So, I went into a social media comment tailspin the other day.
A thirty-five-year-old woman with early-stage, non-aggressive breast cancer asked an online group about why her oncologist recommended preventive chemotherapy. It was a tough decision for her, but then I went into the comment section… all I can say is, “wow!”.
Here are some of the responses:
- “They clearly feel they can make more money on those who don’t have cancer right now”
- “Chemo increases the chance of future cancer, but worth a lot of money for the doctors”
- “Your doctor wants to make his commission”
- “Big pharma is out for the moola”
- “Ask the doctor who they get a kickback from”
- “They make millions off of people”
This is concerning and exposes so many myths and conspiracies that people cling to. So, let’s bust some of these myths together.
Myth 1 – My doctor wants to keep me sick so they can make money off of me.
Aside from the fact that if they keep you sick and you die, your doctor wouldn’t make any money, I want to say this loud and clear – your doctor isn’t interested in making you sick because that means that they aren’t doing their job.
Why does this myth persist? The truth is that doctors are limited in their resources for care. They are limited to a specific protocol and have to work within their standard of care. They are stuck in these parameters for liability and insurance reasons.
Recently, I had an oncologist refer a patient and was so happy to find me because I could help her think outside the box of the medical community and help her patient heal.
Myth 2 – My doctor doesn’t talk about diet because diet cures things and they don’t want me to stay healthy.
First and foremost, your doctor is a cancer technician. They have specific goals with the tools that they use. And with that, they have a long list of nutritional goals to keep you healthy during your treatments.
So where does this myth come from?
We know that nutrition plays a huge part in your survival, in the minimization of side effects, and in keeping you healthy during treatments. But your oncologist, who has hours and hours of medical schooling, only receives 7-13 hours of nutrition education in their whole medical training. Their goal is to keep you from losing too much weight or becoming anemic.
Myth 3 – My doctor gets kickbacks from the chemo manufacturers, so, he prescribes them to get his golf trips and private jets.
Yes, oncologists get paid well and they do get around a 6% profit from chemo drugs. I admit there is some concern about accountability.
So, I emailed over 50 oncologists that I work with and asked them how much it cost for a course of treatment for a specific chemo drug used to fight breast cancer. You know what! Every single one of them had no clue. Most referred me to the billing department.
They aren’t in it of the money. They are using the tools they need to do their job.
Why did I want to bust these myths for you?
Because underlying this blame game is the one thing that isn’t going to help you heal – if you prescribe to these myths, you are letting cancer boss you around.
When you blame others because you aren’t crystal clear about what you need to heal, you’ve given the responsibility of your life over to cancer. And if you stay in this victim mentality, you don’t have space for healing.
What can you do?
- make space for healing
- seek out clarity
- ask hard questions that actually matter to your long-term health goals
- get crystal clear about what you want from a doctor
Only then can you step toward healing.
I know you don’t want to stay stuck and let cancer boss you around. If you want to get unstuck, to find clarity, and focus your energy toward healing, then let’s chat.