“Cancer? Psh…Ignore It”

H. Gilbert Welch, a physician at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, has come up with a new idea in the world of cancer and the treatments of this disease. He says that America has essentially become way too quick to jump to treat cancerous tumors found in patients, and that people might actually benefit from ignoring their tumors. I know, my first thought is…”What?!”  Dr. Welch puts forth some convincing arguments that might even persuade some people to wait and see what their body alone does with the cancer before seeking medical treatment. Then again, his seemingly nonchalant attitude toward the people who are harmed by such tumors puts me on the total opposite side of the fence.

Dr. Welch says that because American doctors are so quick to treat anyone who has the slightest sign of cancer, many people who didn’t really need the treatment have had to undergo treatments that have left them scarred psychologically and physically. The National Breast Cancer Coalition even opposed a legal bill that promotes that women under 40 years old should go through early-detection screening for breast cancer. Is the medical community really supporting the idea that women with a chance of developing breast cancer should not go through the steps to ensure that they can live as long as possible? Even if there are people who have to endure treatments that they don’t really benefit from, isn’t it worth it if we can save the lives of people who DID benefit from such treatments? Scientists have studied prostate cancer and the percentages of men who actually benefit from treatment. They say that fifty men had to be diagnosed and treated for one to benefit. Isn’t this worth it though? I’d rather that happen than that one man not get treated because his chances aren’t good that it will hurt him. What if it does?

Welch also mentions a study of two groups of Norwegian women who were screened for breast cancer – one group was screened three times, and one group was screened only the last time. In theory, the last scans would show all of the tumors that have been accumulating over a period of time, but this did not happen. There were actually tumors that showed up in the first two scans that did not show up in the last scan of the women who were scanned three times. The tumors disappeared! There is always a chance that cancerous tumors will disappear by natural causes, but there is also the very dangerous chance that the tumors will grow and become incredibly treacherous to the patient. Does the fact that some tumors disappear naturally mean that we shouldn’t immediately treat any tumors that we see in patients? I sure hope not. There will be tumors that will go away naturally – I understand that. But the chance that the tumors are malignant and will grow is too great, in my opinion, to wait and see if the tumor will go away on its own. My grandmother and aunt both suffered from and beat breast cancer. If the doctors had told them to ignore their first symptoms or tumors, who knows what would have happened. I think that even if there will be an enormous number of people who will get unnecessary treatment, it is worth it if it helps even just a few people who benefit from this treatment. In this type of dilemma, I’m on the “better safe than sorry” side.

Article source: http://discovermagazine.com/2009/new-science-of-health/new-rx-for-cancer-ignore-it-sometimes
Image source: http://shareforus.com/anti-cancer-food/anti-cancer