Barrie Cassileth, PhD, has been an exemplary member of the OAM Ad Hoc Advisory Board­conscientious, fair and intelligent. But Barrie is also a member of the American Cancer Society's Subcommittee on Questionable Methods of Cancer Management. A psychologist at Duke, she helps plan ACS's actions on cancer alternatives.

This is not hearsay. An internal ACS memo printed in The Cancer Letter (vol. 19: no. 25) was written by Cassileth, and then adopted by the full ACS board. In it, Cassileth outlines how the ACS should develop a "proactive, immediate response to media reports on cancer treatments and diagnoses."

"These [news reports on alternatives] are well-promoted, publicly and in advance, giving us adequate lead time for action," she writes. "Examples are the shark cartilage 'cure,' much of the Bill Moyers TV series" and a New York Times ad about hydrazine sulfate. She urges the ACS to track all NCI studies on unconventional therapies. Her ACS colleague on the "questionable" committee, Ms. Helene Brown, warns, "We need to keep an eye on the NIH office [OAM]. I'm afraid it will get bigger and bigger budgets as the number of alternative methods increases."

It is time to find out on which side of the medical fence Dr. Cassileth resides.