Bad Medicine Infiltrates MD Anderson Cancer Center
Steven Salzberg, Contributor
Celebrating good science by fighting pseudoscience and bad medicine
Given that Cohen is its Director of Integrative Medicine, it’s not surprising that MD Anderson has been using acupuncture on its patients since 2003: they even list a fee schedule, $80 on the first visit and $65 for each follow-up, and they recommend at least 8-10 treatments. MD Anderson’s website offers up this gem of an explanation:
“A block in the meridians can deny the muscles and surrounding tissues of Qi, creating an imbalance of health. However, the flow of Qi can be restored by inserting needles at specific acupuncture points.”
This pseudoscientific babble does not belong in one the nation’s best cancer centers. What’s worse is that MD Anderson is offering ineffective treatments to cancer patients – a highly vulnerable population – accompanied by claims that they should know are false. This is inexcusable.
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