Are we so obsessed with staying young and staying healthy that we let common sense fly out the window? If you haven’t read the article on black salves I recommend you do so. This article will be an off shoot of that one, Looking into yet another scam and fraud.

While doing some Internet surfing for the “black Salve article” I came across yet another scam that just blows me way. It is based on information and book by Hulda Clark. She believes that all living things broadcast a characteristic range of radio frequencies and that zappers can issue counter-frequencies that kill unwanted organisms. I guess it drew my attention due to the fact that Clark has practiced medicine with a license in my own home state of Indiana!

Who is she really though? Hulda Regehr Clark claims to cure cancer, AIDS, and many other serious diseases. She describes herself as an "independent research scientist" with Bachelor and Master's degrees from the University of Saskatchewan and a Ph.D. degree in Physiology from the University of Minnesota (1958). The Register of Ph.D. Degrees conferred by the University of Minnesota of Minnesota July 1956-June 1966, states that (a) Clark received her degree with a major in Zoology and a minor in Botany, (b) her thesis was titled, "A study of the ion balance of crayfish muscle; evidence for two compartments of cellular potassium," and her University of Saskatchewan degrees were Bachelor of Arts in 1949 and Master of Arts in 1950 ¹.

Century Nutrition, a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico has administered Clark’s treatment for many years. It costs approximately $4500 BUT that is only the treatment. This does not take in to account a two week hotel stay, food, and any other testing such as blood test, standard imaging test and dental X-rays, any personally tailored supplements, etc. The list of extra costs is almost endless.

Not only the cost of this “treatment” had my head spinning but the concepts of the treatment only made me shake my head in disbelief. Now, I’m not a doctor, nor do I claim to be a medical expert, however, I do have common sense and I can with the wonderful technology at my fingertips explore the Internet and come to some conclusions of my own.

Clark believes and states in her book The Cure for All Cancers:

All cancers are alike. They are all caused by a parasite. A single parasite! It is the human intestinal fluke. And if you kill this parasite, the cancer stops immediately. The tissue becomes normal again. In order to get cancer, you must have this parasite. . . .

This parasite typically lives in the intestine where it might do little harm, causing only colitis, Crohn's disease or irritable bowel syndrome, or perhaps nothing at all. But if it invades a different organ, like the uterus, kidneys or liver, it does a great deal of harm. If it establishes itself in the liver, it causes cancer! It only establishes itself in the liver of some people. These people have propyl alcohol in their body. All cancer patients (100%) have both propyl alcohol and the intestinal fluke in their livers. The solvent propyl alcohol is responsible for letting the fluke establish itself in the liver. In order to get cancer, you must have both the parasite and propyl alcohol in your body ^2:1-2.

Her book is filled with misspellings such as the name of the liver fluke that she claims causes the cancer. And her book has contradictions. The biggest one being:

“It takes 5 days to be cured of cancer regardless of the type you have. Surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy can be canceled because, after Clark's recipe cures the cancer, it cannot come back” ^{2:introductory passage}. This statement followed with “To prevent recurrence, stay on a maintenance program of killing parasites and give yourself a high-dose program at least twice a year. Also treat all family members and household pets” ^2:23-26.

Clark also promote two devices for this treatment.. The in particular that caught my attention is the “Zapper”, a low-voltage device that supposedly kills parasites, bacteria, and viruses with electrical energy, but does not harm human tissue. In searching for this device I found it located all over the Internet in various names. I myself even have one by the name of a “Tens Unit” that was given to me by my neurosurgeon to help with pain in my neck.

The civil case was filed by Esther and Jose Figueroa of New York City against Clark, the Dr. Clark Research Association, Century Nutrition, and several associated individuals. Mrs. Figueroa, who had been medically diagnosed with breast cancer, sought treatment in September 1998.

The court papers state that she was told:

• Dust from her apartment was responsible for her breast cancer.
• Returning to her apartment would place her at special risk to develop leukemia because of her blood type.
• She had asbestos, lead, and a lot of copper in her system.
• The Syncrometer detected a parasite called "rabbit fluke" inside her breast.
• She also had E. coli, asbestos, and salmonella due to improper food sterilization.
• Several teeth should be removed and "cavitations" in her lower jaw should be scraped out.
  

The suit also charged that:

• Clark subsequently arranged for all of Mrs. Figueroa's front and molar teeth to be removed, prescribed more than 30 dietary and herbal supplements to be taken during a 12-week period, and badly burned her breast while administering treatment with a "Zapper" device.
• During the 3-month period of treatment, the tumor increased from 1.5 cm to 14 cm.
• Despite this fact, Mrs. Figueroa was falsely told that she was getting better, that tests for "cancer markers" were negative, and that pain she was experiencing did not reflect persistence of her cancer.

In 2001, the Figueroa family indicated to their attorney (Christopher Grell) that undergoing a deposition would be too stressful for Mrs. Figueroa. Mr. Grell therefore petitioned the court to withdraw from the case, and the case ended shortly afterward. One of the defendants (Self Health Resource Center, operated by Clark's son Geoffrey) then sued Grell and two associates for malicious prosecution and abuse of process. Grell responded with a motion to dismiss, which was granted and upheld on appeal, with an award of costs and attorneys fees to Grell.

The Court of Appeal concluded:

The evidence amply supports a reasonable belief on the part of these defendants (Grell and associates) that plaintiff (the Self Health Resource Center) was part of a network of persons and entities who acted recklessly, at best, luring Mrs. Figueroa into a bizarre, grotesque, and extremely expensive regimen of "alternative" cancer treatments which has no effect other than to exhaust the Figueroa's life savings and divert Mrs. Figueroa from conventional treatments, thereby reducing her prospects for recovery and survival.⁷

In February 2001, Mexican authorities inspected Century Nutrition and ordered it to shut down ⁸

In 2002, a woman from Iowa filled out the questionnaires and went to a clinic run by James H. Martin who practices the “Nutrascan” and follows the beliefs of Clark. He describes himself as "an established Clinical Nutritionist and retired Chiropractic physician who has been in practice for over 30 years." ⁹ He fails to mention, however, that his "retirement" involved permanently relinquishing his chiropractic license rather than facing charges by a patient who had accused him of fraud. After wasting thousands of dollars in response to Martin's advice, the woman realized that she had been misled and complained to the Florida Department of Health. In 2006, although he denied wrongdoing, Martin voluntarily relinquished his license rather than have the board judge the patient's complaint

On the Internet today you can find Dr Hulda Clark’s products and her web site despite all the controversy and law suits. And despite law suits and cases of fraud you can still find Dr. Martin practicing and promoting even on the web.¹⁰

The phrase “Buyer Beware”: has never been truer than it is when looking for alternative medicines!