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Dr. Kim Mulvihill ReportingThe Mexican clinic where Coretta Scott King died was closed by authorities today. Mexican officials say the clinic was carrying out unproven treatments and unauthorized surgeries.
The officials say they had thought the facility was a hotel and spa, and that it wasn't registered as a medical facility. The 20 patients there -- all Americans -- have been told to leave. Those patients are getting help from the US Consulate to find a new facility.
Mrs. King was in poor health when she traveled there last week to treat ovarian cancer. Her death was announced Tuesday. Her family says Mrs. King was seeking a miracle cure at the clinic in Rosarito, south of San Diego. Her quest is not unique.
Mrs. King was not alone. Actor Steve McQueen and attorney Melvin Belli, the famous king of torts, both sought miracle cures across the border with treatments not recognized by the American medical community.
Kurt Donsbach, PhD, Clinic Owner: "[Mrs. King] was faced with an illness that had serious consequences, and her physicians in the United States felt that there wasn't much they could do"
The clinic says she died before receiving any treatment.
If you go to the clinic's website, or those of other foreign alternative treatment clinics, and check out the testimonials, you might understand the appeal.
John Richardson had advanced prostate cancer. He writes: "I was told I had less than one year to live. I am not only cured of my cancer, but also cured of asthma."
Sandy Blackmore had lung cancer. After "ozone and oxygen therapies " at the clinic, she claims, "If I had done chemo, I would be dead by now."
But hopeful testimonials are no substitute for medical science.
Dr. Donald Abrams, MD, UCSF Osher Center: "I know that there really are no alternative therapies that really work for treating cancer."
Dr. Donald Abrams is an integrative medicine oncologist at the UCSF Osher center. He says alternative medicine can help ease the symptoms of cancer, chemo and radiation, but it won't be a cure, and patients need to know.
Dr. Abrams: "These are people who might be taken advantage of by people who have something that really doesn't work."
Dr. Lor Randall, MD, University of Utah, Orthopedic Oncologist: "People are willing to try anything. They''ll refinance the house to go try this drug or treatment that really no one has shown to be effective or work"
Dr. Lor Randall, a cancer surgeon, says what drives these patients is hope, as well as the sense time is running out. New treatments need to be tested to show they're safe and effective, and that takes time.
Dr. Randall: "For the advanced cancer patient, I think they want efficacy first, safety second. Because if they don't have efficacy first they're going to die."
You may want to take the time, however, to do a bit more research. Quackwatch says it tracks health fraud. On their web site is a list of dubious treatments.
We need to be aware that even when curing is not possible, we can still offer many other things that can be healing. Integrative medicine blends complementary or alternative therapies with conventional care.
This can include diet and exercise, massage, Chinese medicine like acupuncture and traditional herbs, and mind body medicine, which includes guided imagery, hypnosis and biofeedback.
