The Totnes Cancer Health Centre: A Quack Pascal’s Wager

8th March, 2012 27

England has a rather odd piece of legislation prohibiting the advertisement of cancer treatments. It is odd because, on the whole, England is a pretty tolerant place when it comes to allowing people to set themselves up with health businesses. There is a Common Law right to practice. And anyone can treat a sick person, even for money, as long as there is informed consent. There are exceptions. You must [read more…]

Frome Steiner Academy: Absurd Educational Quackery

27th February, 2012 401

Having recently moved to Somerset, and as the parent of a couple of small children, potential future schools are obviously of interest. One that I will not be considering is the new Steiner Academy in Frome. Following the current government’s plans to remove schools from local democratic control and place them in the hands of various private, religious and commercial interests, the Frome Steiner School has received agreement in principle [read more…]

IPAN – Questionable Treatments for ‘PreAutistic’ Children

2nd February, 2012 20

According to the Sun and Daily Mail today, celebrity Melanie Sykes has won £50,000 on the TV game show The Cube and will be donating the money to the charity International Pre-Autistic Network (IPAN). In doing so, the reports say she revealed that that her own son was autistic. She wants to raise awareness of autism and hoped the charity, which she is a patron of, would use the money [read more…]

Burzynski Supporting Charity Loses Funding

19th January, 2012 13

Discussing the problems posed by unconventional clinics, such as the Burzynski Clinic in Texas, has been a frustrating business. Leaving aside the direct threats from the clinic, it appears that such ventures attract followers with a religious zeal about what they do. It also is clear that the media cannot discuss the issue without framing it around a dying child with all the distortions that is bound to create. So, [read more…]

Burzynski in Court: Patient treated like a ‘Cash Machine’

19th January, 2012 14

Dr Stanislaw Burzynski has some problems. His forthcoming hearing with the Texas Medical Board has been widely publicised.  It would now appear that he has more immediate concerns. According to the Courthouse News Service, an elderly cancer patient is suing Burzynski for allegedly “bilking her of nearly $100,000”. The charges are horrific and may well finish off Burzynski. Amongst those reported are that the clinic pursuaded Lola Quinlan to embark on Burzynski’s ‘proprietary’ treatments [read more…]

Which? Uncovers Dangerous Advice from Nutritionists.

16th January, 2012 28

Having just had a baby girl and moving house, I thought I would subscribe to Which? magazine as I knew I needed to make a few critical spends over the coming months. Which? is a consumer rights organisation that publishes reports and reviews into consumer issues. Online reviews of products and services can often be misleading as you do not know anything about the reviewers motives and depth of experiences. [read more…]

Why is Homeopathy Successful?

13th January, 2012 224

Just before Christmas, Lia Burkeman and Stephanie Kramer, wrote an article for Urban Times that asked the question, “Homeopathy: Can it be a Success Story?” To start, I would like to agree with the pair that indeed homeopathy is very successful. As a set of ideas, they have been around for about 200 years. Many thousands of people practice homeopathy based on the principles described by Lia and Stephanie. And undoubtedy, [read more…]

Your Perfect Homeopathy Kit for Christmas

27th December, 2011 22

Have you over-done it this Christmas? Don’t worry. That homeopathic pharmacy to the Royals has the perfect remedy kit to see you through the following days. Ainsworths Pharmacy is pleased to bring you the following remedies. Remember, these are homeopathic medicinal product used within the homeopathic tradition for the symptomatic relief of Christmas overindulgence. Turkey 30C – Do you have an ubiquitous feeling of never ending dryness? Feeling that even spiced [read more…]

Dr Hilary Jones Promotes Questionable Burzynski Clinic on TV

21st December, 2011 30

There is a stark and inexplicable difference in how the mainstream media and bloggers have been covering the Texas based cancer clinic of Dr Stanislaw Burzynski. There has been an explosion of blog posts since the clinic starting threatening bloggers who questioned the claims of the clinic, my own blog included. Instead of looking at the claims of the clinic and the ethical practices involved in the long running ‘trials’, [read more…]

The Observer Responds – Complicity in Misinformation

4th December, 2011 43

This morning, the Observer has responded to the large amount concern raised by its coverage of the Burzynski Clinic two weeks ago. The Observer told the story of how Peter Kay and other celebrities were raising huge sums of money to send a four year old girl with cancer to a ‘pioneering’ clinic in Texas. Except that the Observer failed to mention the controversial nature of this clinic and how [read more…]

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