Is this book convincing / attractive to sceptics?

Use this forum to discuss the January 2019 Book of the month "Winning the War on Cancer" by Sylvie Beljanski
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lesler
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Re: Is this book convincing / attractive to sceptics?

Post by lesler »

I don't think anyone from Big Pharma will read this book and be convinced their way is wrong. When so much money is being made, there's no convincing.
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Rayasaurus
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Post by Rayasaurus »

I am a bit of a skeptic when it comes to more natural methods of medicine, but I do recognize that natural medicine has its place and can be useful. I hope that this book can help me see a little more of the side of alternative medicine.
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Post by briellejee »

Jamie_Pell wrote: 07 Jan 2019, 18:48 For this book to have more impact on the greater medical community, it needs to be strictly about the science behind the extract. No conspiracy theories, no personal stories, just hard data and studies. As mentioned above, the book contains this evidence, however, the way the book is organized the evidence does little in the way of convincing skeptics.
I totally agree with this! As being in the field of scientific research, if something like this comes up, I would be totally convinced if it is published as a research paper rather than a book. The personal stories and theories just make it less credible for skeptics, especially when on the end the author provides the link on where to buy the said supplements. It is not fraud, but just less convincing for most people :tiphat:
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Post by Bienn »

Taking synthetic medicine and natural medicine is not bad at all, but it depends on how the body reacts. Body reactions are different to all people.
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Post by EvaDar »

I don't think this book will necessarily convince skeptics. More scientific study is needed. Unfortunately, often one has to experience the devastating effects of the traditional treatments to become interested in exploring non-traditional methods. Then, often the damage is done to the nervous system, endocrine system, circulatory system, etc. Each of us responds differently to whatever treatment is chosen, also.
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Post by Sicily Joy »

00LynnMarie wrote: 01 Jan 2019, 12:24 I'm always slightly skeptical of "all-natural" methods. People's definitions can vary so drastically as to what that term encompasses. That being said, I have seen some pretty incredible things, and I am open to learning about alternative medicine. As far as cancer goes, western medicine does not always save people. I think it is good that there are options for people, especially for those who do not want or can't tolerate chemo and radiation.
I agree. I think if a had a disease, I would use whatever works including a mixture of alternative and Western Medicine. From what I have read of this book so far, she seems to be suggesting that the botanicals can be used alongside other treatments. Some skeptics, unfortunately, are quick to disregard any alternative medicine and may miss out on learning about treatments that complement each other. Also, as you said, if the traditional approach isn't working at all, it is good to have other options for people who want to continue to fight.
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Post by cpru68 »

There is an old saying that when the student is ready, the teacher will show up. I think the author has done a fantastic job showing her readers the deep background and testing that went into making these products to help those with cancer. What I found so neat was that people who had undergone chemotherapy for cancer were able to recover faster from the damaging effects of that by taking her father's extracts. That is a nice blend of two approaches for cancer treatment, and I think instead of the two sides fighting and putting consumers in the middle, both sides should be seen as valuable. An extract isn't going to save someone from having to have surgery necessarily, and that is where traditional medicine can come in. But, maybe the extracts can shrink a tumor or stop cancer from spreading to make it easier to get regular treatment. Both should be considered as good choices without one bad mouthing the other. She clearly shows in the book the horrible effects cancer treatment causes to the body when a synthetic material is used, so why not incorporate natural products? As far as skeptics, that's up to them. She has a bunch of good evidence in favor of what her dad's discoveries can do.
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Post by kdstrack »

How do you change a skeptic's mind? They have to see or experience something personally. This happened to me. I was a strong believer in traditional medicine until my sister-in-law was healed from cancer through natural methods. Actually seeing it, before my very eyes, shifted my way of thinking. Unless a skeptic can see it themselves, or have their own personal experience, they will not be convinced. Unfortunately, this book will not be of interest to skeptics until they face their own crisis.
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M Zee
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Post by M Zee »

I'm a skeptic. There's a lot of conversation in this thread that amounts to "don't trust your doctors" to the degree that it makes me uncomfortable. Is it true that doctors don't always have the correct answer? Yes.

But advocating to ignore medical science in favor of alternative medicine without unbiased, academic basis (testing, trials, and research) is dangerous and could hurt someone. If a patient chooses to use those alongside traditional medical treatments, then that's a personal choice.
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Post by Faithmwangi »

I don't think that skeptics will turn to this read, but I think it's always good to have an open mind. I mean, even if the book does not change your perception or perspective, I guarantee it teaches you something new.
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Post by Bronie »

I'm a Skeptic so I can't really say but while reading I was almost convinced. The authors writing style is very matter-of-fact.
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Post by Kyoks »

It is totally good because the author's writing and the content which is intrigued by the title and all the scientific claimsto it, makes it appealing for one to read and get encouraged that there is yet another curable method to cancer.
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Post by Mariette15 »

Since the voice of the book is filled with clarity, as well as backed with scientific evidence, it may shake some of the skeptics. However, sometimes skeptics would simply just refuse to read the book based on its topic, judging it not on its content, but by what they think the content is. For skeptics, they would need to have to enter with an open mind.
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Post by Tzara Drusak »

People are as a whole resistant to change, and extremely narrow-minded in most cases. To be fair, we've been taught that anything deviating from the norm is dangerous and sometimes termed "pagan" which has a negative connotation, though the true meaning is wholly misunderstood.

I think the target audience for this book are people who are near their breaking point or looking to try something new due to the failure of traditional medicine. Trying to change a skeptic's whole way of thinking by means of a book is probably impossible, as I've realized that they have to see to believe.
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Post by KateM234 »

This is a great question! Personally, I feel I am one of those "skeptics" who wasn't totally convinced this route was effective - which was actually half of the push for me to read it! I don't like to discredit ideas without at least understanding them, therefore even though I was unconvinced, I felt I should read the perspective anyway. And while I think the idea of natural remedies is a good one, there is still skepticism in my heart that it would work...but, there is also hope that it could. I think the amount of hopefulness in this book was enough for even a skeptic like me to enjoy it and root for those who would use botanical like this as a treatment or cure. While not everyone has cancer, it is a disease that effects the human population as a whole and any hope we can contrive of potential cures is always worthwhile!
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