To vent or not to vent, that is the question...

[Clueless Morgan]

The other day I posted the article below:

Alternative medicine kills cancer patients
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/alterna...-patients/

With the comment of "Science-based, evidence-based medicine for me, thanks!"

The same day, a girl I've known my whole educational life (we went to every school together K-12) posted this:

"I didn't want to intervene but my mom was diagnosed with cll leukemia about three years ago and she did some research. Please look into seeing Dr. Charmin in Springfield he's a cutting edge doctor with a new treatment called goziva. He tells his patients to avoid chemo at all costs because it often causes the cancer to come back worse years later after remission. Please look into getting this treatment if possible."

[Note that I did google this doctor to check how quacking he was and she spelled his name wrong]

To this, I responded:

"I appreciate that you're heart is in the right place and I'm very sorry to hear about your mom's diagnosis, but I trust the research out of OHSU way more than I trust the "research" of a single cancer patient, no matter how miraculous they claim the cure they found is.

I am 100,000,000,000,000% going to continue with my chemotherapy; It works. No one can give me certainty that I won't ever get cancer again after I beat this, but since it's my life that's on the life, I'll go where the best odds are."

She responded:
"I understand and respect your choice. I meant no offense and I hope you heal soon. It sounds like you have a great support team of family and friends!"

The thing is, though, I am 100% not convinced that she "understands and respects" my choice because she decided to advocate for me stopping chemotherapy and doing some quack treatment after I posted an article about how "alternative" medicine kills cancer patients and explicitly stated that I'm going the evidence-based route for treatment.

So the question is:

Do I unfriend her now and ignore her response?
    OR
Do I respond that I think she's disrespecting my choices and then unfriend her?

PS I opened facebook this morning with the intention of simply unfriending her until I saw her response.

[vorlon13]

I've been a fan of the clean break for decades.

So that would be a vote for your first choice.

[Losty]

I would advocate for unfriending and ignoring the response, but if responding to her helps you vent then go for it.

[Mr.Obvious]

Sorry to hear about your health.
Hope you beat this. Stay strong.

I'd ignore and drop, if I wer to drop. I only respond if I think it worthwhile to see the other person respond to my response. Otherwise, ... what's the use?
But... that's me. You do you.

[KevinM1]

If the other girl is merely someone you went to school with and not an actual real life friend, just dump her ass.

[Jackalope]

I doubt you'll change her mind, I personally would let her have the last word and just unfriend her.

[brewer]

---

The other day I posted the article below:

Alternative medicine kills cancer patients
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/alterna...-patients/

With the comment of "Science-based, evidence-based medicine for me, thanks!"

The same day, a girl I've known my whole educational life (we went to every school together K-12) posted this:

"I didn't want to intervene but my mom was diagnosed with cll leukemia about three years ago and she did some research. Please look into seeing Dr. Charmin in Springfield he's a cutting edge doctor with a new treatment called goziva. He tells his patients to avoid chemo at all costs because it often causes the cancer to come back worse years later after remission. Please look into getting this treatment if possible."

[Note that I did google this doctor to check how quacking he was and she spelled his name wrong]

To this, I responded:

"I appreciate that you're heart is in the right place and I'm very sorry to hear about your mom's diagnosis, but I trust the research out of OHSU way more than I trust the "research" of a single cancer patient, no matter how miraculous they claim the cure they found is.

I am 100,000,000,000,000% going to continue with my chemotherapy; It works. No one can give me certainty that I won't ever get cancer again after I beat this, but since it's my life that's on the life, I'll go where the best odds are."

She responded:
"I understand and respect your choice. I meant no offense and I hope you heal soon. It sounds like you have a great support team of family and friends!"

The thing is, though, I am 100% not convinced that she "understands and respects" my choice because she decided to advocate for me stopping chemotherapy and doing some quack treatment after I posted an article about how "alternative" medicine kills cancer patients and explicitly stated that I'm going the evidence-based route for treatment.

So the question is:

Do I unfriend her now and ignore her response?
    OR
Do I respond that I think she's disrespecting my choices and then unfriend her?

PS I opened facebook this morning with the intention of simply unfriending her until I saw her response.

---

I couldn't find the doctor or the cam medication. 

There is a medication for cll called Gazyva that is allopathic/science-evidence based. Is this person just confused?: https://www.gazyva.com/

My suggestion, don't unfriend but educate. You may be saving her life down the road.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I wouldn't unfriend, myself, if she is a friend irl. I guess it depends on how sensitive you might be to difference of opinion between friends.

Venting, though, that's useful. Do so here, or start a journal if you don't already keep one.

[Catholic_Lady]

The other day I posted the article below:

Alternative medicine kills cancer patients
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/alterna...-patients/

With the comment of "Science-based, evidence-based medicine for me, thanks!"

The same day, a girl I've known my whole educational life (we went to every school together K-12) posted this:

"I didn't want to intervene but my mom was diagnosed with cll leukemia about three years ago and she did some research. Please look into seeing Dr. Charmin in Springfield he's a cutting edge doctor with a new treatment called goziva. He tells his patients to avoid chemo at all costs because it often causes the cancer to come back worse years later after remission. Please look into getting this treatment if possible."

[Note that I did google this doctor to check how quacking he was and she spelled his name wrong]

To this, I responded:

"I appreciate that you're heart is in the right place and I'm very sorry to hear about your mom's diagnosis, but I trust the research out of OHSU way more than I trust the "research" of a single cancer patient, no matter how miraculous they claim the cure they found is.

I am 100,000,000,000,000% going to continue with my chemotherapy; It works. No one can give me certainty that I won't ever get cancer again after I beat this, but since it's my life that's on the life, I'll go where the best odds are."

She responded:
"I understand and respect your choice. I meant no offense and I hope you heal soon. It sounds like you have a great support team of family and friends!"

The thing is, though, I am 100% not convinced that she "understands and respects" my choice because she decided to advocate for me stopping chemotherapy and doing some quack treatment after I posted an article about how "alternative" medicine kills cancer patients and explicitly stated that I'm going the evidence-based route for treatment.

So the question is:

Do I unfriend her now and ignore her response?
    OR
Do I respond that I think she's disrespecting my choices and then unfriend her?

PS I opened facebook this morning with the intention of simply unfriending her until I saw her response.

I get that this must be such a sensitive thing for you considering what you are going through.

I agree with you about sticking with the chemo.

For me personally, I don't see a reason to unfriend her over this. It sounds like she was genuinely trying to help in the same way that she believes her mother was helped. Her response back to you was respectful, even if you dont believe her. I guess it's impossible to know whether she is telling the truth about respecting your decision, but she said all the right things and backed off. Personally I don't think an unfriending is warranted, just mho, but do what feels right for you. <3

[vorlon13]

FWIW, when I was a hospice volunteer during the worst of the AIDS Crisis (before the anti-viral cocktails mid 90s) I was exposed to all manner of treatment rostrums, dubious palliatives and absurd protocols.

I took it all in stride, as long as something wasn't directly harmful* it didn't matter since there was precious little in the formulary that did actually work.

Additionally, I knew someone in an experimental treatment study for Betaseron. I studied the materials and science on it (and seemingly saw with my own eyes that it 'worked') and I was even provoked to tears when 'C' let me hold a vial of it since I considered it The Cure at the time, and nevertheless, taken as a whole, the study's results definitively indicated it was NOT a treatment for HIV. It cuts both ways, it turns out.


*I was prepared if someone wanted to take something harmful and was aware of it, that it might be intended as something other than a treatment. At that point my concern would have changed to insuring it was 'adequate' for it's purpose.