[mft_]

He’s not telling the whole truth.

It’s not his being a cancer researcher allowing full understanding of the risks and possible benefits that is important. It’s more that being a well-known and well-connected cancer researcher enables him to quickly access the contacts and have the discussions necessary to access unusual treatments.

The shame is that doctors (and hospitals, and nurses…) and the care they offer are like everything in life: on a spectrum of quality. Most people diagnosed with a serious disease (such as cancer) simply don’t have the knowledge, skills, time, and resources necessary to drive themselves further along this spectrum from the median towards excellence.

The system is such that to achieve optimal medical outcomes for oneself requires an understanding of the medical system, and an ability to work effectively within (or manipulate) it, to your own benefit. And it’s easy to understand that a well-connected doctor would be able to do that better than most.