Beware of Dr Google

Associate Prof Megan Munsie says it is incredibly important to make sure you get the facts before you pursue any form of treatment and don’t rely on the internet for medical advice.

Let’s face it. We all do it. As soon as we want to know more about something, we pull out our smart phones or reach for our computer and use our favourite search engine to access information online.

Never has it been easier to do your ‘research’. But when it comes to our health, and particular new developments in medicine, should Dr Google be the answer?

Destination hope – exploring stem cell tourism

Each year hundreds of Australians are spending time and money to travel overseas in search of medical therapies that are unavailable or illegal at home. Megan Munsie says it is important that patients share their experiences so that others can learn from it.

The possibility that stem cells may one day treat ailments such as Macular Degeneration, Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes and numerous other conditions has captured the public’s imagination and given hope to many.

Although stem cell research is making progress – with many clinical trials now underway to evaluate new therapies – for those seeking cures, the rate of the progress is frustratingly slow.

Some Australians are not prepared to wait and are choosing to pursue experimental, unproven stem cells treatments abroad – a growing but little understood phenomenon often referred to as stem cell tourism.