Realized later the quacks don’t need to fake positive blogs, people who are likely to use their treatments already believe in the absence of any real evidence, so they will ascribe any improvement in their condition to the quackery and will be happy to tell everyone they were “correct” in their belief. Even one positive anecdote–regardless of its actual cause–will rope in desperate people like Danielle who mentioned how impressed she was by someone else’s story of their experience with Mr. Young’s methods. Our stupid primitive brains seem to do everything to convince us that stories from other people are the highest form of truth. Death by cognitive bias. Sad.

http://www.researchamerica.org/app/webroot/blog/?p=754
http://www.profilesofpromise.com/foreword

Unfortunately, I’m sure that it is at least in part because Harkin has been such a champion for biomedical research funding that the NIH kowtows to him with respect to NCCAM. NIH leaders don’t want to alienate one of their biggest supporters in Congress. The problem with Harkin, of course, is that along with the good (fighting for the NIH as a whole) comes the bad (creating and protecting NCCAM). NCCAM might just be the price that has to be paid to maintain Harkin’s support for the NIH as a whole.

1) Brad is actually a troll, a contemptible asshole who is taking joy in causing pain in others. In which case, fuck you, I hope you get cancer. Fortunately for you, me hoping won’t make it any more likely to occur – but still a man can dream.

2) Danielle and Brad are fake people made up by Dr. Young to promote his practice. In which case, fuck Dr. Young as he is a contemptible asshole. I hope he gets pancreatic cancer that metastasize to all of his bones.

3) Brad is real and genuinely the husband of a woman diagnosed with a rare and terrifying form of breast cancer. He is holding his hope like air in a soap bubble, and the faintest exposure of that bubble to critical scrutiny will cause it to burst and leave him with naught but despair. In which case, I hope that bubble bursts, and soon, because the hope inside it is false poison and it will kill your wife faster than anything else short of a bullet. The reality is cancer is deadly and there are no simple solutions – just compromises of quality versus quantity of life, phyrric victories and – if we’re lucky – sometimes a cure. The brutal truth is – sometimes people get cancer and there’s nothing we can do about it but make their last days easier. I hope this is not the case, I hope Brad and Danielle are made up and not a tragedy unfolding before us – but hoping doesn’t make it more likely. If I’m wrong, someone faces a short, ugly death and someone else will face a lifetime of regret.

We are also concerned that the authors apparently did not survey for other potential confounding factors, such as tobacco history, diet, occupational exposures, etc., or if so, they were not disclosed in the paper.

That’s an interesting point, since tobacco use is also associated with increased risk of periodontal disease and cosmetic issues like tooth staining, which could reasonably lead to tobacco users on average getting more dental x-rays than other people.

I can’t imagine how difficult this experience has been for you and Danielle. I’m sure that you didn’t intend for her blog to get picked up by Dr. Gorski, and despite what I believe to be his best intentions, I’m sure that this has been a difficult experience for the both of you. I have no desire to add to the stress you must be feeling, but I do feel obliged to say one thing.

I am not an oncologist, but I am a physician who also has a basic science PhD. I have been trained in all sorts of statistics, advanced quantitative methods, experimental design, etc. I feel that I am as capable as anyone of analyzing the literature, understanding the evidence, and making rational treatment decisions. And if my wife or I became ill, I’d like to think that I would still be able to operate in such an objective, rational manner. But the truth is that I could not because that is simply not how people work. There’s a reason that doctors don’t treat themselves or their immediate family members. It’s the same reason the plantiff’s brother isn’t allowed on the jury. Based on what I’ve read here, I don’t question your intelligence, knowledge, motives, or anything like that, but I do question your objectivity. I don’t mean that as an insult – you would have to be some sort of psychopath to maintain complete objectivity in the face of your wife’s illness. However, since your conclusions differ greatly from the mainstream in the field of oncology, you may want to consider the possibility that other trained professionals might be in a better position than you or your wife to determine the best course of treatment based on the existing evidence.

(kidding)

Heck, I’m a woman and I’d avoid this one (at least for a good long time). When I hear the description, not only do I cringe at the reversal process, but it draws to mind the initial problems with the IUD. I wonder about the device become dislodged and becoming embedded somewhere it shouldn’t, causing failure or infection, negative reactions to the materials, scar tissue, etc.

I’m not a scientist or medical person, but I’d really want to see evidence of long term safety and effectiveness before jumping on this bandwagon.

My feeling is that most males are going to find excuses to avoid this treatment.

Even if you and your wife won’t accept conventional medical advice I do hope you will accept a bit of conventional legal advice. Have an attorney in the state in which your wife is receiving treatment review any documents Mr. Young asks you or your wife to sign and be sure to give him or her a full background on Mr. Young. The attorney you choose should have a background in healthcare law. And please do not sign any sort of release of liability — it may not be effective anyway but no need to bother with the issue unnecessarily if you decide to sue in the future. In fact, if you are asked to sign a release, that should be a big red flag. And if Mr. Young won’t treat your wife without your signing a release that should be an even bigger red flag.

Yes, I recently had a wonderful woman in my workshop who has colon cancer. She said that due to the severity of the cancer, she hadn’t expected to live for a couple years, but (due to some newer drugs, I think) her treatments had been surprisingly successful and she was five years post diagnoses and the cancer had not advanced.

Although she did have side effects from the periodic chemo, she appeared to be enjoying her life, taking art workshops, working with an art therapist through the local hospital, telling great stories about her family, grumbling about her sister and observing the wildlife she could see from her condo.

Maybe that’s not the wonderful “cure” story that’s popular, but if my Mom had lived an additional 3+ good quality years after her colon cancer diagnoses (17 years ago), I would have considered it a huge gift.

Dr. Gorski, you do not have all of the information. Please read what is actually written – assumptions aren’t serving you well. Dr. Young’s protocol was a “step” in healing – NOT an end in and of itself.

I read the entire blog.

I saw nothing that you and Danielle are doing that has any convincing basis in science, and I did see you leap to Dr. Young’s defense when “anonymous” criticized him. One wonders if, deep down, you now realize what a quack Dr. Young is and that’s why you’re now trying to downplay his role in Danielle’s treatment.

After all, there was also a post in which it was explained that Danielle was putting together a team at home to follow Dr. Young’s plan, plus the naturopath touting “natural HER2 inhibitors” and a DO putting together some sort of “cancer vaccine.” There was another post where Danielle exulted at being at Rancho Del Sol (Young’s spa). If you are now trying to retreat from Dr. Young, that is excellent. Please continue. What I fear, however, is that in retreating from Dr. Young you’re now looking for other non-science-based therapies.

Take each male child at birth (and later on do all men) and put a couple of electronically controlled taps into the vas deferens set to OFF. When people want children they apply to get it turned to ON for a selected period before it automatically turns back to OFF. Easy as.

So, I was excited when I saw this option. Then I realised this doesn’t look so good but let’s hope it can be used until Big Pharma fund me with millions of £££s…I can be contacted via this site.