Mexico Clinics' Cancer 'Cures' Questioned
T I J U A N A, Mexico, Jan. 25 -- Ever hear of an "ozonator"? Or a "bio ray"? Or a "zapper"?
They are all devices marketed to desperate cancer patients as alternatives to mainstream treatments like chemotherapy and radiation.
Around one million Americans are diagnosed with cancer every year, and studies suggest many of them try alternative therapies. In a 1998 study of 450 cancer patients in Texas, 69 percent reported using one or another form of alternative treatment.
The doctors and clinics who offer alternative therapies say they can offer hope to patients for whom traditional treatments have not worked. But critics say the alternative clinics — many of which are located in Mexico, out of U.S. jurisdiction — often exaggerate the efficacy of their unproven treatments, giving patients false hopes.
Last month, Primetime's Chris Wallace visited several alternative cancer clinics in Tijuana, Mexico with a breast cancer patient, using hidden cameras to record the doctors' claims. We then showed the tapes to Dr. Steven Rosenberg, chief of surgery at the National Cancer Institute and an expert on cutting-edge cancer treatments, to evaluate the claims.
He was appalled. "I am outraged when I see that these patients in desperate situations are being exploited," he said.
Coffee Enemas and Pressure Chambers
In Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, there are an estimated 50 clinics offering alternative cancer treatments. Catering mainly to Americans, they offer therapies ranging from electromagnetic therapy to coffee enemas and pressure chambers — for fees that can run into the tens of thousands of dollars.
At a clinic offering a three-week course in electromagnetic therapy for $15,000, a doctor named Jorge Cardenas explained to Primetime's patient that magnets can control cancer by changing the electric current in cell walls. Rosenberg said Cardenas's claim was "mumbo jumbo."
At another clinic, just south of Tijuana, staff showed the Primetime patient devices like a "bio ray" and an "ozonator" (the ozonator, they said, could be used either aurally or rectally), and recommended a seven-month program for $29,000.
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