Skip to main content

Legitimate, opportunistic, or ????

Glenn Sabin, a reported 21 year Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) survivor, who, other than having had a splenectomy soon after diagnosis, has not received any conventional chemotherapy treatment. This is even after
......experiencing the full force and effect of his leukemia [in 2003]. A low grade fever and night sweats persisted for months. Glenn’s hematocrit dipped to 22 as severe hemolytic anemia set in.......

Believable? Well yeah, sorta, kinda, maybe.

Certainly surviving 21 years with CLL is believable (even without treatment). There's lots of evidence of that. Even surviving a splenectomy for that long is believable, despite the fact after a splenectomy, not only do the other organs take over the functions of the spleen, they typically also take over the leukemia/lymphoma.

I just have a problem with everything else.

I especially have a problem with after having a full blown attack of CLL, i.e. low hematocrit, night sweats etc. he was able to obtain a complete remission without any chemotherapy, and by simply using a concept he calls integrative medicine.

My issue being nowhere is the concept of integrative medicine clearly explained. Nowhere does he identify what approach(es) he took. Did he take any medications?  Did he take vitamins and supplements? Did he change his diet? I couldn't find anything specific, other than the fact he embraces yoga.

Instead, he starts a company, FON Therapeutics,
...... [which] provides integrative oncology and integrative medicine centers consulting services focused on growing clinic utilization—driven by the right marketing, right messaging, proper brand positioning, all rooted in a business model that works.

So is he legit? I don't know for sure, but the cynic in me tells me he isn't.

The cynic in me says, if he's not willing to more clearly explain his approach, and produce empirical evidence, backed up by clinical trials of the effectiveness of that approach, then he is nothing more than another scam artist trying to capitalize on his [supposed] good fortune, and preying on the hopes and fears of desperate people.

But you are free to make your own decisions!

Comments

Alan said…
His prior career was marketing. Enough said.

Popular posts from this blog

When is enough, enough?

Today I learned, Lance Armstrong, the most drug tested athlete in the history of sport, is being accused of doping, again . This time by the US Anti Doping Agency (USADA), who claim they have collected blood samples from him in 2009 and 2010 that were “fully consistent with blood manipulation including EPO use and/or blood transfusions.” Really! What took them so long? The French have been trying to make allegations of drug doping stick for years, ever since he won his first Tour d'France, but to no avail. And now the USADA claims to have evidence to support that claim, and they've waited almost 3 years before releasing this evidence. Needless to say, I am skeptical. Then there's this from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Increasing the federal excise tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack eventually would increase Medicare and Social Security spending, slightly. Eventually? What is the CBO suggesting here? That we should encourage smoking, because if we don't, in...

The results are in

And I am iron deficient, big time. [Which would account for my low hemoglobin] Test Result Ref Range IRON 30 59-158 mcg/dL TOTAL IRON BINDING CAPACITY 231 250-420 mcg/dL IRON SAT 13 20-50 % My Ferritin levels were good, but that could be because Ferritin is also an "acute phase reactant", that is sometimes increased with acute or chronic disease. Folate and B12 levels were also within the normal range. The only problem now is determining what is causing the iron deficiency, which in the case of men, is [very] rare. My oncologist has given me a Globin Fecal test to perform, and has scheduled me for a consultation with a colorectal surgeon to discuss performing a colonoscopy, which could be problematic because of my large spleen. In the mean time, I've decided to start taking an iron supplement, it's only the quantity that is causing me some consternation. I've been told by a very knowledgeable person that to overcome an iron deficiency, I need to be taking 300 mg o...

I'm beginning to think I may never get better

I know it's only been just over 3 weeks since my surgery, and by some accounts, I might even be considered to be recovering faster than most. I also know my surgery was a little more problematic than most, having had a collapsed lung, and requiring 4 [drainage] tubes in me after surgery (most only have 2). Still I can't help but think, 3 weeks is a long time. Plus I'm still in need of my pain meds, and there does not appear to be any light at the end of this long, arduous tunnel. Everyone keeps telling me it will pass, and I will get better. Maybe that's true. After all the doctor did say my pain would likely persist for 4 to 6 weeks, but the longer it does persist, the more I begin to wonder  if all this has been worth it? One of the drawbacks of being laid up for so long is having way too much time on my hands to read. Too much time to read about the successes [and failures] of bypass surgery. Something, I've learned isn't all sunshine and roses, which only s...