Not long ago I would have searched online to find- Great recipes
- Places to dine
- Vacation packages
- Best selling novels
- Check my Facebook page
Recently I have used the full resources of this digital age to search the internet for information on Cervical Cancer and Diabetes to help me with my medical piece of mind. Within the last few months several people close to me have been diagnosed with serious medical condition, one with cervical cancer and the other with type 2 diabetes.
These two med
ical conditions are deemed silent diseases due to the fact that the person may not know that they have the condition until it is too late. This is why most physicians’ suggest that women get annual pap smear and that everyone have a routine physical with blood work.
Thankfully with my online research I have found that both medical conditions are treatable when detected early, although both have vastly different types of treatments. Cervical cancer can be treated with surgery, radiation and if spread to the other areas of the body chemotherapy while type 2 diabetes can be regulated with medication and diet. Yet if left untreated either of the two diseases is left untreated they can result in a loss of life.
Some of the credible sites that I found to learn more about these two diseases are the American Cancer Society and American Diabetes Association. The American Cancer Society’s website deals with all forms of cancer while the ADA only d
iscusses diabetes. Both sites provide explanations of the disease, research taking place, success stories, and support group services as well as hyperlinks to other sites that can provide additional information.
So what does surfing the web have to do with medical peace of mind?
Think back to some of the clichés that we use in modern society. Knowing is half the battle, forewarned is forearmed, live and learn, failing to prepare is preparing to fail and so on. What does this mean? That by knowing what is happening a person can determine what needs to be done to conquer any or either of these two diseases.
I do feel that the internet has been the source of saving numerous lives. Like you said, knowing is half the battle, so by individuals knowing and understanding risks of various things and knowing the symptoms of various conditions, they can be more aware of potential illness and be able to do something about it before it is too late. At the same time, knowledge can cause people to overreact and become paranoid. It is sometimes better not to know some of these risks, because in reality, everything that we do in life has risks behind it. We can just be walking and suddenly we could tear a ligament. Anything can happen to us at any time, so sometimes knowing too much can hold back a person in life. That is why it is a bit of a double-edged sword.
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