NOT YOUR DOC

WHEN IT COMES TO OUR OWN HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE, HOW “FOOLISH” ARE WE ALLOWED TO BE?

Apple’s Steve Jobs, during his bout with islet cell tumor (or gasteroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumor [GEP-NET]), despite his intelligence and his access to the best advice and care anywhere in the world, made poor choices ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4924574/#__ffn_sectitle ) which shortened his life.

As with Jobs, we have a right to irreversibly screw up our lives. This is one consequence of, even well-informed, autonomy.

However, Jobs made these choices, uncoerced, and as he had lived his life: forcing his will and his vision to achieve goals via what others had warned him were unwise choices during exceedingly difficult situations.

The question is how does such autonomy affect everyone else (family, friends, caregivers, neighbors, coworkers, citizens, the medical system, etc.), and how much of a burden does one person’s autonomy affect these other people (eg, Jobs used a scarce resource, an urgent liver transplantation, once it was found that his neoplasm had metastasized to that organ)?

We all have cognitive biases, fears, hopeful/magical thinking, and difficulties understanding all the nuances behind the statistics of applicable studies (let alone if these were well designed studies which produced useful results).

My hope is for us to work toward a definition of autonomy to mean: uncoerced (from external and internal sources), values-driven, well informed, evidence based personal choices and actions.

Charles Tadros, M.D.

July 14, 2022

Saint Louis, Missouri

CREATIVE PEOPLE HAVE TO, AT SOME POINT, LEAVE BEHIND THE COMMON, THE COMFORTABLE, THE EXPECTED, THE TRIED AND TRUE, THE ACCEPTED, AND WHAT WORKS. THEY ARE EITHER TRYING TO DO SOMETHING THAT THEY HAVE NEVER DONE BEFORE OR TRYING TO DO SOMETHING THAT HAS NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE.

Charles Tadros, M.D.

July 24, 2022

Saint Louis, Missouri

SOME PEOPLE NEED TO LEAVE THEIR COUNTRY IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO:

leave their pasts

distance themselves from their family

make different friends

experience new environments

improve their socioeconomic, educational, political, personal, and religious conditions

improve their mindsets

Charles Tadros, M.D.

July 6, 2022

Saint Louis, Missouri

SCIENCE, SCIENTISTS, PHYSICIANS, AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS ARE MISSING AN UNPARALLELED, REAL-WORLD EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR US ALL, DURING THE SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19, ONGOING PANDEMIC. AN EVEN BETTER COURSE THAN GOVERNMENT DICTUMS AND NEWS MEDIA SOUND BITES, THIS IS AN EXCEPTIONAL TIME TO TEACH THE AMERICAN PUBLIC ABOUT: U.S. AND WORLD HISTORY, GEOGRAPHY, NEWS AND OTHER INFORMATION MEDIA, INTELLIGENCE GATHERING, POLITICS, MANUFACTURING, SUPPLY CHAIN, SHIPPING, AIR TRAVEL, TRANSPORTATION, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL FINANCE, BIOLOGY, ANIMAL SCIENCE, VIROLOGY, MICROBIOLOGY, GERM/BIOLOGICAL WARFARE, IMMUNOLOGY, PRIMARY CARE, CARDIOLOGY, NEUROLOGY, NEPHROLOGY, PULMONOLGY, CRITICAL CARE, EMERGENCY MEDICINE, HOSPITAL MEDICINE, INFECTIOUS DISEASE, HOSPICE, MENTAL HEALTH, GENETICS, CHEMISTRY, BIOCHEMISTRY, AND STATISTICS (just to name a few areas affected by the pandemic)

People glean from the internet and social media what is put before them and what search engines give as the top search results.

With the internet of rapidly available information, anyone can rapidly check an official’s or a specialist’s word, work, current and previous statements, and with help of opinion blogs, obtain contrarian information and other viewpoints.

Scientists, physicians, educators, and politicians need to stop shying away from the (long-form) discussions and explanations of difficult concepts and difficult situations. Education has never been just in the classroom. During this pandemic, the entire world has become a classroom.

It is important for the rest of us to understand that, often, our leaders, and experienced specialists in all these different domains of knowledge, are: not sure, don’t know, misspeak, have insufficient information, and make wrong assumptions…all while learning by the hour, and modifying their statements as the pandemic rapidly evolves over the last 2.5 years.

Now, more than ever, scientists, educators, public officials, and media commentators need to explain their thinking, their sourcing of information, the implications and consequences of the stated information and stated policies, as well as how public officials, scientists, physicians and educators plan on adjusting policies and recommendations in the face of newer and better information.

Charles Tadros, M.D.

July 5, 2022

Saint Louis, Missouri

IT IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY TRUE THAT ONCE ONE STOPS HAVING A NEGATIVE SELF-IMAGE AND NEGATIVE SELF-TALK, THAT WHAT FOLLOW ARE ONLY UPLIFTING POSITIVES. OFTEN, INSTEAD OF FINALLY EXPERIENCING THE UNDEVELOPED POSITIVE SELF-IMAGE, AND POSITIVE SELF-TALK, THERE IS NOTHING…NO SENSE OF SELF, NO SENSE OF JOY, OF PURPOSE, OF GOALS, OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS, OF SPIRITUALITY, OR OF COMMUNITY. THERE IS ONLY EMPTINESS. TO MOST OF US, THIS EMPTINESS IS MORE LONELY AND MORE FRIGHTENING THAN ANY NEGATIVE SELF-IMAGE OR ANY NEGATIVE SELF-TALK.

We wonder why people hold onto negativity… it’s because the unknown, the untested is much more anxiety-provoking, energy draining, and frightening than the known effects and costs of the negative self-image, and negative self talk.

Charles Tadros, M.D.

July 2, 2022

Saint Louis, Missouri

SOMETIMES IT ONLY TAKES A FEW MINUTES OF REFLECTION IN ORDER TO SEE THE “STUCKEDNESS” IN THINKING, BEHAVIORS, AND ROUTINES. FOR INSTANCE, I DO NOT MIND COLLECTING MY FAMILY’S LAUNDRY, WALKING IT DOWN THE STAIRS, SEPARATING OUT THE DIFFERENT COLORS AND FABRICS, WASHING THE LOADS, MOVING THEM TO THE DRYER, PULLING OUT THE LOADS, FOLDING THEM AND TAKING THE CLEAN AND FOLDED ITEMS BACK UPSTAIRS. WHAT I DESPISE, AND I AM NOT PROFICIENT AT, IS THAT I DO NOT DO A GOOD JOB PUTTING AWAY ANYONE ELSE’S CLOTHES. BECAUSE OF MY DEFICIENCY IN THIS FINAL STEP, I WILL NOT EVEN START THE FIRST STEP OF THE PROCESS. NOW, THAT’S NUTTY.

Charles Tadros M.D.

June 20, 2022

Saint Louis, Missouri

PEOPLE DESPERATELY NEED REASONABLE STORIES (vivid, memorable explanations, which flow and have some semblance of internal consistency, and consistency with their world) IN ORDER TO HELP THEM UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT, EVERYTHING FROM THE ORDINARY TO THE EXTRAORDINARY, DRAMATIC, DISASTROUS, RARE, AND UNEXPECTED. “MYTHS”, ARE ANOTHER NAME FOR THESE PROFOUND AND INSIGHTFUL STORIES.

Charles Tadros, M.D.

June 16, 2022

Saint Louis, Missouri

DO SOMETHING POSITIVE, WHICH IS ALSO, DIFFICULT, UNUSUAL, DIFFERENT, RARE, OR SPECIAL. ANOTHER VERSION OF THIS IS TO DO SOMETHING ROUTINE, BUT MUCH FASTER OR COMPLETE IT MUCH EARLIER THAN EXPECTED. THESE ACTIONS TEND TO GIVE US AN EDGE WITH RESPECT TO FOCUS, ENERGY, INTEREST, ACCOLADES, REWARDS, AND SELF ESTEEM.

Most of us want to be known as someone special, and remembered for positive statements, traits, and accomplishments.

Charles Tadros, M.D.

June 16, 2022

Saint Louis, Missouri

S.A.D. (SEASONAL AFFECTIVE DISORDER):

Depressive symptoms which happen during the shortened daylight period between November and February.

Is treatable with 30 minutes of light/light box therapy used in the morning. ( therapyhttps://northernlighttechnologies.com/product-category/nlt-products )

Of importance… if a person has depression throughout the year, but symptoms are worsened during November to February, then this is not seasonal affective disorder, but a common worsening of symptoms of his/her chronic depression.

Charles Tadros, M.D.

June 16, 2022

Saint Louis, Missouri