Det er litt for ironisk til ikke å nevne.
Tidligere i høst døde Hulda Regehr Clark, én av mange oppfinnere av mirakelkurer mot (omtrent) alt som er. Vi har såvidt og nylig vært innom henne her før. Det er henne med parasitter som årsak til kreft og det meste annet, og med «zapperen» som kurerer det samme. Jeg kommer sikkert tilbake til det igjen en gang også.
Men akkurat nå har altså dødsårsaken kommet ut, kan Quackwatch fortelle: Hun døde av kreft. Og, kan det virke som, unødig tidlig med unødvendig lidelse fordi hun ville prøve sin egen kur.
Som sagt i Stephen Barretts korte oppsummering:
Hulda Regier Clark, an unlicensed naturopath who wrote several books and exploited patients at a Mexican clinic, claimed to have found the cause and cure of all cancers. Her best known book, Cure of All Cancers, claimed that cancer patients who use her treatment will be cured in five days «regardless of the type.»
After her death in September 2009, supporters claimed that she died of «complications from a spinal cord injury.» But a few weeks later, the Dr. Clark Information Center Web site revealed that she had multiple myeloma. This disease is a form of cancer in which plasma cells become overabundant in the bone marrow. As their volume increases, they destroy the surrounding bone, which releases large amounts of calcium into the blood stream. They also suppress the formation of other blood cells, which leads to severe anemia and other problems. [Multiple myeloma. Merck Manual Home Edition, accessed Oct 23, 2009] http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec14/ch175/ch175c.html The diagnosis is usually easy to make because the affected areas appear on x-ray images as «holes» in the affected bones. The disease eventually kills by producing hypercalcemia, anemia, decreased resistance to infection, and/or several other problems. No cure is available, but most people benefit from treatment, and recently developed drugs have significantly increased survival times.
The Dr. Clark Information Center Web site indicates that Clark had symptoms for many months (probably more than a year) before her cancer was discovered.The site further states that she «suffered more than she should have because she wanted to solve her problems herself, even in the face of her severe physical limitations.» Although details are lacking, the information suggests that Clark’s life was shortened because she failed to seek timely and appropriate medical care. For a detailed account of Clark’s activities, see http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Cancer/clark.html.
Jeg vet ikke om det bare er trist, eller om det også er en viss symmetri i det hele, av den typen som blir kalt «poetic justice»?
Oppdatering
Orac har mer.