"...and Lead to Death."

 Regular readers of this unassuming little blog will remember that I was hired by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals for my first post-college job.

They thought it was a good idea to have me travel the plains of Kansas and Nebraska calling on old country doctors.  And try to convince them to prescribe Pfizer's drugs.  Me, a guy with two weeks of training in New York City.  Training I'd need to talk these old boys into doing things my way.

Fortunately, they provided me with tons of samples or the doctors wouldn't give me the time of day.  And most didn't anyway.

That was the way it was done back then.  "Detail men," we were called, traveling around, cooling our heels in the doctors waiting room, ready for the 2 or 3 minutes with our meal ticket.  I drove an average of 55,000 miles a year doing this.  From little towns to little towns.  Dodging tornadoes.  Hoping for a way out of this quagmire.

They're doing it differently now.  The FCC and the FTC decided back in the 2010's that it was okay for the drug companies to avertise their medications on TV.  They could do so as long as they also advertised the side effects and prescribing limitations of their drugs.  And now they're all putting their money in TV ads.  No more guys wearing out cars while getting berated by physicians.  

But my psychology training has alerted me to a simple fact; those suffering from disease states a drug might help, listen only to those benefits.  And then go to their primary care docs and demand he/she/it prescribe it for them.  They tend to pay no attention to the side effects.  And some of them are ferocious!  Here's an example of one popular drug, advertised all over TV, which I believe proves my point. 

Keytruda is a drug manufactured by Merck Pharmaceuticals.  It's specialized for the treatment of cancers.  Some 18 kinds of cancer, Merck says.  And they tell cancer sufferers that at the beginning of the ads.  And then go on to list the copious reasons why you might not want to take it.  They even say, "It's not right for everyone."  Well, duh!  Here they are:

     -  Keytruda can attack your immune system, and cause your immune system to attack healthy parts of your body, either during treatment, or after, or both.

     -  Such side effects may be severe, "...and lead to death."

     -  It may cause coughing, shortness of breath, chest pain, diarrhea, severe stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, headaches and photosensitivity.

     -  It can cause eye problems, irregular heartbeat, extreme tiredness, constipation, dizzyness, fainting, confusion, changes in appetite, thirst or urine output. 

     -  Keytruda may cause memory problems, persistent and severe muscle pain or weakness, muscle cramps, fever, rash, itching or flushing.

     -  It can also harm your unborn babies and lead to infertility.  

     -  And most interestingly, there may be other unlisted side effects.  

Others?  What other side effects are there?