Bill and Leslie, I didn't mean to sound harsh; this is a sensitive subject with me. I have lost several family members to theses sorts of "cures" and nearly saw my father fall into the same sort of thing recently. He's battling lung cancer, and was convinced that Goji juice was going to make him well.
After tons of hype, it turns out that Goji juice offers him very little that he couldn't get with a glass of Florida orange juice.
To say I'm suspect of these sorts of claims is an understatement. As for the Alberta Cancer Board and their evaluation, this is from their webpage;
"At this point, the University of Alberta, the Alberta Cancer Board and Capital Health do not condone or advise the use of dichloroacetate (DCA) in human beings for the treatment of cancer since no human beings have gone through clinical trials using DCA to treat cancer."
They go on to say that they plan on doing limited clinical trials in future. I am a patient of the Alberta Cancer Board, and I enquired about this trial. They told me that there were no funds being allocated to follow through with this claim, citing lack of quantitative evidence of it's potential.
They also said it may continue if private funding were to become available, but that was unlikely.
Where my concerns lie in these situations is more with what isn't disclosed than what is.
With the Goji juice as an example, there are vast quantities of information on the web about how it will cure almost anything that ails you...that prestigious cancer centers (Sloan Kettering for one) are endorsing and using it on their patients.
Dig JUST below the surface, and you find that the Sloan Kettering claim is based on an independant research scientist that has done work with Sloan Kettering in past, saying that he did a small labratory experiment that saw small reductions in tumors in lab mice.
Mice....and a researcher that USED to work with Sloan. That became an advertising cornerpost for those selling the product at $50 a bottle.
Sloan vehemently denies ever appoving or using it for treating cancer, and the researcher invovled was appalled to learn his comments had been so badly misconstrued ( this information, by the way is from a CBC investigation that has also led to a criminal investigation in Canada regarding Goji juice and it's promoters)
There are no "simple" cures for cancer, as we all know. It's wonderful to think that someday there may be, but I'm near certain that pomegranites or a grape and water diet isn't it.
I too would hate to see something simple and readily available to be passed by, but I believe that researchers, wherever they may be, are prudent, practical and realistic scientists; never discount anything, examine all results with objectivity, and never let the desired outcome taint their perception of actual results in a scientific environment.
Wayne
