Would you recommend stocks and funds without knowing anything about the investors in question? Would you skip even the most basic investment research? Would you promise investors that they’ll double their money within months? Would you ignore the risk that your advice could cause irreparable financial harm?
Welcome to the world of cancer advice.
Multiple times each week, I receive messages offering advice that has the potential to severely damage my health. There are more than
200 types of cancer, each with various subcategories. What worked for other cancer patients almost certainly won’t work for me. Indeed, my cancer is so rare that there are just 3,400 cases diagnosed in the U.S. each year. What about the “magic” cures that get pedaled? If such a thing existed, do you really believe the medical community would blithely ignore it?
That brings me to a message from Saturday: “People that live in the ‘Blue Zones’ live longer, disease free, than anyone else in the world. The five blue zones are Okinowa, Japan, Sardinia, Italy, Nicoya, Costa Rica, Ikaria , Greece, and Loma Linda, California. These people literally have NO health issues. they accredit this to the food they eat, a sense of community and clean climate. In Okinowa, Japan the people eat the brown seaweed from the ocean daily. This seaweed contains an ingredient called Fucoidan. This ingredient kills cancer cells on contact. Cancer does Not exist there.”
Let’s recap:
- These people literally have NO health issues.
- This ingredient kills cancer cells on contact.
- Cancer does Not exist there.
Hmmm.
Others might say my correspondent has good intentions. After receiving hundreds of such emails since last June, I’m less inclined to be charitable. I consider the advice utterly reckless. This is the sort of ignorant nonsense that some would be gullible enough to believe — and which could send them to an early grave. My plea to the world: If you’re doling out advice, whether it’s medical, financial or otherwise, do a little research before you do a lot of harm.
This reminds me—I’ve been catching up on mail since we got back from our South America trip, and I saw your piece in the AARP magazine (which mentioned this unwelcome advice issue among others). Nice job.
Jonathan…interesting isn’t it?
Your last sentence encapsulates the meaning of the phrase we all recognize as the first duty of a physician, “FIRST…do no harm!”
God Bless you and your family.
Your plea to the world: “If you’re doling out advice, whether it’s medical, financial or otherwise, do a little research before you do a lot of harm.”
My plea to the world’s ever so helpful persons is a bit different: OFFER NO UNSOLICITED ADVICE. Ever. Shush, already.
Let a person enjoy their morning coffee and the birds singing and their day as best they can. If they want your advice, they’ll ask.
Anyone who’s aware of your situation need reflect no more than five seconds to know you and your inner circle are already in constant contact with the best medical knowledge and standard of care that exists for a condition with so few cases a year.
True that some are desperate and gullible and so let’s all avoid dangerous misinformation that targets the vulnerable.
Excellent post. Thank you. 🙂