DISQUS

lauriesanchez · 1 month ago

Great post, Amanda!!! Yes, here at Lifescript we're running across this all the time, aren't we? Since we all write various health alerts, fit tips, and diabetes tips, we're often scanning studies and medical journal reports, and sometimes I'll get all excited about headline that seems promising and hopeful: "Study reports diabetes drug may eliminate neuropathy!" or whatever ... and then you read further and start staring at the statistics. ... (helped 23%?) ... or the double-negatives (didn't produce negative effects in 20% of patients) (???) ... Or you see the study was only done on mice and not humans. ... So then I usually delete the file! I don't want to be part of spreading false hope on weak statistics.

Truly, it's important to read all that material really carefully!

AmandaNatividad · 1 month ago

Thanks, Laurie! You raise a good point. I'm way too often misled by a "New laser treatment zaps tumors" headline only to see that it was research done in mice.

emilyb · 1 month ago

And just think about all the money going into these studies!

AmandaNatividad · 1 month ago

Totally, Emily! Maybe instead they can focus on the quality of the research rather than quantity. I wonder why they don't test and re-test and re-test. (Unless I'm mistaken and they do so more often than I think!)

Nicole McEwen · 1 month ago

Yes, there's always some study to support or refute a health claim. Wondering if onions can cure the common cold? Some study out there researched that. Think aspirin aids in weight loss? There's a study for that too.

I approach health studies the same way I approach friendships: You have to consider the source before deciding on whether you want to jump onboard. Is the health study credible? Did they look at a wide enough demographic? Was the research funded by a drug company? It takes a lot of extra thinking sometimes.

AmandaNatividad · 1 month ago

Ha, your comment reminded me of the Apple "There's an app for that" commercials, Nicole!

That's smart, using a sort of friendship-approach to health studies. That reminds me, this morning saw a story about the "first-ever" supplement for BOTH bone and heart health. I thought it was newsworthy until I realized it was just a study done by the manufacturer of the product!

Alessandro Machi · 1 month ago

I spent the past couple of years using google to search for a prostate cancer breakthrough on behalf of my father.

It turns out the information that might have mattered more was learning that the utilities management board possibly cut costs to men with prostate cancer by only prescribing these men bone scans instead of CT SCANS for the purpose of monitoring how the prostate cancer was growing.

My dad "passed" 3 bone scans over a two year time span even as his prostate cancer was slowly spreading throughout his body. We were tricked into lower cost bone scan monitoring rather than a CT scan which would have identified exactly where the prostate cancer was spreading.

My dads wish to be part of a clinical trial or at least know exactly where his cancer was denied because he was "too old".

Whenever I asked the oncology department where my dads cancer exactly was, they never offered a CT scan to find out, instead they made it sound like it was a deep mystery with no way of knowing.

I feel like I let my dad down since he was relying on me to help him. I had no idea the doctors could look me in the eye and actually deny me the information that would have allowed me to know how to find out where exactly where my fathers prostate cancer had spread to. If they had conducted a CT scan, I could have immediately consulted with doctors to find out what treatment options might still be possible.

Instead we were told to wait until the prostate cancer "reached the bone" and then give him chemo. The cancer didn't make it to my dads bone until the final few days of his life. I'm not saying bone scans are not important, but if that is all your medical plan is offering a person who has prostate cancer, they may have already decided to not pursue any future methods of stalling the cancer, even if they haven't told that to your face. I thought that was a violation of informed consent, unless the new idea is not inform, so no consent is necessary.

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My research over the past couple of years taught me that many "news" stories about innovations in prostate cancer treatments are possibly more related to creating positive PR for a college medical research department so they can either continue their ongoing cancer research and use the articles to raise funds, or to justify the money that has already been spent.

I'm not saying that in a condemning matter, I'm just realizing that even the educational field has to hustle to justify receive ongoing research dollars.

AmandaNatividad · 1 month ago

Thank you for sharing your story, Alessandro. I'm very sorry about your dad but I think it's amazing how well-informed and involved you were in his battle with prostate cancer.

Maybe you're right about these "news" stories being used for PR purposes or to raise funds. After all, these research foundations need the exposure and means to remain active.