SBS Dateline | Cancer Con

British journalist Sarah Macdonald understands the desperation of cancer sufferers trying to find a cure… she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year and had to undergo a painful course of treatment.

But during her research on the illness, she found a number of clinics in Mexico offering miracle treatments and cures, complete with testimonies of happy patients, so she decided to see if their claims were true.

Dateline joins her on that very personal journey into the murky world of clinics that escape regulation and sell expensive and dangerous treatments, backed up by little medical proof.

And with many based at Tijuana on the California border, they’re also attracting desperate health tourists from the United States in search of salvation.

So what can be done to cure the spread of the cancer con?

WATCH - Apologies, but Sarah's story is no longer available for copyright reasons. However you can still watch the original version of the report on Al Jazeera's website.

EXTRA - If you need more information about cancer, we've put together a list of professional organisations offering advice and support in Australia.

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