I was telling my friend about the thread on "so called specialists" and she mentioned that just that morning she was listening to the Diane Rehm show and they had a Neuroscientist on talking about his latest book and he got onto the subject of modern medicine for a bit and here's what came out. And if true this is why I'm very concerned with all the meds being thrown about and recommendations of surgeries etc. Take a look.

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Daniel Levitin, Neuroscientist
The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload




When making decisions with your physician concerning recommended treatment, it is important to ask two questions. E.g. - if your cholesterol is high and the doc recommends a statin, ask these questions first, then discuss your odds.

1. "What is the number needed to treat," ie how many people have to undergo a treatment in order for one person to benefit.
This statistic is a known in the med. prof.
When using statins to treat high cholesterol: for every 300 people given the statin, 299 will show no benefit, while one patient will benefit.

2. "What are the side effects?"
Statin use: 5% of the people taking the statin will develop debilitating gastrointestinal and/or joint/muscle disorders
5% of 300=15.
Therefore, you are 15X more likely to become debilitated by the above than to be helped by the statin..

Example 2: doc recommends prostate surgery
The number needed to treat is 49 (for every 50 men having the surgery, 1 will benefit). Therefore, any one guy has a 2% chance he will be helped by the surgery.
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I'm so glad I refused a prostate biopsy many years back when a doc said he felt a lump. I knew that a biopsy could deposit cancer cells into my bloodstream. Seven years later I had it checked by the emergency room doc and he said it was small, smooth and felt very healthy. Prostate surgeries are prone to side effects. With a 2% chance of success against a much higher risk of failure I know what a gambler would do. This guy said your doctor will not likely be happy about you asking such questions but you better.