EXCEPTIONAL HEALTH

exceptions may not prove the rule, they might just mean that the rule needs changing

There is an old saying about exceptions proving the rule and as a confirmed contrarian, I am always on the look out for things that don't fit, that don't belong and especially for rules that need a second look. This idea of looking to exceptions, in order to find out what is possible, may be most important, as well as visible, in health care and yet, it is most often overlooked by its practioners and their patients alike. For every fatal disease or illness, everyone is aware of someone who has succeeded in beating the odds. You and I know people who have achieved complete and total cancer cures after being given only weeks to live. We have all heard of miracles and perhaps even witnessed a few as someone, as if by magic, recovers from a fatal disease or overcomes a lifelong challenge. Exceptions to conventionally accepted wisdom abound, such as the person who lives to 110 and has smoked and drank all of their lives. Don't even think about how many times the scientists have created and retracted the coffee warnings. We all know people who never get sick no matter how often they are exposed to flu and cold bugs while others catch the grip by just thinking about it. Mass hysteria generally follows warnings about killer viruses, the disease du jour and whatever other nonsense the media likes to make into headlines. So, how come everybody exposed to SARS and the Avian Flu didn't die? Why is it that some people never get sick while others spend most of their time at the doctor's office. It's more than genetics because you can find these variances within families, within households and within lifetimes.

I suppose my point is that "science and medicine," who are both constantly changing their stories or opinions, might want to look at the people who don't get sick and find out why. Assuming of course, that science, medicine and pharmaceutical manufacturers have any interest in keeping people healthy. No one ever got a headache because they were aspirin deprived. I suspect that the power of suggestion is much stronger than the so called cure alls that are prescribed - and for heavens sakes, don't read the warning label on those drugs - no wonder you're sick!