The placebo effect is well documented, especially among psychosomatic illnesses. If you think you are getting treatment, you may feel better, even if you're only taking sugar pills. But there is another pattern recognized in failing patients that these charlatans exploit:

1. If the patient's condition is declining, he needs the nostrum;
2. If he continues to get worse, he needs more of the nostrum;
3. If he has a natural remission, it must have been because of the nostrum;
4. And if he dies, the therapy was not started soon enough.

The text below was taken from this URL above. 

Questions to Ask About Complementary and Alternative Methods

When you are evaluating a complementary or alternative treatment, consider the following questions:

• What claims are made for the treatment? Does it claim to cure cancer? To enable the conventional treatment to work better? To relieve symptoms or side effects?
• What are the credentials of the people or organizations supporting the treatment? Are they recognized experts in cancer treatment? Have their findings been published in trustworthy medical journals? Be skeptical of treatments promoted by people or organizations giving vague credentials such as "expert."
• How is the method promoted? Is it promoted only in the mass media (books, magazines, TV, radio, etc.)? Is it mentioned in scientific journals?
• What are the costs of the therapy?
• Is the method widely available for use within the health care community, or is it controlled with limited access to its use?
• Does the method require that you forego conventional therapy? If so, will doing so affect any chances for cure? Is the cancer stage likely to advance during the delay?

Spotting Fraudulent or Questionable Therapies

In addition to the above questions, use the following checklist to help you avoid falling prey to fraudulent or questionable treatment methods. If you are still not sure if the treatment is safe and valid, discuss it with your doctor or health care provider before trying it.

• Is the treatment based on an unproven theory?
• Does the treatment promise a cure for all cancers?
• Do the promoters tell you not to use conventional medical treatment?
• Is the treatment or drug a secret that only certain people can give?
• Is the treatment or drug offered by only 1 individual?
• Does the treatment require that you travel to another country?
• Do the promoters attack the medical or scientific establishment?

Go to a Cancer Quack, It's Your Life

How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spread his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws.

Lewis Carroll,  Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Despite the warnings of the American Cancer Society and others about the cancer quack, people pour an inestimable number of dollars into the pockets of professional and amateur con men. There is not much that you can do if somebody is willing to first buy the Brooklyn Bridge, and then jump off of it.

If, after you have gone to a reliable medical center and been told that you have incurable cancer, you then decide to take advantage of herb tea, massages, chicken soup, Q-rays, Krebiozen, and a wide variety of other worthless treatments, that's fine. But before you do this, make sure (1) that you have cancer, and (2) that there isn't a real cure or effective treatment for the type of cancer that you have. Most cancers are curable by surgery, and a few others by chemotherapy or radiation. Even some incurable types can be reduced in size for periods of time.

Not all quacks are blatantly dishonest. Some really believe that their treatments work. There are also scientists or physicians who suddenly decide that they have found secret of eternal life and wish to share it with mankind.

Before you go to someone who promises a cure for cancer, consider what kind of human being would experiment on people without really knowing what he is doing. What would you think if someone was lying with a broken leg, and a man who knew nothing about first aid pushed a doctor aside, saying, "Let me do it; I have the answer?" There are many maniacs who feel that they have the answer to disease, old age, and so on. Their personal histories are often characteristic; a life of frustrations, unrealized ambitions, and a need --a crying need-- for recognition. One cancer quack, who is fairly famous in Europe, was a member of the Nazi party for four years. He jumped from one thing to another, and finally ended up founding his own cancer hospital in which his own cancer treatment is used on patients, with little demonstrable effect other than fattening the purse of the man who founded the clinic.

There is always some "scientific" theory behind the treatment that every quack uses, and the controlled studies needed to prove it are always somewhere in the future, "when the money becomes available." Other doctors are always "attacking their work" and "demanding the impossible." There are always testimonials from "cured" patients, and from some "authority." A person who puts himself in the hands of one of these psychopaths doesn't know whether the man will do nothing or help him to die sooner.

Every great scientist and every discovery was subject to intensive criticism by the establishment. This is, of course, true. Louis Pasteur was called a quack, as were others. It is true that new discoveries are usually treated with skepticism by science. This is as it should be, since most of these so-called discoveries will turn out to be of no value whatever. The discoveries that are valid will eventually be recognized; if not to day, then within the next twenty years.

As you have no doubt gathered, I am not particularly fond of the way in which either the medical or scientific establishment operates. It is important, however, to point out that the major opposition to The Establishment does not come from outside the professions, but from within them. The problems are so complex that it takes a lifetime of experience to be able to provide intelligent opposition. The people working toward reform are themselves physicians and scientists. This is the way that it has to be. Individuals who set up their operation outside the purview of the medical or scientific establishment are invariably quacks. The mavericks who make the discoveries are themselves a part of the medical or scientific establishment. They are constantly fighting its orthodoxy, but are nevertheless part of the family. The quack, on the other hand, generally sets up his own establishment somewhere on the outside, where he is free of criticism and free to do whatever he wants to do, to anyone who will let him do it.

It is also worth remembering that the scientist or physician who finds an effective treatment for any kind of cancer profits immensely by it. He is rewarded in prestige, and ultimately financially. If his treatment is effective, he may receive the ultimate in scientific rewards. The rewards will not come until his treatment has been rigorously tested. The sooner it is tested, the sooner the rewards will be his. If he thinks that he has something, he will stop at nothing to get those critical tests performed.

Great discoveries are published somewhere in the scientific literature. They are not only subject to criticism, but are subject to critical testing; There are no excuses made; the tests are performed, and if the scientist who made the discovery turns out to be right, he is acclaimed. If he is wrong, his work is buried. In legitimate science, there is never any profit in delaying a critical test of his discoveries. In the case of the cancer quack, if the discoveries are untested, he stands to profit indefinitely from the gullibility of the people who come for his treatment. If someone is treating people without these critical tests, watch out. He is either a madman, a con man, or a fool.

There are scientists and physicians in cancer centers all over the world who are eager to test any promising lead. There are no secret cancer clinics anywhere that have anything to offer that is not already available at most cancer centers. There are no secret cures that work, there is no fountain of youth, and there is no philosopher stone that will turn lead into gold. Yes, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus.

The harm that the cancer quack does is indirect, in that he keeps people from receiving competent diagnosis and treatment which might cure whatever they have while it's still curable.
Maybe I'm being too harsh on the cancer quack; he exists by grace of the stupidity of the people who go to see him. It takes two to play any game, and if a person wants to commit suicide, why blame the one who hands him the gun? It is strange that people who will have their car serviced by the best mechanic that money can buy, will take their bodies to someone who knows and understands nothing.

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Why Health Professionals Become Quacks
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/quackpro.html

William T. Jarvis, Ph.D.

It is especially disappointing when an individual trained in the health sciences turns to promoting quackery. Friends and colleagues often wonder how this can happen. Some reasons appear to be:

Boredom. Daily practice can become humdrum. Pseudoscientific ideas can be exciting. The late Carl Sagan believed that the qualities that make pseudoscience appealing are the same that make scientific enterprises so fascinating. He said, "I make a distinction between those who perpetuate and promote borderline belief systems and those who accept them. The latter are often taken by the novelty of the systems, and the feeling of insight and grandeur they provide" [1] Sagan lamented the fact that so many are willing to settle for pseudoscience when true science offers so much to those willing to work at it.

Low professional esteem. Non-physicians who don't believe their profession is sufficiently appreciated sometimes compensate by making extravagant claims. Dental renegades have said "All diseases can be seen in a patient's mouth." Fringe podiatrists may claim to be able to judge health entirely by examining the feet. Iridologists point to the eye, chiropractors the spine, auriculotherapists the ear, Registered Nurses an alleged "human energy field," and so on. Even physicians are not immune from raising their personal status by pretension. By claiming to cure cancer or to reverse heart disease without bypass surgery, general physicians can elevate themselves above the highly trained specialists in oncology or cardiology. By claiming to heal diseases that doctors cannot, faith healers advance above physicians on the social status chart (physicians are normally at the top of the chart while preachers have been slipping in modern times). Psychologists, physicians, actors, or others who become health gurus often become darlings of the popular press.

Paranormal tendencies. Many health systems are actually hygienic religions with deeply-held, emotionally significant beliefs about the nature of reality, salvation, and proper lifestyles. Vegetarianism, chiropractic, naturopathy, homeopathy, energy medicine, therapeutic touch, crystal healing, and many more are rooted in vitalism, which has been defined as "a doctrine that the functions of a living organism are due to a vital principle ["life force"] distinct from physicochemical forces" and "the theory that biological activities are directed by a supernatural force." [2,3] Vitalists are not just nonscientific, they are antiscientific because they abhor the reductionism, materialism, and mechanistic causal processes of science. They prefer subjective experience to objective testing, and place intuitiveness above reason and logic. Vitalism is linked to the concept of an immortal human soul, which also links it to religious ideologies [4].

Paranoid mental state. Some people are prone to seeing conspiracies everywhere. Such people may readily believe that fluoridation is a conspiracy to poison America, that AIDS was invented and spread to destroy Africans or homosexuals, and that organized medicine is withholding the cure for cancer. Whereas individuals who complain about conspiracies directed toward themselves are likely to be regarded as mentally ill, those who perceive them as directed against a nation, culture, or way of life may seem more rational. Perceiving their political passions are unselfish and patriotic intensifies their feelings of righteousness and moral indignation [5]. Many such people belong to the world of American fascism, Holocaust deniers, tax rebels, the radical militia movement, and other "libertarian" causes. Liberty Lobby's newspaper The Spotlight champions such causes and also promotes quack cancer cures and attacks fluoridation.

Reality shock. Everyone is vulnerable to death anxiety. Health personnel who regularly deal with terminally ill patients must make psychological adjustments. Some are simply not up to it. Investigation of quack cancer clinics have found physicians, nurses, and others who became disillusioned with standard care because of the harsh realities of the side effects or acknowledged limitations of proven therapies.

Beliefs encroachment. Science is limited to dealing with observable, measurable, and repeatable phenomena. Beliefs that transcend science fall into the realms of philosophy and religion. Some people allow such beliefs to encroach upon their practices. While one may exercise religious or philosophical values of compassion, generosity, mercy and integrity (which is the foundation of the scientific method's search for objective truth), it is not appropriate for a health professional to permit metaphysical (supernatural) notions to displace or distort scientific diagnostic, prescriptive or therapeutic procedures. Individuals who wish to work in the area of religious belief should pursue a different career.

The profit motive. Quackery can be extremely lucrative. Claiming to have a "better mousetrap" can cause the world to beat a path to one's door. Greed can motivate entrepreneurial practitioners to set ethical principles aside.

The prophet motive. Just as Old Testament prophets called for conversion and repentance, doctors have to "convert" patients away from smoking, obesity, stress, alcohol and other indulgences [6]. As prognosticators, doctors foretell what is going to happen if patients don't change their way of life. The prophet role provides power over people. Some doctors consciously avoid it. They encourage patients to be self-reliant rather than dependent, but in doing so they may fail to meet important emotional needs. Quacks, on the other hand, revel in, encourage, and exploit this power. Egomania is commonly found among quacks. They enjoy the adulation and discipleship their pretense of superiority evokes.

Psychopathic tendencies. Studies of the psychopathic personality provide insight into the psychodynamics of quackery. Dr. Robert Hare who investigated for more than twenty years, states, "You find psychopaths in all professions. . . the shyster lawyer, the physician always on the verge of losing his license, the businessman with a string of deals where his partners always lost out." [7] Hare describes psychopaths as lacking a capacity to feel compassion or pangs of conscience, and as exhibiting glibness, superficial charm, grandiosity, pathological lying, conning/manipulative behavior, lack of guilt, proneness to boredom, lack of empathy, and other traits often seen in quacks. According to Hare, such people suffer from a cognitive defect that prevents them from experiencing sympathy or remorse.

The conversion phenomenon. The "brainwashing" that North Koreans used on American prisoners of war involved stress to the point that it produced protective inhibition and dysfunction. In some cases, positive conditioning causes the victim to love what he had previously hated, and vice-versa; and in other cases, the brain stops computing critically the impressions received. Many individuals who become quacks undergo a midlife crisis, painful divorce, life-threatening disease, or another severely stressful experience. The conversion theory is supported by a study of why physicians had taken up "holistic" practices. By far the greatest reason given (51.7%) was "spiritual or religious experiences." [8]

Many people -- including far too many health professionals, law enforcement officials, and judges -- exhibit a cavalier attitude toward quackery. Although most reject the idea that quackery is "worth a try" for a sick person [9], it is important to reinforce and mobilize those who understand quackery's harmful potential.

References

1. Reid WH and others. Unmasking the Psychopath. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1986.
2. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary.
3. Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 25th Edition. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Co. 1974.
4. Sarton G. A History of Science, Volume I. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1952, p.497.
5. Hofstadter R. The Paranoid Style in American Politics and Other Essays. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1966.
6. Dominian J. Doctor as prophet. British Medical Journal 287:1925-1927, 1983.
7. Goleman D. Brain defect tied to utter amorality of the psychopath. The New York Times, July 7, 1987.
8. Goldstein MS, Jaffe DT, Sutherland C. Physicians at a holistic medical conference: Who and why?" Health Values 10:3-13, Sept/Oct 1986.
9. Morris LA, Gregory J D, Klimberg R. Focusing an advertising campaign to combat medical quackery. Journal of Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management 2:(1):83-96, 1987.

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This article was posted on December 11, 1998.