Book · 2015 · Psychology
The Medical Messiahs
A Social History of Health Quackery in 20th Century America
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Next, according to a wonderful book, The Medical Messiahs by James Harvey Young, quote, "Shortly, the local paper began to run stories of deaths that were occurring at the institute.
Why people recommend it
The Medical Messiahs by James Harvey Young is an exploration of quackery, patent medicines, and fraudulent cancer cures in American history. On the podcast Behind the Bastards, host Robert Evans cited the book in a two-part series detailing the life and operations of Harry Hoxsey, a notorious promoter of fake cancer treatments. Evans used Young's work to trace the various hawkish organizations and support groups that rallied around Hoxsey under the banner of medical freedom, defined by those groups as an individual's absolute right to seek out unproven therapies at clinics like Hoxsey's. The book also provided vital documentation regarding the devastating real-world consequences of these fraudulent operations, including local newspaper reports detailing patient deaths at the institute. Furthermore, Evans turned to Young's text to examine how Hoxsey and his spokesmen handled inquiries about their colored herbal mixtures, noting that they openly confessed they did not fully understand why the concoctions supposedly cured cancer. Finally, Evans referenced the book to describe the National Cancer Institute's strict review criteria for evaluating proposed cancer treatments and to share the poignant story of a young high school football player whose family chose the Hoxsey clinic over necessary medical amputation.
Every mention
Robert Evans Next, according to a wonderful book, The Medical Messiahs by James Harvey Young, quote, "Shortly, the local… 5
“And the book Medical Messiahs points out that American Rally was one of a number of hawky supporting organizations, all of whom were united by an idea called medical freedom, which is quote defined as the right of every individual to seek treatment from Hawky's clinic”
“Next, according to a wonderful book, The Medical Messiahs by James Harvey Young, quote, "Shortly, the local paper began to run stories of deaths that were occurring at the institute.”
“And I'm going to quote again from the book, The Medical Messiahs. Why has colored mixtures cured cancer? Hawky and his spokesman were frank to confess they did not completely know.”
“And I'm going to quote from the medical messiahs to discuss what happened next. To avoid burdening the council with trivial and patently feudal suggestions, criteria had been established to govern which methods of treating cancer among those proposed warranted investigation and possible testing.”
“So yeah, I'm going to quote again from the medical messiahs. One of the most poignant cases presented involved a high school boy of 16 who, after a football injury, developed an extremely malignant cancer in a leg bone.”
