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From: abeles@mhuxi.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: Re: Another dramatic cancer cure for macrobiotics
Message-ID: <1139@mhuxi.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 10-Oct-83 16:34:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: mhuxi.1139
Posted: Mon Oct 10 16:34:39 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 11-Oct-83 01:12:18 EDT
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Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
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A couple of comments on Steven Bellovin's article:

Approaching a doctor as an "informed consumer" is not, I believe, encouraged
by the typical physician.  I think I will delve into the anecdotal for this
particular point:  Last year I went to a local dermatologist to check an   
unusual feature on my skin.  She told me that in her opinion it was two-thirds
likely to be melanoma and I should enter the local hospital immediately to
have surgery.  In her words, "I would be conservative and not recommend
immediately removal of all the lymph nodes in [that part of your body]."

I was shocked--and skeptical.  Taking what Mr. Bellovin might regard as one
manifestation of "informed consumerism" to heart, I asked her for the name
of a reputable dermatology textbook so that I could learn more about this.
She was very cagey and eventually did give me a title.

Fortunately, I exhibited another type of consumer mentality by approaching
an expert in dermatology at NYU, where after a much less radical biopsy,
it was determined that (as had been diagnosed two years previously)  the
feature was harmless.

The point of the above: where (other than mass-market-mentality pulp)
can a consumer of medical services find information on medical topics?
As long as physicians prevent access to their privileged information through
use of words like ETIOLOGY when they actually mean CAUSE and UTICARIA when
they mean HIVES, there will be more such difficulties.

Even those who are willing to learn the medical jargon are not easily able
to get to the facts.

--Joe Abeles