Almost every week I hear from patients about how oncologists give them a verdict that is not subject to appeal. Such verdicts are announced with absolute certainty, as if statistics had the force of law. I think doctors are more afraid of giving a patient false hope than they are of telling him about the possibility of a worse outcome. But to protect themselves from this modern version of voodoo, people need to know exactly what they can do to help themselves—to know more about it than their doctors.
Almost every week I hear from patients about how oncologists give them a verdict that is not subject to appeal. Such verdicts are announced with absolute certainty, as if statistics had the force of law. I think doctors are more afraid of giving a patient false hope than they are of telling him about the possibility of a worse outcome. But to protect themselves from this modern version of voodoo, people need to know exactly what they can do to help themselves—to know more about it than their doctors.
With a diagnosis of AIDS, Philip lived for ten years. At the time when the doctors found the disease in him, the method of tritherapy* did not yet exist. To those who asked Philip what exactly he was doing in order to resist the disease so successfully for many years, he honestly answered that he was taking natural nutritional supplements, carefully monitoring his diet and regularly exercising … Everything was like that, while at one of the medical the wise professor did not notice the examinations: “I regret to tell you that I had many patients who daily did about the same thing as you, but today they all died. I believe that not later than a year later, the disease, unfortunately, will overcome you. Indeed, not even a year had passed since Philip was gone — he did not find the strength to resist the peremptory sentence. They say that voodoo priests with their spells are able to kill a person from the world within a day. Some high priests of modern medicine are not so quick to punish, but their words are no less effective.
I recall an experiment conducted a decade and a half ago in one of the French laboratories: two rats were planted with cancer cells, and then subjected to an electric current. Only one of the rats was able to avoid the blow by pressing the lever. It turned out that her body was mobilizing the immune system to counterattack and destroy cancer cells. The second rat quickly lost heart, its cells responsible for immunity were paralyzed, and after a few weeks the cancer was already metastasizing.
It seems to me that the same thing happened to Philip: he died when he felt that there was nothing more he could do to avoid the «blows» inflicted by the disease. It is known that cancer develops faster in those who are less able to control stress — an integral part of our existence. (By the way, this is why participation in communication groups for many patients significantly prolongs life.) And what could be stronger than the stress of a person who “for sure” found out that he no longer has any hope of recovery! Not so long ago, Professor Kenneth Cole (Kenneth Cole) from San Francisco proved that in the body of those who can not cope with stress, the AIDS virus is actively spreading, even despite tritherapy. On the contrary, for those who are able to remain calm in the face of life’s trials, this new treatment helps much more — in their blood the content of the virus turned out to be 4 times lower **.
But who will tell people about it? Almost every week I hear from patients about how oncologists give them a verdict that is not subject to appeal. Such verdicts are announced with absolute certainty, as if statistics had the force of law. On the contrary, studies such as those conducted by Professor Cole are never mentioned. But patients such information is vital! I confess that I have made similar mistakes myself. I think doctors are more afraid of giving a patient false hope than they are of telling him about the possibility of a worse outcome. But to protect themselves from this modern version of voodoo, people need to know exactly what they can do to help themselves—to know more about it than their doctors. And for starters, learn to trust your body, rely on it more than current medicine is ready to allow …
*Tritherapy (three-drug therapy) for AIDS was developed in 1995; provides for the intake of antiviral drugs of different groups according to an individual scheme. **Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2001, vol. 98 (22).