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The Pattern

The Pattern

How the business of medicine shapes what you're told — and what gets left out.

Every system has incentives. Once you see them, you can't unsee them. This section isn't conspiracy — it's structure. How medicine makes money, how that's changed, and why the questions you're not asking are the ones that matter most.

How Medicine Makes Money
The basics. Fee-for-service, procedure volume, drug margins, hospital systems. The financial incentives behind every recommendation you receive.
The Classic Cancer Model
Chemo, radiation, surgery. Brutal but finite. Treatment had an endpoint because your body couldn't take more. How the business of volume worked.
The Immunotherapy Model
The drugs that changed everything — and created a new problem. Tolerable enough to continue indefinitely. 'Until progression' isn't science. It's a business model.
The Playbook
The same justifications. The same deflections. The same moves that frame 'more' as responsible and 'less' as reckless. Once you see the patterns, you can't unsee them.
Questions They Don't Want You to Ask
The specific questions that expose the gaps. What to ask your oncologist — and what to do when they can't answer.