This latest pile of steaming crud from the anti-doctor vultures who prey on the fears of desperate people reaches new levels of utter vileness. We see a series of people throwing out talking points like "Strength" and "Character" and "Taking Control" when discussing their diagnosis of terminal cancer:
"I wasn't interesting in 'managing' my cancer, I wanted to fight it. I wanted this cancer out of me."
"I was determined to beat this thing."
"It's all about taking control, about finding the strength, about having the character to see the fight through..."
"When I walked in the doors, I knew this is the place I wanted to be..."
"They did more than help us fight. They gave me my father back."
Not one damn word about treatments. Nothing about medicines, or therapies, or machines. Nothing but buzzwords- as if all you really need to fight cancer is a strong personality and the right kind of "character."
These people are scum-sucking maggots. I have nothing but contempt for any organization which preys on the fears and desperation of people who have been told by actual DOCTORS that they have cancer and that managing it is the only real option they have. As the son of a cancer survivor, I can only hope that there is a special, extra-hot level of Hell reserved for monsters who are willing to make money telling sick, scared, desperate people that with a little "Can-Do Spirit," they can somehow will the cancer out of their bodies, and that they should start by dismissing the heartless "experts" who used "xrays" and (chuckle) "modern medicine" to diagnose their problems.
Oh, and I apologize to vultures, vampires, and scum-sucking maggots who may be reading this blog. I didn't mean to cause offense by comparing you to the good people at Cancer Treatment Centers of America.
As the son of a woman who didn't survive, my contempt is greater; the doctors did their best but they aren't gods.....having them dismissed as quacks doesn't do much for my mood.
ReplyDeleteAll four of my grandparents died of cancer. I don't know if their doctors killed them directly, or they just didn't have the strength of character to "fight" their disease and achieve "victory."
ReplyDeleteSo wait, the Cancer Treatment Centers of America isn't a doctor's consortium of Cancer specialists? It has nothing to do with medicine?
ReplyDeleteTo me, these commercials seemed to be touting something like Sloan-Kettering, or something. That your doctor at the local hospital may know about cancer, but he may not be able to effectively provide the special treatments you'll need to beat your cancer. So it's good to go to the best cancer treatment center in the world.
But these guys don't have anything to do with medicine? That's unspeakably vile.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_Treatment_Centers_of_America
ReplyDeleteBesides traditional therapies, CTCA also uses "Nutritional," "Spiritual," and "Mind-Body" therapies.
As far as I'm concerned, that means hocus-pocus and just plain bullshit in place of medicine.
But it's not the treatment that I criticize here- its the "My Doctor Was Out To Kill Me" attitude that is pervasive in the ads. It would be one thing if Burger King said "our french fries are better than Wendy's." It's another thing altogether if they claimed "Wendy's french fries were poisonous. Burger King's saved my life." That's pretty much what I hear from Cancer Treatment Centers of America- doctors just want you to die, but WE care about you and will help you use your own internal strength to save your life. Whatever.
I want to see an ad where a surviving family member looks into the camera and says "my mother was a FIGHTER. She chose to FIGHT BACK. She DID NOT accept the death sentence imposed on her by heartless, uncaring 'doctors' who informed her of her diagnosis just as she was coming out of anesthesia from her exploratory surgery and then walked out of the recovery room. She went to Cancer Treatment Centers of America and received mind-body wellness therapy, nutritional advice and positive energy life counseling from their staff of 'caring professionals'. She spent her entire life savings on this whole person 'therapy'. And then her pancreatic cancer killed her six weeks later, just like the needlessly cruel and cold doctors said it would."
ReplyDeleteThe commercial I hate is the guy with the beard who talks about his 'burly doctor' who says to him 'What are you smiling about?' Why would you be smiling if you suspected or knew you had cancer?
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