Fellow Cancer Patients: Beware of Quacks....!!!!

NATSGSG

Dear Fellow Members:

Just saw this article, and pasting it here for your reading. Please beware. When we are in a vulnerable situation, there will always be unscrupulous people out there who will lie to you about their abilities. If you choose alternative medicine, please continue to use your common sense when dealing with people in alternative medicine. Always ask for their credential, and follow up by checking to see that they are what they say they are, and that they have the training they said they did. That's for your own protection, especially if you are asked to fork out tons of money. Take care and be safe.

By Veronica Rocha contact the reporter

Man accused of giving bag of dirt to cancer patient as treatment

Man arrested after swindling cancer patient, sheriff's says Ventura County Sheriff's Office

Medications and chemicals seized by investigators from a Northern California man's home and office.

"" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="border: 0px currentColor; border-image: none; vertical-align: bottom; display: none; visibility: hidden;">

Authorities say a Northern California man claiming to practice natural medicine swindled a Thousand Oaks cancer patient out of thousands of dollars by giving her expired medication and a baggie of dirt to treat her ailments.

Vincent Gammill is out on bail after Ventura County sheriff's officials say he was furnishing dangerous drugs without a license, including more than 25,000 prescription pills, morphine and other substances from Mexico and Russia.

Gammill could not be reached for comment.

Gammill told detectives he was providing alternative treatments to cancer patients who visited his office in Richmond. Detectives with the Ventura County Interagency Pharmaceutical Crimes Unit, who were investigating Gammill, said they could not find records showing he had any medical training, although he told them that he obtained a doctor of science degree sometime in the 1990s.

Investigators searched Gammill's home in El Cerrito and his office on July 9, where they found laboratory equipment and bottles labeled poison, sheriff's officials said.

In June, the woman, who was suffering from late-stage cancer, drove north to his office, hoping to get treatment.

During the appointment, Gammill examined her and went over his plans to treat her cancer.

The plan, including 16 hours of consultation and treatment, cost $2,000, sheriff's officials said.

After paying him, Gammill gave her numerous baggies containing powders, vials of liquids, empty capsules, expired medication and dirt, sheriff's officials said.

He then pulled out a frying pan because he said "one of the compounds could burn a hole through the table," according to the sheriff's office. Gammill instructed her on how to combine the compounds in the frying pan.

She followed his instructions and swallowed a capsule containing the mixture. But the treatment went terribly wrong.

After ingesting the concoction, she experienced a burning sensation in her stomach.

Gammill told her that the sensation was good and signaled that "the ingredients were still active," sheriff's officials said.

She returned home and reported Gammill to Ventura County sheriff's detectives after she said his prescribed treatments harmed her and failed to cure her.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-cancer-patient-dirt-20150720-story.html

Srh242

I talked to that quak over the phone!,

Nancy2581

good grief - glad that moron got caught. Jerk

Nancy

treelilac

Srh242: Do you think he might have mental health issues? It's just hard to imagine regular scam artists dare to show up in victim's home with a bag of dirt. How would he know he wouldn't be asked to open and show the content, right?

NATSGSG

Thanks, ladies, for your comments - Don't think it's anything mental....most of those who are quacks will take advantage of the fact that many of us were scared, and use it to their advantage, monetarily, of course. Sometimes, some new cancer patients just wanted to find alternative method of healing because they are afraid of the traditional method, and these bogus people knows how to play on the fragile emotions. Luckily the lady cancer patient in the article was smart enough to realize that his "medicine" doesn't work, esp. after being given a frying pan. Our common sense would generally tells us something isn't right. It's great she followed her guts...I certainly hope this has taught her a lesson, and that she is seeking proper treatment...

lightandwind

I fear for his life..as he is a target for hate right now, is receiving death threats, and w/ all the holistic docs dying, I would not be suprised to find that he is next. I respect him and I am not alone. What they are calling "dirt" is likely calcium bentonite clay and I personally think it is helpful. There are highly trained medical oncologists prescribing "poisons" everyday, putting zillions of $ in the pockets of pharmaceutical companies, and very often they have less favorable outcomes than alternative approaches.