Nowadays, a growing number of people with health problems are trying alternative medicines and treatments instead of visiting their usual doctor. Do you think this is a positive or a negative development?

There exists an increasing trend in recent years that more people are turning to alternative medicines and treatments rather than consulting with their usual doctor when having health problems. In my opinion, despite 1a few possible benefitsfew possible benefits, this development brings about a lot more setbacks that will do great harm to both patients and the whole society.

The argument in favor of 2such a trendsuch trend is that the chance to survive for patients may increase as the choices of medical care methods increase. Compared with usual doctors that have received limited training and don't have much knowledge about the latest development of medicine, alternative medicines and treatments derived from the newest scientific 3researchresearches may provide unexpected improvements to patients' health. For example, people suffering from 4tumorstumor tend to choose medicines that are still under 5trialtests when no existent methods can help them survive, and they decide to 6roll the dicethrow a dice. In this way, it seems reasonable to consider alternative medicines and treatments as a help to curing fatal diseases.

However, this approach also results in several 7harmfulharming outcomes to patients and the society, outweighing the minor benefits it cannot ensure. For patients, their usual doctors are the only 8expertsexpertise about their conditions in most cases, and believing in methods that their usual doctors 9disapprove ofdisapprove is absolutely a risky move. 10The current situation may be depressing, the prospect may be bleak, but it doesn't mean that it is a wise move for patients to gamble their lives for a seemingly promising future using measures that probably don't suit their particular 11conditionstatus at all. In fact, people with terminal diseases who are most desperate for trying new alternatives receive 12a much lower survival ratequite lower survival chance than continuing with original treatments.

Moreover, as the trend grows popular, the 14relationship of trusttrust relationship between patients and doctors will gradually collapse, thereby affecting the medical care for the whole society. 15As the number of patients who have little professional knowledge refuse to take doctors' prescriptions rise, more ordinary people will be affected by this trend believe less in doctors' suggestions, even if they are always right. What's worse, 16false advertisementsfake advertisement will make use of this general skepticism, trying to promote their fake but 17well-publicizedwell publicized products to more people, and gradually replacing the hospital's role in medical care. Do we really want to live in a society 18wherethat people take fake pills instead of 19professional medical careprofessional people's help to cure diseases?

In conclusion, people's 20distrust of usual doctorsdistrust usual doctors and turning to alternative medicines and treatments is a harmful development that risks both patients' lives and the medical trust of the society for a negligible amount of luck.