Institute (NCI) joined forces to hinder Hoxsey’s
method, and the Dallas clinic, which at the time
had 12,000 patients, shut down in 1960. The FDA
banned the sale of all Hoxsey tonics, and all
Hoxsey’s alleged requests for scientific investigation
of his formulas went unanswered. In 1963 it
reopened as the Bio-Medical Center in Tijuana,
Mexico, under the auspices of Hoxsey’s longtime
clinical nurse, Mildred Nelson, R.N. Hoxsey chose
to stay in Dallas and work in the oil business.
The solutions were made for both internal and
external use (the topical version was a paste that
contained zinc chloride, antimony sulfide, and
bloodroot, a wildflower herb popular as a skin can-
cer remedy among Lake Superior Native Ameri-
cans). Since laboratory studies of its effectiveness
were conducted, the Hoxsey formula has been
reported to reduce tumors, inhibit tumor growth,
and provide antioxidant and antiestrogen activities
that are known to have a deleterious effect on can-
cerous cells. The botanist James Duke, Ph.D., of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture, found all the herbs
used by Hoxsey to have anticancer properties; they
are cited in Plants Used Against Cancer(Lawrence,
Mass.: Quarterman Publications, 1981), a com-
pendium of medicinal plants used in folk remedies
compiled by the NCI chemist Jonathan Hartwell.
Lymphoma, melanoma, and skin cancer patients
have responded particularly favorably to the
Hoxsey therapy. Hoxsey believed that his herbal
preparations balanced the chemical process in the
body; his idea was that cancer is a systemic disease
that “occurs only in the presence of a profound
physiological change in the constituents of body
fluids and a consequent chemical imbalance in the
organism.” Hoxsey also wrote the book You Don’t
Have to Die(New York: Milestone Books, 1956),
which is now out of print.
Information about this treatment is available at
the Bio-Medical Center, P.O. Box 727, 615 General
Ferreira, Colonia Juarez, Tijuana, B.C., Mexico
22000, or 011-52-66-84-9011, 011-52-66-84-9081,
or 011-52-66-84-9376.
humectant A substance used as a moisturizer.
humors, the four The ancient theory that human
temperament and propensity for disease are based
on the proportion of the major bodily fluids—blood,
phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile—in one’s sys-
tem. When all the humors were balanced, an indi-
vidual maintained health, and the body needed to
expel any excesses in order to keep the humors in
balance. Hydrotherapy, largely based on the use of
water internally and externally, along with a diet
and exercise regimen, became popular in the 19th
century as a means to affect the humors. Blood rep-
resented a warm, moist state; phlegm represented
cold and moist. Yellow bile was considered warm
and dry; black bile was thought of as cold and dry.
Certain diseases or conditions were associated with
a certain humor. If the level of one of these humors
became excessive or deficient, illness occurred in
three stages: first, the humoral change; second,
fever or what was called “boiling”; third, the dis-
charge of one of the humors in the form of urine,
feces, phlegm, bleeding, sweating, vomiting, and so
on. Hippocrates is said to have espoused this theory,
for which he was later criticized.
See also HIPPOCRATES; HYDROTHERAPY.humor, use of The practice inspired by Proverbs
17:22, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine,”
of employing laughter and enjoyment as ways to
assuage pain, stress, and anger, all of which may
lead to illness. It has also been shown that laughter
stimulates the body’s natural production of endor-
phins, chemicals almost identical to the painkiller
morphine. In mind-body medicine, laughter, opti-
mism, and other qualities associated with pleasure
are believed to have a positive impact in the treat-
ment of disease.
See also COUSINS, NORMAN; SIEGEL, BERNIE S.hydrotherapy Any therapeutic method that
involves the internal or external use of water for
the treatment of disease, injury, or dysfunction.
Hydrotheraphy and hydrothermal therapy are
known to many cultures, including those of
ancient Rome, Greece, China, and Japan.
Hydrothermal therapy involves varying tempera-
ture of the water according to need, as in hot baths,
saunas, wraps, and packs. Therapeutic water treat-
ments have been known and used for centuries as
an all-purpose therapy based on the ancient con-
cept of the four bodily humors and the need to58 humectant