Suzie's At it Again

This time it's a new book about cancer. How do I know? My previous posts about Suzanne Somers on Larry King are getting hundreds of hits a day from her believers searching for her latest appearance on Larry King (which is not happening till tonight).

I was all set to get off a round at Suzie's latest bit of quackery, but looks like Orac has fired the first salvo -

Let's get one thing straight here. It is not amazing that Somers is still alive after having "rejected chemotherapy." As I explained at the dawn of this blog, Somers had a stage I tumor with a favorable prognosis. If Somers is going to play the gambit of "I rejected chemotherapy and I'm still alive," perhaps now is the time to go into more detail than I've ever gone into before about her case...

Then he proceeds to blow Somers out of the water as only Orac can. He's even taken on her case of Valley Fever (coccidiomycosis), which she states was intially mis-diagnosed as "full body cancer" (whatever that is...) -

Most people who contract coccidioidomycosis are either asymptomatic or have mild disease...So why did Somers get such a serious case? It's a legitimate question, given how she represents her woo regimen as the path to rejuvenation and health.

Let's see. Somers is 63, but apparently in good health. She also takes all sorts of supplements which, or so she claims, "strengthen the immune system." But her immune system was obviously not strong enough to prevent her from getting disseminated coccidioidomycosis. Didn't all those supplements ward off the fungus?

Suzanne Somers is a monster created and sustained by the mainstream media, who do nothing but kow-tow to her. Harry Smith should have his journalist licence revoked (if there is such a thing), for his recent interview with Suzie. Why not just turn the show over to her and stop pretending that this is reporting? Smith claims there are attacks on Somer's book, but has anyone seen comparable media space given to the voices of reason that counter her quackery? I haven't. Search for "Suzanne Somers" on CBS news website, and almost everything you get is a pitch from Suzie. Only a single opinion piece, part of a well-written AP series on alternative medicine, takes her on.

To their credit, CNN's website has a commentary piece by Dr Otis Brawley. But they then flip the finger at Brawley by displaying a prominent ad for Suzie's appearance on Larry King within the text of his commentary. I don't see a link to Brawley's commentary on Larry King's page about Suzie's appearance. Shameful.

Look, Suzanne Somers is entitled to her opinion. She's entitled to take or not take her doctor's advice. But she's not entitled to mislead and misinform the American public.

And that is exactly what she is doing.