THIS WEEK'S QUESTION

Q. I have heard about escharotic salves. Should I use these for my cancer?

A. My short answer is, No. But let me explain. An "escharotic" is a salve, cream, paste, etc. that forms a scar. Since ancient times, people have used corrosive substances to burn away external cancers. Today's most popular salves originated in the 18th century: garlic and onion, or combinations of arsenic, zinc chloride, and the herb bloodroot. This was the basis of most famous escharotics, including that of Guy, Plunkett, Fell, Hoxsey and Moh.

There is good reason to believe that this formula is effective with external cancers. Arsenic trioxide has now been revived as an internal cancer treatment at Memorial Sloan-Kettering for some kinds of leukemia. And zinc chloride and bloodroot was the original basis of Moh's microsurgery, an excellent treatment for skin cancers. I strongly encourage scientific research on this topic.

DANGER OF SALVES

Why then do I think patients should generally stay away from escharotic salves? These treatments are potentially very dangerous. I have seen cases in which they have caused massive corrosions of normal tissue, particularly of the face. They are totally inappropriate for self-help or for use by non-medical practitioners, some of whom are well intentioned but over their heads. Even at the Hoxsey clinic these treatments are now generally given by physicians.

At this point, there is no proof that escharotics do anything more than just kill the tissues they directly come in contact with. So most of the indications for escharotics are better treated through surgery. Why smear on a potentially dangerous cream when a surgeon can remove cancer with scientific precision? My advice is to stay away from escharotics.

We have a Moss Report on the topic of melanoma and skin cancers as we have for most other types of cancer. Please see my book, Herbs Against Cancer for a fuller discussion of the escharotic treatment.

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In addition, Moss Reports clients can ask questions directly to Dr. Moss's associate, Anne Beattie by emailing her at TMRAnne@aol.com.

If you have questions about purchasing a Moss Report for a particular kind of cancer, you can call our office at 718-636-4433 or you can order your Moss Report BY CLICKING HERE via our secure order form, and ask your question in the box provided

Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D. is director of the The Moss Reports for cancer patients. Dr. Moss is the author of eleven books and three documentaries on cancer-related topics. He is or has been an advisor on alternative cancer treatments to the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, the American Urological Association, Columbia University, the University of Texas, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the German Society of Oncology. He wrote the first article on alternative medicine for the Encyclopedia Britannica yearbook. He is listed in Marquis Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in the East, and Who's Who in Entertainment (as a film documentarian). This Web site does not advocate any particular treatment for cancer. We urge you to always seek competent medical advice for all health problems, especially cancer. Before consulting our site please read our full Disclaimer statement.

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