If you invented a pill that cured ALL ILLS what would the financial impact be on the pharmaceutical industry? And medical personnel?

It's a placebo not a panacea SP. If they advertise it as an impotent sugar pill how can it possibly work? Thank you for your reply. :) This post was edited by RosieG at December 15, 2019 12:30 PM MST

As you are most likely aware, placebo remedies (e.g. sugar pills) have been shown to be remarkably efficacious in curing many ailments. That's why drug manufacturers have to prove their products work BETTER than placebo before they are allowed to market them.

Yes I do know that SP. The mind has a remarkable ability to control what the body "feels" and does. Positive thinking never hurts. I have heard that those who talk to their plants see greater growth in them than those who don't. Some say it's the breathing on the plants that helps. I don't know. I positive thought my way through STAGE 3 cancer in 2008. Not any doubt I'd survive it. Now how much effect did that have on my being cancer-free since 2008 when the prognosis was that I had a 14% chance of surviving 5 years? I will never know. Thank you for your reply and Happy Tuesday to thee. My oncologist did say I was the "best" patient she ever had in terms of refusing to feel sorry for myself or give in to fear. She even asked permission to have other cancer patients of hers call me to pep talk them. I was honored of course and said yes. No one ever called me. I don't know if she just said that to make me feel good or she actually followed through. It doesn't matter! I still carry that compliment with me! :) This post was edited by RosieG at December 17, 2019 6:19 AM MST

There is an interesting medical ethics dilemma because of the placebo effect. Its inverse is called the "nocebo effect" and occurs when a patient visits a doctor with a complaint for which the doctor has no effective treatment (e.g. common cold).

The doctor could, logically, tell the patient that there's no effective medical treatment for his or her complaint and to simply wait for the body to heal itself.

But, if the doctor does this, it has the tendency to prolong the patient's symptoms, because even a "sham" treatment tends to make patients feel better than no treatment at all.

So, is it ethical for a medical professional to prescribe a treatment to a patient that the professional knows has no actual physiological benefit just to avoid the "nocebo effect"?  It's an ongoing debate.

Thank you for that new informative to me SP. I had not ever heard of it. Here's my take on it. A doctor is supposed to help you through an illness by prescribing whatever he thinks will ameliorate/mitigate/help. If that includes telling you something that isn't true that your body responds to as if it were what harm does that do? It could help. If you give people something to hang on to to give them courage or hope it may not work but if you don't try you'll never know. I think the power of the mind is really unknowable. How much does positive thinking affect anything? If "thinking makes it so" and if you call into your life what you focus on then thinking good thoughts (Anthony in the corn field) can't possibly hurt. Simplistic? Sure. But sometimes simple is the only thing that can work.

It gets even more interesting.

I've recently read some research which suggests it's not only the presence or absence of treatment which affects patient outcomes, but also the quality of the interaction between the patient and the doctor.

In other words, if your doctor is a total jerk and treats you with disdain, you will tend to have a poorer medical outcome independent of whether the doctor gives you a physiologically meaningful treatment or a placebo.

Conversely, if your doctor is kind and attentive, you will tend to have a better medical outcome independent of the sort of treatment you receive.

This observation has powerful implications not only for the medical profession, but for how we generally structure our society and culture.

I started and ended every session with my oncologist, Dr. Ruby with a hug. We chatted about her personal life. She is a marathon runner and runs in marathons all over the country. She ran a marathon where a bomb blew up and I called her office to see if she was okay. She is a tiny gal. Maybe 5' 2" and over the ten years we got to know each other pretty well. She was always in my corner cheering me on and I never once brought her down or complained. I cannot imagine going ten years with someone who doesn't cheer you on and share personals part of her/his life with you. I am very lucky. Few sailed though what I went through as easily as I did. At the age of 70! Remarkable good luck. Thank you for your thoughtful and informative reply. I'm getting to depend on you for that for which I thank you bigly! :)

I'm sure you're 100% correct D. I'd be taken out immediately. I'd be a target for bazillions of people all over the world. No escape. I don't know if this is apocryphal but I heard of someone who invented a tablet you could put in a tank of water and a vehicle could run on it as if it were gas. Possible? I have no idea but allegedly the gas companies bought him out. I think I'm gonna ask. Some oldtimer may know what I"m talking about. I guess where money is involved those who prize it above all else will do anything to keep having access to it. Thank you for your reply D! :)

That is an EXCELLENT idea E. Canada is a country where price gouging is not the main way to run a business. Thanks for sharing it. Putting it out there for others. Maybe one day such a thing might be created/invented. Imagine a one-size-fits-all cure to everything? Wow! Mindboggling.

Now all we have to do is find a cure for stupidity.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Oy Vey! A booster shot of laughter. Nifty. I wonder if we enjoy it more when it is unexpected or is causing laughter at its best always unexpected? Gonna ask. Thank you for the added dose E! :)