"The War In Medicine"

   Continued From The Last Post.  

Remission, Response, Markers, etc.

I just mentioned that none of the above data is available.
Then what exactly do doctors measure? They measure things
like "response," meaning is there improvement in some
criteria, such as a reduction in the size of a tumor. They
measure such things as "remission," meaning the absence
of symptoms. They measure such things as "tumor markers,"
which are a variety of measurement techniques to evaluate
the cancer. And so on.

Before going any further, it is necessary to introduce
a metaphor.

Suppose there are 10 automobile manufacturers: Companies
B1, B2, B3, B4 and B5 (the "B companies"), and also
Companies G1, G2, G3, G4 and G5 (the "G" companies).
Suppose the B companies make cars that start to break down
after 50,000 miles, just after the warranty runs out (the "B"
stands for Bad). Suppose that after 100,000 miles virtually
all of the cars manufactured by the B companies have needed
a new engine, a new transmission, and a new air conditioner,
just to name three things their cars routinely need. In fact,
these companies buy cheap parts and charge outrageous
prices for their poorly built cars. They also use 80 year
old metal technology to insure their customers have to
buy new cars every 3 or 4 years.

Suppose also that the G companies make cars that
last an average of 300,000 miles without any major
repairs (the "G" stands for "Good"). They buy quality
parts for their cars, build them extremely well, use the
newest metal technologies, etc. in building their cars.

Suppose also the B companies are the much older, much
larger and much richer companies. By virtue of their
age and size, their advertising money is many times
greater than the advertising money of the G companies.
Since the media are always loyal to their advertisers,
the media always does what the B companies want them to
do and always say what the B companies want them to say.
It's not that the B companies "tell" them what to say,
that is not necessary. What happens is that if the media
says something that makes the B companies angry, the
B companies will withdraw their advertising money
and give that money to a competing media company
that follows the rules. Everyone knows the rules.

      Continued In The Next Post.

Income for the 98% that fail in Their Internet Business.
http://bit.ly/Y1ko5k