My Malignant Melanoma

The admins seemed to wear themselves out quite quickly yesterday, and spam and misinformation have once again built up on the site. Annemarie has been helping them out with some flags, and I see Jools has responded to cranberry guy's missed post, but their responses are so weak as to be totally ineffective.

Would anyone reading the cranberry thread know that the original post was without any scientific basis? It's all very well the admins posting to say that promotion of alternative medicine is not allowed, but isn't that just saying that the site's policy is against it, rather than that it is unfounded nonsense, which is the truth of the matter(see yesterdays blog for explanation) ?

Would anyone reading this thread know that the (no doubt well-meaning) advice given to take vitamin C during chemotherapy is dangerous, as vitamin C can block the action of some chemotherapy agents? My wife has had to to flag it and then when the admin refused to do anything, point them at a paper showing it was dangerous advice to even get this wishy-washy pointer put up.

I see also that someone has chosen to attempt to rubbish me personally in an attempt to promote alternative medicine on the site. He even claims that homoeopathy shrinks tumours, a blatant transgression of the site rules. My wife flagged the post yesterday, but there is as yet no sign of any action from the admins. In fact the admins have yet to acknowledge any of her PMs or flags.

The poster makes many of the same false points which all promoters of homoeopathy do, so let's have a look at these:

1. They claim that homoeopathy works on animals, and this proves that it is not a placebo, as animals can have no expectations.

This effect has not been shown in any scientific study, but only exists in the minds of addled animal lovers and promoters of homoeopathy. What grounds do we have for thinking that the homoeopathic remedy worked? The owners and the homoeopath think that it did. The placebo effect is working on them, and possibly at one remove on social animals like dogs who love to please. Of course, most illnesses are self-limiting, and when an animal gets well, people who believe in homoeopathy think that their magic water has done the work.

2. Homoeopathy is available on the NHS, therefore it works.

This does not follow. The NHS offers all sorts of things to people on the grounds that they like it, or in the case of homoeopathy, that influential people like Prince Charles champion it. For people with low-grade, chronic conditions, giving a placebo to keep people quiet might be useful. However, homoeopathy does not work other than as a placebo. Every scientific study shows it. Homeopathy is bunk.

3. "We have to define what science is", and other pseudo-intellectual nonsense.

The standard of proof in science and medicine is well known to those involved in the field. The claims that science is just another form of knowledge no better than guessing, feelings or wishful thinking always come from those who, having lost the game, wish to change the rules. Homoeopathy has been studied in detail. It has no effect above placebo.

4. "Such and such a diet/treatment has won acclaim from many people"

This is the "eat shit, 10,000 flies can't be wrong" argument. The test of whether a medical treatment works is not how many people believe in it, but whether it does work when subjected to rigorous testing. Homoeopathy fails the test. Every time.