | Curcumin C3 Complex Super Curcumin C3 Complex w/ Bioprerine Super Curcumin C3 Complex Eco Pack |
| Christopher Gussa, Plant Cures Incorporated aka The Herbal Healing Place aka Desert Dragon Healing Center aka Desert Dragon Herbs PO box 1735 Benson, AZ 85602 | Bloodroot Extract Ojibwa Tea or Essiac C-Cell 4 Destoyer |
| John Stigaard Fem Health Superb Herbs 2379 Red Barn Road Marietta, GA 30064 | New Sun NKC-C Agaricus Blazei Capsules New SunNKC-C Agaricus Blazei Super Concentrate Vial New Sun Green Tea New Sun Grape Seed Extract New Sun LIV Combination New Sun Flax Seed Oil New Sun Super Sam (Super Sam Generic Samento, Cat's Claw) New Sun Bital PR & BR New Sun Yew/Olive Combination |
| Burt Hampton 38 Highway 19 S Magnolia. AR 71753 | Cansema Black Salve Mix Cansema Deep Tissue Salve Mix DMSO Mild Black Salve Mix Mild Deep Tissue Salve Mix DMSO Very Mild Black Salve Mix Very Mild Deep Tissue Salve Mix DMSO Indian Mudd Mix Black Salve Mix (Cansema Type for Vet. Use) Black Salve Deep Tissue Mix DMSO (VET. Use) Mild Black Salve Mix (Vet. Use) Indian Mudd Mix for Bet Use XX Sarcoid Salve Mixes/Kits with DMSO Cowboy Sarcoid Black Salve Mixes/Kits with DMSO |
| Richard McPhail 2420North Chester Street Gastonia, NC 28052 | P.D.Q.! Herbal Skin Cream Medicardium |
| Peggy Booth, Generation's Black Salve 1485 Country Ln Turlock, CA 95382 | Generations Black Salve Tablets |
| Wally Crowder, Best on Earth Products 3914 Seaton Place Las Vegas, NV 89121 | Black Salve Black Salve with DMSO Black Salve Bloodroot Capsules Ellagic Insurance Formula |
| H&L Worldwide Inc 2003 N. Tyler Ave South El Monte, CA 91733 and 900 S 2nd St Apt C Alhambra, CA 91801-5911 | Best Curcumin with Bioperine Curcumin Grape Seed Extract Breast Health - Breast Support Formula Comprehensive Prostate Formula Coral Calcium Organic Flaxseed Oil Immune Ace IP-6 Inositol Hexaphosphate Lycozyme Lycozyme Extra Strength Shark Cartilage |
| Cecilia Salvador, President, New Sun Inc 215 Linda Vista Dr Hendersonville, NC 29792 | New Sun Grape Seed Extract New Sun Super Sam (TOA Free Cat's Claw) New Sun Yew/Olive Combination |
| Neil Baker, Herbal Remission 730 Flowerree St Helena, MT 59601 | E-Mune |
| Karyl Sellinger, Herbtime 713 Saco Ct St Augustine, FL 32086 | C-Herb C-4 Cream Eye Drops Eye/Ear Wash Immune Max Saw Palmetto Cream Wild Yam Cream |
125 Fake Cancer 'Cures' Consumers Should Avoid
CDER: Fake Cancer Cures
While health fraud is a cruel form of greed, fraud involving cancer treatments can be particularly heartless—especially because fraudulent information can travel around the Web in an instant.
"Anyone who suffers from cancer, or knows someone who does, understands the fear and desperation that can set in," says Gary Coody, R.Ph., the National Health Fraud Coordinator and a Consumer Safety Officer with the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of Regulatory Affairs. "There can be a great temptation to jump at anything that appears to offer a chance for a cure."
Medicinal products and devices intended to treat cancer must gain FDA approval before they are marketed. The agency's review process helps ensure that these products are safe and effective.
Nevertheless, it's always possible to find someone or some company hawking bogus cancer "treatments." Such "treatments" come in many forms, including pills, tonics, and creams. "They're frequently offered as natural treatments and 'dietary supplements,'" says Coody. Many of these fraudulent cancer products even appear completely harmless, but may cause indirect harm by delaying or interfering with proven, beneficial treatments.
"Advertisements and other promotional materials touting bogus cancer 'cures' have probably been around as long as the printing press," says Coody. "However, the Internet has compounded the problem by providing the peddlers of these often dangerous products a whole new outlet."
Unproven 'Remedies,' False Promises
Coody cites black salves as one of the fake cancer "remedies" that indeed have proven to be harmful. "Although it is illegal to market these salves as a cancer treatment, they are readily available online," he says.
The salves are sold with false promises that they will cure cancer by "drawing out" the disease from beneath the skin. "However, there is no scientific evidence that black salves are effective," says Janet Woodcock, Director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). "Even worse, black salves can cause direct harm to the patient."
The corrosive, oily salves "essentially burn off layers of the skin and surrounding normal tissue," says Woodcock. "This is not a simple, painless process. There are documented cases of these salves destroying large parts of people's skin and underlying tissue, leaving terrible scars."
Another unproven "remedy" that has been hawked for decades is an herbal regimen known as the Hoxsey Cancer Treatment. "FDA has taken regulatory and enforcement action against this discredited course of therapy beginning in the 1950s," says Coody.
"There is no scientific evidence that it has any value to treat cancer," he adds. "Yet consumers can go online right now and find all sorts of false claims that Hoxsey treatment is effective against the disease."
Red Flags
Coody says that firms engaged in cancer treatment or prevention fraud often use exaggerated and bogus claims to promote these products. He adds that consumers should recognize the following phrases as red flags:
"Treats all forms of cancer"
"Skin cancers disappear"
"Shrinks malignant tumors"
"Non-toxic"
"Doesn't make you sick"
"Avoid painful surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or other conventional treatments"
"Treat Non Melanoma Skin Cancers easily and safely"
"Unproven claims are also found in unverified testimonials, research results, or even in product and website names," says Coody. He offers important points that consumers seeking cancer treatments should keep in mind:
Always consult with your health care professional before starting a new treatment or adding one to existing therapies. "Some products may interact with your medicines or keep them from working the way they are supposed to," says Coody.
Understand the difference between fraudulent drug products and what FDA calls "investigational drugs." Investigational drugs undergo clinical testing to determine if they are safe and effective for their intended uses. Fraudulent products, on the other hand, are unapproved and typically have never been clinically tested or reviewed by FDA for safety and effectiveness. Marketing them is a violation of federal law.
"There are legal ways for patients to access investigational drugs," says Coody. "The most common way is by taking part in clinical trials. But patients can also receive investigational drugs outside of clinical trials in some cases." For more details on this, visit www.fda.gov/oashi/speedaccess.html.
Agencies Take Action
FDA and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in collaboration with other North American government agencies, have announced a new initiative to prevent these deceptive products from reaching consumers. Coody says that as part of the joint campaign, FDA and FTC have sent approximately 135 warning letters and two advisory letters to firms that market these products online.
The initiative originated not only from consumer complaints, he says, but also from a Web surf for fraudulent cancer products by FDA and members of the Mexico-United States-Canada Health fraud working group (MUCH).
Signs of Health Fraud
All consumers seeking information about any health product or medical treatment should be familiar with the following signs of health fraud:
Statements that the product is a quick and effective cure-all or a diagnostic tool for a wide variety of ailments.
Suggestions that a product can treat or cure serious or incurable diseases.
Claims such as "scientific breakthrough," "miraculous cure," "secret ingredient," and "ancient remedy."
Impressive-sounding terms, such as "hunger stimulation point" and "thermogenesis" for a weight loss product.
Claims that the product is safe because it is "natural."
Undocumented case histories or personal testimonials by consumers or doctors claiming amazing results.
Claims of limited availability and advance payment requirements.
Promises of no-risk, money-back guarantees.
Promises of an "easy" fix for problems like excess weight, hair loss, or impotency.
