Antivirus. Antifungal. Antibiotic. Immunosuppressive. Anti graft vs host. Others. They're all important to someone building an immune system. Or are they? When does prophylaxis take precedence over treatment? Best to avoid pneumonia before getting it, right? That's just logical.
Or is it?
Take, for instance, the anti pneumonia drug I was just started on. Quick research shows it shouldn't be taken if you have liver problems. But I just went through the mother of all liver problems. So what are the odds of me getting pneumonia vs the odds of this drug messing with my now-healing liver and kidneys? Too frequently we are told only what the benefits of a drug are while those treating us neglect to articulate and explain a list of side effects longer than my leg. But really, that's the patient's responsibility to always inquire.
Obviously the docs take great care to not put patients in danger, and I'd never suggest otherwise. In fact I have to rate the doctors I have here as nothing short of fantastic, attentive, caring, intelligent and life saving. There's a delicate balance between an effective drug and its side effects and they do their best to ensure you stay on the right side of that scale.
I'm now starting to decline and question certain drugs. Bad idea? Maybe. Probably. But I'm also starting to understand how long term cancer patients find themselves on the road of crazy diets, all juice regimens, and mistletoe treatments. I won't go down that path, but I'm starting to see how it happens.
There's a lot of over prescribing, under explaining, and trial and error. And at a certain point when overcome by nausea, sweats, tremors, or inexplicable shakes and malaise, you just start to realize how inexact this science is.
And then they serve you a fuckin' salisbury steak.
Take, for instance, the anti pneumonia drug I was just started on. Quick research shows it shouldn't be taken if you have liver problems. But I just went through the mother of all liver problems. So what are the odds of me getting pneumonia vs the odds of this drug messing with my now-healing liver and kidneys? Too frequently we are told only what the benefits of a drug are while those treating us neglect to articulate and explain a list of side effects longer than my leg. But really, that's the patient's responsibility to always inquire.
Obviously the docs take great care to not put patients in danger, and I'd never suggest otherwise. In fact I have to rate the doctors I have here as nothing short of fantastic, attentive, caring, intelligent and life saving. There's a delicate balance between an effective drug and its side effects and they do their best to ensure you stay on the right side of that scale.
I'm now starting to decline and question certain drugs. Bad idea? Maybe. Probably. But I'm also starting to understand how long term cancer patients find themselves on the road of crazy diets, all juice regimens, and mistletoe treatments. I won't go down that path, but I'm starting to see how it happens.
There's a lot of over prescribing, under explaining, and trial and error. And at a certain point when overcome by nausea, sweats, tremors, or inexplicable shakes and malaise, you just start to realize how inexact this science is.
And then they serve you a fuckin' salisbury steak.
Hi John- We met eons ago through Brooke (I'm a friend of Steve Bryce's), and I've been following your story largely through Brooke's links to your blog posts on Facebook. I can't imagine how hard it must be, and have a great deal of respect for how you're facing this illness.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, I do a lot of reading about risk, probability and decision-making under uncertainty, and think that you're right to question the cost/benefit decisions of your doctors. Unfortunately, there's ample anecdotal evidence that doctors make pretty basic probabilistic reasoning errors all the time when making treatment recommendation decisions. If you have the energy to read, these explain it much better than I ever could:
http://www.amazon.ca/The-Organized-Mind-Thinking-Information/dp/052595418X
http://www.amazon.ca/Fooled-Randomness-Hidden-Chance-Markets/dp/0812975219
Take care,
Nick.