They are called “fire cutters”, “fire coxswains” or even “evils lifters”. They officiate in the countryside, on the corner of a table and, more and more, in well-established cabinets in town. Their practice finds its origins in centuries-old traditions. Their power? A "gift", a "secret" that would relieve pain due to burns, shingles or cancer treatments. They did not follow a medical course, but their practice intrigues as much as it worries those who have taken the Hippocratic Oath.
“ I worked for about fifteen years in Franche-Comté, a region which, historically, has always had a lot of gunmen. And I have seen many patients use it , recalls Professor Gilles Crehange, head of the radiotherapy department at Institut Curie. There is no scientific study that has proven a clinical benefit, so we cannot recommend this approach. But it is true that I have seen patients recover quickly from
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