Introduction
To use or not to use unproven treatment methods in treating different diseases have been a hotly contested issue. The emergence of new diseases coupled with the high cost incurred in curing them has led to people in the medical field coming up with varied treatment methods. In spite of some of the practitioners being after money, there are those who are in great need of seeing that they have contributed to alleviating human suffering. There are numerous benefits that can be reaped from these treatments if they happen to be effective. As a result, it would be morally right to promote the unproven treatments that their inventors claim to be effective in treating certain diseases. This paper aims at giving the reasons why the move is morally right.
Why promote unproven treatments
For many years, doctors have strived at coming up with a cure for diseases such as HIV AIDs and cancer without succeeding. Most of the people suffering from these illnesses have ended up dying due to a lack of remedies. Of late, there are people who have claimed to discover a cure for such diseases. However, these treatments have not been implemented as they have not been proved to be effective. One of the cultures that have hampered the implementation of these treatments is the conviction by people that for any treatment to be implemented, it must have been discovered by a popular university or research institution. Some may argue that implementing these treatments would be against the established code of ethics for medical practitioners. However, it would not be morally right to keep these treatments pending at the expense of suffering patients while some of them may be effective.
Most of the treatment methods originating from countries that do not speak English, take long before being proven and publicized. Consequently, doctors in such countries may claim to successfully treat certain diseases but their claims be swept under the carpet due to them not having been proved by certified research institutions. This is not only unethical but is also immoral. The move may disadvantage a lot of patients who are in great need of trying any kind of treatment so long as they are promised that it may be effective in reducing their suffering.
With most patients desperately looking for ways to alleviate their suffering, it would be moral to allow them to have to access some of the unproven treatments. Most of these treatments are harmless to the victims. Hence, they might be of great benefit to them if they turn out to be effective. Of late, doctors in China have claimed to successfully treat varied types of cancer. Although the claim has not been proven by known research institutions, there are patients who have been treated in Chinese hospitals and later found to have been cured. Denying such patients an opportunity to try these treatments simply because they have not been proven would lead to them dying. Most patients turn to unproven methods after doctors have unsuccessfully used all the proven methods in treating them. They normally have no hope in their future and they try these methods for the sake of it.
Conclusion
As more patients are turning to unproven treatments as their final option after trying all the available treatments, it would be morally right to promote these treatments. Some of them have proven to be effective making it possible for people to trust in them. Rather than denying patients an opportunity to try their luck, it is good that they are allowed to try the unproven treatments that are said to cure specific diseases.