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April 2009 Volume 3 #2
 CAM: Heart health and PCa Buyer beware: CAM's dark side Immunotherapy: An overview CPCN Conference 2009 |
Buyer Beware: The Dark Side of Complementary and Alternative Medicine  "Doubt is the incentive to truth," wrote American clergyman Hosen Ballou over 150 years ago. And every man who has surfed the Internet to find information on complementary or alternative therapies for prostate cancer should heed his words. Another important adage --- "If it seems too good to be true, it's probably false."Indeed, online cancer treatment scams have become so common and worrisome that Canada's Competition Bureau launched a special initiative last year --- Project False Hope. It targets online cancer-related health fraud. This focus is particularly relevant. In 2006, a Statistics Canada survey found that 58 per cent of adults search for health-related information online, and almost a quarter of these searchers were looking for alternative remedies. The most troublesome statistic: only 38 per cent of those scanning the Internet for health-related material consult healthcare professionals about the information they find online. By not consulting experts, they leave themselves open to scams that can cost them dearly. "Swindling people living with cancer is one of the most despicable forms of fraud," says Andrea Rosen, acting deputy commissioner of the Competition Bureau. Unfortunately, in spite of the good work done by Project False Hope, the situation is still one of buyer beware. Under law, the Competition Bureau is empowered to investigate possibly fraudulent claims, demand that companies remove or modify claims found to be misleading or false, and, if a company does not comply, refer the matter to a competition tribunal or to "the Attorney General, who determines whether a prosecution should be undertaken." In other words, years after a prostate cancer patient has reported what he perceives to be health fraud, the company that he thinks tricked him into purchasing useless therapy may still be operating. Perhaps it has "complied" by modifying brochures and online publicity. Maybe it now has a disclaimer in small print on the back page of a website. And it may have been forced to give the swindled man his money back, which is gratifying. But his mistaken purchase of a "cure" may have robbed him of more than cash. By choosing a worthless therapy over an effective one, he may have lost precious time, or health itself. Take the recent case of Bioenergy Wellness Inc., which does business under the name of the Energyworks Wellness Centre. The Canadian company sells the idea that delivering magnetic pulses to the body stimulates health and repairs diseased tissue; it also markets the health benefits of what it calls "far infrared sauna." Project False Hope called into question the company's claims that these therapies treated or prevented cancer, calling them "unsubstantiated" (not backed by legitimate research or proof). What was the result? You might well ask. The company was forced to change the wording on its website and post a notice stating that it had entered into "a consent agreement with the Commissioner of Competition." This notice is quite bland. And one finds it --- on a back page --- only by clicking on the innocuous front-page link labelled "Notice regarding Papimi, Magnapulse and Far Infrared Sauna": Certain representations previously made by Bioenergy Wellness Inc. (Energyworks Wellness Centre) may have stated or given the general impression that Papimi, Magnapulse and Far Infrared Sauna are effective in preventing or treating cancer. The Commissioner of Competition has concluded that these representations are not based on an adequate and proper test of Papimi, Magnapulse and Far Infrared Sauna, and therefore are reviewable under paragraph 74.01(1)(b) of the Competition Act. Oh yes, people who purchased devices or services from the company "for cancer prevention or treatments" have until May 2009 to claim a refund. Don't misunderstand. Project False Hope is doing important and necessary work. It has, as of February 2009, taken action against almost 100 Canadian-operated websites, and most have complied with demands "to modify, remove, or substantiate cancer-related claims made to promote products or treatments." Also, bringing legal pressure to bear is only one part of Project False Hope's mandate. It's other focus, consumer education, offers the best chance to shut down companies engaging in cancer-related health fraud. "Consumers should be sceptical of health-related products or services that look too good to be true, and should always speak to a healthcare professional before trying any new treatment," advises Andrea Rosen. Good advice indeed. But what does being sceptical mean in this day and age? We all know that it is very easy and inexpensive to lie online. So how do those with prostate cancer protect themselves? Project False Hope provides some excellent tools. One is a quiz that tests how aware you are of the tactics health scammers use to convince you that they are legitimate. (To take this quiz, click here.) Another anti-fraud tool is a mock website that the bureau has created to show consumers what a typical online cancer scam looks like. When you move your mouse over various portions of the website, pop-up bubbles analyse the pictures and text, pointing out the specific tactics being used to con you. (See this website.) Here are some of the most important points conveyed in Project False Hope's consumer education initiative:
And here is the bottom line. You need to consider any complementary or alternative therapy from every angle. Do comprehensive research yourself. But, more important, get the opinions of all your medical specialists. (Your radiotherapy oncologist, for example, might have concerns about different complementary therapies than the ones that worry your surgeon or your medical oncologist.) Because it just seems right somehow to use the power of the Web for good, here is a list of Internet resources that can help you recognize cancer scams or find legitimate, beneficial complementary therapies. Spotting or Tracking Scams Competition Bureau Canada http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/home The Canadian Health Care Anti-Fraud Association http://www.chcaa.org/blog/ Cure-ious? Ask (How to spot a cancer scam from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission) http://www.ftc.gov/curious Quackwatch http://www.quackwatch.org/ National (U.S.) Council Against Health Fraud http://www.ncahf.org/ U.S. Food and Drug Administration Cancer Fraud Updates http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/cancerfraud061708.html Getting Good Advice on CAM B.C. Cancer Agency: Complementary and Alternative Cancer Therapies http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/PPI/UnconventionalTherapies/default.htm CAMline: The Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Website for Healthcare Professionals http://www.camline.ca/ Complementary and Alternative Medicine (from the U.S. National Cancer Institute) http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/treatment/cam National (U.S.) Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine http://nccam.nih.gov/ Natural Standard: The Authority on Integrative Medicine http://3rdparty.naturalstandard.com/frameset.asp Public Health Agency of Canada: Complementary and Alternative Health http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/chn-rcs/cah-acps-eng.php?rd=complement_eng |
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