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

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

#41

Post by fn-mote »

gadders wrote: post #32
herdcall wrote: post #31

Questioning science is not automatically "anti-science," IMO it's best to remain skeptical and stay focused on the evidence. The fact of the matter is that current "best medical advice" is not the best either in terms of quality of life or prognosis. I've had a remote member of a family lose sight in an eye, develop short term memory issues, and rapidly deteriorate from cancer in spite of following the best medical a…

Fair comment. You would think medicine would be evidence-based, but a lot of it is pattern matching and working on the 80/20 rule, given the limited time they have with clients.

> You would think medicine would be evidence-based (…)

Your comment sounds like it refers to the front line contacts with the patient.

It has been a while, but my own experience was that (1) the studies I wanted to see did not exist; (2) the doctor was not forthcoming about their own statistics / outcomes; (3) outcomes were not tracked by anyone past (very small N) year; (4) no access to prior complaints against doctor.

I’ll stop the list there, but when things go wrong it is evident that science is not being done.

The best related published account I know of is of the best cystic fibrosis treatment centers in the country. (Sorry, no reference.)

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

#42

Post by more_corn »

bilekas wrote: post #18

> The children absorbed outlandish ideas, including that the Royal Family were shape-shifting lizards, says Gabriel. "As a young child, you trust your parents. So you see that as a truth," he says. At what point does someone step in and call this child abuse, at the very least these parents are not capable of raising their children in a safe manner. > Kate Shemirani styles herself as "the Natural Nurse" on social med…

The question of when misinformation is child abuse might be more complicated than you think.

Imagine a family brings up their children worshipping the “Sun god” Ra, believing he will guide them in the afterlife, performing rituals and observances of his teachings speaking of always seeking his favor and following his guidance.

Absurd, silly, and dangerous Right? Ra is of course made up bullshit invented by some priests in Egypt thousands of years ago. But knock one word off that description (re-read it with “sun” struck through) and people think it’s entirely reasonable to indoctrinate their kids into that system.

Indoctrination into the approved made up system of belief is fine. “What is the approved system of belief?” Any sane person will run screaming rather than go on record answering that question.

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

#43

Post by lovich »

hermannj314 wrote: post #23

It is very easy to say that people are dying of cancer because of anti-science beliefs during treatment, I do not refute the claim that the outcome would be better if this individual listening to the best medical advice available. However, I do think the blaming the patient is a distraction. I see more anti-science from industrialists and politicians when their industries receive scientific recommendations for regula…

She isn’t just someone who fell to the anti vax beliefs but daughter of a prominent anti science influencer, hence the discussion of their beliefs in relation to this

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

#44

Post by roryirvine »

giarc wrote: post #13

Most conspiracy theories at least could be true (ex. vaccines cause autism, wifi/5G is dangerous, 9/11 was an inside job), but how do people make the jump to "Royal Family were shape-shifting lizards"?

It's one of the more common fringe beliefs in the UK, having been popularised by a notorious conspiracy theorist, David Icke: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptilian_conspiracy_theory#Da...

The theory is loosely based on the Protcols of the Elders of Zion, only with lizards instead of Jews. It's complete nonsense, but Icke was fairly well-known in the UK at the time so his association with it gained it more attention than it would have got otherwise.

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

#45

Post by bilekas »

ashoeafoot wrote: post #39
bilekas wrote: post #18

> The children absorbed outlandish ideas, including that the Royal Family were shape-shifting lizards, says Gabriel. "As a young child, you trust your parents. So you see that as a truth," he says. At what point does someone step in and call this child abuse, at the very least these parents are not capable of raising their children in a safe manner. > Kate Shemirani styles herself as "the Natural Nurse" on social med…

The algo ironically also could give them feedback about the expected outcomes of those posts. 72 % of People who posted this ceased posting within a year. 33% where disconnected feom loved ones after a loved one passed away following giving this advice. Do you want to continue in rgis path?

The algorithm is self preserving, its goal seems not to inform but to generate engagement, how and what type of engagement seems to be irrelevant and secondary.

It's genuinely why I view HN as one of the last bastions of good discussion.

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

#46

Post by reginald78 »

randomtoast wrote: post #14
tetris11 wrote: post #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 co…

I don't know, if the doctor can only provide treatments that extend life for a limited time and may cause significant side effects. I might prefer to forego all treatments and focus on living the remainder of my life to the fullest.

Don't forget the added financial cost to your surviving family from chasing a few more months or a miracle cure if you live in the US.

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

#47

Post by more_corn »

fullshark wrote: post #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.

Doing your own research is code for “I saw this unsubstantiated bullshit on social media”

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

#49

Post by em-bee »

bilekas wrote: post #18

> The children absorbed outlandish ideas, including that the Royal Family were shape-shifting lizards, says Gabriel. "As a young child, you trust your parents. So you see that as a truth," he says. At what point does someone step in and call this child abuse, at the very least these parents are not capable of raising their children in a safe manner. > Kate Shemirani styles herself as "the Natural Nurse" on social med…

At what point does someone step in?

at the same time when you tell the children that santa is not real. /s

this is what school is for. teaching children to be critical and investigate claims no matter where they come from.

incidentally, this is the reason why homeschooling is outlawed in germany. to prevent parents indoctrinating their children without the children getting a chance to learn about alternatives.

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