I knew somebody would bring up viruses and cancer. (I also was afraid that someone would start ranting about how cancer is all a conspiracy made up by the greedy drug companies, in cahoots with the FDA and the cancer researchers who are growing rich on NIH and NCI grants).
Viruses take over the host cell. Some can insert their genetic material into the host’s DNA. They produce proteins that can interfere with many cellular processes, including the cell cycle and cell death. Some of these viral proteins are oncogenic and can transform normal cell to become cancerous, similar to the way genetic mutations, say caused by UV radiation of cigarette smoke, can affect these same pathways. But no competent scientist or oncologists would state that all cancers were viruses and can be treated, for example, by locally heating the tumor to high temperatures since high temperatures can kill viruses. As ubiquitin said, tumorigenic viruses are but one cause of neoplastic transformations. And the cancer is neither a fungus nor a virus.
I gave into my curiosity and went to the guy’s website. He claims that all cancers start out as fungal infections, and that because of their fungal origins, they can be treated with baking soda. His use of the world “all” is the first alarm trigger- besides that cancer is not a single disease, no way he could have examined all cancers all over the world for all times, so he is making an assumption but stating it as a fact. A decent researcher would have said something like “of the 200 cases I have examined, 89% started as a fungus.” And even if there is something similar to viruses- where the fungus is triggering a reaction in the cell that triggers neoplastic transformation, the cell would still be a complex cancerous cell and baking soda would be as effective as the sugar pill placebo. Actually, I don’t think even fungal infections are treated with baking soda.
Ok, so he is more than an idiot trying to promote his book. Charlatans who play on desperate people, raising their hopes falsely and stealing their money should be locked up. And what about all those campaigns to raise money so that ill patients can travel to some far-flung place and pursue an unlikely, unproven cure as their last and only chance? Are we helping them by feeling bad for them and giving money, or are we accessories to the charlatan?