[Diseases and the diseased--scientific and alternative medicine]

Exposing alternative medicine as quackery and unscientific is necessary, but one should be aware of the limitations of scientific medicine as far as the care of individual patients is concerned. Medicine is primarily about people, not about science. Current regular medicine uses a rational approach and carries out actions of which the effectiveness has been demonstrated in controlled trials. But some questions cannot be translated into a testable hypothesis, e.g., what is the best treatment for the individual incurable cancer patient sitting in my surgery right now? However, this question is a relevant one, especially for the patient involved. In daily clinical practice, there is no clear distinction between scientifically-based and not-scientifically-based acts. The task of medicine is to cure, but also to encourage and to console. When exposing alternative medicine, one should be able to offer the patient a different approach; otherwise the exposure is nothing more than a nihilistic exercise. Alternative medicine does not cure diseases, but it sometimes helps diseased people.