Black salve

{{altmed}}
'''Cansema''' (or generically '''black salve''') is a brand name of a popular [[alternative medicine|alternative]] [[cancer]] treatment. The product is commonly classified as an escharotic.<ref>{{refquote|A corrosive or caustic agent.}} —[http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/escharotic The Free Online Medical Dictionary].</ref>  It functions by attacking and destroying human skin tissue and creating an eschar, or piece of dead tissue.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20060910035456/http://www.dermnetnz.org/treatments/escharotics.html Escharotic agents]." DermNet NZ. New Zealand Dermatological Society. 2010 August 28.</ref> The product will consume cancerous and healthy cells without discrimination. As such, it can be destructive and dangerous to patients. Even more alarming, cansema is often used in conjunction with the solvent [[DMSO]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090710041221/http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/EnforcementActivitiesbyFDA/ucm171057.htm FDA: 187 Fake Cancer "Cures" Consumers Should Avoid]</ref> which increases its absorption.

Common ingredients of black salves usually include zinc chloride, chaparral (''Larrea tridentata''), and bloodroot (''Sanguinaria canadensis''), but also galangal (''Alpinia officinarium''), ginger (''Zingiber officinale''), and graviola (''Annona muricata'').<ref>[http://www.blacksalve.biz/black_salve.php Black Salve (also known as Cansema)]</ref>

Escharotics were commonly used to treat skin lesions in the early 1900s, but have been replaced with treatments that don't just leave a hole. However, they are now promoted as an "alternative" medicine.

==Usages and dangers==
Advocates insist that Cansema is a [[Appeal to nature|natural]] and safe treatment for all manner of skin [[cancer]]s. This product remains readily available through a host of alternative and herbal remedy websites, despite its dangers.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20080521065803/http://www.blacksalve.info/ BlackSalve.info]." 2011 March 20.</ref> Cancer salves were first documented in a Time magazine article published on 28 February 1955.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20081215044844/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,861227,00.html Medicine:Cancer Quacks]." ''Time''. 1955 February 28.</ref>

{{quotebox|A 37-year-old housewife had a skin condition that later (at Duke) proved not to be cancer. Convinced that it was, she had gone to a backwoods healer, who applied a salve. Soon a quarter-sized hole disfigured her nose, and opened up the nasal cavity. Duke's plastic surgeons had to build her a new nose.}}

Dr. Stephen Barrett of [[Quackwatch]] details the dangers of this product in his 22 December 2008 posting. This site includes graphic depictions of the effects of this escharotic on unwitting patients.<ref>Stephen Barrett, M.D. "[http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Cancer/eschar.html Don't Use Corrosive Cancer Salves (Escharotics)]." Quackwatch. 2011 January 1.</ref>

The scientist-turned-woo-doctor [[Brian O'Leary]] tried cansema for the skin cancer he contracted in Ecuador. He believed it was effective, but he died of intestinal cancer.

==FDA position==
Cansema is listed by the [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) as one of [[187 Fake Cancer "Cures" Consumers Should Avoid|187 fake cancer cures that should be avoided]].<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20090710041221/http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/EnforcementActivitiesbyFDA/ucm171057.htm 187 Fake Cancer "Cures" Consumers Should Avoid]." U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2009 July 9.</ref> Cansema continues to be marketed by numerous individuals as referenced by recent FDA warning letters.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20090710042352/http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/2008/ucm1048295.htm Hampton, Burt 20-May-08]." Warning Letters. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2009 July 8.</ref> The FDA exercises enforcement action when it encounters sales of this material as a cancer cure, as in the 2004 case of [[Greg Caton]].<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20090710085946/http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ICECI/EnforcementActions/EnforcementStory/EnforcementStoryArchive/UCM091477.pdf Office of Criminal Investigations - Fiscal Year 2004]." U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2004.</ref>

==Image==
A (disturbing!) visual example of its "superiority" to conventional medicine can be seen below:

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[[File:Cansema nose crater.jpg|center]]
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== See also ==
*[[List of herbs with known side effects]]
*[[Elaine Hollingsworth]]
*[[Cantron]]

== External links ==
* [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ Pubmed]
* [http://phil.cdc.gov/phil/home.asp CDC Public Health Image Library]
* [http://www.ftc.gov/curious Federal Trade Commission Site on Cancer Scams]
* [https://xkcd.com/1217/ "So does a handgun"]

==Further reading==
*Hurley D. ''Natural Causes: Death, Lies, and Politics in America's Vitamin and Herbal Supplement Industry''. New York: Broadway Books, 2006. {{isbn|0767920422}}

==References==

{{Reflist|2}}

[[Category:Cancer woo]]

Categories: Cancer woo