1. The National Cancer Institute Link spends almost as much time talking about the serious limitiations of the studies, thus making your "abstract" almost seriously flawed itself.

You need to lend a more critical eye to information like this before you make it available to inidividuals who will do anything (and thus will pay anything- in this case, funding this guy who is trying to sell you his soup)to find a treatment for a dreaded disease.

Cancer patients are vulnerable. You should not prey on that vulnerability.

Posted at 8:03AM on Jul 5th 2006 by Michelle Seaton

2. I believe our readers to be intelligent and discerning -- certainly not silly enough to read information in any one location and act on that information without doing additional research. The Cancer Blog covers a wide range of topics, and we do not limit or censor information because we believe our readers need someone to decide what they should be able to read or to protect them from themselves. Again, we hold a high opinion of our readers and their intelligence. In the specific instance of this post regarding Suns Soup, no where is it stated that we believe or do not believe in the value of this therapy.

You state in your comment, "The National Cancer Institute Link spends almost as much time talking about the serious limitations of the studies, thus making your "abstract" almost seriously flawed itself." First this is a blog post for the general reading audience and was not presented as a scientific abstract originating with us. We provided information provided by the National Cancer Institute with a link to the information at the National Cancer Institute for anyone who might be interested in finding out more in-depth information about the Sun Soup therapy. Again, no where in the post do we suggest, one way or the other, a belief or disbelief in the therapy.

As a cancer survivor myself, I think you underestimate the intelligence of the readers at The Cancer Blog. We share information and news. Blogs are not traditionally the final word or where one would go for professional consultation in deciding matters of medical treatment. As a cancer survivor, did I act on all the information I researched when deciding treatment? No, but I would have resented anyone who would have banned me from access to all the information available.

I find it interesting that the National Cancer Institute did not make a stronger statement regarding Sun's Soup therapy given the dubious documentation.

Posted at 4:05PM on Jul 5th 2006 by Dalene

3. You say, "In the specific instance of this post regarding Suns Soup, no where is it stated that we believe or do not believe in the value of this therapy."

But, you say in the original post:
1."He developed an herbal soup for her to drink that he thought might help. Three months later, surgeons removed a tumor and she lived cancer-free for another 17 years." (sounds like your positing a cause-effect relationship to me.)
2.In fact, the results were impressive, according to Dr. Sun's tests." ...(but, they had serious weaknesses.)
3."There are some questions regarding the size of the trials.." (some? These are very meaningful questions that go to the heart of the evidence or lack thereof.)
4."Some of the ingredients Dr. Sun used to make his soup have been proven in separate research studies to have some anti-cancer properties." (some? What properties? In the test tube? In mice? Were the studies controlled?)
5."I found it interesting that they do not rule out the effectiveness of the soup, only that the data is too limited to make a conclusive statement regarding the soup." (What's so interesting about that? Of course they didn't rule it out because it hasn't been seriously studied yet.)

It sure sounds like you "believe" in the value of this "therapy" even though you state in your follow up that you are just presenting information and the reader should decide.

I do not at all underestimate the intelligence of the reader. That has nothing to do with my comments. Address the issues surrounding the "therapy." There's no need to state that I suggest that this information be banned, but is desired is that it be presented in a thorough and scientific manner.

I work with cancer patients, patients who are ill from their cancer and chemotherapy. They don't often have the energy to read an extensive review as written by the NCI. They rely on summaries like yours. It's a good service, but your posts should be thought out, carefully worded, and comprehensive.

They are smart and we owe it to them to be smart, too.

Posted at 11:43PM on Jul 5th 2006 by Michelle

4. My father was diagnosed with stage III-b non-small cell lung cancer in January of 2004 (tumor about the size of a hot dog bun). He took the normal treatment of radiation and chemotherapy and I had him take Sun's Soup as well. He survived 17 months and experienced some very good quality of life during this period. What finally killed him was not tumor progression so much as a severe reaction to whole brain radiation following the discovery of a small brain lesion in December 2004 (almost one year after initial diagnosis).

At the time of his death there had been no activity in the primary tumor site for over a year (per PET scans) and the progression of the brain metastasis was much slower than would be expected with a chest tumor of the size he had when initially diagnosed (per his doctors).

I believe that the Sun's Soup slowed the progress of the cancer and helped him maintain his weight better than if he had not taken it. It costs about $600 a month, which is expensive, but not compared to the cost of the other conventional cancer treatments. I believe that 17 months of survival from a stage III-b diagnosis is much better than what most patients can expect. Sun's Soup is by no means a cure, but I do believe that for some patients it can slow the progression of their disease and provide them with better quality of life. For the record, I am not affiliated with Sun's Soup in any way. I just read up on all of the complementary treatments for NSCLC and decided that Sun's Soup seemed to be about the best option available for our situation.

The one thing I might have suggested my dad do differently would have been to avoid the chemotherapy. He did not react well to it and I understand that the combination of chemotherapy with radiation for NSCLC produces only a slightly longer survival time than radiation alone, but part of that extra survival time (one month or so statistically) is spent feeling awful.

"Believing in" Sun's Soup, for me, only means that I believe that it can slow the progression of the disease for some patients and can assist in maintaining body weight. It's not a cure, though it is, in my opinion, an excellent complementary therapy.

A note on how to take it: Don't try to eat it as a soup or a broth. A better way is to mix the powder with apple sauce, which provides a much better taste with a consistency about like apple butter jelly. Using this method of ingestion made sticking with the daily regimen much easier for my dad.

Best wishes to all who are coping with this terrible disease.

Posted at 1:22PM on Sep 19th 2006 by Mike Lawson

5. "What finally killed him was not tumor progression so much as a severe reaction to whole brain radiation following the discovery of a small brain lesion in December 2004"

what reaction was that, if I may?

"Believing in" Sun's Soup, for me, only means that I believe that it can slow the progression of the disease for some patients.

"for ME....ONLY means....I BELIEVE...CAN slow...SOME patients..."

that's a heckuvan endorsement for a very expensive soup

Unfortunately, we really don't know if he may have lived longer without the soup as the cancer may well have loved the soup, too.
------
The fact that a believer is happier than a skeptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one.
George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950)

Posted at 7:32PM on Sep 19th 2006 by Michelle