Cancer claims 'mislead'

Shirley Poppy and Peter Klose's cancer claims are unrealistic, says a watchdog. Photo / Supplied

The owners of a new-age health centre who claimed they could "undo or neutralise" cancer have been branded ignorant and preying on the "desperately unwell".

The Om Centre in Mt Maunganui made the promises in an advert on their website for a 28-day "cancer recovery" retreat for "people with the early stages of cancer who wish to stop it progressing".

The claims prompted a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority from a physician who described the centre's owners as "preying on desperate people".

"They offer no evidence to substantiate their claims. I wonder if you can suggest why so many of these bizarre 'natural remedies' and 'cures' are tolerated in New Zealand?"

The authority upheld the complaint and ordered the owners, Shirley Poppy and Peter Klose, to remove the offending claims.

It ruled that "people with the disease were a particularly vulnerable audience" and said the ad did not meet the "high level of social responsibility required".

The authority said the ad breached the Therapeutic Services Advertising Code, misled the consumer and portrayed unrealistic outcomes.

Poppy said yesterday the claims had been removed. She had investigated the Therapeutic Services Advertising Code and made sure the website content complied.

The couple are not appealing against the decision but are still offering a 28-day recovery service to cancer sufferers, at a cost of $13,500.

Poppy said it was the centre's "social responsibility to make known to the public that there are other healing processes available that assist the body to heal from cancer".

The centre had not had a single booking for its "cancer recovery" retreat but Poppy was "more keen than ever to get our message out there".

"I feel that many people are suffering and dying from misinformation. I feel that cancer has become a very desperate disease because the only things people know about are the traditional medical treatments, which are actually very hard on the body and the mind."

Poppy said the complainant was "misinformed".

"That's a person who's afraid that his medical industry could be under threat."

The centre also offers retreats for detox, depression, stress relief and anxiety.

Its website says it is guided by the "undoing of past trauma" and aims to "detoxify the body and mind".

Poppy said the authority's ruling was an "opportunity to learn and grow".

"I still think there's a lot of political agendas, it's a lot about business. It's about heavy use of pharmaceutical drugs and medical technology, and where's medical research going.

"It's all very channelled down one direction when actually health can be so much more simple for anybody."

The Bay of Plenty District Health Board had not received any complaints about the centre.