Amazon emails! Plus: here come the loonies
Faithful reader and commenter Sean tells me that he and some others have received the Amazon email that tells how to update their copies of The Steerswoman ebook to the non-erroneous version. Great news! I have not received an email myself about that, and I did buy a copy as a proof-of-concept. But you know, they can tell when it’s the author herself buying her own book, and might treat me differently from you the actual buying public. So — check your email!
Meanwhile… at the Day-job, I sent out an email letting everyone at work know what’s been going on with me, and what to expect going forward and such. The responses have been full of support and encouragement.
But, I must say…. some of these very nice people are not exactly what you and would call logical thinkers.
I received an email from one such, headed “Saw this morning and wanted to share”, attaching a long-winded, super-enthusiastic ad/article, which I quote briefly, because it went on and on and on in the following vein:
“The Sour Sop or the fruit from the graviola tree is a miraculous natural cancer cell killer 10,000 times stronger than Chemo. Why are we not aware of this? Its because some big corporation want to make back their money spent on years of research by trying to make a synthetic version of it for sale.”
Heavens! How evil of them.
“How many people died in vain while this billion-dollar drug maker concealed the secret of the miraculous Graviola tree? This tree is low and is called graviola !”
Wait, what? Low? Low, did you say?
“WE ARE NOT DOCTORS. ALLOWS CONSULT A PHYSICIAN BEFORE TRYING ANY REGIMENS AND/OR MEDICINES TO TREAT/PREVENT ANY ALIGNMENTS.”
Well, I’m glad they posted this very responsible disclaimer, before I rushed off to treat my alignments.
Actually, I’m kind of fond of my alignments. That’s why I aligned them.
Now, while I do appreciate that the person in question thinks they’re doing me a favor, and being helpful, I really do want to nip this in the bud. I figure that if I take a tough stand immediately, I won’t be inundated with junk and can focus my energies on the important things.
So my reply was:
Typical internet bullshit.
If one bothers to read this closely, It’s glaringly obvious. Aside from the bogus science, these people can’t even spell! And some of these sentences don’t even make sense on the simple grammatical level!
That’s always BIG clue.
Furthermore, even the slightest bit of research on reputable sites reveals this as baseless.
Here’s a quote from Wikipedia about soursop/graviola:
Alternative cancer treatment
The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center list cancer treatment as one of the “purported uses” [you do know what “purported†means, right?] of soursop.  According to Cancer Research UK, “Many sites on the internet advertise and promote graviola capsules as a cancer cure, but none of them are supported by any reputable scientific cancer organisations” and “there is no evidence to show that graviola works as a cure for cancer” and consequently they do not support its use as a treatment for cancer.In 2008 a court case relating to the sale in the UK of Triamazon, a soursop product, resulted in the criminal conviction of a man under the terms of the UK Cancer Act for offering to treat people for cancer. A spokesman for the council that instigated the action stated, “it is as important now as it ever was that people are protected from those peddling unproven products with spurious claims as to their effects.
The Federal Trade Commission in the United States determined that there was “no credible scientific evidence” that the extract of soursop sold by Bioque Technologies “can prevent, cure, or treat cancer of any kind.”
Here’s a little something about organizations like the “Health Sciences Institute†that your article refers to.
http://www.quackwatch.com/04ConsumerEducation/nonrecorg.htmlI understand that you want to be supportive… but sending things like this does not support me in my fight.
I hope you’ll think twice before doing this again…
Stuff like this just wastes my time.
If you think I sound angry, there, I must tell you that this is the version I sent after I edited out the frothing fury that was originally present.
This is not what I would have sent an actual friend who kindly but unwisely forwarded me that ad/article. This is a co-worker, and not even someone I see every day.
Now, as I see it, there are three possible responses to this:
1. That Rosemary is a real tight-ass bitch! I hate her! I’ll never send her stuff again. Result: person never sends this stuff again. Yay!
2. That Rosemary is totally close-minded and not open to a) the wider, mysterious workings of the universe; or b) the truth about government/pharma conspiracy! It’s pointless to try to reach her. I’ll never send her stuff again! Result: person never sends this stuff again. Yay!
3. That Rosemary has a point. Maybe I should actually read the article next time before hitting SEND. Result: person reads the article next time, and sees that it’s sheer quackery, and does not send it to me. Yay! Plus: possible future friend!
See? Three yays! I win.
In other news: Ironically, I had to get a haircut. I went to Supercuts.
Stylist: Wow, you have really thick hair!
Me: Yep!
Stylist: I bet it grows really fast, too.
Me (trying not to laugh): Generally.
Stylist: Done! What do you think?
Me: Perfect!
January 9th, 2014 at 2:31 am
Hmmm …. I guess I shouldn’t send you this article for Authentic Snake Oil – cures all ills, clears drains and gives your hair a nice shine too! No ?? Ok.
Keep strong, look after yourself and let science do its thing.
Sandie
January 9th, 2014 at 3:47 am
With my sister we ended up doing a list of the silliest responses to her “news’s, and doing a top 5 or something. From a friend who started howling and saying ” how could you do this to me?” Errr, to a kindly aunt who said, yes, one should get treated, cos you never know, dome people actually get better.” ???!!! To a friend who wrote 2 months into the treatment in the Past Tense, to one who referred it to just like flu…..
But I did get angry at all people who made quack suggestions in the middle of chemotherapy, when the patient maybe physically or emotionally vulnerable.
A good kick in the butt is A lot less than they deserve.
January 9th, 2014 at 12:22 pm
My first reaction to the post title was “hooray, she’s getting orders from Canada.” Then I read the post.
Why are we not teaching logic starting in the first or second grade? Maybe that would cut down on the credulity pandemic.
Anyhow, yay for science and am hoping it does its absolute best for you.
January 10th, 2014 at 10:11 am
I thought that was fairly restrained. Unfortunately, I don’t believe you fully covered the gamut of possible responses. I give you 4.
Oh no, Rosemary really doesn’t understand how the world works, is still being duped by big pharma, etc. I think I’ll send here another ten articles which will convince her because they use a copious number of words.
Hope it does not play out that way. Good luck with your scientifically plausible treatments.
January 12th, 2014 at 3:10 am
I’ve never understood the popularity of snake oil. Are there really that many people troubled with squeaky snakes?
January 12th, 2014 at 10:35 pm
People don’t realize that your time and energy are limited, so if you spend them on a bunch of nonsense, you have just been cheated out of a precious resource. Of course, that never stops me from chatting away in what I fondly believe to be an amusing manner . . . ; )
January 13th, 2014 at 9:22 am
I have hoaxbusters and snopes bookmarked to send friends who insist on forwarded silly emails.
As for the “miracle cures” for cancer, I cannot agree more. Although I am a proponent of alternative medicine and I support all modalities in the healing journey, I am always amazed at why people fall for these obvious scams.
Rosemary, I am only a reader and do not actually know you except through your extraordinary writing, but I hope that you surround yourself with loving and supportive family and friends as you make your way through this journey to health.