Sick in the head: charlatans "treat" Spaniards with bleach
More and more Spaniards stop believing in official medicine in the fight against cancer and rely on dubious, and often simply dangerous methods of charlatans from the Internet. Emotional stories on social networks about miraculous healings find their readers — one of the notable groups of "cancer winners with folk remedies" on Telegram has 50,000 subscribers, 200 or more different messages about miracle medicines appear on the channel every day, including, for example, chlorine-containing household chemicals for disinfecting plumbing and bleaching fabrics. The kingdom's media is sounding the alarm — people's lives are in real danger. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
The last hope
For many years, Maria (name changed) has been battling metastatic breast cancer, an incurable but still slow—moving disease whose survival rate has increased in recent years due to medical advances. A 70-year-old resident of Madrid underwent hormonal treatment, which gave her good results in controlling the disease, but one day she decided to abandon this therapy and start being treated with bleach.
Maria is one of the last patients to come to the office of oncologist Elias Lopez Jimenez, who had previously tried to defeat the tumor with chlorine dioxide or sodium chloride. We are talking about chlorinated compounds, commonly known as bleaches, which themselves are poisonous and carcinogenic. But an increasing number of Spaniards do not believe this and join the ranks of people who have been fooled by the followers of the teachings of the American occultist Jim Humble, who now lives in Mexico.
Humble claims to be a god sent to Earth from the Andromeda galaxy, endowed with the ability to heal with a touch of his hand. In his writings, he reports that he discovered a magical remedy for all diseases. Before leaving the United States, he produced a drug based on chlorine compounds there "for the treatment of cancer and hundreds more diseases." In total, he says, he has created more than 200 miraculous discoveries, including "an alchemical method of reducing radiation to zero."
"A few years ago, I didn't think the public believed in the effectiveness of this method, but recently there have been more and more people in Spain who believe in the magical healing properties of bleach. The situation is getting worse," says Lopez Jimenez, who is a member of the Spanish Cancer Association (AECC).
The Spanish Ministry of Health does not publish data on the number of patients who turn to these drugs for cancer treatment, perhaps because it does not keep such statistics. "Chlorists" do not go to clinics, but analyzing indirect signs, Lopez Jimenez confidently states that the number of people self-medicating using non-traditional methods is growing, and this has become especially noticeable after the coronavirus pandemic.
In addition to the opinion of the AECC specialist, it can also be noted that the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (AEMPS, a division of the Ministry of Health of the Kingdom), concerned about the situation, even had to issue a statement warning about the risks associated with ingestion of bleaches.
In January 2025, Nadia Popel, a doctor from the Balearic Islands, who privately prescribed chlorine dioxide to her patients for cancer treatment, was charged under a criminal article.
The Internet as a source of mass obfuscation
In Maria's case, the above-mentioned metropolitan oncologist emphasized that "she created a very serious problem for herself by using bleach: her illness worsened."
An AECC specialist complains that "on social media, no one is responsible for their words, they can carry whatever comes into their head, and they can pose as a medical luminary without feeling remorse." So Maria told the doctor that she started using this method after reading chat rooms where people wrote that they were being treated with bleach and everything was fine with them. No wonder: those who have a negative result will never tell anyone anything.
Maria, like many other deceived Spaniards, read the Telegram channel about the "miraculous chlorine dioxide." About 50,000 Spanish-speaking users have subscribed to it, and it contains not only communication between patients, but also "practical advice" on preparing and taking poison. It is clear that there are no doctors among the recommenders.
Recommended by farmers and singers
The news section of the channel contains press releases, videos and links to the Dulce Revolución association ("Sweet Revolution"), founded by farmer Josep Pamies, who was twice fined €600,000 for advertising such substances. There are also scans of articles signed by Pamies' associate Guillem Ferrer, who promotes unscientific treatment along with the famous Spanish singer Miguel Bose. Interestingly, Spanish journalists tried to find paper originals of newspapers with these articles, but without success.
In addition, those interested can read the writings of blogger Patricia Kallisperis, who regularly spread misinformation about COVID-19, possible treatments and vaccines during the pandemic.
The Reviews section contains stories about miraculous cures with bleach. But it usually tells about the "daughter of a friend" or "patient of Dr. X", who cannot be contacted. However, you can contact a "specialist" — upon request, the sufferer gets into a chat with a bot, which, after issuing a fair number of scientific recommendations like "follow the protocols of C + K + E + L," transfers the victim into the clutches of a certain Andreas Calder, a German without medical education, who is engaged in the promotion and sale of chlorine dioxide. According to the bot, an hour and a half video conference with a "healer" will cost only €50.
It's a sect!
"The easy availability of information on a topic of interest, stories of miraculous healings, disbelief in official scientific medicine, as well as fear and despair reigning in the souls of cancer patients are the reasons why the chloride movement is spreading in Spain," Lopez Jimenez believes. — Another factor to consider is that Spain's population is changing. We are constantly receiving people from Latin American countries, where sectarianism and belief in miracles are more widespread."
Luis Santamaria del Rio, an expert on cults, adds that these groups are surrounded by "a sectarian atmosphere in which people are led to believe that there are individuals who have arrived from other planets and therefore possess special knowledge, abilities and methods that are effective, but which are rejected by official science and the existing system."
"There is an elitist component to this: they consider themselves special people with access to wisdom, knowledge, and solutions to their problems. And they take advantage, as it happens in all sectarian environments, of the vulnerability of patients and their families," says Santamaria, one of the founders of the Ibero-American Network for the Study of Cults (RIES).
The scientist notes that the number of such sects is growing. And especially after the pandemic, when groups opposed vaccination appeared. And "that despite all the efforts made to disseminate scientific knowledge and reliable information to expose hoaxes in health matters, the number of people involved in the occult is increasing exponentially."
Danger is near
Oncologists from the AECC unequivocally state that "any treatment that has no scientific basis should not be recommended under any circumstances, as it puts patients' health at risk and leads to a significant burden on the body with toxins."
"Not only does it have no positive effect against cancer, but it allows the disease to progress. That in itself is already very serious, but it can cause dangerous side effects with constant use," the organization's experts insist.
As for the various groups that recommend their admission, the AECC urges them: "Please do not promote these anti-scientific ideas. No messages of this kind should be disseminated in society." The Association also notes that "false information about the health benefits of bleach and its effectiveness in the fight against cancer pose a danger to public health" and that the authorities should exercise "more complete control in this area."
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