Filipino doctor did not 'recommend' food supplement as cancer treatment

This article is more than one year old.
Published on April 25, 2023 at 10:49
4 min read
By Faith BROWN, AFP Philippines

An edited video that appears to show a Filipino physician promoting a food supplement that treats cancer or abnormal growths without surgery has been viewed tens of thousands of times on Facebook. But the video has been misleadingly edited to insert references to the product, which health experts told AFP was not proven to treat cancer or remove lumps.

The fabricated video promoting supplement Cystocure Advance was shared on Facebook on April 12, 2023. It has not been registered with the Philippines' Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) as a food or drug product (archived links here and here).

The clip -- viewed more than 21,000 times -- features Willie Ong, a well-known Filipino doctor, appearing to endorse the product as a treatment for cancer or abnormal growths.

He regularly gives medical advice on his Facebook page and YouTube channel, where he has more than 25 million combined followers.

"If you can feel lumps or you know someone who has lumps, share this video with them or tag them as this may help them," Ong is heard saying, while a superimposed graphic to the right of his face claims he and his wife Dr Liza Ong have endorsed Cystocure Advance.

The post's caption reads in part: "PAINFUL LUMPS ON THE BREAST? AVOID SURGERY! THIS IS THE SOLUTION TO YOUR PROBLEM! Take action using CYSTOCURE ADVANCE!"

It goes on to falsely claim that the food supplement is FDA-approved and can cure cancer.

At the bottom of the screen, the product's advert claims it can treat lumps in breasts, ovaries and the neck.

AFP previously debunked posts that contain fabricated endorsements by Ong here and here (archived links here and here).

The same video was shared on Facebook here, here, here and here alongside the same false claim.

Comments on the posts suggested people were misled.

"How much is it, doc?" one user asked.

"How do I take this medicine for a cyst on the back?" another inquired.

However, in a video message on his verified Facebook page on April 18, Ong told his followers that he had not endorsed any products, except for a milk brand called Birch Tree Advance (archived link).

"There are so many scams using my face, not only mine but those of other celebrities and influencers," he said. "If you see ads like that, almost all of them are fake. We are only endorsing one product, which is Birch Tree Advance. This is our charity advocacy for seniors."

Fabricated endorsement

The clips in the false Facebook post were lifted from a longer video published on Ong's verified YouTube channel on March 17, 2016.

It was titled: "Lump on the Breast (and body): This is the Cure - Dr Willie Ong's Advice" (archived link).

A review of the original post found Ong did not mention Cystocure Advance. In fact, he told viewers that taking medicine orally will not remove lumps in the breast.

"Drinking drugs or tablets will not remove lumps on the breast, maybe you have read something like that. For me, it will not work. If your doctor or surgeon tells you to have them surgically removed, you should heed their advice," he says at the video's 42-second mark.

In the fabricated video, the original footage was misleadingly edited to make it appear as though Ong was answering questions about Cystocure Advance.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the false Facebook posts (left) and the corresponding frame in the original video (right):

A screenshot comparison of the video in the false Facebook posts (left) and the corresponding frame in the original video (right).

Scam product

Health experts in the Philippines told AFP that the product was not an effective or approved treatment for cancer or any abnormal growths.

Dr Marianne Austria, an obstetrician-gynecologist at St. Clare's Medical Center in the Philippine financial centre Makati City, said: "Removal of lumps, masses or cysts anywhere in the body is done by surgery."

Dr Warren Bacorro, an oncologist at Manila's University of Santo Tomas Hospital, also told AFP the product was a "fraud".

He went on to recommend scientifically proven treatments including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormonotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy.

"Cancer is not a single disease but is a group of diseases," he said. "Treatment for cancer depends on the primary site, type, stage and other biological factors."

Dr Meredith Garcia-Trinidad, an oncologist in the Dagupan Doctors Villaflor Memorial Hospital in the Ilocos Region, said the posts were "unproven marketing claims".

"There is no available evidence in human clinical studies that Cystocure has any effect on cancer or even on benign tumors/cysts/lumps," she said.

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