Day +287 : No miracle cure

I am fine today.

“Be wary of traditional medicines that claim to cure serious ailments,” warned a newspaper article in The Star Online on Thursday March 22, 2007.

Here is an excerpt from the article:

Malaysian Oncological Society president Dr Gurcharan Singh says 80% of cancer patients only come forward when they are already in the late stages of the disease. He stresses the need for greater public awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer, and that patients should get evidenced-based treatment.

“It is very unfortunate that some patients have been misled into believing that treatment for cancer, such as chemotherapy and radiation, are so terrible that it would be better to die than to go through treatment.

“The fact is, medical science has made many advances and cancer treatment has come a long way. Just because you’ve been diagnosed with cancer doesn’t mean it’s a life sentence. Many have responded well to conventional Western treatment and have gone on to lead full lives,” Dr Gurcharan adds.

What Dr. Gurcharan Singh said is very true. I had been warned about the danger of conventional treatment, and I also see many people responded well to the treatment in the hospital.

Another excerpt from the article:

“Consumer confidence is further boosted by erroneous assumptions that ‘natural’ means ‘safe’. The public fails to realize that herbs contain active substances and some may be potentially harmful.”

The message is clear: While patients may want to try alternative therapies, they must come forward to seek evidence-based conventional Western therapy first.

I have been regularly advised that ‘natural’ means ‘safe’ even until now. “No harm to take this, it is just plant.” That is what people always told me. I did not confront people most of the time. However, many occasions I responded in my heart, “plant can be poisonous too!”

You can read the full article here.

See you next post :-)