The internet has made information one of the most accessible things on the planet. Whatever the problem be, chances are somewhere it has been documented on the internet by someone. With just a few clicks and a bit of research, it can be accessed. But such quick information does not bring experience or expertise that comes only from years of practice.
When we are sick, our first instinct, for the lack of a better judgement is to search Google for the probable cause of our symptoms. That is the most counterproductive thing we can do.
Diagnosis of any disease is preliminarily based on the appearance of a certain combination of systems. When we input our systems in Google, it shows a combination of various probable diseases without knowing which symptoms are more prevalent or if there are any symptoms that are being masked. If it were a doctor, he could have analysed the situation, uncovered more symptoms by asking the patient several questions based on his experience and the live feedback from the patient. All of these become null as soon as we try to diagnose ourselves.
There can be several causes why every symptom on Google search lead to cancer.
1. Misdiagnosis – simple Google search on the reason of a headache or stomach ache can lead to a plethora of reasons. A headache can be caused by a tumour. A headache can also be caused by something as simple as stress, anxiety or just dehydration. Or it can also be because we stare at some screen or the other all day stressing our eyes and brain. Without proper diagnosis and experience it is not possible to know what is causing the headache. It might be the symptom of something simple or some underlying disease.
2. Anyone can publish anything online – The internet has brought us ease and made every bit of information available to us at our finger tips. But that does not mean that all of those are verified facts. Anyone can post anything online without proper verification or research of any sorts. Even if the website has good hits does not make it reliable. It is always necessary to fact check the information from reliable sources or to just visit a doctor before stressing yourself and worsening the situation.
3. Probability – All search engines run on probability based on a few sets of input variables. They show all permutations and combinations of the input word sequence. When we enter the symptoms in the search engine, it shows all the probable diseases that list some or all of the symptoms we have typed into the search bar. If we consider a simple case of chest pain and think of it as a symptom and start a search based on it, we will get a list of names of probable diseases. The list can vary from simple things like indigestion, stress and increased blood pressure. It can also be a symptom of complex heart diseases or a tumour or nervous diseases in the area surrounding the heart. The search engine can’t know the exact cause of the pain or the area. It also depends on the user’s knowledge of his or her own body. For example, if the user knows the difference between a chest pain and a heart burn, the area of the pain or the degree of pain. All of these things can be diagnosed physically by a doctor and then tested for verification and finally treatment.
Looking for the reason behind a symptom can actually worsen the situation in various ways. Seeing various complex diseases listed for your symptom can cause mental stress and make you anxious which in turn will have adverse effects on your body. It can also make your attending physician think poorly of you because you refuse to see their logic and reason and keep stating your poorly researched list of probable diseases. By doing this you are actually putting yourself at risk as there is a lot of misinformation out there and it does not put you even in the vicinity of your problem. It can always lead you to a complex result instead of a simple solution. It is therefore, wiser to visit and consult your physician first with your symptoms.
If your consulting physician finds something suspicious that might lead to a diagnosis of cancer, they will refer you to the many Oncologist specialists in Maharashtra who can handle it better. Furthermore, there are many PET Scan centres in Maharashtra that can confirm or refute the diagnosis in a verified manner without second-guessing leading to a healthier lifestyle or better tackling of the disease at the best cancer hospitals around.
We, the team of Onco Life Cancer Centre are fighting against cancer alongside you, and wish you the best.