Mar 20 2019
The crowdfunding platform GoFundMe is banning fundraising campaigns for a controversial cancer treatment clinic in Germany, according to the Financial Times. The Hallwang clinic in Dornstetten charges up to thousands of euros for what it claims is a “cutting-edge, next generation medicine.” But medical professionals have criticized the clinic for offering treatments such as “ozone therapy” and …
Sep 19 2018
The BMJ’s report on fundraisers for alternative cancer treatments highlights media coverage as one of the key drivers in the money being raised to fund ineffective cancer therapies. According to the BMJ’s report: Newspaper and TV reports on people with cancer drive donors to the crowdfunding sites, sometimes attracting the attention of celebrities, who boost …
Sep 14 2018
Media stories about people with cancer seeking controversial cures are unwittingly bolstering unscientific and potentially harmful treatments, says Michael Marshall
Sep 12 2018
The BMJ today published the results of a year-long investigation by Good Thinking into crowdfunding appeals for ineffective cancer treatments. As part of the investigation, Good Thinking searched fundraising sites such as JustGiving and GoFundMe, looking for appeals from UK patients which referenced unproven or disproven cancer treatments, and identifying where these treatments were being …
Sep 02 2018
Online auction site eBay has been selling quack cancer cures that involve “zapping” patients with electricity. The Sunday Telegraph found that more than 30 different cancer zapper devices were being sold through eBay, priced at up to £299. One seller in Northern Ireland had been selling the devices for over a year.
Aug 04 2018
Health campaigners have criticised Facebook after a Sunday Telegraph investigation found that the social network has been promoting dangerous homemade cancer “cures” more prominently than information from charities including Cancer Research UK. Vulnerable people desperately searching on Facebook for information about cancer treatments are shown a series of groups which included adverts and discussion about …
Jul 20 2018
Cancer patients who turn to complementary medicine are more likely to die, according to new research. Therapies such as homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine and specialised diets should only be used alongside conventional treatments, but experts warned some patients saw them as replacements.
Jun 19 2018
Hundreds of thousands of people in Britain have downloaded apps through Google and Apple that market themselves with unproven claims to treat cancer and other diseases. Among the most popular examples are those that promote “ketogenic diets” with the suggestion that they are effective in fighting cancer, even though there have been no clinical trials …
Jan 16 2018
Good Thinking are extremely concerned about fundraising appeals designed to raise money for seriously ill people to receive alternative therapies that are not considered mainstream and are typically not backed by robust evidence. Below, we look at many of the therapies we’ve seen cited in such fundraisers (particularly for cancer patients), assess the evidence for …
