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Das Leben in Kanada ist gefährlich. Vor allem für Kranke.

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Subject:    [healthfraud] Medicor clinic in Toronto offers unapproved treatments for cancer - DCA included      View Full Header
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From:    T Polevoy
Date:    Sat, May 19, 2007 8:36 pm  
To:    MPP George Smitherman <gsmitherman.mpp@liberal.ola.org>

I am concerned that a "private" medical clinic in Toronto is allowed to
operate and market tests that are unapproved in Canada and treatments
that have never been approved anywhere. In addition, I believe that even
though they may charge $2500 for an initial consultation, they claim
that they can do so because what they are selling is uninsured, and
therefore not subject to the Canada Health Act.

Medicor Cancer Centres
4576 Yonge St, Suite 412,
Toronto, ON Canada
M2N 6N4

http://www.medicorcancer.com/index.html

Dr. Akbar Khan founded the clinic and is their medical director. He is
not certified in oncology, but is certified in family medicine.

http://www.medicorcancer.com/service.html - This page lists a number of
unproved treatments, including several that have recently been in the
news. I am disturbed that he is allowed to offer DCA to treat patients.
Treatments for cancer must undergo approval for clinical trials by
Health Canada before they can be used on human patients.

Does his centre have approval from Health Canada?

DCA (dichloroacetate) therapy is not only unapproved, it could be
considered dangerous.

Here is Dr. Khan's web page for review
http://www.medicorcancer.com/DCAtherapy.html

The author of the original DCA study, Dr. E. Michelakis, and numerous
experts continue to warn cancer patients not to self-medicate with DCA,
saying the results could be lethal.

http://www.depmed.ualberta.ca/dca/ - You can read his original letter
about his "discovery".

http://scienceblogs.com/terrasig/2007/04/perversion_of_good_science.php
This blog has a large number of links and opinions about what has
happened since the end of March. It is a must read for anyone interested
in cancer quackery.

I am requesting the the Minister of Health for Ontario, the CPSO and
OHIP investigate this clinic, and that Health Canada do something to
protect Canadians from those health professionals who promote unproved
methods of treating cancer.

In addition, their web site has used copyrighted videos from television
stations to promote his clinic.

http://www.medicorcancer.com/siteMap.html

http://www.medicorcancer.com/assets/press/video/CityTV_Oct20.wmv
This is a puff piece by Laura DiBattista from CITY news in Toronto.
There are many others.

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_4577.aspx

There are also naturopathic practitioners who also work at the centre.
At the present time, naturopaths are not regulated under the Regulated
Health Professions in Ontario.

Other methods that are used at Medicor include:

  - Helixor therapy - mistletoe

An additional concern that I have is that he sends his patients to
another clinic CareImaging that operates a PET Scan centre and also has
something to do with the ChemFit testing recommended by Dr. Khan. None
of these services are covered by public insurance in Ontario.

http://www.careimaging.com/faqs.htm - note this comment about the cost:
"How do I pay for my PET scan?

At this time, PET scans are not covered by OHIP. The cost of a PET scan
is $2358.

Bottom line – it is your health and your increased survivability…the
question is not whether you can afford it…but rather can you afford NOT
to have a scan that may improve your long-term health. We will work with
you in any way we can."

My bottom line tells me that cancer researchers who are doing basic
science research must stand up and start asking questions of Health
Canada as to why they are unable to regulate cancer clinics that use
methods, and do tests that are clearly not allowed in Canada.

Why bother having a Health Canada at all, if they just ignore situations
like this?

--
!# Terry Polevoy, MD
!# 938 King St. West
!# Kitchener, Ontario, N2G 1G4 Canada
!# 519-725-2263 -- 725-4953 fax

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