A young woman died this week (opens new window), while she was trying to raise $70k to fund and alternative cancer treatment at the Brio Clinic in Thailand. Amanda Ferreira also died last month from cancer. She had been to the Brio clinic once, and had been raising money to have further treatment there. Common treatments are heat therapy, ultrasound and pH transformation (probably alkaline).

Thailand and Mexico are both common destinations for this kind of treatment.

Dr Shaun Holt has said that there is no magic bullet for cancer, and that people should not travel overseas for alternative treatments. If treatments work, they will generally be available in NZ.

There appears to be a trend of more and more people asking for donations on the GiveaLittle site for alternative treatments, especially for cancer. GiveaLittle appear to have recently added a Q&A section to their site, so if you want to give to someone but you're unsure about the treatment they are raising money for, you can ask them for details.