Dirty Medicine

[want2bike]

It is my understanding leukemia is a form of blood or bone cancer. Before I would use any drug to treat cancer I would watch the video Cancer - The Forbidden Cures. I think it is more important to believe what actual people who have cured their cancer have to say; than some silly studies done by a drug company. Let Dr. Lorraine Day explain what she did when she had cancer. The FDA tells me the only way I can treat cancer is with Radiation, Surgery, and Drugs. Yes any organization which does not give me the freedom of choice as to how to treat a disease is evil. I want to treat my disease as I choose not what FDA says are proven treatments. The FDA tell me the only way I can treat cancer is with Radiation, Surgery, and Drugs. To get the treatment I choose I have to go to Mexico. Yes any organization who approves Fluoride in my water, GMO in my food, and Mercury in my mouth is a liar, cheat and bad for my health. I would not believe anything they say because they are proven liars. This can be seen when they approve a drug which kills people and then they have to come back and pull it from the market. Why is that not a liar when one day drug is good and the next day it is bad? If you choose to give the criminals a free pass go ahead. I value my health too much to take a chance that someday they may get it right. I feel sick when I watch the news at night and just about every commercial is about some drug. They tell you about all the side effects then say ask your doctor if this drug is right for you. If you want good health get the information and figure it out for yourself. If I had to be on some drug for some reason I would work as hard as I could to get off the drug. Drugs are not good for use over a long period of time.

[HarryZ]

Yep Wanna, they are all liars, criminals and evil ! How dare these people suggest to us how to look after ourselves. You know better than all of them and have all the credentials to go with it. With all that knowledge, you should get a job in a hospital and show all those incompetent docs how it is done. With your talent there is no limit to how you can help humanity. How fortunate to have someone like you posting on this forum to enlighten us.

[newmser]

It is my understanding leukemia is a form of blood or bone cancer. Before I would use any drug to treat cancer I would watch the video Cancer - The Forbidden Cures. I think it is more important to believe what actual people who have cured their cancer have to say; than some silly studies done by a drug company. Let Dr. Lorraine Day explain what she did when she had cancer. The FDA tells me the only way I can treat cancer is with Radiation, Surgery, and Drugs. Yes any organization which does not give me the freedom of choice as to how to treat a disease is evil. I want to treat my disease as I choose not what FDA says are proven treatments. The FDA tell me the only way I can treat cancer is with Radiation, Surgery, and Drugs. To get the treatment I choose I have to go to Mexico. Yes any organization who approves Fluoride in my water, GMO in my food, and Mercury in my mouth is a liar, cheat and bad for my health. I would not believe anything they say because they are proven liars. This can be seen when they approve a drug which kills people and then they have to come back and pull it from the market. Why is that not a liar when one day drug is good and the next day it is bad? If you choose to give the criminals a free pass go ahead. I value my health too much to take a chance that someday they may get it right. I feel sick when I watch the news at night and just about every commercial is about some drug. They tell you about all the side effects then say ask your doctor if this drug is right for you. If you want good health get the information and figure it out for yourself. If I had to be on some drug for some reason I would work as hard as I could to get off the drug. Drugs are not good for use over a long period of time.

My sister works for the FDA. Are you calling her a liar, cheat, and a criminal? How dare you!

I recall that your wrote you believe you can cure cancer with apricots. The FDA hasn't banned those, and you don't need to go to Mexico to get them - but feel free to travel there, get some coffee enemas. And be sure to drink plenty of water.

[cheerleader]

Facts and documentation are always useful on threads like this one.
Last year, I wrote about how MS drugs are approved by the FDA--for those interested in the practices in the US.

I thought it might be a good idea to see what information is available to the public regarding who is recommending MS treatments to the FDA, and how they do this.

The group that looks at evidence for the MS community and advises on drug approval is the
"Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee"
There are many reports prepared by pharmaceutical companies to be submitted to this group, which are available for public disclosure without redaction on the FDA.gov site.

Here is one for Fingolimod, now marketed as Gilenya-- prepared by Novartis- and submitted to the advisory committee for their June 10th, 2010 meeting.

The authors are free-lance biotechnicians who specialize in "bringing pharmaceuticals to market."
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Advisory%2 ... 214675.pdf

The FDA advisory committee decided that day to approve Fingolimod/Gilenya and made the announcement to the press. They were giddy with the fact that this drug was the first FDA approved oral medication for people with MS.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/723361

What is important to note is that by the time 2012 came around, the FDA had to issue a formal warning on Gilenya, due to several deaths and cardiac events reported after the drug was marketed to pwMS. These cardiac deaths and side-effects were not flagged by the FDA, or Novartis---but reported by a non profit watchdog group, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices.
http://www.ismp.org

But the FDA knew of all the potential side effects in 2010--it took them 2 years to issue warnings.

Here's where it gets interesting and somewhat disconcerting. Novartis knew that there were serious side-effects with this drug, including changes in heart rate, liver toxicity, macular edema, and increased rates of infection--these side effects are discussed in their initial report to the FDA. They admit that this drug has serious implications for the "cardiac, ocular, infectious, hepatic and pulmonary systems." They prepared their own "prescriber advisory letter" and "prescriber package insert."

The FDA knew about these risks, but did not give any warnings to patients until a watchdog group became vocal about the number of side effects being reported.

The problem is that pharma companies pay to "advise" the FDA--

In the news today, e-mails are released that show pharmaceutical companies pay to attend FDA advisory meetings and submit their own recommendations on drugs to be marketed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/ ... ml?hpid=z1

to learn more. All facts and links are provided.
http://ccsviinms.blogspot.com/2013/10/t ... rosis.html
cheer

[HarryZ]

Thanks for that info, Cheer.

That kind of supports my comments over the years that the MS drug makers manipulate their data to ensure their drugs get approved. Add in some fancy marketing and "incentives" to the neuros and it's no wonder these companies rake in billions off MS patients. It makes you wonder the relationship between these big pharmas and the FDA and how this happens time and time again.

And just try and introduce something new like CCSVI or an alternative medicine and see how they change to attack mode to protect their cash cows.

Unfortunately it has nothing to do with the health of MS patients but big business trying to increase the bottom line.
How sad.

[want2bike]

I am well aware that apricot seeds can be purchased. I have been eating 6 apricot seeds a day for the last year as a preventative measurement. The FDA tells us they will kill you but that hasn't happen to me. Another lie put out by the FDA. The FDA will put doctors in jail for using this stuff. Cancer is easy to cure but you have to do it. Stop eating sugar, meat and taking drugs and your body becomes alkaline and cancer cells die. There are a number of cancer treatment clinics who have moved to Mexico because the FDA will not allow them to practice here. I had a cousin with lung cancer but she didn't have the information so she died. They kept her on pain medication and allowed her to die. That is the system we have if you buy into it. My mother developed a melanoma on her upper lip. She went to the doctor and he did a biopsy. He told her to come back for more surgery. She ask my opinion and I gave her some apricot seeds and told her to put a paste of baking soda on it. I told her to go on vegan diet and stop eating the process foods. She isn't going to change her diet but apparently the apricot seeds were enough since the cancer is gone. I send this information to everyone in my family because it is important they understand how to treat disease. My sister had a mammogram and the doctor told her she had breast cancer and she need to get it cut out. She start on a diet by Dr. Fuhrman which is vegan. She ask me how she would know if the diet was working. I told her when the lump went away she would know it was working. She told me she couldn't feel a lump. She was taking the doctors word that she had cancer. She is still a live and she was diagnosed 2 years ago. Have you heard the story about the doctor who was treating people for cancer and they didn't have cancer? Did you see the 60 minutes program which showed how the insurance companies were telling their doctor they need to admit more old people to the hospitals? They have to keep the hospital beds full so they can make as much money as possible. You need to understand what is going on if you want to stay healthy.



http://www.apricotpower.com/store/?id=1

[Kronk]

There is so much wrong with your post its embarrassing…

Cancer is easy to cure but you have to do it

Cancer is easy to cure? That may be your most offensive statement yet… I lost my father to bladder cancer after he turned down “modern treatment” despite me and my family begging him not to. He went to Mexico for alkaline treatments, ate healthy, exercised, saw alternative doctors who prescribed sulphur and sodium before checking his high blood pressure which put him in the hospital, he was dead within 2 years…

You want to look at cash cows? Look at alternative medicine! The FDA is not perfect but it does catch many of the bad medicine being submitted for approval. There are NO checks of “alternative treatments.” You think all the alternative doctors and companies are good people? None of them are trying to make money? They are businesses with the same bottom lines to meet as any Big Pharma. Mercola makes millions selling unregulated snake oil to the paranoid masses.

Before the development of modern, evidence-based treatments, 90% of cancer patients died within five years. With modern mainstream treatments, only 34% of cancer patients die within five years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternativ ... treatments
http://www.quackwatch.com/

I have been eating 6 apricot seeds a day for the last year as a preventative measurement. The FDA tells us they will kill you but that hasn't happen to me

Its not just the FDA its fact... get a little chemistry set and try it yourself. Your apricot seeds in small quantities may be little more than an annoyance as your body processes the toxic chemicals if you are lucky enough to get a weak batch. But why not do us all a favor and double your dose? Do you even know what you are promoting?

In 1993, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets tested the cyanide content of two 220 gram (8 oz) packages of apricot kernels imported from Pakistan that were being sold in health-food stores as a snack. The results showed that each package, if consumed entirely, contained at least double the minimum lethal dosage of cyanide for an adult human.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apricot_kernel

And my favorite excerpt from your post..

Did you see the 60 minutes program which showed how the insurance companies were telling their doctor they need to admit more old people to the hospitals? They have to keep the hospital beds full so they can make as much money as possible.

Insurance companies LOSE money when patients occupy hospital beds. Hospitals may make money in the States, not in Canada, but insurance companies want as few people as possible to be sick because it costs them money. Their ideal state would be a world where no one gets sick… we would be paying premiums for nothing… You are wrong over and over but you seem to lack any comprehension of it, and cannot back any of your statements up with anything but YouTube videos and a company selling apricots!!! no bias from them…

I sometimes wonder if you are not just a misinformed geriatric but actually a troll preying on MS patients?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)

[cheerleader]

Thanks for that info, Cheer.

sure, Harry. I hope people will read the information on how the FDA has fast-tracked and approved these new MS drugs in the past 5 years--then had to go back and issue warnings. Just trying to bring this topic back around to some factual stuff that might interest people with MS. I do think there is a place for medication and research, and federal oversight. But I worry about how money corrupts the system.

Here is the strongly worded comment from the ISMP--
It was a significant gamble for the FDA to allow unrestricted marketing of powerful but novel immunosuppressant drug before determining the optimal dose and learning more about its long term risks. Only about 300 people were exposed to fingolimod for a period of two years prior to approval.
http://www.ismp.org/QuarterWatch/pdfs/2011Q2.pdf

So, the FDA issued a warning--
http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/ucm284240.htm

But there would be more problems. The second FDA warning for Gilenya was issued this summer, after a patient contracted PML.
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm366529.htm

http://ccsviinms.blogspot.com/2013/10/t ... rosis.html

[newmser]

Facts and documentation are always useful on threads like this one.
Last year, I wrote about how MS drugs are approved by the FDA--for those interested in the practices in the US ...

Nothing you wrote supports the claim that the FDA is composed of liars, cheats or criminals.

But the FDA knew of all the potential side effects in 2010--it took them 2 years to issue warnings ..

...The FDA knew about these risks, but did not give any warnings to patients until a watchdog group became vocal about the number of side effects being reported..

This is patently false. The FDA and Novartis reported all the side effect risks you listed at the time of approval.

Novartis press release about Gilenya, dated September 22, 2010: http://www.novartis.com/newsroom/media- ... 5917.shtml

Gilenya may cause serious side effects such as slow heart rate (bradycardia or bradyarrhythmia), infections, macular edema, breathing and liver problems...

From the FDA advisory committee meeting approving Gilenya:

http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCo ... 221183.pdf

The committee members unanimously agreed that patients should be required to receive the first dose in a monitored setting due to the risk of bradycardia and heart conduction abnormalities and that a baseline ECG should be obtained before starting therapy...
The majority of the committee members agreed that all patients should be required to receive the first dose in a monitored setting. The cardiologists on the committee recommended that only a specific subset of patients be monitored:...
The majority of the committee agreed that routine ophthalmologic assessments of M.S. patients are not being performed by neurologists and thus recommended that patients have a baseline ophthalmologic assessment for presence of pre-existing macular edema and that their treating physicians monitor visual acuity during therapy...

Other documents from that meeting can be found at the FDA website. Warnings were issued at the time of approval in 2010, and Novartis was required to issue a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy at the time of approval. The FDA reviewed the safety of Gilenya after one person tragically passed away after a first dose, and came back recommeding further monitoring and testing, especially with an EKG. But they did not hide any information.

Casting aspersions on hardworking doctors and researchers really does nothing to help people suffering from MS.

[cheerleader]

Dear New MSer--
it's not me saying it, it's the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)--they monitor drugs after marketing.

QuarterWatchTM is an independent publication of the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) that monitors all domestic, serious adverse drug events reported to the FDA. We analyze computer excerpts that the FDA releases for research use from its Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS). These voluntary reports (best known as MedWatch reports) are a cornerstone of the nation’s system for monitoring the safety of prescription drugs after FDA marketing approval.

They were the ones that raised the red flag on Gilenya---

Fingolimod (GILENYA) is a new kind of immunosuppressant drug that has found a home as a treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) after failing in clinical trials as a drug to prevent rejection of transplanted kidneys. Problems of widespread toxicity that were already evident in clinical testing of fingolimod are now producing strong signals in the postmarket adverse event data. Notable among 286 cases overall were 60 cases of reported injuries to the retina and other adverse effects on vision. The cases also included 68 reports of infections at various sites including the eye, skin, urinary and upper respiratory tracts. Possible complications of its vascular adverse effects included blackouts or syncope (16 cases), reduced blood pressure, slow heart rate or bradycardia (27 cases), and peripheral edema (10 cases). After a patient died suddenly with the first dose, the FDA and regulatory agencies in Europe and Canada announced new safety reviews. Assessments in prominent medical journals in the United States and France have questioned whether fingolimod should be available without restriction. We discuss the history of this unusual new drug, the adequacy of its current warnings, and its emerging safety profile in the full report below.

And it isn't just about cardivascular monitoring....
They felt the FDA should not have approved the drug, knowing what they did about adverse effects in 2010. They also question the higher dosage being permitted by the FDA at the same time they recommended it be tested at a lower dosage to reduce toxicity.

The signals for fingolimod raise the question whether enough is known about the troubling safety profile of this drug to justify its continued unrestricted use. Its array of known adverse effects on the eyes, heart, liver, and immune response, as well as patient deaths in testing and postmarket surveillance, raise the question about its long-term use at the current approved dose. Another concern was the FDA advisory committee’s recommendation that fingolimod needed to be tested at a lower dose to see if its toxicity profile could be improved, while at the same time recommending approval at the current dose.

They believe the FDA can and should improve their policies on adverse effects.

We believe new research is needed to evaluate the comparative safety profiles of the five agents to identify the safest for various immune disorders. In the meantime, doctors and patients should be aware that these products have mostly second-line indications, meaning they should be used only when safer alternatives are ineffective or inappropriate.
The FDA can improve the quality of the AERS system by clarifying the definition of adverse drug events that are non-serious. The agency should establish a specific code to identify non-serious events and provide guidance to manufacturers for preparing the reports. The agency should also rewrite its existing documentation to clarify how researchers should assess whether events are or are not serious.

http://www.ismp.org/QuarterWatch/pdfs/2011Q2.pdf

Always click on the links that are provided. Welcome to the site. I don't cast aspersions, I write about the facts.
cheer

[want2bike]

Mr. Kronk you should get control of your emotions. Being angry is not good for your health. If you want to believe that a healthy diet, exercise and seeing an alternative doctor is not good for treating disease that is your choice. I do not believe the stupid number put out by the FDA, AMA or quackwatch.com. The numbers I find tell a different story. Best to stay out of the hospital if you don't want to die. Yes there are more people dying of medical care than ever before. The FDA and AMA would like to keep this a secret. As long as you don't destroy your immune system with the MS drugs you will have a chance when cancer shows up. Once you destroy your immune system you die.

http://www.thedoctorwithin.com/cancer/T ... r-Patient/

[HarryZ]

Mr. Kronk you should get control of your emotions. Being angry is not good for your health. If you want to believe that a healthy diet, exercise and seeing an alternative doctor is not good for treating disease that is your choice. I do not believe the stupid number put out by the FDA, AMA or quackwatch.com. The numbers I find tell a different story. Best to stay out of the hospital if you don't want to die. Yes there are more people dying of medical care than ever before. The FDA and AMA would like to keep this a secret. As long as you don't destroy your immune system with the MS drugs you will have a chance when cancer shows up. Once you destroy your immune system you die.

http://www.thedoctorwithin.com/cancer/T ... r-Patient/

Hey Wanna... please share your numbers with us...what percentage of cancer patients have been cured by those who have used alternative medicine?

[centenarian100]

Regarding the debate between cheerleader and newmser:

I'm sorry Cheer, but you are completely wrong, and newmser is completely right.

I remember reading the FDA product label when the drug came out, and all of the side effects you mentioned were present. Whether or not the drug should have been released in 2010 without longer follow up is an interesting debate, but the post-marketing studies have revealed increased risk of shingles and rare cardiac deaths, both of which were already a concern based on the phase III trials.

"Gilenya may cause serious side effects such as slow heart rate (bradycardia or bradyarrhythmia), infections, macular edema, breathing and liver problems." - From the gilenya website linked by newmser from 2010

I assure you that these problems were all mentioned on the product label in 2010 as I read the entire label when the drug came out.

The post-marketing cardiac deaths were well known to the public and neurologists shortly after they occurred.

I think that you should retract your prior statement

[centenarian100]

It is my understanding leukemia is a form of blood or bone cancer. Before I would use any drug to treat cancer I would watch the video Cancer - The Forbidden Cures. I think it is more important to believe what actual people who have cured their cancer have to say

Ok...so lets say you start having high fevers, petechiae, and bloody diarrhea, and you start tasting blood in your mouth.

you look in the mirror and see this:



Despite your hatred of allopathic medicine, you chicken out and go to the ER.

You end up getting some basic blood tests and get admitted to the hospital and receive tylenol and some IV fluids

The following morning, a woman in a white coat shows up.

"Hello Mr. Bike. I am Dr. Smith. I'm an oncologist. I looked at you blood smear, and unfortunately, you have a form of cancer called promyelocytic leukemia. However, you are very lucky in that while this cancer was historically rapidly fatal, it now has a virtually 90+% cure rate due to advances in medicine. It's fairly rare, and I've only treated maybe 10 patients with this condition, but they were all cured and were doing very well-symptom free with no sign of cancer the last I've seen them. The medical literature also suggests that this cancer has a virtually 90+% cure rate with standard modern therapy. I would treat you with tretinoin, daunorubicin, and dexamethasone. These drugs do have side effects which we can talk about. Unfortunately, without treatment, the cancer is very aggressive, and you will likely die of infection or blood loss"

So what would you choose in this situation:

A) standard allopathic medical treatment involving toxic drugs
B) alternative medicine using whatever method you choose.

[centenarian100]

Before the development of modern, evidence-based treatments, 90% of cancer patients died within five years. With modern mainstream treatments, only 34% of cancer patients die within five years.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternativ ... treatments
http://www.quackwatch.com/

To be fair, part of this is related to the development of screening programs and superior diagnostics. Historically, cancer was diagnosed primarily when advanced, metastatic, or fulminant in presentation. These cancers intrinsically tend to have a worse prognosis. Low grade cancers (for instance papillary thyroid cancer, localized prostate/breast cancer, and so forth) often didn't come to clinical attention. Screening programs also tend to lead to an earlier diagnosis with lower rates of metastasis and overall more favorable biological activity of the cancer on average.

This is what is known as a "lead time bias" (the tendency for prognosis to falsely appear to improve due to earlier diagnosis)

Of course, advancements in radiology have also contributed to this.

Nonetheless, I agree with the general sentiment of your post.