A Scots man launched an investigation into so-called 'miracle cures' for cancer after he and his wife were bombarded with dangerous alternative therapies on social media.
Brian Eggo, 49, was told to consider salt water, sound videos and even dangerous scrubs that dissolve the skin as treatments for his wife Laura, 41, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021. 'Alternative health' groups on Facebook even suggested bleach and an animal de-wormer as therapies.
The dad-of-one, who is president of the anti-pseudoscience group Glasgow Skeptics, said he was not surprised by the misinformation being shared online. But he warned it had worsened during the coronavirus pandemic; Facebook said it was cracking down on the groups.
Brian, from East Kilbride, said: "I think a lot of people are going to think 'what's the harm of rolling the dice if my conventional treatment isn't going to help me survive?' The bigger risk, though, is the people who may have a good prognosis with conventional treatment, who don't take up that treatment because the alternative is more alluring.
"And let's be honest, chemotherapy is brutal. Laura had radiotherapy every day for 25 days. She's generally recovering well, but that's not fun.
"Someone online recommended me a book about curing cancer with carrots - by juicing and eating carrots. I mean, that sounds much less traumatic than chemotherapy."
Brian joined dozens of Facebook groups and posted the same message in each - explaining that his wife had breast cancer and asking whether group members would advise conventional or alternative therapies. Alongside more mundane recommendations to cut out sugar or avoid underwired bras, some advised that Laura should drink her own urine or rub it onto her skin.
He also received "lots of recommendations for fenbendazole" - a de-wormer used in dogs, cats, horses and cows.
Brian said: "This has been going around since before people started recommending ivermectin for Covid - they've been recommending fenbendazole for cancer. But I was recommended ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine as well - the 'Covid panaceas' were recommended for cancer too.
"There were recommendations for miracle mineral supplement (MMS) which is essentially a bleach solution that will supposedly cure malaria, Aids, cancer, autism. Unfortunately, there are some well-meaning but deluded parents who are giving their autistic children bleach enemas in order to try to cure their autism - it's horrific.
"There were lots of recommendations for my wife to stop doing things. One quack site said that all cooked food is poison and said she should follow a raw vegan diet.
"There was already a significant alternative health movement before covid came along, but discontent breeds the desire to go looking for other things. Anybody who's had some gripes about how the government have run things and doubts about modern medicine could easily be swayed.
"We were lucky - my wife's prognosis was good and it's much easier to be rational when that's the case."
One group pushed a "black salve", known as Cansema, and designated as a "fake cancer cure" by the US Food and Drug Administration. The paste, first developed to treat skin lesions in the early 1900s, destroys skin tissue.
Brian added: "It would be nice if the NHS and the oncologists warned you about these online predators, but I don't think they've got the time or inclination to do that. Anything we can do to educate the general population and make them aware of the amount of quackery and scams that are out there the better, I think."
Facebook says it will "take action" on groups that "repeatedly share health misinformation" but to date none of the groups reported have been closed down.
A spokesperson said: "We remove dangerous health misinformation that's likely to directly contribute to imminent harm. We also direct people searching for health information to authoritative sources, including cancer charities."
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