Sentence:  Although some of the moments surrounding my coming out may seem humorous in retrospect, the underlying harsh fact is that thousands of desperate people are willing to embrace the <WSD>quackiest</WSD> of measures to cure homosexuality in themselves or in loved ones, and this is anything but funny. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Fraudulent; characterised by or using the methods of quackery.