Many people may strongly object to the title of this article. They say that there are some conditions that, if untreated, will lead to serious medical issues. They are right.
They say that if you don't treat high blood pressure problems, a person can die. They are right.
If you don't treat heart problems, then you can die. If you don't treat diabetic problems you can die. There are dozens more of these examples of conditions that must be treated.
Treating dangerous or even uncomfortable physical situations is not only necessary but important. We know that if we don't treat that ache in the tooth, it is likely to lead to a more serious problem with the tooth.
Everyone agrees that we have to treat medical problems. However, there is a very important and critical disagreement about the definition of "treat" and "cure."
DEFINE YOUR TERMS
As the great author and philosopher Voltaire said, "If you wish to converse with me, define your terms." How many times have you been in an argument and gotten upset, only to find that the person with whom you were arguing had a different definition of a word.
For example, a parent tells his 16-year-old daughter to be home early. She agrees. To the parent "early" means 10:00 pm. After all, she is only 16. To his daughter, "early" means midnight because she is practically an adult. The daughter comes home at midnight and is surprised and then angry when confronted with an angry father who feels that his daughter broke her agreement.
Of course, the upset could have been avoided if, before the daughter left, the parent and daughter defined "early." Once a definition of "early" was agreed upon by both, this source of possible upset would be eliminated-unless the daughter violated the agreement and came home later than the agreed definition of "early".
DEFINITIONS OF TREAT AND CURE
The Encarta Dictionary defines "treat" as:"...give medical aid to somebody" and also as: "...apply medical techniques to a disease or symptom in order to provide a cure."
What is the definition of cure? The Encarta Dictionary defines "cure" as: "to restore a sick person or animal to health." The sentence used to illustrate this definition is, "Six months later she was completely cured." Another definition is: "to bring an end to an illness, disorder, or injury by medical treatment." The sentence used to illustrate this definition is, "Diseases like this are not easily cured."
DEBATE OVER THE REAL GOAL OF DOCTORS
If you are planning a trip by car, you know that if you look at a map and plan your route, you should arrive there in the shortest time with the least possibility of going in the wrong direction.
We have all heard the old adage, "Be careful what you wish for because you will likely get it."
Increasingly, the debate over the very soul of medicine involves what doctors "wish for."
One group of doctors believes that their purpose and the purpose of medicine is "to give medical aid" to their patients. If they find a way to provide some relief from unpleasant symptoms, that means that they are helping or aiding their patients. To these doctors, finding a cure for their patient's unpleasant symptoms would be nice but not essential to their practice of medicine.
The second group of doctors believes that finding a cure to the underlying problems creating the unwanted symptoms is essential. They may continue to treat symptoms while they seek a cure but, to them, it is a failure of medicine and their skills if they have been unable to find a cure for the problem.
There is a clear line between the first group that considers a cure something "nice" to have and the second group that considers a cure essential and keep seeking that cure because they know it is there.
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