A new study of over 1,000 cancer patients in the US has shown that a choice to use alternative therapies alongside conventional therapy leads to a higher chance of dying from cancer. This is a very ... (327 words)

Lori Harris from the UK has sold all her belongings to pay for treatment for her mother, Lisa, who has stage 4 ovarian cancer. The Go Fund Me page for the fundraising effort for this treatment, which ... (328 words)

Belle Gibson of Australia, who lied about a cancer diagnosis to sell alternative medicine, has been found guilty of "defrauding clients and profiting from false cancer claims". Back in 2009 Belle ... (217 words)

Vicki Latele, who was jailed for mortgage fraud, has had a tough time. She has cancer, and has had her stomach removed. It appears that the standard treatments, such as chemotherapy, have not helped ... (310 words)

I was contacted by a journalist about a local cancer "cure", Te Kiri Gold, and sent a response (with a little help from ex-chair of the NZ Skeptics, Vicki Hyde): Thanks for contacting the NZ ... (646 words)

The infamous Brio clinic in Thailand has sucked in unsuspecting kiwis, promising to treat them with unconventional therapies for cancer. One unfortunate victim, Holly Devine, died after raising ... (249 words)

A young woman died this week, while she was trying to raise $70k to fund and alternative cancer treatment at the Brio Clinic in Thailand. Amanda Ferreira also died last month from cancer. She had ... (165 words)

Rod Parsley of the World Harvest church isn't relying on his healing abilities to treat his throat cancer but is seeking actual medical treatments. Here he is on an advert asking for 'seeds' of ... (223 words)

Magnetic claims challenged Online claims that magnetic wrist and ankle bands have therapeutic benefits have had to be removed following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (NZ Herald, ... (1234 words)

Iridologist's neglect led to 'avoidable' death A Te Horo iridologist breached the code of human rights and failed, as a healthcare provider, to give a Feilding grandmother proper care, the Human ... (1303 words)

Vitamin C is essential to human health, but our understanding of its role has been perverted by practitioners of 'alternative' medicine. The 18th-century discovery that oral citrus juice can protect ... (3244 words)

A heartstring-tugging appeal in the NZ Herald doesn't tell the full story. Jesse Bessant is a little boy from Auckland with a very rare brain tumour. He has a ganglioglioma, a tumour that arises from ... (765 words)

Scientologists get government money A drug awareness programme run by the Church of Scientology has received government funding to spread its views through schools and community groups (Sunday Star ... (1174 words)

Top scientist turns to alternative medicine Prominent physicist and science commentator Sir Paul Callaghan is resorting to vitamin C megadoses and Chinese medicine to treat his terminal cancer ... (1250 words)

NZ Skeptic issues 96, 97 and 98 contained articles presenting different viewpoints on the 'Unfortunate Experiment' at National Women's Hospital and its aftermath. Wellington registered nurse and NZ ... (4755 words)

This article is a response to 'Truth is the daughter of time, and not of authority': Aspects of the Cartwright Affair by Martin Wallace, NZ Skeptic 96. The Cartwright Inquiry1 was held after the ... (2926 words)

While in the gym, Alison Campbell considers some health issues. I had another learning experience down at the gym this afternoon. There I was, happily pedalling away on the exercycle (I believe in ... (691 words)

The 'Unfortunate Experiment' at National Women's Hospital has entered the national folklore as a notorious case of medical misconduct. But there is still disagreement about what actually happened. It ... (2575 words)

Loretta Marron exposes an Australian Australian alternative cancer therapist. On 26 February this year, trailers were run every hour throughout the day in Australia advertising the Channel Nine ... (638 words)

A visit to the birthplace of science prompts some thoughts on spatial and temporal patterns in alternative medicine. There is no special reason for skeptics in New Zealand to follow news from ... (817 words)

Elephants in Loch Ness? Nessie's an elephant, says a leading British palaeontologist (Dominion Post, 7 March). Neil Clark, curator of palaeontology at Glasgow University's Hunterian Museum, spent two ... (1184 words)

Mexican cancer clinics continue to do a roaring trade, despite their poor track record. When civil rights leader Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968, the world lost a voice for decency and ... (744 words)

The Green Party does not have a good record when it comes to scepticism. In 2002, party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons was an ungracious winner of our bent spoon award for her support of "etheralised ... (799 words)