NONSURGICAL TREATMENTS FOR BPH: LAETRILE
Laetrile was touted as a cure for prostate cancer years ago, and it still has many prostate patients heading for Mexico, Spain, and Italy to get this "wonder drug." Clinics sprang up in which doctors (many of them of questionable background) assured patients that they would cure them by giving them this drug.
Laetrile is produced by processing amygdalin, a complex cyanide-containing chemical obtained from die seeds of apricots, peaches, and bitter almonds. The doctors who prescribe this treatment believe that the cyanide in Laetrile distroys malignant cells. The product was never approved for sale in the United States and can only be obtained by smugglers who bring it into the country. The National Cancer Institute has said it is useless and can be dangerous.
It is bad enough that patients may have their hopes built up only to be disappointed, but they can also be exposed to the potential danger of cyanide poisoning, which can cause severe illness or death. Taking Laetrile or eating large quantities of apricots, peach pits, and almonds is not the answer.
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