# This man needed cancer like a hole in the head **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 10, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779 "2014-04-10T04:16:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/1 "2014-04-10T04:16:39Z")
… or rather, [he needed a hole in the head more than he needed cancer](http://www.smh.com.au/national/skin-cancer-warning-over-bogus-black-salve-treatment-20140410-36epv.html). ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/2 "2014-04-10T04:23:54Z")
[Thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=700483&highlight=salve) about a woman who burned her nose off. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/3 "2014-04-10T05:25:40Z")
Why do I not want to click on these links… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/4 "2014-04-11T01:24:19Z")
… and now,[a person who eats juice-soaked balls](http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/disaster-diets-dont-try-these-food-fads-at-home-20140411-36go8.html). And no, not mine, sadly. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/5 "2014-04-11T01:46:33Z")
You missed out on a great NIN reference. This reminds me of trepanning. ---
**Author:** ![CatherineZeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@CatherineZeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CatherineZeta)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/6 "2014-04-11T02:07:19Z")
Head Like A Hole is a great song. Anyway, these people should stick to coffee enemas or whatever if they want to treat their cancer with pseuo-medicines. At least they won’t be disfigured on top of having cancer. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/7 "2014-04-11T02:50:32Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > … and now,[a person who eats juice-soaked balls](http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/disaster-diets-dont-try-these-food-fads-at-home-20140411-36go8.html). And no, not mine, sadly. Why would drinking lemon water for a lousy 2 weeks cause your teeth to fall out?😕:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/8 "2014-04-11T03:33:55Z")
At least he has a new answer to “what’s worse than finding a worm in your apple?”… ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/9 "2014-04-11T04:36:48Z")
Might as well kill off your tumors by shooting Krokodil into them. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/10 "2014-04-11T05:18:59Z")
Holy shit! I think I’d take the skin cancer. > [@pkbites](#): > > Why would drinking lemon water for a lousy 2 weeks cause your teeth to fall out?😕:dubious: The acid might erode your enamel, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2014, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/11 "2014-04-11T05:39:40Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > The acid might erode your enamel, maybe? Not in 2 weeks it won’t. Even if the drinker didn’t brush their teeth ever. Either they were doing this for much longer than it said, or the article isn’t telling us something. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2014, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/12 "2014-04-12T05:16:30Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > The acid might erode your enamel, maybe? > [@pkbites](#): > > Not in 2 weeks it won’t. Even if the drinker didn’t brush their teeth ever. > > Either they were doing this for much longer than it said, or the article isn’t telling us something. My partner lost all her enamel from eating one lime cheesecake. Granted it _did_ have 37 limes in it, but still … ---
**Author:** ![Inna\_Minnit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Inna\_Minnit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inna_Minnit)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2014, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/13 "2014-04-12T10:49:16Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > … and now,[a person who eats juice-soaked balls](http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/diet-and-fitness/disaster-diets-dont-try-these-food-fads-at-home-20140411-36go8.html). And no, not mine, sadly. What is cotton wool? Those are two very different things. And most “cotton balls” really aren’t cotton they are synthetic. And who the hell eats them? Wouldn’t you end up with a bowel obstruction? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/14 "2014-04-13T06:06:37Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > My partner lost all her enamel from eating one lime cheesecake. Granted it _did_ have 37 limes in it, but still … :dubious: Enamel wears off over time. Granted it can be sped up by eating sugary crap and/or not brushing teeth. But eating one thing isn’t going to do it alone. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/15 "2014-04-13T16:07:39Z")
“Black salve” products containing corrosive bloodroot are not only sold in Australia\* - they’re promoted by alt med advocates in the U.S. and are widely available over the Internet, including on Ebay. Who wouldn’t want to risk painful disfigurement and scarring, while at the same time allowing bits of cancer that survive to grow and metastasize? Obviously all the negative publicity is a plot to enrich Giant Pharma. :dubious: \*One of the notorious Australian promoters of black salve is the much-loathed Australian (anti-) Vaccination Network, which advertised the stuff on its website and [still complains](http://shop.avn.org.au/products/One-Answer-to-Cancer.html) about the government cracking down on it. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2014, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/16 "2014-04-13T18:05:12Z")
To be fair, “black salve” sounds like something completely wholesome :dubious:. Well mostly it sounds like a Final Fantasy monster. Looks like the AVN is now the “Australian Vaccination-Skeptics Network” as of February. More accurate, although the dash seems unnecessary. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/17 "2014-04-14T01:24:33Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > > [@Askance](#): > > > > My partner lost all her enamel from eating one lime cheesecake. Granted it _did_ have 37 limes in it, but still … > > :dubious: > > Enamel wears off over time. Granted it can be sped up by eating sugary crap and/or not brushing teeth. But eating one thing isn’t going to do it alone. Well, that’s what her dentist told her when she complained to him about her newly hyper-sensitive teeth. He put her on a diet of only one lime per day … > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Looks like the AVN is now the “Australian Vaccination-Skeptics Network” as of February. More accurate, although the dash seems unnecessary. This rename was forced on them by **Big Bad Government Regulation**. Good on you, **BBGR**! ---
**Author:** ![troubledwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@troubledwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/troubledwater)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/18 "2014-04-14T02:51:52Z")
> [@Inna\_Minnit](#): > > What is cotton wool? Those are two very different things. That’s what the British and Australians call cotton balls. I have a vague memory that the terminology has something to do with the fact that prior to the industrial revolution in Britain, their primary fibers were linen and wool, so wool is part of the frame of reference for cotton. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/19 "2014-04-14T03:01:35Z")
Just don’t do a Google image search for Black Salve Cancer. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2014, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779/20 "2014-04-14T03:12:25Z")
> [@troubledwater](#): > > That’s what the British and Australians call cotton balls. I have a vague memory that the terminology has something to do with the fact that prior to the industrial revolution in Britain, their primary fibers were linen and wool, so wool is part of the frame of reference for cotton. Germans call it “tree wool” basically. German can be elegant sometimes. Oh, and pica is the name for the disorder where people eat weird things. Depending on what they eat, yes it can absolutely cause an obstruction. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-man-needed-cancer-like-a-hole-in-the-head/685779.md?page=2)