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Consumer Health Digest #23-50
December 10, 2023
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/william-m-london., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D
http://www.quackwatch.org/10Bio/bio.html. It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; news reports; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. Its primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. To subscribe, click here
http://lists.quackwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/chd_lists.quackwatch.org###
Medical board revokes license of “side-effect-free chemotherapy” promoterThe Medical Board of California has revoked the license of Kenneth Naoyuki Matsumura, M.D., who claimed to have developed a novel, highly effective protocol for treating cancer patients. He calls his treatment side-effect-free chemotherapy or “SEF Chemo.” The board also ordered Matsumura to pay $35,710.50 to cover the cost of its investigation and enforcement action.
[Ho C. ‘Despicable’: State revokes Berkeley doctor’s license for using ‘sham treatment’ on cancer patients
https://www.sfchronicle.com/eastbay/article/kenneth-matsumura-berkeley-doctor-18522706.php. San Francisco Chronicle, Nov 30, 2023]
According to the board’s Proposed Decision
https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2023/12/10154118/revocation_2023.pdf, the protocol consisted of two drugs given intravenously in four-day cycles, roughly every other week. One drug, mesna, is commonly administered to patients to protect them from certain drugs that can cause severe bladder irritation. The other drug, carboplatin, is effective against some cancers but ineffective against others. During the proceedings, oncologists testified that although carboplatin is effective against some cancers, it poses significant risks and should only be administered by doctors who have had postgraduate training in cancer management. Matsumura was not trained as a cancer specialist. In recent years, he has done business as the Berkeley Institute International.
Matsumura boasted his protocol could “achieve complete remission even in patients whose cancers have metastasized extensively, without the typical unpleasant or harmful effects of many cancer-treating medications, such as nausea, hair loss, or bone marrow damage.” However, the board’s investigation concluded:
Matsumura presented no evidence other than his own testimony to support his contention his “side-effect-free chemotherapy” protocol is safe or effective.
Matsumura harmed many terminally ill people and their families.
His conduct in treating three patients who later died of metastatic cancer was “incompetent, repeatedly and grossly negligent, and cruel.”
He was paid more than $100,000 in cash by a breast-cancer patient, an Arizona resident who also incurred travel and lodging expenses.
His treatment of a colon-cancer patient, which cost her and her family more than $60,000, diminished her quality of life and hastened her death.
He charged a pancreatic cancer patient who lived in San Diego $30,000 for futile care that diminished her quality of life during her final year.
His failure to maintain adequate and accurate patient records was unprofessional conduct.
His claim he offered “alternative or complementary medicine” that would preclude discipline was unfounded because his uncommon treatment did not offer “a reasonable potential for therapeutic gain in a patient’s medical condition that is not outweighed by the risk of the health care method.”
A document patients signed purporting to memorialize the patient’s informed consent falsely claimed SEF Chemo (a) had “been studied in a phase 2 trial” that showed a “substantial reduction of side effects of chemo agent carboplatin,” and (b) was substantially more likely than conventional chemotherapy to cause cancer remission, and had less side effects.”
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Reports profile financial burdens of long-term care.Articles in the “Dying Broke”
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/tag/dying-broke/series, a joint project of KFF Health News and The New York Times, examine how the immense costs of long-term care can drain older Americans and their families. The articles, which can be republished for free, include:
Rau J. What long-term care looks like around the world
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/dying-broke-long-term-care-other-countries/, Nov 14, 2023
Abelson R, Rau J. Adult children discuss the trials of caring for their aging parents
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/dying-broke-adult-children-discuss-trials-caregiving-aging-parents/, Nov 14, 2023
Abelson R, Rau J. Facing financial ruin as costs soar for elder care
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/dying-broke-facing-financial-ruin-as-costs-soar-for-elder-care/, Nov 14, 2023
Rau J. What to know about assisted living
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/dying-broke-what-to-know-about-assisted-living/, Nov 20, 2023
Rau J. Extra fees drive assisted living profits
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/dying-broke-extra-fees-drive-assisted-living-profits/, Nov 20, 2023
Rau J. A guide to long-term care insurance
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/a-guide-to-long-term-care-insurance/, Nov 22, 2023
Rau J, Aleccia J. Why long-term care insurance falls short for so many
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/dying-broke-why-long-term-care-insurance-falls-short/, Nov 22, 2023
Abelson R, Desperate families search for affordable home care
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/dying-broke-desperate-families-search-for-affordable-home-care/, Dec 4, 2023
Abelson R. What to know about home care services
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/what-to-know-about-home-care-services-dying-broke/, Dec 4, 2023
The series also includes an 88-minute video: “The Long-Term Care Crisis: Why Few Can Afford to Grow Old in America.”
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/watch-dying-broke-zoom-discussion-long-term-care-costs/###
Psychologists offer recommendations to help fight health-related misinformationAfter reviewing primary research articles, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, case studies, and other reports, the American Psychological Association has issued a 44-page consensus statement on dealing with misinformation, especially pertaining to health. The report defines misinformation broadly as “any information that is demonstrably false or otherwise misleading, regardless of its source or intention.”
[Using Psychological Science to Understand and Fight Health Misinformation: An APA Consensus Statement
https://www.apa.org/pubs/reports/misinformation-consensus-statement.pdf, American Psychological Association, November 2023]
The report examines the literature on (a) psychological factors influencing susceptibility to misinformation, (b) effects of misinformation on real-world behavior, (c) how misinformation spreads online and offline, and (d) intervention strategies that counter and correct it effectively. The statement also offers eight recommendations:
Avoid repeating misinformation without including a correction.
Collaborate with social media companies to understand and reduce the spread of harmful misinformation.
Use misinformation-correction strategies with tools already proven to promote healthy behaviors.
Leverage trusted sources to counter misinformation and provide accurate health information.
Debunk misinformation often and repeatedly use evidence-based methods.
“Prebunk” misinformation to inoculate susceptible audiences by building skills and resilience from an early age. (Prebunking refers to efforts to discourage belief in misinformation before people are exposed to it rather than after the fact.)
Demand data access and transparency from social media companies for scientific research on misinformation.
Fund basic and translational research into the psychology of health misinformation, including effective ways to counter it.
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Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Consumer Advocate
7 Birchtree Circle
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
Telephone: (919) 533-6009
http://www.quackwatch.org (health fraud and quackery)
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