"And There Will be a Sign on the Other Side that Will Say: IT CAN KILL YOU"

There has been a bunch of hype these days about "alternative" treatments (usually meaning "unproven" to be effective), such as acupuncture, yoga, spiritual cleansing, vegan diets, herbal remedies, et cetera. For some reason the past several decades of medical advancements are now being demonized, because they're not "natural" (whatever that means).

I just read an article that may shed some light on the untimely death of Steve Jobs: he delayed cancer treatment for herbal remedies and other alternative treatments. Link via MSNBC. Is anyone else scratching their chin right now?

Seriously, it's absolutely fine to seek alternative treatments if you have problems with acne or warts (sometimes I like to cut a potato in half, rub it on a wart, and bury the potato under a full moon... doesn't mean it will work), or even insomnia (I like to chew on Valerian roots in case of insomnia, and grow my own Valerian).  But with something as serious as cancer, which will kill you, no one should really take chances.

The book delves into Jobs' decision to delay surgery for nine months after learning in October 2003 that he had a neuroendocrine tumor — a relatively rare type of pancreatic cancer that normally grows more slowly and is therefore more treatable.

Instead, he tried a vegan diet, acupuncture, herbal remedies and other treatments he found online, and even consulted a psychic. He also was influenced by a doctor who ran a clinic that advised juice fasts, bowel cleansings and other unproven approaches, the book says, before finally having surgery in July 2004. 

He found these online. If there is one thing a doctor hates more than anything, it is probably the internet (just like the one thing architects hate most is HGTV). And he consulted a psychic. Usually the first people anyone should take serious when they find out they have cancer should be their doctor. But somehow a psychic sounds like more of an expert than someone who has a license as a medical doctor. Once again, I do not mourn the loss of Jobs, but now I have a new reason: he was a moron.

But the current trend these days is go for things that are more "natural". What is "natural" anyway? Everyone argues for "natural", but the point we all tend to disagree on is to exactly what nature is. Italian Renaissance architects would argue that architecture should follow nature, as did the Gothic architects of Medieval France. The reason why their architecture differs greatly is that their interpretation of nature differ. So this term "natural" we like to toss around, like it justifies something, is absolutely contrived and arbitrary.

Doctors have spent centuries trying to cure and treat ailments, and only in the last hundred years have doctors started to finally get things right. In fact, doctors have discovered many amazing groundbreaking treatments. Disregarding all of that is fine. Go ahead and take herbal remedies you were recommended to take from some New Age website. Go ahead and take them if you're healthy. If you're not healthy (i.e. dying of cancer), then you need to consider that the advice of a psychic and taking herbal supplements might actually kill you.

All alternative treatments should come with a warning : If you are not healthy: THIS CAN KILL YOU!