41 Comments

This is what killed my father in law in 2017. He was extremely healthy -it took a long time to get a diagnosis of amyloidosis (2016) & the local doctor said a bone marrow transplant was essentially the only option for treatment. He picked up the phone & called the Mayo. He was offered a trial -apparently they told him “well if it doesn’t work you can still get the bone marrow transplant.” That is the most unethical advice.

His health deteriorated as he wasted hours driving 2 hours each way to the Mayo for their [stupid] study. No one ever monitored his progression or told him “hey last chance for the bone marrow transplant.” By November of 2016 he had a stroke-induced by an ER visit in which they laid him down & didn’t move him enough to keep circulation going. He worked so hard to recover from the stroke-but was still in the study. (Again where are the ethics people?!) Then by March of 2017 he was in ICU at the Mayo -no one was honest about his condition. He was _dying_. My husband had to make the call to remove the tube. We had two young children at the time & were expecting another.

I will never recommend any one participate in a trial. I will never trust the Mayo again. I should add-despite this my husband & I both got the Covid vaccine & regret it. (Bad side effects for both of us; heart damage for my husband & possibly me too.) we had moderna & there is more bad news each month on what was essentially a drug trial on all of us.

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I am really sorry this happened. It sounds horrible!

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This was a great post. In view of the financial relationships of the consultants, should they not disclose their financial involvements with the companies and institutions they recommend all detailed with their consultations.

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Put five experts in a room, give them a problem to solve and you'll get six different opinions.

Socrates, where are you?

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Thank you so much for a great post! Invaluable advice!

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I generally agree with your position on this topic Vinay, some great lessons here. But I wouldn't discount the value of 2nd opinions for life-altering or life-threatening diagnoses. Just try to understand the evidence behind the recommendations and be skeptical when there are obvious financial or other conflicts of interest.

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Who knows what to believe any more in a profit-driven world of fake news! As much as is possible, one’s best medicine is prevention. Turner Howard

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What the heck is a normal person with cancer to do when they can't trust their doctors? This is very scary.

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I read Vinay Prasad's book, "Malignant" and it probably saved my husbands life. I had to travel to find the right care and knew what questions to ask. His doctors actually appreciated hearing those questions and had great answers, many of which were, "we are not sure." Full disclosure, I am a retired OB/NICU RN

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Go to you-tube and check out Dr. Thomas Seyfried.

Professor Seyfried has been doing cancer research involving Metabolic Therapy for many years at Boston College ...

There's now many interviews of Dr. Seyfried explaining cancer and how Metabolic Therapy works and how it manages cancer BEFORE resorting to chemo and powerful pharmaceuticals that are more likely to kill the patient before the cancer does.

Also, you can simply go to google and search, "Thomas Seyfried press pulse" to see his published work.

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Looks to me like she's suffering from an overdose of acronyms ;)

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Yes, but they -May Clinic - made enough money to build the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Building for research. So they MUST be right, right? right? Isn't that what it's all about? Tesla makes cars, Ford makes trucks, and hospitals make money.

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Great article! Thank you for your candor. We all know they are “making shit up”!!

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Great post Vinay. The loss of medical ethics among many of our colleagues is disheartening and outrageous. There should be no wonder why the general public holds increasing skepticism of the medical profession.

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I don't understand why the second opinion was the problem for this patient. She saw three doctors, got bad advice, and finally got good advice from the fourth doctor. If she had stopped at one doc, wouldn't she have been stuck with bad advice?

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As a medical oncologist for over 30 years, I'm happy to see that a younger oncologist can see through the fog and call out unsound care. The main issue is and will always be financial incentive. As VP has reminded us, most doctors today and their institutions do things TO patients, not FOR them. These experts have abandoned professional ethics and expose patients to their grandiose status. They may have learned to ask questions and initiate clinical trials, but they have no clue how to rationally and objectively provide answers.

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Vinay, can you provide the best link to search for docs who take $ from pharma? I’ve learned that there is nothing more fatal to health than an over care of it.

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Go to https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov/ and type in the doctor’s name.

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Thank you Umesh!!!

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So if a drug rep brings a coffee into the clinic for me and my staff…. I get put on that list.

I always tell the reps I eat a lot of food…. Enough to feed about 20…. And then my staff gets the left overs.

PS… I love my Vigra pens.

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MD Anderson sells its name to other medical centers. Nothing special, just the name. The whoring is on multiple levels.

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I wish more doctors had your approach.

I just fix their testing equipment, but a lot of times I wonder where their heads are at.

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