What exactly is a conspiracy theory? A conspiracy theory is the belief that “the truth is being hidden from us”. It’s easy for most rational people to dismiss some of these conspiracy theories as ridiculous… “NASA faked the moon landings!”... “the Earth is really flat”... “Aliens built the pyramids!”... and many others. Other conspiracy theories may seem a bit more reasonable. The bottom line is that people who believe in these ideas believe that the true information is being hidden… usually by those with money and / or power who are hiding the truth in order to somehow gain more wealth and / or power.
Let’s explore one specific conspiracy theory that at least 50% of the U.S. population believes to be true. “There is a cure for cancer that is being hidden from us!”
People tend to believe this one for a number of reasons. Greed and money give “big medicine” an incentive to allow people to continue to suffer from this disease because it generates a lot of income for cancer researchers, hospitals, and drug companies.
Let’s explore a few of the issues and beliefs that surround this conspiracy theory.
Here are a few more reasons why “hiding a cure for cancer” would be nearly impossible.
So, in order for this conspiracy theory to be true, we have to accept the following:
So, what do you think? If we could just eat apple seeds; drink baking soda solutions; or eat only organic foods, and this would prevent or cure cancer, would we be able to keep this secret hidden from the people of the world? How far would this conspiracy theory have to go? What lengths are they willing to go to in order to keep this secret? Are our family doctors in on it too? Is this all starting to sound a little crazy and paranoid?
My personal opinion is that there is more good in the world than there is bad, and that while there may be twisted individuals who would deliberately prey upon the sick to make money, the majority of people in this world would not do so. I also feel that medicine may sometimes focus more on treatment than on the prevention of disease, but this is probably more the fault of the patient than the doctor. Ultimately we all know that unhealthy foods, lack of exercise, tobacco use, and obesity, as well as many other lifestyle choices have a direct influence on our long term health. That is no secret, and there is no conspiracy to keep it from us. All too often, we just choose to ignore these facts.
Let’s explore one specific conspiracy theory that at least 50% of the U.S. population believes to be true. “There is a cure for cancer that is being hidden from us!”
People tend to believe this one for a number of reasons. Greed and money give “big medicine” an incentive to allow people to continue to suffer from this disease because it generates a lot of income for cancer researchers, hospitals, and drug companies.
Let’s explore a few of the issues and beliefs that surround this conspiracy theory.
- “There is far more cancer in the world today than there was in the past.” No, there is not. You could easily say that hundreds of years ago, nobody was diagnosed with cancer. Does that mean that cancer didn’t exist? Of course not. We just didn’t know what cancer was, and people died of unknown causes. Also, the longer people live, the greater their risk of developing cancer. The average lifespan of someone born in 1850 was 48 years. A child born today has a 50% chance of living to be 100 years old! The fact that we are living longer is a testament to modern medicine, even though it might mean we have to deal with some of the health problems associated with an elderly population.
- “We cured smallpox and polio. Why haven’t we cured cancer?” Well, we have, and we haven’t. Any time we talk about “cancer” as if it is a single illness, we are straying from the true picture. There are well over 100 different forms of cancer. A few of them we can now prevent with vaccines. Others can be treated very effectively with a high survival rate. Others are still giving us major difficulties. The idea that there is “a cure” for cancer, or that there ever will be “a cure” fails to recognize that we will probably need to come up with “100 cures” to deal with all the various forms of cancer. Are we hiding 100 cures?
- “There’s more money to be made in treating the sick than the healthy!” Well, if that is so, why do we encourage vaccines? Wouldn’t there be more money to be made in treating people with smallpox, polio, or measles than there would be in preventing it? Why hasn’t medicine suppressed the release of new antibiotics? Isn’t there more money to be made in treating those with tuberculosis or pneumonia than in curing it with a simple pill? Why would a cure for cancer be treated any differently than any of these other cures?
- “It’s the drug companies. They make huge profits from cancer treatment drugs!” Well, drug companies, like all companies, want to make a profit. If they do not, they are out of business. So, let’s pretend for a moment that greed has caused drug companies to put profits over people. Do you know who stands to lose a huge amount of money from hiding a cure for cancer? Insurance companies! Insurance companies are also “big business” who are “in it for the money”. Insurance companies make money when people stay healthy and don’t need expensive treatments. The last thing they want to see is lots of their customers undergoing expensive cancer treatments.
Here are a few more reasons why “hiding a cure for cancer” would be nearly impossible.
- How about all the other countries out there that have nationalized health care? That’s most of the developed world for those that are keeping track. Most of the industrialized countries in the world have non-profit nationalized healthcare and stand to lose significant amounts of money by hiding a cure. If there is a cure, why wouldn’t these other countries release it? Do we really believe that the U.S. or any other country could stop all the other countries in the world from releasing information about a cure if one existed?
- Fame vs. Fortune. “It’s all about the money, right?” How about the doctor or researcher who figures out a revolutionary new treatment for cancer? Not only do they stand to profit greatly from this breakthrough, but will also be remembered among the great names in science and medicine. That’s pretty strong motivation for anyone, including doctors and scientists.
- Cancer affects almost everybody directly or indirectly. If there was a cure, but it was being hidden so that money could be made off the sick, does this mean that these greedy “secret hiders” are sitting back and watching friends and family members die of cancer to protect their profits? What if one of those greedy “secret hiders” was diagnosed with cancer. They’d surely use the “secret cure” to save themselves right? Or is the future profits of a corporation more important than their own lives?
- Hiding the cure is really bad business. The reason we so easily believe in this conspiracy theory is the belief that money leads people and corporations to do bad things. Even if this means allowing people to suffer and die from cancer, the long term profits must be maintained. The flaw in this thinking is that hiding the cure for cancer would be really bad business for a drug company or the medical establishment. Why? Who consumes the most pharmaceutical drugs and has the most medical ailments requiring treatment? The elderly! The longer people live, the more their health care expenses rise. Why would a drug company hide a cure that allows their customers to live longer? Allowing your future profit generators to be killed by cancer is just a bad business model.
So, in order for this conspiracy theory to be true, we have to accept the following:
- Every country on Earth is cooperating in keeping this secret.
- Competing drug companies are cooperating in keeping this secret.
- People with the secret are willing to die and watch their family and friends die rather than tell the secret.
- There is not one single person among those who know the secret who puts people over profit.
So, what do you think? If we could just eat apple seeds; drink baking soda solutions; or eat only organic foods, and this would prevent or cure cancer, would we be able to keep this secret hidden from the people of the world? How far would this conspiracy theory have to go? What lengths are they willing to go to in order to keep this secret? Are our family doctors in on it too? Is this all starting to sound a little crazy and paranoid?
My personal opinion is that there is more good in the world than there is bad, and that while there may be twisted individuals who would deliberately prey upon the sick to make money, the majority of people in this world would not do so. I also feel that medicine may sometimes focus more on treatment than on the prevention of disease, but this is probably more the fault of the patient than the doctor. Ultimately we all know that unhealthy foods, lack of exercise, tobacco use, and obesity, as well as many other lifestyle choices have a direct influence on our long term health. That is no secret, and there is no conspiracy to keep it from us. All too often, we just choose to ignore these facts.