What are you reading in 2023?

[littlebittybobby]

Okay---You kids have been reading some heavy stuff---about like mee. But yeah---Keep up the good work. Hope that helps you some.2023-01-09.jpg2023-01-09.jpg

[JaneV2.0]

I wonder if this last paragraph would be universally agreed-upon in the medical community. It seems to be in conflict with the general rah rah we are beating cancer message that is out there.

Dr. Raza takes on the general rah-rah message in subsequent passages. She also relates anecdotes of a couple of long-term survivors she treated in her practice (focused on leukemias and myelodysplasias).

[JaneV2.0]

I recently stumbled upon a number of young (30-40-ish) cancer patients in my YouTube travels. They're late stage and all on chemotherapies of various kinds. One tried a targeted gene therapy, and barely survived it. The consensus is that the reason patients seem to be living longer with cancer is that screening catches it earlier, but that wasn't the case with these people. (One wonders why a thirty-three year old non-smoking, non-drinking vegan is getting lung cancer, for example; wasn't that unlikely a generation ago?)

If I were diagnosed with cancer, I'd likely sign up for hospice and commit to a carnivore diet. As much as I'd like to live indefinitely, the odds of that aren't good.

[Rogar]

If I were diagnosed with a stage 4 or whatever advanced terminal cancer, I could see that as an option to consider, but I doubt if uTube videos would be a primary information source.

[JaneV2.0]

If I were diagnosed with a stage 4 or whatever advanced terminal cancer, I could see that as an option to consider, but I doubt if uTube videos would be a primary information source.

Does anyone think individuals relating their experiences with cancer treatment is anything more than anecdotal?

[Rogar]

Does anyone think individuals relating their experiences with cancer treatment is anything more than anecdotal?

I don't know. Does uTube have anecdotal accounts of successes, or is it all failures because that's what people post more of, or this is what you search out? Medical decisions are personal but require accurate information to decide and I guess we as individuals have to choose who or what provides accurate information. If you distrust the medical community for accurate information, then yes, I guess uTube personal anecdotes can help. Like others have mentioned, cancer is not just one certain thing like the measles, but several different things with several more or less common and successful treatments and others with not a lot of promise.

[JaneV2.0]

YouTube wouldn't be anyone's first choice for serious research, surely.

From what I can tell, there are innumerable YT channels relating to cancer, with various viewpoints and outcomes. Anyone sufficiently interested would have little trouble finding anecdotes galore.

[Rogar]

Yes, I suppose utube has presentations from the Mayo Clinic, or the Harvard School of Medicine, Yale, or the Cleveland Clinic. I probably wouldn't put much faith in a handful of anecdotal accounts from who knows who. I would trust opinions from trusted friends who have gone through a treatment or trial.

Here's my anecdotal account. I mentioned having melanoma surgery with a favorable out come and no further treatment. My dermatologist, who graduated with honors from Stanford refer me to an oncologist. She honestly warned me against using the internet extensively as creating unnecessary worry or going down the wrong path, and said the oncologist was the best in the region and would take care of me with the best science possible. I suppose most people these days go to utube or other internet for medical advice and diagnosis and doctors get tired of straightening out misinformation or incorrect diagnosis.

That's about all I have on the topic.

[JaneV2.0]

...
That's about all I have on the topic.

Thank heavens. YouTube is a wonderful resource for all kinds of information, from quilt making to quantum mechanics, intersex to outer space, and it often sends me down various rabbit holes of independent exploration. I can't fathom why you seem to think I regard interesting anecdotal reports as anything more than a starting point, but hey.

[frugal-one]

After hearing from a head of a department that they only prescribe drugs…when I asked why he did not tell me magnesium would solve my problem… makes me research all options (probably not on youtube though). Had 2 other instances where the doc would have killed the patient if I would not have researched. It behooves one not to be totally dependent on doctors’ advice or recommendations!