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Show I Cancer quackery 'prevalent9 in Utah When the diagnosis is cancer, the word strikes a note of fear that is often overwhelming, sometimes some-times irrational. At this vulnerable time, people may foresake lifesaving therapy for "miracle" cures. Cancer quackery is as prevalent in Utah as anywhere, but it is somewhat more visible because existing laws do not effectively regulate quackery practices said Dr. Arthur D. Broom, University of Utah professor and chairman of medicinal chemistry in the College of Pharmacy, recently, Broom has 'spent 20 years designing, synthesizing syn-thesizing and testing cancer drugs. "Many people will do anything to avoid facing cancer," said Broom. "They'll try any miracle treatment, no matter what it costs or where they must go to get it. Cancer quackery is an infuriating practice because it does not cure cancer." According to Broom, quack remedies rely heavily on testimonials. No scientific evidence exists to support cure claims and very few people, giving testimonials have had biopsy-proven cancer. "It's easy to cure a disease that has never existed," he noted. There are about 100 kinds of cancer, all of which must be managed individually. Except for the unusual occupational cancers, most causes are not well understood. "We're learning much more about how to cure cancer," said Broom. "A little over 40 percent of cancer patients are being cured, and the number is increasing steadily. But one cannot minimize the fact the many people who get cancer die of it." Quack cures range from the bizarre "grape cure" to the most current laetrile remedy, with a wide spectrum of products in between, he said. Remedies that may seem plausible at first are invariably shown to be worthless. Chaparral tea, once popular in Utah, is an example of quackery that began with an authentic, but ultimately erroneous assumption, he said, relating the case of the elderly man who was operated on for a known malignant melanoma. Rather than undergo further surgery, he went home, put his affairs in order and tried an old Indian remedy-chapparral remedy-chapparral tea. A year later there was no sign of the disease. Excited about the plant's prospects, researchers re-searchers found that the plant has been described as a potent antitumor agent. Samples were obtained and identified by a botanist, and extracts were made. Pure compounds and derivatives were tested extensively in animals and patients. "We did everything under the sun," said Broom. "It was absolutely ab-solutely ineffective." The case, described at a scientific meeting, was reported in the press and sales of the product soared. "People were making ' a killing off plants that grow wild western United States." |