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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <title>reader comments - The Skeptic's Dictionary - Skepdic.com</title> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../_style/style.css"/> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../s1.ico"> <!--[if IE]> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../_style/style.css" /> <![endif]--> </head> <body><br /><br /> <div class="container"> <div class="header"> <div class="logo"> <img src="../_images/logo_01.png" alt="The Skeptic's Dictionary" width="270" height="60" /> <br> </div> <div class="slogan"> <img src="../_images/slogan_01.gif" alt="A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions" width="362" height="30" /> </div> </div> <div class="menu"> <ul> <li></li><li><a href="http://skepdic.com/">Home</a></li> <li><a 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Reviews</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/refuge/suburbanmyths.html"> Suburban Myths</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/refuge/memoriam.html"> In Memoriam</a></li> </ul> <h2>Other Resources</h2> <ul class="nav_3"> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/hollow.html">A Skeptic's Halloween</a></li> <li><a href="http://renish.skepdic.com/AllNotes.html">Editor's Notes</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/refuge/getinvolved.html"> Get involved</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/future.html">Future Topics?</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/permissions.html"> Permission to print</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/report/">Site Statistics</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="content"> <div class="it"> <h2>From Abracadabra to Zombies<span class="small"> | <a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html">View All</a></span></h2> <ul class="alphabet"> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#A">a</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#B">b</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#C">c</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#D">d</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#E">e</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#F">f</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#G">g</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#H">h</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#I">i</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#J">j</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#K">k</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#L">l</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#M">m</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#N">n</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#O">o</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#P">p</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#Q">q</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#R">r</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#S">s</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#T">t</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#U">u</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#V">v</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#W">w</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#X">x</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#Y">y</a></li> <li><a href="http://skepdic.com/contents.html#Z">z</a></li> </ul> <h2>reader comments: <a href="http://skepdic.com/phillipday.html">Phillip Day</a></h2> <p><em>17 May 2014<br /> Dear Robert, <br /> You are far too dismissive of Phillip Day. On his guidance, I cured myself of skin cancer in 2006, by ingesting 8 apricot kernels twice daily and rubbing some of the masticated kernel into the lesion. It took 6 weeks. Amygdalin [Laetrile / B17] is harmless to a healthy cell. Water is harmless too, although its components can be explosive and flammable. The Wikipedia on Amydalin contains untruths. </em></p> <p>Bryan</p> <p><strong>reply: Glad to hear you do not have skin cancer, Bryan. The odds that you cured yourself by ingesting 8 apricot kernels twice daily and rubbing masticated kernel into the lesion are slim. Of course, we can't do a controlled experiment on you, but there have been some experiments and some scientific studies of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdalin">amygdalin</a> and cancer. A 2011 systematic review by the <a href="http://skepdic.com/cochranecollaboration.html">Cochrane Collaboration</a> concluded:</strong> </p> <blockquote> <p><strong>The claims that laetrile or amygdalin have beneficial effects for cancer patients are not currently supported by sound clinical data. There is a considerable risk of serious adverse effects from cyanide poisoning after laetrile or amygdalin, especially after oral ingestion. The risk鈥揵enefit balance of laetrile or amygdalin as a treatment for cancer is therefore unambiguously negative</strong></p> </blockquote> <p><strong>It is possible you cured yourself of skin cancer with apricot pits. It is also possible you never had skin cancer to begin with. Did you diagnose yourself, too? In any case, I remain skeptical of anything Phillip Day has to say about cancer cures and I am skeptical that you cured yourself of skin cancer with apricot pits.</strong></p> <p><a href="http://skepdic.com/phillipday.html"><img src="../graphics/larrow.gif" alt="" width="14" height="26" border="0" /><strong>Phillip Day</strong></a></p> <p><a href="http://skepdic.com/commentscontents.html"><img src="../graphics/larrow.gif" alt="" width="14" height="26" border="0" /><strong>All Reader Comments</strong></a></p> <p> </webContent>Last updated <!-- #BeginDate format:En2 -->22-Oct-2015<!-- #EndDate --> </p> </div> </div> <div class="right"> <div class="right_it"> <div class="search"> <form method="get" action="http://www.google.com/custom" target="_top"> <input type="hidden" name="domains" value="skepdic.com" /> <input type="text" name="q" maxlength="255" value="" size="20" /> <input type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" /> <br /> <div class="search_2"> <input type="radio" name="sitesearch" value="" /> Web <input type="radio" name="sitesearch" value="skepdic.com" checked="checked" /> Skepdic.com <br /> <img src="../_images/logo_google.gif" alt="Google" width="48" height="19" /> </div> <input type="hidden" name="client" value="pub-3542920166946725" /> <input type="hidden" name="forid" value="1" /> <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="ISO-8859-1" /> <input type="hidden" name="oe" value="ISO-8859-1" /> <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="GALT:#008000;GL:1;DIV:#336699;VLC:663399;AH:center;BGC:FFFFFF;LBGC:336699;ALC:0000FF;LC:0000FF;T:000000;GFNT:0000FF;GIMP:0000FF;FORID:1;" /> <input type="hidden" name="hl" value="en" /> </form> </div> <p align="right"><a href="http://skepdic.com/authorpage.html"><strong>Books by R. 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