The limits of medicine
Rather than villify any specific part of the medical industry, in which there is lots of blame to go around, I think it is important to look at what medicine actually is, not what we wish it to be.
For time immemorial the purpose of the medical provider was to relieve suffering and help people to keep functioning at as normal a level as possible basically so they could keep doing what it was they were doing.
In Early times this was to be able to hunt or fish or whatver was needed for base survival.
That evolved to being able to continue a job, trade, or profession in order to earn a living.
In both of these instances, medicine was usually reserved for those who could "go back to work" and palliation was given for those on their way out.
Fast forward a few hundred years.
Medicine becomes a vector for the preservation of wealth. Not only for individuals to maintain productive lives, but for whole nations. The more healthy people are, the more they can produce. The more producers in a society, the wealthier the society.
Now up to this point the idea of what constituted a cure was simply something that could allow a person to continue to do whatever until the end of life. People didn't live as long and as such, many chronic diseases were not even known.
There was also an acceptance of mortality.
The modern age and modern medicine.
For about the last 200 years, especially in the last 100, in the modern world there has been a shift from basic survival and maintaining ability to the idea of having "it all." A pleasurable life, material wealth, independance, and totally devoid of personal responsibility for anything.
Also with this came the defiance of mortality.
"McMedicine" is born.
The actual amount of pathology that can be "cured" has simply been put into sharp relief. When somebody only expects to live 40-50 years or even 50-60 years, getting them to that point is rather easy. Most of the afflictions that ail them can be delayed until something more acute simply kills them outright. Some disease states never present.
But now, the goal is to live forever. Not only live, but be as wealthy and idependant as possible.
To that end, there is the effort of public health and preventative medicine to give people the best start. Which it most effectively and economically does.
But right after the last of the "Well child checkups" it becomes the responsibility of the parental unit to instill the proper health values and techniques to the offspring.
Basic economic position plays a role here. Let's face it, if you are poor, but not destitute, you need to make your money go the farthest. Your McDonald's value meal (Insert any other highly processed food even found at the local supermarket) is a whole meal for about $7 average. The idea of eating healthy is not affordable.
You may find time to excercise, between work and child care responsibilities. But likely not. especially if it involves paying to go to a facility. Mostly because you would rather have electricity instead.
Then there is sedentary entertainment. TV, videogames, etc. Like Ceasar laying around on a couch eating grapes.
The damage is underway.
Sooner or later something forces a person to go see the doctor. Who basically tells them how messed up they are.
The doctor can spend all day teaching them and telling them the best way to preserve their health. Sometimes even give it back to them. But like anything else worth doing, it is hard work, takes discipline and after 50 years of doing as they please and without thought of personal responsibility, they do only enough to keep them functioning at thier level. Surely some will chance, but only a handful.
We must then use everything to our medical knowledge to try and preserve these people. It is demanded at all levels of society. Paliation is reserved only for those in the active dying stage now. Many people including some on this very forum would consider longterm palliation nothing more than drug abuse.
Prolong life. For a day, a month, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years. In any state at any price.
It is actually not medicine that is flawed. It is the perception of what medicine is and does. Some get it, most don't. But the trend continues.
