Tag Archives: misinformation

Cancer Statistics Show Hope, But Statistics Are Still Bad For You

March 16, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellnessadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Education, Health, misinformation, Reason, Science, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

So… the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have now begun releasing survival rate statistics for patients with invasive cancer. And it appears to be pretty good news, especially for prostate, breast and colorectal cancer patients. Across the board, however, patient longevity has been on the rise and the one thing that the statistics do make clear is that what they term “survival rates” are increasing.

I am not a fan of “survival” as a description of continuing to live while dealing with cancer. Along with statistics in general, this sort of terminology paints a narrow and misleading picture Continue reading Cancer Statistics Show Hope, But Statistics Are Still Bad For You →

Alternative and Complementary Cancer Treatments: Good, Bad and Ugly

March 15, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellnessadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Education, Health, journalism, misinformation, Reason, Sense, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

An article by Victoria Stern, MA published on the Medscape website in September, 2014 details information on many complementary and alternative cancer treatments. Because not all my readers are likely to have subscriptions to Medscape, and because the article is rather long, I am going to summarize a lot of it here. The comments and opinions below are my own unless cited, and I am not a doctor; the information on studies and data comes primarily from the Medscape article and it, along with Medscape in general, is worth reading if you sign up.

The takeaway on complementary vs alternative treatments remains consistent with what I would refer to as, Continue reading Alternative and Complementary Cancer Treatments: Good, Bad and Ugly →

The Chemo Diaries Round Five: Infusion Day

March 3, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellness, Reasonadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Education, Health, misinformation, Science, Sense, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

Okay, coming in for round five of six may not be quite as sexy as spending time with Seven of Nine, but it isn’t without its perks today. For one, check out today’s accommodations! I may have to squeeze in a nap, just to take advantage.

Plus, apparently I have managed to gain ten pounds over the past month or so, perplexing the medical staff who are now curious about my diet and exercise… Let’s just say, it hasn’t been my exercise, and maybe that is part of it. Continue reading The Chemo Diaries Round Five: Infusion Day →

Survival Rate Statistics and What They Don’t Tell You

February 24, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellness, Reasonadenocarcinoma, Cancer, Chemotherapy, Education, Health, misinformation, positive approach, Positivity, Reason, Sense, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

The other day I was having a discussion and it came to light that statistics had been bandied about quite early in my post-diagnostic journey. Now, I’m no stranger to statistics, but odds are that, whether you realize it or not, most of you are. That is not to say you have never heard any quoted or identified yourselves among some figure cited here or there… The truth is, one way or another, we are all statistics. And that means, well, virtually nothing. Moreover, even if one out of ten of us understands that even if the median reader gave up two sentences ago and clicked off this page, some readers will actually read most or maybe even all of what I am typing up here, this understanding is still only a basic understanding of a type of statistical qualifier and hardly bridges the gap between acquaintance and friend.

Which is all just a very wordy way of saying that statistics should only be read when one is prepared to interpret them, and while interpreting them it is important to remember that they often cannot highlight a “truth” without refined analysis. Such is the case with the statistical survival rates of adenocarcinoma, my particular flavor of cancer.

By the time I had received my diagnosis, Continue reading Survival Rate Statistics and What They Don’t Tell You →

Nutritional Advice: Sometimes It Doesn’t Feed You

January 14, 2015Cancer, Health and WellnessCancer, Chemotherapy, communication, Education, food, Health, ingredients, misinformation, poison, Reason, Science, Sense, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

When people believe that you are not healthy, they often want to give you really genuine advice about what they believe will make you better. In a way, this is one of the nicer aspects of human nature. And many people truly, fervently believe that their advice is not only worthwhile, but absolutely correct to almost mystical proportions. This can be especially true of information that is not even relevant to the person’s direct experience, but instead is based entirely upon anecdotal information that the person simply, deeply wants to believe. And this is the problem with so much advice about how to get healthy: it is based on belief and not on knowledge.

Diet is one of the first topics that is likely to come up when talking about cancer treatment. There are a lot of good reasons for this, including
Continue reading Nutritional Advice: Sometimes It Doesn’t Feed You →

Cancer: What You Think It Is May Be Just Bad For You

January 6, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellnessadenocarcinoma, Cancer, Chemotherapy, communication, Education, Fear, Health, Labels, Lies, misinformation, paranoia, positive approach, Positivity, Reason, Science, Sense, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

Cancer Is Not Intelligent, Cancer Has No Will

Discussing cancer in general terms often leads to insinuations that Cancer has a motivation. It “overcomes” the immune system. It “figures out” how to defeat a drug. It “is surprisingly good at mutating” into something that can continue to grow in spite of whatever is attacking it. It is “nefarious.” All of these descriptions, and there are hundreds more, imply that Cancer wants something, that it is making an effort, that it has an agenda or goal; the implication is that Cancer has a mind. This is a fallacy of thought that not only makes general discussion more difficult, but it actually can impede treatment and healing. Continue reading Cancer: What You Think It Is May Be Just Bad For You →

Cure for Cancer Discussion on Quora

January 4, 2015Cancer, Health and Wellnessadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Chemotherapy, communication, Education, Health, misinformation, Reason, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

I recently participated in a discussion on Quora that was framed as a question about the possibility of finding a cure for cancer. The other responses were largely interesting, though it was clear to me that the question itself (and some of the responses) indicate that there is still a lack of understanding with regard to the progress already made in the field(s) of cancer research, as well as a lack of understanding about what a “cure” really means.

Click the link to read my contribution to the discussion and explore some of the other voices that chimed in.

Natural Cancer Remedies: What You Don’t Want To Know (But Should)

December 20, 2014Cancer, Health and Wellnessadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Chemotherapy, communication, Education, Fear, Health, Labels, misinformation, paranoia, poison, positive approach, Reason, Science, Sense, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

Natural cancer remedies have been around for at least 3,000 years and yet it appears that modern science and Western Medicine either ignore these time-tested solutions or are in a conspiracy to keep them from the public. Why is this the case? The truth is much more insidious. But to understand it fully, we need to explore the history of cancer and how these natural cancer remedies are supposed to work.
Continue reading Natural Cancer Remedies: What You Don’t Want To Know (But Should) →

Sympathy: Not Just for the Devil, But Still Bad

December 15, 2014Cancer, Health and Wellnessadenocarcinoma, body, Cancer, Chemotherapy, communication, Education, Health, Labels, misinformation, positive approach, Reason, Science, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

I’ve got to tell you, I hate it when people feel sorry for me. It isn’t that I don’t appreciate a bit of empathy for what I am going through, but I can thoroughly do without the pity. I don’t need it and I certainly don’t want it. There is no “poor me” going on here, I don’t feel bad about my situation or somehow maligned by the universe. That just isn’t me. Maybe it’s because I’m something of a secular humanist at heart, but I find strength in knowing that I can get through whatever I need to and too much sympathy dumped in my path just makes it that much slower for me to move along.
Continue reading Sympathy: Not Just for the Devil, But Still Bad →

Well Intentioned Advice, Generally Speaking Ain’t So Grand

December 8, 2014Cancer, Health and Wellness, Reasonadenocarcinoma, Cancer, food, ingredients, misinformation, monetization, paranoia, Reason, Sense, wellnessJeffrey Poehlmann

I’ve gotten a lot of good advice from well-informed people over the past few months. And I mean that. As I have discussed the factors of my cancer with peers, a lot of truly interesting and promising information has come out. Of course, there has been a lot of well-intentioned advice that has come around, too, without any of what I would call “proper vetting.” While I appreciate all of the advice, because it truly appears to be heartfelt and sincere, I’ll admit to it causing an overload of research. This is especially true of the well-intentioned variety, which I separate from the well-informed not so much based on the desire to help as by the ability to be helpful. Continue reading Well Intentioned Advice, Generally Speaking Ain’t So Grand →

Just Bad for You

Saving you from yourself