“However, too many ads continue to promote an overly simplified model of causation. For example, headaches are not caused by a lack of aspirin in the brain; however, taking aspirin often cures a headache.” – Laura L. Smith, Depression For Dummies, 2021
Is a headache a symptom? or is it an illness, or a disease? Do we cure symptoms? Illnesses? Or only diseases?
Does aspirin cure headaches?
“A headache for example might be the result of a cold, a migraine, high blood pressure, meningitis or a brain tumour, each requiring a different treatment rather than a “cure for headache“. – Craig Thornbur – Theories of Medicine
I sometimes say “I’m taking my car to the vet“, to get its checkup, to cure its problems. Is a flat tire an illness? A disease? Is a bike, a car, or an airplane sick when it has a flat tire? Do we cure flat tires?
We can compare a flat tire to an illness, and its repair to a cure. Why should we make this comparison?
Our current theory of cure isn’t working. When did it stop? Today, we can’t cure most diseases. When cured – few can be proven cured. Even the common cold, the flu, and measles. I’ve had them all. Cured. Over 99 percent of cases are cured, while medical theory “there is no cure for…” The same is true for many other diseases.
It’s not as obvious, but we can’t cure alcoholism, anorexia, arthritis, back pain, Crohn’s, cancer, depression, diabetes, epilepsy, fibromyalgia, gout, hypertension, heart disease, immune system disorders, even obesity, and many more. Cured is not even defined for any of these diseases. The list goes on and on. Were they always incurable? What happens when a case is cured?
There are several patterns in the above list. All are non-infectious diseases. We have no medical nor scientific definition nor test for any non-infectious disease cured. When a non-infectious disease is cured, we can’t tell. We might know a cure is present, both doctor and patient might claim a cure – but proof is not possible. We say maybe it’s remission. We never say cure.
There are more patterns…
All are chronic diseases. Cured is not defined for any chronic disease. We have them until we die, even if they go into remission for decades. We might lose weight, be once diagnosed, we can’t cure obesity.
Some diseases on the list are also mental disorders. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) referring to diseases, prefers the term disorder. At the same time, they diligently ensure though every mental disorder aligns with a disease code in the World Health Organization’s list of disease codes. Otherwise, statistics would be compromised. The APA doesn’t claim mental disorders are incurable. Instead, they work to “improve understanding, reduce stigma, and advance the treatment and eventual cures for these conditions.” (DSM-5 2013). Eventual cures? The APA does not have a definition of cured for any mental disorder. As a result, we have no medical nor scientific ability to validate or disprove a cure of autism, ADHD, depression, bipolar, or any other mental disorder, when it occurs.
Some are also nutritional diseases. A google search for “cure for anorexia” offers: to treat eating disorders, to help us get rid of anorexia, and recover completely. But the word cure is not used. The Mayo Clinic in three long web-pages describes anorexia, diagnosis and treatment, offering doctors and departments – but the word cure does not appear. Their pages for OBESITY refer to a not-cure once, “But weight-loss surgery isn’t a miracle obesity cure,” but never to cure. A cure, apparently, is a miracle. There is, according to Malachy McCourt, “no recovery from alcoholism, it is an incurable disease. And it also is a disease that tells you, you don’t have a disease.” Amazon offers several books claiming cures for alcoholism, including “The Medically Proven Way To Eliminate Alcohol Addiction” – but none are recognized officially. The prestigious Mayo clinic webpages on alcoholism use the word cure only once, another not-cure “although it won’t cure.” (Mayo Clinic 2019) Patients might be cured, might be diagnosed as NED (No Evidence of Disease), but we can’t prove the cured state, much less the cause of the cure.
The more we look, the worse it gets. The common cold, influenza, and measles, AIDS – and COVID, are infectious diseases caused by a virus. We have no cures for any disease caused by a virus. Even though most people who get the common cold, measles, even COVID recover. We don’t use the word cure. Can AIDS be cured? There is no definition of and no test for AIDS cured.
Part of the problem is medical chauvinism.
If it wasn’t cured by a medicine or a surgery, it’s not a medical cure.
If it’s not a medical cure, it doesn’t count.
If it doesn’t count, it’s not counted.
There are no statistics of cured for any disease outside of research studies.
We might wish to believe that when a cure is found in a clinical study, big pharma swoops in and takes it to market. Or we might fear that, when big pharma discovers a cure, they hide it away – because cures are not profitable. The truth although not obvious, is much simpler. When a cure occurs in a clinical study that does not have a defined test for cured – the cure can only be ignored. When a cure occurs on the placebo arm, it is doubly ignored.
We can easily demonstrate that most clinical studies do not define, and therefore cannot test for cured. Clinicaltrials.gov today offers “382,731 research studies in all 50 states and in 220 countries.” A search for trials with the word cure, lists only 6,427, less than 2%. As we look closer, it only gets worse. Many of those few references to cure are acronyms like Culturally Relevant Exercise for Diabetes (CURE-D), patented devices (that don’ t cure) like CURE-EX device or non-curative treatments like “Thermal Cures in the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.”
Our failure to recognize cured has extended beyond conventional medicine to all so-called alternative medical practices. No chiropractic, osteopathic, or naturopathic treatment can possibly cure any disease, because cured is not defined for any disease treatment used by these doctors. Conventional medicine can’t cure the same diseases. What happens when a chiropractic treatment cures frozen shoulder or back pain? Nothing. What happens when a conventional medical physical therapists cures them? The same nothing. This failed logic extends to Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, osteopathy, homeopathy, and naturopathy. What happens when any of these practices cure a disease? Nothing. Cured is not defined for alternative medical practices. In most cases, no proof of cured is possible. Occasionally, it is possible to prove a cure of an infectious disease. These cures are easily ignored – those diseases can be cured by approved conventional medicines.
Our current theories, definitions, and understandings of cure are a failure. We can’t cure most diseases. We can’t even tell if they have been cured. Current statistics for the COVID show, worldwide, at least 170 million patients RECOVERED. Not one cured. The count is updated every day. Cured? Never.
It’s time for a change. It’s time for A New Theory of Cure. One that covers every curable medical condition, every curable disease or disorder. But where do we start?
The book A New Theory of Cure defines a framework of a general, comprehensive definition of cured for any curable illness, disease, or medical condition, whether the cause be in diet, body, mind, spirits, community, environments – or somewhere else instead.
Let’s begin a study of cure. Let’s develop the theory of cure.
