The ideas of treating illnesses and preventing cancer early are familiar to everyone. In life, many people become very anxious once they get sick, seeking various treatment options or undergoing various screenings as early as possible.

However, these traditional "mainstream views" have been opposed by experts, and some of his medical views may change your understanding of medicine.

First, many illnesses are not illnesses, but simply a sign of old age, and do not require treatment.

Academician Han Qide is 77 years old this year. During his physical examination, he was diagnosed with 36 minor illnesses and even five suspicious tumor shadows. However, he does not plan to undergo treatment unless obvious symptoms appear. This decision is considered quite bold by ordinary people. He believes that many of these symptoms are not diseases, but rather manifestations of aging . He plans to slow down aging and improve muscle strength through increased exercise, thereby improving his quality of life.

Many "illnesses" are not illnesses at all, but simply a sign of aging.

1. Bone hyperplasia

As people age, their height tends to decrease due to the narrowing of intervertebral discs and the shrinking of bone spaces. If bone doesn't grow back, this can lead to joint instability. Additionally, many older adults gain weight, increasing the weight-bearing load on their bones. Bone growth is formed to better support this weight, a natural evolutionary process of aging. 2. Insomnia

Many elderly people experience late nights and early mornings, and their sleep is often interrupted at night. This is mostly due to a decrease in melatonin secretion, which is an important substance for promoting sleep. As people age, melatonin secretion gradually decreases, leading to a reduction in deep sleep time. 3. Tooth loss and sensitivity

As we age, the alveolar bone is prone to atrophy, which weakens its ability to stabilize and support teeth, making them more susceptible to loosening and loss. In addition, long-term wear and tear on the enamel can also make teeth more sensitive during this period.

4. Presbyopia

People typically begin to experience presbyopia around the age of 45, meaning they can't see things up close. This is actually a normal physiological phenomenon, largely related to a decline in the lens's ability to adjust.

Of course, this doesn't mean that people who are diagnosed with these diseases during a physical examination don't need treatment. If symptoms appear and affect your life, you should still take active steps to improve your quality of life.

Cancer is a disease that everyone fears, and people are more susceptible to it in middle and old age. Many people undergo cancer screening, but is it really necessary? II. Cancer screening is unnecessary for everyone; it might just be unnecessary worry.

Academician Han Qide stated that he does not recommend universal cancer screening for everyone; screening should be limited to high-risk groups. Targeted examinations can be conducted when symptoms appear, but unnecessary examinations are not required when there are no symptoms. Otherwise, over- examination and overtreatment could have unnecessary negative impacts on one's health.

Why is it that not everyone needs to undergo cancer screening?

1. Some examination methods have side effects: ① Radiation

The radiation dose from a single chest CT scan is roughly equivalent to 100 X-rays, and the radiation dose from a single coronary artery CT scan is roughly equivalent to 750 chest X-rays. If multiple areas are examined in a single CT scan, the radiation dose to the body will be even greater, and long-term exposure to high doses of radiation can actually increase the risk of cancer.

②Invasive injury

Invasive examinations such as painless gastroscopy and colonoscopy can cause some harm to health, and excessively frequent examinations are detrimental to health. Similarly, examinations like cervical smears may cause minor bleeding during the procedure, and frequent examinations do more harm than good to the body.

2. Increased psychological burden

Abnormal results after testing can easily cause psychological stress for patients. For example, tumor marker screening can produce false positives, and factors such as menstruation, smoking, alcohol consumption, the presence of antibodies, and heterophile antibodies can all interfere with test results. 3. The financial burden is significant, and patients are easily misled into scams .

There are many cancer screening methods available on the market, and many medical examination institutions package screenings into packages, but the packages are often poorly designed. A reporter from Global Times investigated several medical examination institutions and found that a cancer screening package priced at 8850 yuan included 56 tests, but only a few were actually for cancer screening. Instead, other screening items made up a large portion of the package, making it untargeted.

It is worth noting that early cancer screening is not currently covered by medical insurance, and frequent screenings can be a significant financial burden.

People generally have better living conditions now and pay much more attention to their health, but often there is no need to pay too much attention to it.

Third, avoid overtreatment; people nowadays are too afraid of dying.

Academician Han Qide pointed out that the current over-medicalization is largely related to the fear of death. Modern people's living standards have improved rapidly, and there are many worldly temptations. Many people are reluctant to leave this world prematurely, thus becoming more afraid of death. This excessive fear of death leads to over-medicalization!

1. An unnecessary surgery was performed.

Current clinical diagnostic and treatment guidelines generally only provide probabilistic assessments. For example, if a small shadow is found in the lung on a CT scan, experience suggests that the possibility of malignant lung cancer is low, but the possibility of it rapidly developing into cancer cannot be ruled out. As a result, many people fear this "what if" and choose to undergo surgery, preferring to endure significant non-fatal damage.

If one takes a more detached view of death, one may be able to make more rational judgments at this time, such as regular follow-ups and monitoring the development of the disease, and thus be able to coexist with the shadow of death without harming the body.

2. Decline in quality of life at the end of life

"Even with only a 1% chance, we must give 100% effort"—this is the motto of many patients and their families. But for terminally ill patients, is it really what they want to be covered in tubes, endure various resuscitation efforts, and ultimately die in extreme pain?

The Lancet Death Values ​​Report points out that there are huge inequalities in access to palliative care globally, and that the high cost of end-of-life care causes millions of people to suffer unnecessary pain at the end of their lives.

As people age, they should learn to accept their bodies' imperfections and try to live in harmony with them. Instead of blindly pursuing treatments and hoping to use drugs to make their bodies like those of young people, which is clearly unscientific.