Sherpa's Farewell

I am afraid that my time here is shortly coming to an end. I am writing today to say goodbye. Why?


Like Joe Black said.....




"It will be revealed in due time."





I can no longer blog. I started this blog nearly 2 years ago to educate people on the promise of personalized medicine. I have helped point out some shortcomings in the medical system and the medical education system. I have complained about medical fraud, uneducated providers inappropriately ordering tests, malpractice, genetic counselors acting like physicians, physicians acting unprofessional and even acted unprofessional myself a time or 2.



I have pointed out impartiality in the press. I have indicated the lack of journalistic integrity that pervades the system.


That being said, my last year has been especially hard on corporate genomics. I have railed against research done on subjects without IRBs, I have complained about illegal activity with the promotion of tests in states whose laws forbid such testing, I have gotten pissed about the manipulation of vulnerable subjects and the despicable acts of using a spit kit to collect a child's sample against their will or without proper consent. I have laughed about the way in which these companies pretend to be medicine without taking any of the responsibility. I have even told you that these companies in their current incarnation will hinder personalized medicine's growth.


It is with that clarity, honesty and vigilance which I have been brought to a screeching halt.





These companies have way more money and power than I. They will continue to fill the echo chamber with platitudes of their superiority. In the end, they will convince you that they were the saviours of medicine, when in fact all that they did was pay a PR firm millions of dollars to sell you on the "next big thing"


I despise when a scientific study is hyped, but I understand why it is. The work is often the life's work of that scientist, who often has no ability to clinically translate it. But these companies took these scientists' work, they jumped the line and are using non-clinical science and making insinuations that it could be used in a clinical manner without nearly any more than 2 years of work.


It is precisely because of my warring against these tribes that I have to say goodbye to blogging. They have more money AND more lawyers......


The Sherpa Says: Goodbye blogosphere, Goodnight and Good Luck.