Judy Seeger is an ND. Naturopathy is, of course, little else than a rich array of woo, pseudoscience and quackery, and what Seeger advocates is no exception. Her website, Colon Cleanse Camp, describes her as having been “involved in the alternative medicine field for over 33 years[per 2012]”, starting out “as a nutritionist, herbalist, consultant, workshop leader” before becoming “a traditional naturopathic physician and Natural Health Counselor, then continued learning from world renowned healers like Dr. Bernard Jensen, Dr. John Christopher, Dr. Joel Robbins, and many others.” In other words, she went back to school to learn how to more effectively market crackpottery she had already convinced herself of, not to learn anything about how anything actually works.
Seeger has written a lot about her own take on cancer (discussed here), and even calls herself a “Natural Cancer Cure Researcher”. Her results, apparently obtained through the time-honored methods of intuition, free association, powerful anecdote and wishful thinking, seem mostly to have been published as posts on her website, various webinars and some youtube videos, since youtube videos trump rigorous research published in research journals every time – after all, those journals focus so much on details; Seeger’s ilk want to paint bigger pictures, without having to get bogged down in details, careful research, evidence, facts or accuracy. Among her webinars are the “ultimate cancer detox secrets,” where she promises to “eliminate deadly poisons ... in less than 30 days.” Yes, toxins. Those.
One of her videos/blogposts is “5 Cancer Cures That Alternative Medicine Can Guarantee”. One question that should strike you when reading that title is: guarantee what? Well, according to Seeger, the advantages of using Alternative Medicine include
i) “guaranteed safe NO side effects – no harm done” [which is easily demonstrably false]
ii) “guaranteed immune boosters” [presumably since she cannot be held legally accountable for claims that are medically meaningless]
iii) “guaranteed easy to use – comfort of your own home, no doc waits.” [See below.]
iv) “guaranteed more control of your health – can talk to practioners longer than 10 min.”
v) “guaranteed less invasive” [see below]
Notice what she does not guarantee? That’s right.
Then she lists therapies she uses: hyperbaric oxygen therapy, colon hydrotherapy, ozone therapy, massage therapy, herbal medicine, enzyme therapy, and nutrition/juice therapy. Perceptive readers might wonder how she squares hyperbaric oxygen therapy and colon hydrotherapy with guarantees iii) and v) above. Her target audience does not include perceptive readers.
Elsewhere she does claim that vitamin B12 will shrink your tumor (but only “natural B12,” not synthetic B12), as will apparently vitamin C (not at all, but the definition of dogmatism is the unwillingness to change one’s mind in the face of evidence, and altmed is dogma, not science), vitamin D, vitamin E, zinc, and several other substances. There is no evidence that any of them will affect existing malignant tumor in humans or have any impact on cancer in any measurable, positive way (indeed, there is some evidence some of them might be harmful), but when Seeger’s customers discover that it will probably be to late to try to claim their money back anyways. Seeger does claim to have “worked with thousands of people just like you” but does of course not even provide survival statistics. She does state that she only works with those who are “serious” and “ready for their healing.” Skeptics will probably cause too much trouble here. The demand for total commitment to her plan from potential patients serves another purpose, too, and one very familiar from cults everywhere: if things don’t improve, Seeger can always tell you to blame yourself for not being sufficiently committed. Worst of all, however, Seeger provides strategies for convincing family members with cancer to buy into the quackery.
At one point she also manages to claim that “[c]omplementary medicine is based on scientific knowledge whereas alternative medicine is based on clinical or anecdotal evidence.” Of course, complementary medicine is alternative medicine under a different marketing strategy (it is integrated with real medicine), and no: complementary medicine is not even remotely based on scientific knowledge; the scientific foundation for the real medicine with which the bullshit is supposedly “integrated” doesn’t magically rub off.
Diagnosis: Dangerous crackpot; nothing she does has any foundation in science, evidence or research, but many of her techniques and strategies bear striking similarities to how you build a successful cult. Avoid at all costs.
Hat-tip: Respectful insolence.
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