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Hulda Regehr Clark, 72, claims to cure cancer, AIDS, and many other serious diseases. She describes herself as an "independent research scientist" with bachelor and master's degrees from the University of Saskatchewan and a Ph.D. degree in physiology from the University of Minnesota (1958). She also lists a naturopathic (N.D.) degree from the Clayton College of Natural Health [1]. Clayton is a nonaccredited correspondence school founded in 1980 and located in Birmingham Alabama. In 1985, when this school was called Dr. Clayton's School of Natural Healing, its "Doctor of Naturopathy" course was described in a magazine article as a "100-hour course" for which the tuition was $695 [2].
For several years, Clark's treatment has been administered at Century Nutrition, a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico, where the basic fee for two weeks of "treatment" was $4,500 (plus 10% tax). This figure does not include the cost of a motel room (approximately $210/week); meals ($250/week); blood tests ($70 each); standard diagnostic imaging tests ($40 to $400); dental x-rays (at least $206); "individually tailored" supplements ($400 to $1,500 for a month supply); equipment (about $350); tooth extractions ($80 each); and partial or full dentures ($450).
Clark claims that all cancers and many other diseases are caused by "parasites, toxins, and pollutants" and can be cured by killing the parasites and ridding the body of environmental chemicals. Her book The Cure for All Cancers states:
All cancers are alike. They are all caused by a parasite. A single parasite! It is the human intestinal fluke. And if you kill this parasite, the cancer stops immediately. The tissue becomes normal again. In order to get cancer, you must have this parasite. . . .
This parasite typically lives in the intestine where it might do little harm, causing only colitis, Crohn's disease or irritable bowel syndrome, or perhaps nothing at all. But if it invades a different organ, like the uterus, kidneys or liver, it does a great deal of harm. If it establishes itself in the liver, it causes cancer! It only establishes itself in the liver of some people. These people have propyl alcohol in their body. All cancer patients (100%) have both propyl alcohol and the intestinal fluke in their livers. The solvent propyl alcohol is responsible for letting the fluke establish itself in the liver. In order to get cancer, you must have both the parasite and propyl alcohol in your body [3:1-2].
Clark further alleges:
All of the above notions are absurd. In a recent talk that attacked widespread misbeliefs about parasites, the president of the American Society of Parasitologists noted that if Clark's pseudoscientific claims were correct, "the medical establishment and . . . professional pathologists are guilty of a gigantic and cruel fraud on the public." [4]
Patients who "cleanse" their intestines with Clark's recommended herbs may excrete what they think are parasites. However, in one instance I know of, a specimen of "parasites" turned out to be citrus fibers, presumably from grapefruit juice used for the "cleanse." In another, reported in a medical journal, the "parasites" turned out to be ordinary fecal material [5].
Clark is also using and promoting two devices. Her Syncrometer is claimed to identify diseased organs and toxic substances by noting whether the device makes various sounds when "test substances" are placed on a plate [3:373-427]. The device is simply a galvanometer that measures skin resistance to a low-voltage current that passes from the device through a probe touched to the patient's hand. Various models for home use can either be commercially purchased or made by the patient. Clark's "Zapper" is a low-voltage device that supposedly kills parasites, bacteria, and viruses with electrical energy, but does not harm human tissue. Its use is based on Clark's notion that all living things broadcast a characteristic range of radio frequencies and that the device can issue counter-frequencies that kill unwanted organisms [6]. Neither device has any genuine diagnostic or therapeutic value.
Clark's books, herbal products, and "Zapper" devices said to be built to her specifications are marketed through many Web sites [A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I J], one of which is the Self Help Resource Center, administered by Clark's son Geoff. The Self-Health Research Center's "Testing Division" offers "synchrometer classes" twice a week, "scheduled as needed," for $175 [7]. Geoff also issues certificates for Zapper devices that are "within specifications found in Dr. Clark's books." The devices range in price from about $10 for a simple model to more than $200 for devices that also make colloidal silver.
Her ideas are also advocated by the Dr. Clark Research Association, a group founded in 1998 by David P. Amrein, a Scientologist who describes himself as a freelance consultant in finance and taxes. Membership, which costs $40 per year, includes a subscription to the Dr. Clark Research Association Bulletin, which Amrein edits. The November 1999 issue stated that the Bulletin had a circulation of 1,500.
In November 1999, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced that it had stopped an Australian company (Raylight Pty Ltd) from advertising that its "Parasite Zapper" passes an electric current through a person's blood and is effective against the AIDS virus, parasites, hepatitis, herpes, obesity, and other serious conditions. The company also agreed to provide refunds to consumers who felt they had been mislead [8].
Pages 119-372 of The Cure for All Cancers contain "case histories" of 138 cancer patients, of whom 103 were "cured" and 35 who "did not carry out instructions or could not be followed." The standard way to determine whether a treatment is effective is to carefully record the nature of the patient's disease before treatment and to determine the patient's condition indefinitely. Clark's reports contain little information about the patient's history and no indication that Clark performed any physical examinations. The only follow-up reports are for a few patients who returned for further treatment -- usually a few weeks later. Cancer treatment results are normally expressed in terms of cancer-free status or survival over periods of years. Five-year survival rates are a common measure. Clark claims she can tell that patients are cured as soon as their ortho-phospho-tyrosine test is negative -- within days or even a few hours after her treatment is begun. This claim is preposterous.
Thirty-eight of the 103 reports indicate that the patient had been medically diagnosed with cancer, and most of these 38 had received standard treatment. In 59 other cases, however, there was no indication that the patient had undergone any medical test or treatment that would indicate the presence of a cancer. (In 10 other cases, which Clark diagnosed as HIV infection, there was no history suggestive of AIDS. In the rest, it was not clear whether the patient had been medically diagnosed with cancer.)
Judging from the reports, Clark's judgments were based entirely on the results of her own peculiar diagnostic tests. If "ortho-phospho-tyrosine" was found in the blood, the patient had cancer. If a "protein 24 antigen" was found in the blood, the patient had AIDS. And, anywhere from a few hours to several weeks later, if these tests became negative, Clark considered the patient cured. The book describes how some of the patients who had consulted Clark for other problems were startled to hear they had cancer or AIDS.
None of the reports provides any basis for concluding that Clark's treatment has the slightest value. The majority of the people described in the 103 case reports did not have cancer. Of those that did, most had received standard medical treatment or their tumors were in their early stages. In these cases, Clark pronounced them cured but did not follow what happened after they left her clinic -- so she could not possibly know how they did afterward. In some cases, she counted patients as cured even though she noted that they died within a few weeks after she treated them.
Two people who seem knowledgeable have informed me that Clark's brother, Henry Regehr, died of cancer despite treatment by her.
In September 1999, Clark was arrested in San Diego, California, based on a fugitive warrant from Indiana, where she faced charges of practicing medicine without a license. In November, a former patient filed suit accusing her of negligence and fraud.
The criminal case originated when Clark lived and practiced in Indiana [9,10]. In 1993, after a former patient complained to the Indiana attorney general, a health department official visited accompanied by a deputy attorney general visited her office and was diagnosed with AIDS and sent to a laboratory for a blood test [11]. Clark -- apparently tipped off by the lab -- found out she was being investigated and left Indiana a few days later. In 1999, Clark was apprehended in California and returned to Indiana to stand trial. However, in April 2000, an Indiana judge dismissed the charges on grounds that too much time had elapsed between the filing of the charges and Clark's arrest. The judge's verdict did not address the merits of the charges but only the issue of whether the delay had compromised Clark's ability to mount a defense and her right to a speedy trial [12].
The civil case was filed by Esther and Jose Figueroa of New York City against Clark, the Dr. Clark Research Association, Century Nutrition, and several associated individuals. Mrs. Figueroa, who had been medically diagnosed with breast cancer, sought treatment in September 1998. The court papers state that she was told:
The suit also charged that:
In 2001, the Figueroa family indicated to their attorney (Christopher Grell) that undergoing a deposition would be too stressful for Mrs. Figueroa. Mr. Grell therefore petitioned the court to withdraw from the case, and the case ended shortly afterward. One of the defendants (Self Health Resource Center, operated by Clark's son Geoffrey) then sued Grell and two associates for malicious prosecution and abuse of process. Grell responded with a motion to dismiss, which was granted and upheld on appeal, with an award of costs and attorneys fees to Grell. The Court of Appeal concluded:
The evidence amply supports a reasonable belief on the part of these defendants [Grell and associates] that plaintiff [the Self Health Resource Center] was part of a network of persons and entities who acted recklessly, at best, luring Mrs. Figueroa into a bizarre, grotesque, and extremely expensive regimen of "alternative" cancer treatments which has no effect other than to exhaust the Figueroa's life savings and divert Mrs. Figueroa from conventional treatments, theereby reducing her prospects for recovery and survival [13].
Various Internet postings indicate that in September 1999, Geoffrey Clark hired Tim Bolen to assist her after she was arrested. Bolen and his wife Jan do business as JuriMed, an entity whose stated purpose is to assist "alternative" health practitioners faced with regulatory action, criminal prosecution, or other matters that threaten their financial well-being and/or license to practice. Bolen refers to JuriMed as a "public relations and research group." In November 1999, the Bolens began distributing false and defamatory statements to the effect that:
Many of the messages were republished (sometimes with embellishment) on Web sites, in news group postings, and in other e-mail messages -- by other Clark allies and supporters.
After Clark's arrest, Geoffrey Clark set up a defense fund to pay for expenses associated with defending her against "legal attacks." A description of the fund states that the covered expenses would include attorney fees, publicists, expert witnesses, court costs, and appeals and that Goeffrey would administer the money without compensation. The report also stated that by May 31, 2000, the fund had raised $113,943.76, earned interest of $665.96, and spent $27,900.51 for legal expense, $327.65 for "Acct/Copies," $56,408.43 for public relations, and $714.30 for Hulda Clark's travel. It did not indicate how much of the public relations payment went to the Bolens. This information was published on the Web site of New Century Press, which Clark owns and uses to publish her books.
To defend against the libel campaign, I and three others have filed a total of five libel suits against Bolen and various others who have spread his false messages [14]. One case has been settled with substantial payment. The others are still pending.
In February 2001, Mexican authorities inspected Century Nutrition and ordered it to shut down. According to a report in the San Diego Union Tribune, the clinic had never registered and was operating without a license [15]. In June, the authorities announced that the clinic would be permitted to reopen but could offer only conventional care. The clinic was also fined 160,000 pesos (about $18,000). Both the order and the fine were appealed through the Mexican courts [16]. Attorney Negrete has informed me that the fine was rescinded. However, I am unable to locate any documents to this effect and he has refused my request that he provide them.
The FTC has taken action against Marvin and Miguelina Beckwith, of Blaine, Washington, who had been selling Zappers and herbs through their "cancercure.com" Web site [17]. Court documents state that the Beckwiths, doing business as Western Dietary Products, Inc., had claimed that their "Zapper Electrical Unit" is effective against Alzheimer's and HIV/AIDS and that various herbal products -- including Black Walnut Tincture, Wormwood Tincture, and Cloves Tincture -- can treat and cure cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, arthritis, and HIV/AIDS and would make surgery and chemotherapy unnecessary for persons with cancer [18].
The FTC's case was supported by three lengthy affidavits that dissected and thoroughly debunked Hulda Clark's theories and treatments. Among other things:
In December 2001, the case was settled with a consent agreement that prohibited the defendants from making any unsubstantiated claims that their products are effective in treating or alleviating any disease or condition or that use of their products in the treatment of cancer makes surgery or chemotherapy unnecessary [22]. Although Clark and her family were not parties to this action, it might discourage others from marketing what she recommends.
On June 16, the National Council Against Health Fraud filed suit against Marvin Beckwith, Western Dietary Products, David Amrein, the Dr. Clark Research Association, and several others who have been selling Zappers and/or herbal products with claims based on Hulda Clark's books. The suit charges that the defendants violated the California Business and Professions Code by making false advertising claims for the products [23].
In January 2003, the FTC charged the Dr. Clark Association, Behandlungzentrum GMbH (a Swiss company), and David Amrein (who is the sole officer and director of both) with falsely advertising devices and herbal products related toClark's theories [24]. The complaint, filed in an Ohio federal court, alleges that the defendants made unsubstantiated representations that:
Please contact me at sbinfo@quackwatch.com if:
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If you had a little common cense you hail Hulda Clarke. Because she is correct disease is caused by virus bacteria etc. the medical profession knows that. They made sure every body gets the cancer virus you have it to, if you had the small pox vaccination. The aids virus was engineered in a USA lab and distributed. HIV you cant be that stupid that you have not heard of HIV it is a virus. Virus die when they are subjected to a stronger frequency matching there own range. All living things have there own particular frequency. Dr Rife the founder of the microscope in 1920 was the first human to see a virus, and identified the cancer virus. For this he was murdered. The medical industry would be out of business, but they soon will be anyway, and so will you. You will probably die of cancer so that you pay them all that you have and experience the agony of chemo ( mustard gas ) radiation surgery a terrible way to die. But you would deserve it because of you, thousand's of people who would have gone to Hulda Clark could have been saved the agony. You will pay for it here on earth. |
This article was revised on May 29, 2003.