With expensive medical treatment a certainty, a breast cancer patient may seek alternative cures they find online.
Dr. Liz O'Riordan, a breast surgeon and cancer survivor, said after a diagnosis, patients are often scared and willing to try anything. She explained scammers prey on desperation.
"There are lots and lots of people who are selling products, or cures, or clinics, and they have glowing testimonials," O'Riordan pointed out. "They promise you a miracle cure. It's clever marketing. They spend thousands and thousands trying to lure you in, and we are sitting ducks."
Breast cancer is detected when the uncontrolled growth and the spread of abnormal cells occurs in one or both breasts of women and men. A 2022 Indiana Department of Health report indicated in 2019, there were almost 5,200 cases of breast cancer diagnosed in Indiana.
Feelings of hopelessness can also steer a breast cancer patient to try alternative treatments. O'Riordan noted untrained individuals may recommend drinking herbal teas, juice detoxes or massages as natural ways to delay or prevent the disease. Medical doctors are increasingly the target of blame, O’Riordan added, when the condition of a patient worsens.
"We're now flooded with people telling us that parasites are causing cancer and you need to do cleanses or you need to do a detox, and if the alternative treatments didn't work, we're not trying hard enough," O'Riordan reported.
O’Riordan stressed medical information should not be obtained by anyone other than a doctor who knows your health situation and has knowledge of other existing medical conditions or prescriptions you may be taking.
Terri Dee wrote this article.
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