Cancell® is a medication developed in the 1930s by a chemist named James V. Sheridan. Those who took and believed in the product said it was a preventative for cancers and other conditions such as Alzheimer's and sclerosis. It was never approved for mass distribution by any regulatory government organization, such as the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Known by other names, such as Jim's Juice and Sheridan's Formula, Cancell® was originally developed in Michigan under the name Entelev®, and it gained supporters when Sheridan began giving away free samples. Although he had conducted years of testing the product on animals and testified he had the clinical data to back up the success of the medication, there were never any official approvals given from the FDA. After Sheridan was ordered to stop making the product available to the public, it went through different incarnations with the help of other believers, chemists, and promoters.
Those who believed in the healing powers of Cancell® said that it prevented everything from the development of diabetes and herpes to a variety of viral infections. It was also thought to help regulate blood pressure and to be a cure for high and low blood pressure. The drug was also said to be effective in treating different types of cancer, and different theories were put forth on how the drug worked. One theory stated that the drug interfered directly with the life processes of cancer cells, causing them to die. Another theory stated that the drug flagged cancer cells as invading bodies, causing the body to destroy them.
The formula changed hands and names several times. It was marketed under the Cancell® name in the mid-1980s, and had no more success in getting FDA approval than its predecessors. The drug contained more than a dozen ingredients, and included chemicals like sulfuric acid and nitric acid. When official testing was done by the FDA, the drug was shown to have no effect on cancer cells or display any conclusive evidence that it acted to prevent any kind of illness. The result was such that there was no further animal testing and no human testing done on the drug.
Several government orders have been issued by the FDA regarding the making and distributing of Cancell®. Medical professionals have been prohibited from using the drug as a cancer treatment or in any preventative way. In spite of the manufacturer's testimony that thousands of patients have been successfully treated with the drug, negative and inconclusive findings by official bodies have resulted in Cancell® being eliminated as a possible cure-all and cancer treatment.