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Hoxsey's Cancer Treatment

In the 1920s, a man with no formal medical treatment named Harry Hoxsey started selling an herbal mixture called "brown tonic" that he claimed could fight cancer. Although generally considered an ineffective and dangerous method of treating cancer, the Hoxsey cancer treatment still is used today by some practitioners.

  1. Identification

    • The Hoxsey treatment involves drinking an herbal tonic or applying a paste made of key ingredients to your skin. In addition to this, some herbal practitioners also recommend a specialized diet, specialized douches or body washes and dietary supplements as a part of the treatment.

    Function

    • Some herbal practitioners believe that Hoxsey cancer treatment eliminates toxins from your body and harms the DNA of cancer cells, causing them to die, explains Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

    Ingredients

    • Ingredients in the oral Hoxsey cancer treatment solution include herbs such pokeweed, burdock root, licorice, barberry, buckthorn bark, stillingia root, red clover, prickly ash bark, potassium iodide and cascara.

    Significance

    • The original formulation of the Hoxsey cancer treatment is illegal in the United States; however, a 2002 survey of naturopathic practitioners in the United States and Canada conducted by the Bastyr University Research Institute in Kenmore, Washington, found that 29 percent of these practitioners used a method to treat cancer that was based on the Hoxsey formula. These findings were published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine in 2002. Some practitioners in Mexico, such as the Bio-Medical Center in Tijuana, still provide the original version of the Hoxsey treatment.

    Expert Insight

    • In 1960, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration was able to discredit officially the last remaining source that reported the effectiveness of the Hoxsey treatment. The American Cancer Society reports that the treatment is likely ineffective and poses unnecessary risks to patients.

    Risks

    • The topical version of the Hoxsey treatment can cause burns and permanent disfigurement of your skin, warns the American Cancer Society. Risks associated with the herbs used in the Hoxsey treatment include iodine toxicity, heart damage, arrhythmia, vitamin and mineral deficiencies hypertension, cautions Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center.

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