125 Fake Cancer 'Cures' Consumers Should Avoid

[Guest guest]

Twenty-three U.S. companies and two foreign individuals have received

warning letters from the FDA regarding their manufacturing of products

claiming to prevent, treat and cure cancer.

" Many patients are spending a lot of money, being caused distress, and are

being taken away from their own environment to follow a fictitious 'carrot'

of expensive and potentially false hopes, " Sagar, MD, vice president

of the Society for Integrative Oncology, told HemOnc Today.

The warning letters were sparked by consumer complaints and an internet

search for fraudulent cancer products conducted by the FDA, FTC and members

of the Mexico-United States-Canada Health Fraud Working Group, according to

a press release. The FDA is working with the FTC and government agencies in

Canada to prevent these types of products from reaching consumers.

Consumers are advised not to use or purchase the products, which are

currently flourishing on the internet. However, anyone currently using these

products should talk to their health care providers about discontinuing use

and seek medical attention to treat any adverse effects, the FDA suggested.

" If people put themselves at risk and pursue these alternative therapies,

which are unproven and which likely do not work, they are potentially

postponing effective therapies that could be the difference between being

cured or not, " Abrams, MD, director of clinical programs at the

University of California at San Francisco Osher Center for Integrative

Medicine, told HemOnc Today.

In collaboration with the Federal Trade Commission and government agencies

in Canada, the FDA aims to prevent deceptive products from reaching

consumers.

The products are currently in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and

Cosmetic Act due to their claims and unproven safety and efficacy for their

labeled conditions of use, according to the press release.

http://www.hemonctoday.com/article.aspx?rID=29142

For a listing of the companies and products

125 Fake Cancer 'Cures' Consumers Should Avoid

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/factsheets/fakecancercures.html

Follow your bliss and doors will open where there were no doors before.

ph