I was asked this week for an informal opinion by someone who was advised by his dermatologist to take a biologic medicine for psoriasis. Now, my knowledge of this disorder is barely skin deep, yet knowledge alone will not set you free in the murky world of medicine. Knowing something is not as significant as knowing when to do something. Can guacamole really cause cancer? Read on. Biologic medicines, which have surpassed in frequency the nearly omnipresent TV ads for erectile dysfunction, are expensive medications that have risks of serious, albeit uncommon, side effects. And, unlike chemotherapy for cancer, which has a finite course, biologic medicines are administered forever, that is without a clear stopping point. The individual who questioned me was not suffering from insufferable psoriasis and was satisfied with the conventional topical treatments he has been using for years. His dermatologist offered the biologic in an effort to reduce his risk of heart d
MD Whistleblower presents vignettes and commentaries on the medical profession. We peek 'behind the medical curtain' and deliver candor and controversy in every post.