This radio ad ENRAGED me

Nurses General Nursing

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On my drive home from work, I caught the tail end of a radio advertisement for a cancer center. A soothing voice stated that the staff in the cancer center treat each patient as if they were the only patient there. More flowery remarks were made by patients that had received tx at this facility, then the soothing voice made an outlandish statement, "Patients come to us because they like to hear what we have to say: remission. Make your appointment today for a second opinion before considering tx." WHHHAAAAAAAT?!?!?

Is it just me, or does this make anyone else angry?:devil:

On a recent thread about healthcare trends and the customer service mentality,

someone wisely stated that patients claim to want to hear the truth from their

doctors but they can't handle it when they do hear it.

Unfortunetly these cancer centers play right into the thinking that a patient should

never be told there is nothing else that can be done for them, even if that is the

truth.

I know of two families who went to these cancer centers in desperation and they

couldn't do anything else for them either.

Thank you for saying this. That ad also rubs me the wrong way---yes, we're providing a service to our community but we aren't retail, we have to tell the truth! Sometimes, a patient's cancer won't go into remission. My uncle passed away from prostate cancer and spent the last months of his life trying to find a doctor that could "fix him" because he was in denial. I was the only family member that was relieved that no one was lying to him about his chances. Yup...I hate that commercial too.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.

There are ads for a national chain of CA hospitals. While we hear the story of how someone's CA they treated went into remission, even though doctors somewhere else told the pt the CA was not treatable, there is small print at the bottom of the screen that say something to the effect of "Results not typical." Really? Ya think?

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There are ads for a national chain of CA hospitals. While we hear the story of how someone's CA they treated went into remission, even though doctors somewhere else told the pt the CA was not treatable, there is small print at the bottom of the screen that say something to the effect of "Results not typical." Really? Ya think?

That's true... but there are also newer treatments that some docs may not be familiar with. Pancreatic CA used to be a death sentence in about 6 months and nobody did much of anything about it. Now there are treatments that at least buy a few years. :) Even my oncologist has current oncologists not knowing about the tx he's used with a sub-type of AML that I have- and these are docs who aren't old toads- they're reasonably young- just not as up to date as some other docs.

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Specializes in Orthopaedic Nursing; Geriatrics.

Those ads irritate the heck out of me too. I think they are just giving a lot of people false hope.

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The one TV that says "My dr told me I had cancer and he had no emotion" bugs me. I understand the pts point of view but they don't look at from the dr's. If he got emotional over every bad prognosis, drs would be burnt out and basket cases. They can't get emotionally involved in every case.

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Specializes in cardiac, ICU, education.

More marketing than medicine.

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On a recent thread about healthcare trends and the customer service mentality,

someone wisely stated that patients claim to want to hear the truth from their

doctors but they can't handle it when they do hear it.

Unfortunetly these cancer centers play right into the thinking that a patient should

never be told there is nothing else that can be done for them, even if that is the

truth.

I know of two families who went to these cancer centers in desperation and they

couldn't do anything else for them either.

We had a pt with a rare heart tumor...and his family kept saying "that cancer center is very interested in his case". Well it turned out they were, for a risky experimental tx . :mad:

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Specializes in Cardiac.

A similar situation, at my hospital we have a popular and well known orthopedic surgery program and in the pre-op educational video they claim "you will not be in any pain, we will control all pain you have." RIDICULOUS! These people are straight up LYING to the pts and in my situation, nursing staff is blamed for not controlling the pt's pain!

In your situation, I completely agree. That's absolutely heartbreaking for those CA pts to be lied to like that.

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Specializes in Spinal Cord injuries, Emergency+EMS.
Cancer care and chemo is one of the MOST PROFITABLE areas of medicine.

Mark-ups of many 3000 - 10000 % are normal.

But how can you put a price on hope? Well, they do.

Fraud. When will the feds stop it?

if and when the US populous ever realises the following FACTS

1. healthcare is too important to leave to business

2. 'socialised healthcare' has nothing to do with Communism, Chairman Mao, senator Mccarthy, reds under the (hospital) beds, Lenin, Stalin, Che Guevara or Fidel Castro...

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Ok I have a question for you guys. What in the hell is so wrong with those hospitals selling hope along with the first rate care that they provide? So they have healing gardens...nothing wrong with that for cancer patients need mental healing as well as physical healing. As to saying remission first thing. that is the goal of any cancer treatment, to put the person into remission. that is what the patient wants to hear, not that they only have 6 months to live, everyone wants a fighting chance to live and they want some ne to fight with them. These places are not quack medicine, they practice state of the art healthcare using the latest technology and drugs, and as for experimental treatment, have any of you ever worked in a big cancer canter? I worked for years at MD Anderson Cancer Center and a giant portion of their patients are on experimental treatments. I also have seen doctors there that are like those in the ad's, they have no personality and offer little or no hope. I would not want them treating me, I want the person that has hope and personality, and says he will foght for my life to the best of his skills.

What I am getting form some of the response seems like some people believe that the patients should just be happy that we are not using old metal bedpans and take whatever treatment we decide to offer to them. And like it or not healthcare IS A BUSINESS and will always remain a business, even in GB where there is the NHS, people strill go to private hospitals and see private doctors for the beter care they get and those places make money. There is no shame in making a profit doing business.

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if and when the US populous ever realises the following FACTS

1. healthcare is too important to leave to business

2. 'socialised healthcare' has nothing to do with Communism, Chairman Mao, senator Mccarthy, reds under the (hospital) beds, Lenin, Stalin, Che Guevara or Fidel Castro...

Unfortunately, the ones making the policies are too invested in 'their side' being right than the good of the country, since they get healthcare regardless. It's disgusting. I've heard of a few stories in just the past few months of people who actually had to "simply" not get treatment, and died, because they couldn't afford it. And it's both "sides"...there are no good guys in this...

Some drug companies do help (a former high school teacher I had, had a sister who had pancreatic CA- and the drug company asked if she made more than 200K a year. She said no and got ALL of her meds for free- but unfortunately couldn't tolerate the side effects, and died). Another drug company (don't remember what for) asked if someone made more than 20K per year- the person did, so no help with the multi thousand dollar meds. it's nuts. The company that declined is one that makes a lot of common meds and I'm sure their bonuses each year are enough to save several people. Someone needs to put that little note in with the check ("Your bonus cost 7 people their life this year- have a pleasant holiday :D).

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
Ok I have a question for you guys. What in the hell is so wrong with those hospitals selling hope along with the first rate care that they provide? So they have healing gardens...nothing wrong with that for cancer patients need mental healing as well as physical healing. As to saying remission first thing. that is the goal of any cancer treatment, to put the person into remission. that is what the patient wants to hear, not that they only have 6 months to live, everyone wants a fighting chance to live and they want someone to fight with them.

Because they had to know before they put that word in there that whatever it is they have to offer most likely will not work. If it did, I will wager my last dollar that those coldhearted doctors at MDAnderson would be using it, talking about it, and advocating for it's approval. I don't think it's "the old metal bedpan" at all. Those doctors don't want their patients to die. They, as a group are tireless seeking out what may offer the thinnest whiff of hope. Many of them facilitate the enrollment of their patients in the clinical trials. They don't see themselves as competing with them.

Those clinical trials are offered only after every other method of treating a person's cancer has failed. If I had only 6 months to live, I may not want to spend it feeling as sick as a dog from side effects, spending my days with the endless bloodwork, scans, etc depriving me and my family the chance to optimize those last 6 months. Maybe they've been lving away from family and friends during treatment and just want to go home. Some people want to do that, and I respect it. Some people will do that for altruistic reasons but have a firm grasp of the statistics for clinical trials. But to knowingly offer false hope to vulnerable people is wrong, and profit gained from deception is wrong, too.

The ads are pitched to desperate families and patients with very advanced cancer. I suppose if there was one person who arrived at their door and put into remission by their treatments (not what they would receive anywhere else) - sure. I don't think the product they are selling "remission" should resemble other ads where at the end the narrator rattles off at warp speed: "noteveryonewillbenefitfromthistreatmentcheckwithyourowndoctorfirstresultsnottypical".

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