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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoxsey Therapy | 2/2 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoxsey_Therapy | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:21:15.673984+00:00 | kb-cron |
== Treatment == Hoxsey herbal treatments include a topical paste of antimony, zinc and bloodroot, arsenic, sulfur, and talc for external treatments, and a liquid tonic of licorice, red clover, burdock root, Stillingia root, barberry, Cascara, prickly ash bark, buckthorn bark, and potassium iodide for internal consumption. In addition to the herbs, the Hoxsey treatment now also includes antiseptic douches and washes, laxative tablets, and nutritional supplements. A mixture of procaine hydrochloride and vitamins, along with liver and cactus, is prescribed. During treatment, patients are asked to avoid consumption of tomatoes, vinegar, pork, alcohol, salt, sugar, and white flour products. In 2005, the cost of initial evaluation and treatment with Hoxsey Therapy at the Bio-Medical Center in Tijuana, Mexico was reported to be between $3,900 and $5,100, though this price did not include the recommended purchase of an unspecified number of dietary supplements and 3 years of return visits.
== Side-effects == The topical paste is highly caustic, and can burn or scar the skin. The oral treatment can cause: nausea vomiting diarrhea anxiety trembling abdominal cramps heart block Pokeweed has caused deaths in children. Red clover may increase the risk of bleeding for people who take anticoagulants. It also mimics the behavior of the hormone estrogen, and thus is unsuitable for women with estrogen-responsive breast tumors.
== Effectiveness == No peer-reviewed medical or scientific research has been published which would allow any conclusions about the effectiveness of Hoxsey Therapy. The Bio-Medical Center in Tijuana, Mexico claims a success rate of 50–85% in their promotional material, though these figures have not been independently evaluated and the parameters of "treatment success" are undefined. Mildred Nelson, director of the Bio-Medical Center, has claimed an 80% success rate, and attributed treatment failures to a "bad attitude" on the part of the patient.
=== Studies by major medical bodies === The American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute do not advise the use of Hoxsey Therapy, as neither has found any objective evidence that the treatment provides tangible benefit to people with cancer. Reviews by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and M. D. Anderson Cancer Center found no evidence that Hoxsey Therapy is effective as a treatment for cancer. A controlled experiment in lab mice did not find any difference in tumor growth between untreated mice and those given the Hoxsey tonic. An FDA review of 400 people claiming to have been cured by the Hoxsey method found that many of the patients never in fact had cancer, or had received successful medical treatment elsewhere before being treated with Hoxsey Therapy. Those who had cancer at the time they used Hoxsey Therapy were uniformly either deceased or alive with active cancer. There were no cases of actual cures among those promoted as such by the Hoxsey clinic. In 1957, a group from the University of British Columbia visited Hoxsey's Mexican clinic and obtained records for 71 Canadian patients treated by Hoxsey. The University panel found that:
For over one-half of the [cancer] patients from British Columbia, the result [of treatment with the Hoxsey method] has been either death or progression of the disease. In nearly one-quarter there was no proof that the patient ever had cancer. Nearly one in ten of the patients had curative treatment before going to the Hoxsey Clinic. In only one case, an external cancer, was there any evidence at all that the Hoxsey treatment had an effect on the disease; in that case, better results could have been obtained by orthodox means. The panel reported that in the one case of demonstrable cure, a patient with a skin cancer of the ear, Hoxsey's treatment had resulted in disfigurement which could have been avoided with standard surgical excision. In 1998, the Office of Technology Assessment issued a report on herbal cancer treatments. This group found that while many elements of Hoxsey Therapy had antitumor activity in vitro, the complete Hoxsey tonic had never been tested in animal models or in human clinical trials.
== Notable cases == The treatment gained wide press coverage in 2006 due to a court dispute between the family of Starchild Abraham Cherrix and Social Services of the State of Virginia. Cherrix had requested to undergo Hoxsey Therapy to treat a recurrence of Hodgkin disease. Because at the age of 16 he was still a minor, Social Services considered the parents to be negligent and sought to have Cherrix undergo conventional chemotherapy and radiotherapy. On August 16, 2006, Circuit Judge Glen A. Tyler announced that both sides had reached an agreement that the parents did not act in a way that was medically neglectful. In addition, it stipulated that Starchild would be treated by an oncologist of his choice who was both board-certified in radiation therapy as well as interested in alternative methods to treat Hodgkin disease. Cherrix subsequently received radiation treatments from Arnold Smith, of Mississippi, and in September 2007, it appeared that his cancer was in remission.
== See also == List of ineffective cancer treatments
== References ==
== External links ==
=== Scientific reviews === American Cancer Society: Hoxsey Herbal Treatment British Columbia Cancer Agency: Hoxsey's Herbal Tonic Overview of Hoxsey Herbal Therapy from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Overview of Hoxsey Therapy from M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
=== Narratives === Ausubel, Kenny (2000). When Healing Becomes a Crime. Rochester, Vermont: Healing Arts Press. ISBN 978-0-89281-925-6. Hoxsey: How Healing Becomes a Crime (1987), 1987 documentary film written and directed by Ausubel The Medical Messiahs: A Social History of Health Quackery in Twentieth-Century America, by James Harvey Young