Livingston-Wheeler's
cancer treatment is based on the belief that
cancer is caused by a bacterium she has named Progenitor cryptocides. Careful research using modern techniques, however, has shown that there is no such organism and that Livingston-Wheeler has apparently mistaken several different types of bacteria, both rare and common, for a unique microbe. In spite of diligent research to isolate a
cancer-causing microorganism, none has been found. Similarly, Livingston-Wheeler's autologous
vaccine cannot be considered an effective treatment for
cancer. While many oncologists have expressed the hope that someday a
vaccine will be developed against
cancer, the cause(s) of
cancer must be determined before research can be directed toward developing a
vaccine. The rationale for other facets of the Livingston-Wheeler
cancer therapy is similarly faulty. No evidence supports her contention that
cancer results from a defective immune system, that a whole-foods diet restores immune system deficiencies, that
abscisic acid slows
tumor growth, or that
cancer is transmitted to humans by chickens.