13 January 2008
Read the fine print...
The scalpel has failed. The IV tubing stands abandoned on the side of the room. Friends and nurses visit less often. The doctors say the limits of medical knowledge have been reached and there is nothing left for you to do but go home and put your affairs in order. This is a crushing moment. It's even more frightening than the day the doctors announced that you had a serious and life-threatening disease, such as AIDS, cancer or Alzheimer's disease. For many people, however, the limitations of medical knowledge do not define the limits of human hope. As long as life lingers, many patients will fight on, refusing to give up even when biology is against them. So, they set out on a search for treatment options.
These options are experimental drugs. These drugs are a ray of hope to many patients worldwide, but read the fine print on the bottle, where it says "side-effects".
Let's say that you suddenly develop an incurable disease. Currently, there are no approved methods of treatment for this disease. But, there is an experimental drug on the market called Drug X. This drug been proven to eradicate the disease in your body. However, the drug comes with its own set of risks. While medicated, you could experience organ malfunction, bleeding, vomiting, breathing problems, or cause genetic mutations in offspring. Basically, you risk your health to cure yourself. This is the only drug on the market and no other treatments are possible.Now answer these questions:
1. How do you feel about taking a drug that could cause side effects like the ones listed above?
2. Would you take Drug X if no other options are available?
3. Would you use experimental drugs on a child?
4. Link to a website about a drug that has been shown to cause serious complications or side effects.
5. Take the poll below.
# posted by Ninja @ 3:35 PM 
