Derek Sorensen

It’s always sad when someone dies unnecessarily. Yes, of course, there is a sense of “divine justice” when the victim is a quack who dies of the same quackery they have been peddling to unsuspecting victims - and this seems to happen more often than you’d expect - but at least we can have some confidence that they believed in the snake-oil they were selling.

This is from Consumer Health Digest:

Cause of Hulda Clark’s death revealed

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.

If you follow the final link you’ll be amazed to read how someone who obtained a “degree” in Naturopathy from a degree mill was able to charge people large sums of money for a worthless “treatment”.

the basic fee for two weeks of “treatment” was $4,500 (plus 10% tax). This figure did not include the cost of a motel room (approximately $210/week); meals ($250/week); blood tests ($70 each); standard diagnostic imaging tests ($40 to $400); dental x-rays (at least $206); “individually tailored” supplements ($400 to $1,500 for a month supply); equipment (about $350); tooth extractions ($80 each); and partial or full dentures ($450).

Clark’s website has an obituary, and more, about Clark on the About Dr Clark page. The Wayback Machine has a shorter version, which ends. “Read her books and recover.”

Particularly ironic is the phrase, apparently now deleted: “Perhaps if she had known what to look for earlier she could have better helped herself.”

I believe she should have known better. Her own website’s disclaimer begins:

“The webmaster of this site is not a medical doctor. This is not medical advice, but merely a reference to Dr. Clark’s findings. For medical advice, consult with your physician. Please note that reference to Dr. Clark’s findings does not imply that these findings have been corroborated by other scientists. Other scientists may disagree. Dr. Clark’s research is based on bio feedback. Both bio feedback research as well as the case studies in Dr. Clark’s books are not considered scientific by US Government authorities. We do not make any promises with regards to the products we sell. Note that in the US the zapper and the MiniFG are not medical devices and we can’t advocate them for medical use.”

It continues in the same vein, but read it for yourself.