Getting a second opinion from abroad
Different countries have different standard screenings and treatments
Based on headlines and social media, it can feel a bit like you either believe in medical science or you believe in woo. On the ground it feels much less like a yes or no, either-or question. As those of us with extended interactions with the scientific medical system know, there are quite a lot of uncertainties and disagreements within science. When you’re trying to determine how to manage symptoms, those uncertainties and disagreements suddenly loom large, creating a confusing maze of contradictory advice.
Often, there is an alarming lack of evidence that meets basic scientific standards — it’s all anecdotes, no double-blind studies. Experts may inundate us with statistics and facts when they're trying to convince us of something, but there's still a lot of art and intuition involved.
Paying attention to how medical care is provided in other countries has demonstrated how things I took for granted as standards of care are matters of opinion. I was surprised to learn that in Europe they rely on less invasive methods of colon cancer screening than the colonoscopy, a preventative screening method that's not without its own risks. It was interesting to find out that widely distributed vaccines distributed in the US and Canada — the flu, the covid booster, RSV — are only given to specific high-risk groups in Europe.
Policymakers are looking at the same evidence and using it to bolster different visions for how to best provide care. Ideals of optimal treatment can differ dramatically from place to place, even before we venture outside the world of scientific medicine. It's confusing to wade through the conflicting advice and guidelines. It's overwhelming and impractical to try to make sense of all the studies ourselves, even for statisticians.
It's also a reminder that there are sometimes different, equally reasonable, options out there. When we're being pushed towards a protocol that doesn't feel right to us — or have a loved one who is resisting the standard treatment — knowing there are other standard treatments to consider can help us find a better fit.
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