Unethical practices

Monday 2 February, 2009

Reviewed: A/P Michael Jefford,Consultant Medical Oncologist, Peter Mac; Dr Raymond Snyder, Director of Oncology, St Vincent's Hospital; Beth Wilson, Health Services Commissioner, Victoria; Dr Amanda Hordern, Director, Cancer Information and Support Service. Developed with funding from the Victorian Department of Human Services.

Sadly, a few individuals, groups, organisations or companies deceitfully promote alternative therapies by stating that it can help to treat or cure cancer. You may read or hear about such a therapy by word of mouth, in the media or through a website.

However, the therapy may actually:

  • be harmful/dangerous
  • have no effect on your cancer
  • cost you a lot of money
  • have side effects, some of which may be serious
  • have no scientific evidence to back up the effectiveness of the treatment
  • be promoted by people who don't have any recognised qualifications or be pretending to have certain medical skills and knowledge
  • be promoted by people who do have recognised medical qualifications but they are not using them in the correct way or they may no longer be registered.

Only a small percentage of people with cancer (1% to 2 %) decide to stop their standard treatment and try an alternative treatment. They face a number of risks.

Some alternative therapists may persuade you to use an alternative therapy that has the potential to cause you problems or harm you. Some may actually believe in what they are doing. Others deliberately target vulnerable people with cancer and convince them to pay a high price for a treatment that they know is ineffective and possibly harmful.

Most people seeking these treatments are in the advanced stages of their cancer. They may be very weak, underweight, in pain or have other symptoms. Understandably, they are desperate to find a cure and willing to try anything they think will help.

Some unethical practitioners may also suggest you have caused your cancer yourself - perhaps because of previous behaviours or beliefs. There is no evidence your attitude or the way you think causes cancer or prevents a treatment from working. 

Unethical therapists sometimes suggest that the cancer did not shrink or disappear because the patient did not follow their advice strictly enough. 

You could be asked to pay up front large sums of money for an alternative therapy. There have been reports of sums between $10,000 and $35,000 for a ‘package of care'.

Some people who promote alternative cancer therapies are misleading and deceiving the public regarding the nature, benefits and suitability of their products and services. They may be using corrupt and false methods and promises when convincing you to pay for treatment.

How will I know if claims of cure are false?

When you are under a lot of stress and desperate to find a cure for your cancer it can be difficult to know who to believe. It can be hard to recognise potential problems. It is not lack of intelligence that leads people to these treatments offering a false hope of cure, but a natural desire to want to try anything that may help them.

Those who promote alternative therapies can be very convincing. They may tell stories of people close to them who have been cured. They may appear very caring and understanding. People in the advanced stages of cancer may say, ‘What have I got to lose?' Unfortunately, there have been many reports of people who have become much sicker, lost a lot of weight, spent all their life savings, mortgaged their homes, or even died from using an alternative therapy.

A dishonest and unethical therapist may:

  • Try to convince you your cancer has been caused by a poor diet or stress: they will claim they can treat or cure your cancer with a special diet.
  • Promise a cure for your cancer - or to detoxify, purify or revitalise your body. There will be quick, dramatic and wonderful results - a miracle cure.
  • Use untrustworthy claims to back up their results rather than scientific-based evidence from clinical trials. They may even list references to scientific data and studies. But if you look deeper, their references may be false, nonexistent, irrelevant, based on poorly designed research and out of date.
  • Warn you that the medical professions are trying to hide the ‘real cure for cancer' and not to trust your doctor.
  • Display credentials not recognised by reputable scientists and health professionals.
  • Charge you a lot of money and ask for it upfront before you begin any treatment.

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