Misinformation and unproven therapies

A small team monitors social media and news for spreading cancer falsehoods and publishes clear, sourced rebuttals within two days, before the claim becomes established.

People are told a blood test can find fifty cancers, but not how many false alarms or how much is unknown. A short, tested decision aid before the test would make consent real.

Test the large language models doctors and patients are already using against a continually refreshed set of cancer questions, scoring not just correct answers but whether the sources they cite are real and support the claim.

For each treatment recommendation in the guidelines, publish a short explanation patients can read in their own language: what it is, why it is recommended, and what the evidence says.

Every cancer trial would have to publish a short, clear summary that patients can understand, within twelve months of results, in one public place.

Patients now ask AI assistants about their cancer. Test those assistants regularly on real questions, publish the scores, and certify the ones that meet the bar.

A searchable public record of clinics selling unproven cancer treatments, with the claims they make, the prices, the evidence and the harms reported by patients and doctors.

When someone refuses recommended treatment, do not just record it. Offer a second conversation, address the beliefs behind it, keep the door open and track what happens.

Wherever cancer information appears online, a visible marker shows whether it matches what trusted sources say, with a one-click link to the plain-language evidence.

Rate every cancer breakthrough story and press release for spin, using set criteria, and publish the scores so journalists, institutions and readers can see who overstates.

Most patients take supplements and rarely tell their oncologist. Ask routinely and check automatically for interactions with chemotherapy and targeted drugs.

Almost every newly diagnosed patient searches for what to eat and finds sugar-starvation, alkaline and juice-cure claims. If the oncology team asks about diet first and hands over good information, the myths have less room.

Make it illegal and technically impossible to buy adverts for cancer cures that have not been proven, and hold platforms responsible for enforcement.

Most people do not know alcohol causes seven cancers. Ireland is putting cancer warnings on bottles; other countries should follow and measure the effect on drinking.

The HPV vaccine prevents most cervical cancer, but false safety claims have cut uptake in several countries. Rebuild confidence locally and deliver the vaccine in schools.

Half of patients take antioxidant vitamins during chemotherapy. One good observational study suggests they raise recurrence by 40%. Patients deserve a definitive answer, and it can be obtained cheaply by adding supplement tracking to trials already running.

We do not know whether ultra-processed food raises cancer risk because it makes people fat, or because of something in the food itself. Feeding volunteers matched diets for a few weeks and measuring cancer-relevant biology can tell the two apart.

Offer the complementary approaches that have evidence (acupuncture for nausea and pain, exercise, mindfulness, yoga) inside the cancer centre, so patients do not seek them, and worse, elsewhere.

Wikipedia's medical pages receive billions of views and its cancer pages are among the most read, yet they are often out of date on treatment. Funding a standing team of oncology editors and translators, as Cochrane and WHO have done with Wikimedia, would keep them current against living guidelines and add structured trial and drug identifiers to Wikidata.

Wikipedia is the most-read medical reference on Earth. Pay expert editors to keep its cancer pages accurate, current and available in the languages most patients speak.

In the first weeks after diagnosis, tell patients plainly what kinds of false claims and expensive unproven clinics they will encounter and how to spot them.

For each question patients actually ask, keep a short, current, sourced answer in plain words, updated as evidence changes and available in the languages people speak.

Patients with brain tumours are sold ketogenic diets on the strength of mouse data and small feasibility studies. A single adequately powered trial with dietitian support would either prove it or let clinicians say clearly that it does not work.

Give oncologists and cancer nurses the training, time and production support to reach people where they actually get information, on social video and podcasts.

Online patient groups are where much cancer advice is exchanged. Fund and train moderators, with quick access to reliable evidence, to keep those spaces accurate and kind.