by Mary 105 Replies latest watchtower medical
BDF said: Mary I am glad you are here to write this topic. But I don't believe that a cure would be kept secret even if the motivation for such a secret is greed. As others have posted I too think there would be plenty of bucks and notariety made on the cure.
Well hon, this is one time where I really hope I'm wrong.
So.......if these holistic 'cures' exist, why bother going to the doctor EVER, especially for something so potentially life-threatening as cancer?
So.......if these holistic 'cures' exist, why bother going to the doctor EVER, especially for something so potentially life-threatening as cancer?Because I'm not so close-minded as to dismiss the medical treatment that IS available to us. Nor would I recommend that anyone stop seeing their doctor. When I was diagnosed, I used a combination of standard medical treatment PLUS alternative treatment. Why does it have to be all one way or another? It doesn't. Plus, alternative medicine alone does not work for everyone, just like chemotherapy and radiation doesn't work for everyone. Has anyone even bothered looking up what happened to Lane Lab when they tried presenting their findings of the MGN-3 to the FDA? It's a completely natural treatment PLUS they actually had the controlled studies to back up their claim. The FDA wasn't interested! Doesn't that strike you as rather odd that something that could help people who have cancer wasn't even considered by the powers that be? They gave no valid reason other than saying 'it's not a drug and you're not allowed to make any health claims, end of story.' http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01432.html
 |  |  |
FDA Home Page | Search FDA Site | FDA A-Z Index | Contact FDA | FDA Centennial
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Media Inquiries: |
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is notifying consumers of a restitution (refund) program for purchasers of three of Lane Labs-USA, Inc.'s products. The products are BeneFin, MGN-3 and SkinAnswer. Consumers who purchased those products between September 22, 1999 and July 12, 2004 are eligible for a partial refund of the purchase price and any shipping and handling costs.
A federal District Court in Newark, New Jersey has ruled that Lane Labs marketed BeneFin, MGN-3 and SkinAnswer as treatments for cancer, HIV, and skin cancer without FDA approval. See http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2004/NEW01086.html . The Court ordered Lane Labs to pay restitution to persons who purchased the products between September 22, 1999 and July 12, 2004. The Court also appointed Newark, New Jersey attorney Donald A. Robinson as Special Master to oversee the restitution process. Gilardi & Co., LLC has been retained to assist with the restitution process.
Claims should be submitted to: Lane Labs Restitution Fund c/o Gilardi & Co., LLC, P.O. Box 808011, Petaluma CA 94975-8011. The completed claim form must be postmarked no later than October 30, 2006. Do not mail claims to FDA.
A copy of the claim form can be obtained at http://www.gilardi.com/lanelabs or by writing to Lane Labs Restitution Fund c/o Gilardi & Co., LLC (see address above).
For questions about the restitution program, please contact Gilardi & Co., LLC at 866-431-8716.
==============================================================
So the FDA doesn't hesitate to ban a harmless natural substance like MGN-3 because it's not an "approved drug" and they didn't like the way it was marketed. Yet how many drugs have they approved that have KILLED people, and they STILL don't ban them?! Unbelievable.
The trouble with too many alternative treatments is their practioners refuse to subject themselves or their treatments to any sort of peer review, which is the essence of scientific research. If somebody else can't reproduce your results, their is something not right with what you're doing.
Examples: back in the seventies/eighties I was working as an animal tech at the College of Pharmacy at WSU. This was when Laetrile was a big deal. I asked one of the grad students (who was working on similar compounds) what he thought of it. He said that the first problem was that nobody knew for sure what laetrile was. You could process an apricot pit from Yakima and get one compound, and one from Wenatchee and get something else.
At about the same time one of the profs there conducted a series of experiments to see if you could "starve" tumors. The theory was that tumors contained high amounts of certain amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) and that by witholding those amino acids you could shrink the tumor. He reached two conclusions 1) yes it worked, you could shrink tumors that way. 2) the process killed the mouse. I don't think he ever tried to locate human volunteers to try to take it to the next level.
What I'm trying to show here is that there are all sorts of ideas floating around out there. Some work, a lot don't. Some can't be verified for one reason or another. Just because somebody says they're on to something doesn't mean they are. In fact, the US medical industry has shown itself willing to gamble on new things that show some hope of success.
Quackwatch Home Page ||| Special Message for Cancer Patients
MGN-3 Immune Enhancing Complex is an extract of arabinoxylan from rice bran that has been enzymatically modified to increase its immunomodulatory function [1]. Its manufacturer, Lane Labs-USA, of Allendale, New Jersey, has stated that MGN-3 is "revolutionary," "could be the magic bullet!" and is "the only natural immune complex proven to triple Natural Killer (NK) cell protection." [2] The product was developed by Mamdooh H. Ghoneum, Ph.D., an immunologist at Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, who does cancer immunology research and has been studying rice ban's effects for several years [3]. Ghoneum patented the production process in 1996 [4]. In an interview published on the company's Web site, he claimed that "MGN-3 will boost natural killer cell activity to destroy any remaining abnormal cells after surgery or adjuvant treatments." and "with the exception of very terminal cases, all of the other patients have shown dramatic results." [5]
Ghoneum has reported that administering arabinoxylan to mice and to cancer patients has led to increases in natural killer (NK) cells, a type of white blood cell that can destroy certain types of cancer cells in the laboratory [6-9]. He has also reported that some patients who took MGN-3 after receiving standard treatment showed increased NK activity, remained cancer-free, or lived longer than their doctors predicted [1,3]. However, these studies did not examine whether patients who receive MGN-3 would do better than similar patients who do not.
The key question in evaluating a proposed anti-cancer product is not whether it affects blood levels of various cells but whether it can influence tumor growth and survival time. Only well-designed clinical trials can determine that -- and no such study has been published. Arabinoxylan is a complex sugar (polysaccharide). It has been known for many years that various large polysaccharide molecules can stimulate immune responses in mice. However, it has not been demonstrated that NK cells destroy cancer cells in humans.
Without clear-cut evidence of human benefit, it is illegal to market MGN-3 as an anti-cancer product. Under federal law, products intended for the prevention, mitigation , or treatment of disease are considered drugs, and drugs cannot be legally marketed without FDA approval. Lane Labs claimed it was merely marketing it as a "dietary supplement." But I believe -- as does the FDA -- that statements the company made constitute drug claims as defined by federal law.
In December 1999, a lawsuit initiated by the FDA was filed against Lane Labs and its president, Andrew J. Lane. An FDA Talk Paper announcing the suit stated that, despite warnings that began in 1997, Lane and his company had continued to promote the products as remedies for cancer and other diseases through books, articles, Internet web sites, and employee statements [10]. The FDA's September 1997 warning letter had stated that based on claims and their intended uses, the three products were unapproved drugs and misbranded [11]. Lane sold MGN-3 for $53.96 per bottle of 50, which would make the cost about $13 per day for the first two weeks and about $4 per day after that.
In March 2001, the Mississippi Attorney General issued a cease-and-desist order to stop Dallas Dupre, of Picayune, Mississippi, from distributing MGN-3 with claims that it could cure cancer in any part of the body. According to a local newspaper report, Dupre had distributed flyers claiming that "If your immune systeme weaken and you get cancer the first thing to do . . . is to beef up your immue system. Forunately, MGN-3 does that more powerfully than any substance known to man and it acts within hours turning hard tumors into harmless jelly like blob and shrinking them . . . . It costs lest than $3,000 to cure breast cancer and no side effect." [12]
In July 2004, a New Jersey Federal Court Judge ordered Lane Labs and Andrew Lane to stop selling products containing MGN3, shark cartilage and SkinAnswer (a skin cream, claimed to be effective against skin cancer. The judge ordered all inventory of these products destroyed except for a quantity of shark cartilage that may be needed to for research purposes. The court order permanently enjoins the company from selling any unapproved new drugs and orders it make restitution to any one who purchased the products since Sept. 22, 1999. The judge noted that Lane Labs used Ghoneum's writings for marketing pruposes and thad agreed to pay him a 9.5% royalty plus an 8.5% research allocation on all MGN-3 purchases that the company made from its Japanese distributor [13].
It remains to be seen whether MGN3 has any practical value. It is certainly not revolutionary or a magic bullet.
Quackwatch Home Page ||| Special Message for Cancer Patients
This article was revised on July 20, 2004.
Has anyone even bothered looking up what happened to Lane Lab when they tried presenting their findings of the MGN-3 to the FDA? It's a completely natural treatment PLUS they actually had the controlled studies to back up their claim. The FDA wasn't interested! Doesn't that strike you as rather odd that something that could help people who have cancer wasn't even considered by the powers that be? They gave no valid reason other than saying 'it's not a drug and you're not allowed to make any health claims, end of story.'You get it, Mary. It's when people ASSume that pharmaceuticals and doctors are the reason there's no cure, that greed is their motive for not finding a cure yet. The real issue here is between the FDA and EMEA, and non-drug treatment.
 |
| ||||
| A Special Message for Cancer Patients Seeking "Alternative" Treatments |
|
Don't let desperation lead you to try things just because someone advises you to do so. Read the information on this web site thoroughly. We strongly recommend that you avoid any "alternative" cancer treatment discussed on Quackwatch. If you or someone you know investigate or pursue any such treatment, please share your experience with us. Your name and report will remain confidential.
Topics with posting dates or links to other sites are detailed reports. Items without posting dates are linked to a brief report or a longer OTA passage on Quackwatch.
This page was revised on December 8, 2006.
Make a Donation | Search All of Our Affiliated Sites | Home
That argument should be presented clearly rather than calling out scapegoats from the sky.
I've seen it rain cats and dogs, but I've NEVER seen this, Sheepy.
Just a little levity, people.
Warlock
This caused much controversy here last year. Pharmaceutical company Roche treating medical practitioners to a lavish meal while they hear of all the wonderful products Roche has to offer. Sales meeting anyone?
http://www.newmatilda.com.au/policytoolkit/policydetail.asp?PolicyID=462
Lonelysheep said: You get it, Mary. It's when people ASSume that pharmaceuticals and doctors are the reason there's no cure, that greed is their motive for not finding a cure yet. The real issue here is between the FDA and EMEA, and non-drug treatment.
I will assume you meant to say I don't get it. You don't think the pharmeceutical industry and the FDA aren't in bed together? Of course they are. You think giants like Pfizer want to see a safe, non-patentable, cheap cure for cancer? If they weren't getting their palms greased, how the hell does a dangerous drug like Vioxx or Phentermine ever get approved? If there was any herb on the market that caused as many deaths as these two drugs did, it would have never been approved for anything and the makers sued.
This thread is about asking the question: Do you think there's a cure they're not telling us about and that can cover a variety of areas such as the pharmeceutical industry, alternative medicine, the FDA. Many on here have raised some valid points but as per usual, those that scoff at anything outside the scientific laboratory, sneer at the thought of anything "natural" being able to cure someone.
