[Dean's World] Dean: Editorial: Breast Cancer, and Answering a Critic

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Dean:
Editorial: Breast Cancer, and Answering a Critic
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1186055101.shtml


   I saw yesterday morning that a rather famous newscaster named [1]Robin
   Roberts has breast cancer. I find this somewhat ironic since we're
   featuring the series on the cancer industry this week, and because a
   male acquaintance who's very close to me is currently undergoing a
   breast cancer scare---for himself.

   These days I can't get online as much as I used to, but a comment to
   the Miklos/Baird series that was left the other day deserves a public
   answer:

   Dean, I worked in the cancer field...Your mind is as closed on this as
   you accuse the medical research industry of being. You think we are
   all ghouls motivated by our paychecks alone and that we would gladly
   suffer the ill to die rather than cure them because otherwise we are
   out of jobs. Or maybe you don't believe that, but you are still giving
   Miklos the time of day and front page access to your blog to endorse
   his views of same.

   I believe this is over-the-top. It's certainly not what I believe.
   I'll give Miklos and Baird the opportunity to respond for themselves.
   But let me tell you what I believe:

   Very few if any Oncologists (cancer doctors) can be blamed for
   failures of the research industry. They can only go by what the
   research establishment tells them. Indeed, going against that research
   establishment would open them up to lawsuits and other serious
   professional problems. Nurses and other cancer caretakers are even
   less to blame. The only people who can be accused of failure are
   professional cancer researchers, and even the blame toward them is
   limited.

   Young researchers just getting their teeth cut in the field are hardly
   to blame for anything; they work under the rules and the paradigms
   they are taught. Older, seasoned researchers who are simply wrong are
   not evil; as Miklos would say, "Failure is not a crime; failure to
   learn from failure is."

   Still: failure is failure. And there is nothing wrong with educating
   the general public about these matters.

References

   1. http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=d0c5d7f6-0486-45ae-a4dc-f6c75025dea9