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Our sister died because of our mum's cancer conspiracy theories, say brothers

bbc.com

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Re: Our sister died because of our mum's cancer conspiracy theories, say brothers

#2
This particular nature of making quick conclusions can be found everywhere.

That article is no shocker. It exposes the same weakness in openly questioning things and using your brain.

Related: People argue like this:

- "All people who make stairs hating on wheelchair users"

- "Men who don't like other men crying or showing emotions are hating all women"

The problem isn't just conspiracy theories - it's this broader pattern of binary thinking that refuses to acknowledge nuance or complexity. When we jump to these extreme conclusions, we lose the ability to have real discussions about difficult topics.

These, or similar quick conclusions are flawed to the core and hurt those around.

Re: Our sister died because of our mum's cancer conspiracy theories, say brothers

#3
I'm seeing this with my cousin currently. Her husband as well as her brother are peddling vitamin injections, physiotherapy, keto diets, for what is essentially late-stage lung cancer. She needs sugar - energy - to build up her stores so that she can walk into a chemotherapy clinic, but they're (perhaps rightfully) scared that they'd just be feeding the tumor instead of her.

Doctors orders should be questioned, of course, since they're also trying to reduce their own liability should anything go wrong. But this cynicism is being diverted into desperate alternatives, into the inklings of what is looking like outright superstition.

I understand it to some degree, of course; when a doctor recommends a treatment to slightly prolong your life, vs an expert who promises to completely heal your ailment -- you're likely to go with the so called expert.

Re: Our sister died because of our mum's cancer conspiracy theories, say brothers

#10
Someone choosing an alternative cancer treatment than their doctor's recommended treatment and dying is very common, and the most likely culprit isn't social media but someone doing their own research (i.e. google / chatGPT), and going down alternative medicine rabbit holes.
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