Prince Charles cops a serve over alternative therapies

[reprise]

The Prince of Wales was accused today of overstepping the mark in his support for alternative therapies to treat cancer patients.

In an open letter to the prince, leading British breast cancer expert Professor Michael Baum begged him to exercise "extreme caution" when promoting "unproven therapies".

The Prince of Wales has long been a supporter of complementary medicine.

Baum voiced concern after reading about the prince's support for coffee enemas and carrot juice for treating cancer.

Prince told to back off over cancer 'cures'

It's about time, too.

 

[athon]

I can see the movie now..."The Madness of Prince Charles".

They cure his ills with pseudoscience, like cupping, blistering, and homeopathy, and he slowly goes insane...

Hmm, I think it's all been done before.

Athon

 

[Benguin]

he slowly goes insane

There's an assumption about him in there I'd like to challenge ... !

 

[Doc Dish]

Baum told the prince: "Your power and authority rests on an accident of birth.

Good point

I don't begrudge you that authority...

I do

This is the sort of thing we should be hearing from the scientific community on so-called CAM.

Has anyone seen this story in the UK media? Google news finds 3 hits for this story in the UK; a local news site in Berkshire, Reuters AlertNet and Medical News Today. Why isn't this on the BBC or ITN?

 

[davidhorman]

Why isn't this on the BBC or ITN?

It's top story on ITN, going out as I type.

Prince Charles has been quoted as saying that he's never recommended using alternative therapy instead of conventional medicine.

Here's the story on the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3876431.stm

I can't find the story on the ITN website because they've managed to forbid access to their ITV news

Good work Professor Baum!

David

 

[tamiO]

Good point

I do

This is the sort of thing we should be hearing from the scientific community on so-called CAM.

Has anyone seen this story in the UK media? Google news finds 3 hits for this story in the UK; a local news site in Berkshire, Reuters AlertNet and Medical News Today. Why isn't this on the BBC or ITN?

Please, what is CAM? Thank you.

nm. I realised you are not Google. A quick search tells me it means Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

 

[Lothian]

The bad science view of royalty, medicine and keeping noses out. .

 

[Doc Dish]

Please, what is CAM? Thank you.

nm. I realised you are not Google. A quick search tells me it means Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Sorry, mea culpa, I shouldn't have assumed that everyone would know what the acronym meant. I will sit in the corner and reflect on what happens when one ASS_U_MEs something

 

[Benguin]

I notice in his response the jug-eared simpleton completely missed the surgeon's carefully worded distinction between complementary and alternative medicine.

 

[Doc Dish]

The bad science view of royalty, medicine and keeping noses out. .

in two years San Diego county hospitals treated 13 patients with campylobacter sepsis from the Gerson clinic, probably due to the raw calves' liver injections

Please tell me this is a joke?!

 

[tamiO]

Sorry, mea culpa, I shouldn't have assumed that everyone would know what the acronym meant. I will sit in the corner and reflect on what happens when one ASS_U_MEs something

I had the "alternative medicine" part. I was guessing at what the C was and could only come up with "crazy."

I bet I am one of the very few, if not the only, one who didn't know the acronym.

 

[Deetee]

Good snippets:
from the Prof: "It is in the nature of your world to be surrounded by sycophants who constantly reinforce what they assume are your prejudices."

At the risk of becoming one of the sycophants surrounding the Prof....."Hear, hear!"



From the Prince's spokesperson: "He (the Prince) is simply reflecting the wishes of 80% of cancer patients who wish to use alternative treatments alongside conventional treatments."

Duh! And the difference between complementary and alternative.......? This dork has no idea.

 

[Doc Dish]

I had the "alternative medicine" part. I was guessing at what the C was and could only come up with "crazy."

For ages I thought that 'Complementary Medicine' was when the Doctor came to your bedside and said "Nice pyjamas!"

Seriously though, Prince Charles is one big 'Appeal to authority' fallacy. Whether he's talking about Architecture, Botany or Medicine his only qualification is that his great-to-the-nth-degree grandfather was a bigger murderer than mine!

About the only thing he does prove is that inbreeding is a bad thing.

 

[Rolfe]

I had the "alternative medicine" part. I was guessing at what the C was and could only come up with "crazy."

I bet I am one of the very few, if not the only, one who didn't know the acronym.

Mmm, I'm with the school of thought that would like to promote the usage of "Supplementary, Complementary and Alternative Medicine".

Work out the acronym for yourselves....

Rolfe.

 

[Doc Dish]

Mmm, I'm with the school of thought that would like to promote the usage of "Supplementary, Complementary and Alternative Medicine".

Work out the acronym for yourselves....

Rolfe.

Surely that's "Supplementary, Complementary and Unproven Medicine"?

 

[Tom Morris]

On Dr Barrett's (quackwatch) healthfraud mailing list, we prefer the acronym 'SCAM' (So-Called Alternative Medicine).