I can't help but notice that the Sonora, California address given for the dca site website is the same as for this website:
http://www.buydca.com/
which says that it is only selling DCA to be used on pets, so I am suspicious of the whole thing.
The official DCA website of the researchers who will be testing DCA on cancer patients is at
http://www.depmed.ualberta.ca/dca/ .
Under their FAQs, the University of Alberta researchers state the following:
"Can I find and use DCA on my own?Absolutely not! This can actually be dangerous. For example, DCA can be found in stores selling chemicals to scientific laboratories. Often, DCA is sold in a form that is very acidic and if consumed could cause serious or catastrophic complications. Even for use in animals DCA often has to be processed with chemicals to correct its acidity etc. In addition, the dose in patients with cancer, or its interactions with other medications that cancer patients might be on, are completely unknown.
Often, patients with terminal cancer might feel they are in a desperate situation and might be “willing to try anything”. It needs to be remembered that the inappropriate use of these drugs might cause catastrophic complications and make the situation even worse. In addition, if complications occur, because this was not done under the supervision of a physician, this problem will not become known and other patients might be exposed to a risk that could have been prevented."
Personally, I think that the dcasite.com website is really pushing it. While the Canadian team may not have a full patent on DCA, I have heard that they have a use patent at least under consideration by the World Intellectual Property Organisation. The problem is that use patents are not seen as providing enough protection, so the researchers either have to tweak the compound and take out a patent (the more usual route) or find the money for trials themselves (unusual, but what they are doing). Right now they have only $100,000 raised and they need $1.5 million to get the ball rolling.
I am not sure how to feel about the DCA site. On the one hand, I think that many people are desperate and that DCA at least has some promise (unlike laetrile, which some desperate people still take even though it has potentially fatal side effects), that trials are a way off and 'animal grade' DCA is preferable to DCA of unknown quality. On the other hand, I worry that the existence of the site will distract the Alberta team from their work and, perhaps worse force them to get involved in legal wranglings, and that cancer patients may be hurt. All and all, I would say that I think the unofficial DCA sites are bad, but then again I don't have secondaries. What do other people think?
Also, there is a petition in the UK to have the government there fund DCA research. I have resisted because I figure that I would wait for the phase I/phase II trial results to come out. Instead I have sent some money off to Canada, although perhaps not enough since I was a bit off on the exchange rate. I am adopting the right strategy in terms of backing off on the petition? I figure that what I really want is the UK government to shell out for more phase I trials overall, not commit itself to a compound that might be proven ineffective by the end of the year. Any opinions, especially from the propellerheads, would be appreciated.