Issels treatment
Encyclopedia
The Issels Treatment, or Issels Combination Therapy, refers to an alternative cancer treatment based on the ideas of Josef Issels
. The Issels Treatment is considered ineffective against cancer by the American Cancer Society
, and is listed as a "Dubious Treatment" by the alternative medicine watchdog
website, Quackwatch
.
and caffeine
, which are considered harmful.
. Retrieved August 8, 2008. The treatment makes use of holistic
and orthomolecular
principles, utilizing certain specialized vaccines, chelation
and enzymatic therapies, along with nutraceutical
supplementation, such as laetrile
and vitamin C
. The Issels Treatment is not approved for treatment in the United Kingdom
, but is available in the United States
at a reported cost, in 2005, of £45,000 (or about US$65,000).
Josef Issels
Josef M. Issels was a German physician known for promoting an alternative cancer therapy regimen, the Issels treatment. He claimed to cure cancer patients who had been declared incurable by conventional cancer treatments...
. The Issels Treatment is considered ineffective against cancer by the American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
, and is listed as a "Dubious Treatment" by the alternative medicine watchdog
Watchdog journalism
Watchdog journalism aims to hold accountable public personalities and institutions, whose functions impact social and political life. The term "lapdog journalism", for journalism biased in favour of personalities and institutions, is sometimes used as a conceptual opposite to watchdog...
website, Quackwatch
Quackwatch
Quackwatch is an American non-profit organization founded by Stephen Barrett with the stated aim being to "combat health-related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct" and with a primary focus on providing "quackery-related information that is difficult or impossible to get elsewhere."...
.
Details
In Issels Combination Therapy, patients are asked to remove any teeth containing metal fillings, to follow a strict diet, and to eliminate various substances, such as alcoholAlcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
and caffeine
Caffeine
Caffeine is a bitter, white crystalline xanthine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant drug. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the seeds, leaves, and fruit of some plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding on the plants...
, which are considered harmful.
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is the "nationwide community-based voluntary health organization" dedicated, in their own words, "to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy, and...
. Retrieved August 8, 2008. The treatment makes use of holistic
Holistic health
Holistic health is a concept in medical practice upholding that all aspects of people's needs, psychological, physical and social should be taken into account and seen as a whole. As defined above, the holistic view on treatment is widely accepted in medicine...
and orthomolecular
Orthomolecular medicine
Orthomolecular medicine is a form of complementary and alternative medicine that seeks to maintain health and prevent or treat diseases by optimizing nutritional intake and/or prescribing supplements...
principles, utilizing certain specialized vaccines, chelation
Chelation therapy
Chelation therapy is the administration of chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body. For the most common forms of heavy metal intoxication—those involving lead, arsenic or mercury—the standard of care in the United States dictates the use of dimercaptosuccinic acid...
and enzymatic therapies, along with nutraceutical
Nutraceutical
Nutraceutical, a portmanteau of the words “nutrition” and “pharmaceutical”, is a food or food product that reportedly provides health and medical benefits, including the prevention and treatment of disease. Health Canada defines the term as "a product isolated or purified from foods that is...
supplementation, such as laetrile
Amygdalin
Amygdalin , C20H27NO11, is a glycoside initially isolated from the seeds of the tree Prunus dulcis, also known as bitter almonds, by Pierre-Jean Robiquet...
and vitamin C
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
. The Issels Treatment is not approved for treatment in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, but is available in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at a reported cost, in 2005, of £45,000 (or about US$65,000).