Customer Reviews

Sharks Still Don't Get Cancer: The Continuing Story of Shark Cartilage Therapy

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In 1993 my Mother was diagnosed with a large tumor in the upper right lobe of her lung. It was surprising as she had quit smoking eight years before. Being in the alternative health industry, I have seen many natural products actually work though they were not approved or studied or found to be worthwhile by the medical establishment. I found this book and read it many times. I started my Mother on pure shark cartilage at a modest dose. It is to be taken on an empty stomach. She had sucessful surgery to remove the upper right lobe of her lung and recovered very well. Her doctors were very impressed by her progress as most lung cancer patients relapse in two years. At the time she was approached for a study on retinolic acid, but when the researchers found she was taking shark cartilage they withdrew the offer. Her doctors were surprised to find she was taking shark cartilegs and very angrily asked why she was not telling them she had gone to a new oncologist! We were shocked and explained that we were doing this on our own. Then the curtain closed and he would say no more. But it is obvious that they were using it somewhere. My Mother continued her shark cartilage for eight years and was cancer free the entire time. At that point she had other health problems and quit the shark cartilage. Within two years the cancer returned and she was gone by 2003. There is no way anyone will convince me that the Shark Cartilage did not extend her life. Studies that are done promote the burn,poison, mentality of the FDA and big business. That is why they have tried to shut down Dr Lane and his marvelous products.

Scientific studies have been unable to provide any compelling evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of shark cartilage as a therapy for either curing, treating, or preventing cancer.

If the purported ability of shark cartilage to choke off a tumor's blood supply was real, it would have been reflected in the numerous scientific studies that have been conducted to measure its efficacy. Those studies of course prove the opposite, that cartilage is of no value as a cancer treatment.

Unfortunately for cancer sufferers, the pseudoscience presented in books like this as well as anecdotal accounts like the one written below continue to make shark cartilage a staple among the myriad of phony miracle cancer cures touted by snake oil salesmen like William Lane who sell it.

Even if sharks do have a natural immunity to cancer - a central premise of the book that has been shown to be false - who is to say that grinding them up and eating them would convey any benefit? Does eating poultry help us fly?

Unfortunately, there are ignorant rants like the two provided here.

I have read both of Mr. Lane's books, and I have found them to be incredibly useful in prolonging the lives of people in my own family. I can say the same was true of others I have known, who have used cartilage and their cancer went away, much to the befuddlement of their physicians.

While it is true sharks get cancer, the number that do is so minute that it validates the sentiment that sharks do not get cancer.

The pharmaceutical industry has resorted to developing anti angiogenisis drugs that perform, or should I say, attempt to perform the same function that shark cartilage does. What is that? Well, it halts the growth of blood vessels necessary for a tumor to grow, and in some cases reverses the trend.

Before you listen to someone ignorant about the subject, or a physician that is certainly motivated to keep the chemo and radiation money train going, a multi-billion dollar business, try finding the answers by reading and talking to different people.

When anyone can publish a book, they can publish anything. This book proves that.

Sharks don't get heartburn, athlete's foot or jock itch. So what?

This book is about bad science at its worst.

Also, sharks DO get cancer.

Not only do sharks get dozens of cancers, but they get several types of chondroma, which is cancer of the cartilage, according to the John Hopkins study and other reports.

In 2007, a study found that shark cartilage actually *reduced* life expectancy of cancer patients (led by Dr. Charles Lu), or more likely had no measurable effect. Other studies showed a similar outcome.

In 2004 the FDA shut the author's company down for making unsubstantiated claims. The FTC also barred him from making similar claims in 1998.

It should be noted that cartilage, taken orally, is broken down by stomach acids into amino acids, making it indistinguishable from any other protein. Any *complete* protein that gets into the blood system would trigger an immune response. So it doesn't even make sense.

This book's authors try to promote the use of shark cartilage to cure cancer, but they use bad science. In fact, as any zoologist or marine biologist will tell you, sharks do get cancer! So much for accurate research. This book's information is dangerous for two reasons: 1) people may use this unproven treatment when they need traditional medicine, and 2) many sharks are being unnecessarily killed for their cartilage. A dangerous book and a waste of money.