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Posted by ray__ 9 hours ago

I'm going to cure my girlfriend's brain tumor(andrewjrod.substack.com)
118 points | 64 commentspage 2
tkel 2 hours ago|
I'm sorry, but LLMs aren't a magic spell that can solve the world's problems. If you are not a stranger to the biomedical world, then you understand that new treatments take at least a decade before they are treating patients with them out of trial. And the experts, they need experience actually administering these treatments in order to form the kind of opinions you describe them differing on. Plus there is a systemic logic to the way these things are developed. Profit. For example, no new anti-anxiety drugs have been created in 20 years, because it is cheaper to just test SSRIs that have passed FDA trials for other things like depression.

LLMs might be useful at generating text, but they cannot research, fund, develop, manufacture, educate, distribute, treat.

Like others have said, focus on speaking with your partner and deciding your plans together.

maxkfranz 4 hours ago||
If the author reads this: I’m sorry that you and your girlfriend are going through this.

I would strongly suggest seeing a therapist. I’ve experienced traumatising moments in life, and therapy has been a great help.

zippyman55 3 hours ago||
Please do what you need to do for your girlfriend. Not for yourself. Knowledge is great to navigate this mess. I am so sorry.
woeirua 5 hours ago||
Don’t do this. Enjoy the time that you have together. Work with your doctors.
quantumwoke 4 hours ago||
I'm confused by this post because it seems like his partner got best therapy possible with two surgeries followed by medications without going blind or having other major hormonal issues which can happen after surgery. As correctly stated in this thread prolactinomas aren't a death sentence or even (technically) a brain tumour, and the major risks have been avoided so far. What exactly is being accomplished by a VC deeply researching this case beyond satisfying the valid desire to help your life partner?
MyHypatia 3 hours ago|
While uncommon, people deeply researching their loved ones disease have had success: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto,_Michaela,_and_Lorenzo...

Even just fundraising for diseases yields tangible results. Some folks dismissed the viral ice bucket challenge, but it raised over $100 million dollars and funded a lot of research in ALS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Bucket_Challenge

Hopefully he accomplishes new knowledge discovery and/or fundraising for research into this disease.

quantumwoke 2 hours ago||
Those efforts were for diseases without treatment. But, prolactinomas already have treatment (surgery plus medication). I always ask myself what is the desired outcome from research effort - in this case it seems to be an attempt to cure/totally eradicate a prolactinoma, which would require hundreds of millions of dollars and custom medication (probably immune checkpoint inhibitors) to do, and this disease already has a treatment available.
arikrahman 4 hours ago||
Good luck and godspeed my friend
modzu 2 hours ago||
reminds me of a friend who had IBS and was desperate to try a fecal transplant but no doctor would offer it. so her partner gave her one and it worked
Izikiel43 7 hours ago||
This sounds a lot like "Lorenzo's Oil" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo%27s_Oil

Hopefully with a better end.

arjie 5 hours ago|
What an incredible story! Thank you for sharing. So much for that New Yorker cartoon “Honey, come quick, I found something all the scientists missed” (well, something all the scientists thought was infeasible anyway).
agumonkey 5 hours ago||
best wishes..

some people do manage to cure their own disease sometimes.

idontwantthis 5 hours ago|
This is officially the most unhinged LinkedIn post in the world. This is the winner.
MyHypatia 3 hours ago|
He's probably really shaken that the future he imagined may not be in the cards for him and his partner.

I had a positive reaction to his post. The way he wants to spend his time seems more useful/meaningful/intentional than what most people choose to spend their time on. I hope he has success. While rare, others who have devoted themselves to studying the disease of a loved one have made meaningful progress: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusto,_Michaela,_and_Lorenzo...