stimulant—Levamisole—was approved by the National Cancer Institute in late 1989 for use in combination with standard chemotherapy for one stage of colon cancer because this combination produced better results than chemotherapy alone. BCG has also been approved for the treatment of early bladder cancer. Yet very few immune-enhancing substances are known to improve disease in humans. Ongoing studies with other cancers have not yet shown much benefit from immune-enhancing techniques.
Metabolic Treatments These are offered by many practitioners and clinics in the United States and in Tijuana, Mexico. Metabolic procedures vary according to the practitioner, but they generally include:
• "detoxification," typically through cleansing of the colon
• special diets
• vitamins
• minerals
• enzymes
Metabolic treatments sound appealing. They emphasize "natural" therapy with treatment directed at "cellular detoxification and restoration." But these treatments are neither natural nor safe. Many people have been harmed by them. Like most unproven treatments, metabolic therapy is based on an invented principle: that toxins and waste materials in the body interfere with metabolism and healing. Cancer and other chronic illnesses are seen as the result of degeneration of the liver and pancreas or of the degeneration of the immune and "oxygenation" systems.
