The Makis Problem: How an Unlicensed Doctor Built a Lucrative Business Promoting Livestock Drugs for Cancer

One Of Substack's "Healers" Promoting Self-interest and Giving Bad Advice

Dr. William Makis has pulled off what might be the most brazen medical grift of the digital age. Stripped of his medical license and legally branded a vexatious litigant, this former Alberta physician has transformed his professional downfall into a six-figure subscription empire built on peddling horse paste to desperate cancer patients.

While legitimate oncologists spend decades conducting rigorous clinical trials to develop new treatments, Makis discovered a more profitable path: convince vulnerable people that veterinary dewormers can cure their terminal diagnoses, then charge them monthly fees for the privilege of this "medical advice." His Substack newsletter, boasting over 118,000 subscribers at $5-$50 per month, generates potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars annually from what amounts to unlicensed medical practice disguised as educational content.