text_1: Hyperbaric oxygen: The mysterious therapy that saved a cancer survivor from radiation side effects
text_2: This well-written article discusses a patient suffering from delayed effects of radiation who received hyperbaric therapy treatment. The patient noticed improvements in pain levels and mobility, but doctors in the story warn that this treatment is unproven to help patients with delayed radiation injury and that this type of therapy tends to be overused. Though it is gratifying to hear the patient’s words and the hope that this treatment has provided him, it actually isn’t clear whether the hyperbaric oxygen itself was the reason he got better. The “placebo” effect is well described in the medical literature and refers to sham treatments (fake surgery or pills) leading to benefit. It may also be that the treatment really did help but not for the reasons cited–maybe simply sitting still for hours helped tissues to heal. We do wish the story had explored this aspect more. Overuse of unproven medical technologies poses risks to patients and adds to rising healthcare costs. An N of 1 does not prove that a technology works since there are so many other factors that could contribute to a patient seeing improvement over time.