Beware of Quacks, Charlatans, Snake-Oil Salesmen and other Crackpots!

It took me a full week after my last treatment to exit the Tunnel of Tiredness.  Since Wednesday I've enjoyed being back on my feet and having such wild adventures as walking to the grocery store, baking a cheesecake, or filling the bird feeders.
Last night, Mr. T and I watched a very interesting documentary entitled "La Médecine qui Tue!" (Medicine that Kills!) which relates an alarming spread in a sect-like quackery, and its variants, which preys on sick people, primarily cancer patients.  The "German New Medicine", as espoused by a former doctor Ryke Hamer (whose license to practice was revoked in 1986 for malpractice), or "Total Biology"  promoted by one of his students, Claude Sabbah, are rapidly spreading across Europe, Canada and the US.  The basic tenet of their "theory" is that cancer is not a disease but a manifestation of some psychological conflict that the person has not yet resolved. Living off of conference circuits and consultations, these quacks and their followers actually convince susceptible cancer patients to abandon their standard treatments of chemotherapy/radiotherapy ("It's all a plot of the pharmaceutical industry, greedy doctors, blah blah blah") condemning them to atrocious suffering and ultimately death.  The documentary was supported by heartbreaking witnesses of family members who not only tried in vain to convince their loved ones to continue their treatment but who were often accused by them of being the cause of their disease!  Perhaps the most insidious aspect of their approach is to put the blame on their victim for their own condition:  "If you aren't healed, it's your own fault for not having resolved your conflict. And that will be €100, please." 
A friend of mine, who has conquered two separate bouts of cancer, told me, when I shared the news with her of my condition, that folks would offer all kinds of advice.  She was right.  I have received a lot of information from various sources.  Folks are usually quite taken aback when they hear what's happening and basically they want to help in whatever way possible.  So when I hear some bit of advice or receive a link, I check it out and determine if there is something valid for me.  It's like any bit of advice, I take what I like and I leave the rest.
My educational background centers around the natural sciences, with my first degree being in biology.  Therefore, for me, the scientific method is the main criteria against which I base my evaluation of what I'm willing to include in my personal toolbox.  However, I'm willing to include some "tools" which may not be backed with extensive research but which I give the benefit of the  doubt.  For example, I don't need research results to know that it's better for me to drink camomille or verveine tea  rather than a strong expresso before going to bed!
What works for me is having access to the best, cutting-edge cancer treatment available today and building a relationship with my oncologist based on shared information, open communication, and trust.  I supplement this with my own personal regime which incorporates advice received from others that I have validated and decided to take on board.  This includes paying particular attention to  how I eat favoring The List (see previous post on Eating to Defeat Cancer), practically eliminating alcohol from my diet, reducing coffee and increasing green tea intake, introducing kombucha ("There are scientific studies that support the health benefits of Kombucha that show it to be antimicrobial,^[1][2] to have hepatoprotectivequalities,^[3] and to be antioxidative^[4][5] among other benefits.."), taking daily vitamin and herbal (milk thistle,Silybum marianum, and black radish, Raphanus niger) supplements, etc.  I get regular exercise, when I'm not too tired, because I need to keep up my overall muscle and cardio-vascular tone and I include meditation in my daily routine, since this really helps me put things into perspective and feeds my "inner self" (as Mr  T fondly teases me).
My regular doctor here in Belgium floored me the other day when he suggested that I read an article from Stephen Jay Gould, a remarkable evolutionary biologist and one of my personal mentors.  How did Dr. Forton even hear about Stephen Jay Gould and what was he going on about?  Stephen Jay Gould was diagnosed with abdominal mesothelioma and he wrote an article about cancer and statistics which I highly recommend. http://www.cancerguide.org/median_not_msg.html
I also checked out the statistics on my cancer and was initially set back, but fortunately I have come to put my personal situation into perspective, and this article was particulary helpful.  It's probably not the case of those poor souls who feel defeated by the statistics and fall victim to those predatory quacks. 
As Mr. T reminds me, I don't have to win the race, I just have to be on the podium.