Nancy L. Snyderman - Medical Myths That Can Kill You: And the 101 Truths That Will Save, Extend, and Improve Your Life

Contents

Myth #1
Annual Checkups Are Obsolete

Myth #2
Vaccinations Are Just for Kids

Myth #3
Doctors Dont Play Favorites

Myth #4
Only Old People Get Heart Disease and Stroke

Myth #5
Were Losing the War on Cancer

Myth #6
Natural Means Safe

Myth #7
You Can Just Snap Out of Mental Illness

To my parents, Joy and Sandy,
who have taught me that good food, good exercise, and
good health all go together.

To my children, Kate, Rachel, and Charlie,
who have already learned how to embrace life, and
to my husband, Doug,
who always gives me the time and space to be me.

Acknowledgments

Its one thing to conceive an idea. Its quite another to turn it into something, and to do that you need a nucleus of great people around you. Any project is as much about the people who surround you and invest in your thoughts as it is about you. The easiest and worst thing to do is gather folks who are unimaginative, unchallenging, and not invested in the project. In this case, I couldnt have been luckier.

I had a kernel of an idea and had three brilliant women help me take it from there. Working relationships and friendships were forged from New Jersey to San Francisco to New York to Texas, a real cross-country collaboration. Brief meetings, phone conversations, e-mails, and faxes accomplished the technical parts of pulling the book together; friendships and camaraderie cemented the rest.

Amy Rennert and I didnt need a contract to start working together. She is a woman who speaks from the heart and confirms a deal with a handshake. Ours was a friendship forged instantly. Amy is my agent and friend who got it even when I lost sight and meandered. She has been a constant sounding board and advocate every step of the way.

Maggie Greenwood-Robinson was the next part of the equation. Maggie steered, organized, researched, and helped me put my thoughts into cohesive sentences. She kept me honest and on time. She poked and prodded and kept this surgeon-author on track. Her inquisitive mind and passion for challenging the status quo helped me reframe questions from the patients point of view.

Heather Jackson is an extraordinary editor who immersed herself in every part of this book. She brainstormed, suggested, and challenged the entire team to think and create beyond the obvious. She is passionate about the process, as well as the final product, and is a wonderfully constructive critic. Heather guided us with class and encouragement, showing us on every page how to do it even better.

Two women who would not expect to find themselves acknowledged here are Ami Schmitz and Kerri Zimmer. Ami was my producer at ABC News and is again my producer at NBC News. We have worked together for fifteen years and counting now. She has the keenest news sense, able to pinpoint what is newsworthy and, just as important, what is not. She continues to keep me honest and always has her eye on the ball. Kerri Zimmer has been invaluable in the preparation of this book, keeping briefing notes from our segments on the Today show and tracking down contacts and stray journal articles. These women are trustworthy and smart and make my life as a television journalist great fun.

Andrea Alstrup and I met during my tenure at Johnson & Johnson. As a woman who started her career as an assistant to an assistant and who retired as one of Johnson & Johnsons top executives, she is a stunning example that we can all carve out the lives we dream about through hard work, honesty, generosity, and avoiding the naysayers. She and her husband, Ken, befriended me when I knew no one in my new position at Johnson & Johnson. Our friendships deepened during Kens illness and death. I cannot thank her enough for her bravery and decision to share his story.

Occasionally patients truly change how a doctor practices medicine. This was the case with Lindsay Nohr Beck, my young patient who viewed her cancer as a hurdle and me as a necessary ally in her quest to reclaim her life. Because of her, I listen to my patients differently and no longer embrace trickle-down medicine as a good model. She defines patient advocacy and has proven that patients can change their doctors and stagnant medical bureaucracies. I adore her and the passion she has for living.

The Bozof family opened their home and hearts to me at an agonizing time in their lives. Their bravery and steadfastness following the death of their son, Evan, from meningococcal meningitis helped change immunization policy nationwide. Every parent in this country is indebted to them.

I have been a physician for thirty years and have been quite fortunate to weave the professions of pediatrics, surgery, and medical reporting together. During these decades I have met the most extraordinary everyday people who have shared their stories, illnesses, families, and homes. I have met world-class physicians from a multitude of countries who have taken the time to explain medical breakthroughs and advances that have truly made patients lives better. Without patients and doctors, viewers, and friends, this project could not have come to fruition. My heartfelt thanks to all.

Introduction

I dont know about you, but I like it here. Sure, life can get complicated, hard to get through, and its not always fun, but I dont want to be shown the door anytime soon. If there are ways I can enhance my health and longevity with healthy habits, if there are appropriate screening measures for my age group, if there are new lifesaving treatments I can access, then I want to know about them so that I can stay around and be kicking up my heels when Im ninety.

But there is a challenge you and I face: to stay healthy and live longer we need to understand and evaluate medical myths and learn to act on the truths behind them. Dictionaries define myths as widely held but mistaken beliefs, misconceptions, or misrepresentations of the truth, or exaggerated conceptions of people and institutions. Myths are like smokescreens. They prevent us from focusing clearly on the real issues and options, and most of the time we are unaware of the degree to which they shape our thoughts and guide our actions. In Medical Myths That Can Kill YouAnd the 101 Truths That Will Save, Extend, and Improve Your Life, Ill help you figure out what is true, what isnt, and how to punch holes in myths youve come to believe.

Perhaps you have been told to not go outside without wearing a coat because youll catch pneumonia, or that you can catch a sexually transmitted disease from a toilet seat, or youll swallow your tongue if you have a seizure. Or, more seriously, perhaps you have an elderly relative who suffered a debilitating stroke, and at thirty-something you tell yourself, Thank God, Im young. That cant happen to me.

Myths like these have been passed down through the ages, told and retold to us by our parents and other family members. Some were born from ancient, observed associations between the forces of nature and bodily conditions (colds and flu are more common in cold weather, for example); others are cherry-picked from the Internet. My favorite Internet myth is the one claiming that swilling cold water after a meal promotes cancer. According to this myth, the cold beverage congeals any fat youve just eaten, slowing down your digestion. This sludge supposedly mixes with stomach acid, is dismantled, then absorbed by the intestines where, inexplicably, it triggers cancer.