Image by AS Photograpy from Pixabay
The New York Times recently published an article about assisted dying, featuring an artist named Awuah-Darko, who has bipolar disorder. He announced his intention to seek assisted dying because the disorder causes him painful mental sensations.
But before ending his life, he decided he wanted something extraordinary: invitations to farewell dinners with strangers. So far, he’s had 145 such dinners, and the invitations keep coming.
Some readers accused him of giving fragile people dangerous ideas. Others questioned whether his sociability meant he wasn’t serious about dying. His intentions may be debatable—but one statement in the article was not. It deeply disturbed me.
According to the article, a “mental health expert” said that bipolar disorder is “a treatable condition.”
The Mirage of “Treatable”
The word treatable sounds hopeful. But “treatable” does not mean “curable.” Almost anything can be “treated” with enough time, money, or medical interventions, even if those interventions offer little benefit or cause significant harm.
In every medical field I’ve examined, treatment success is measured in percentages—and those percentages can be painfully low. You may be among the people who don’t benefit at all, or you may even suffer from the treatment itself.
For example, in one chemotherapy study:
- 18 months after diagnosis, survival was 76.3% for patients who had chemo, versus 69.3% for those who didn’t.
- 30 months after diagnosis, survival was 69.3% with chemo, versus 54.3% without.
You might decide that an 8% and 15% survival boost is worth it. Or you might decide it’s not—especially if those extra months come at the cost of grueling side effects. Yet many health professionals will simply tell you the cancer is “treatable,” as if the word alone should reassure you.
The Price of Treatment
Treatment can be painful, long-term, expensive, and emotionally draining. The American medical system adds its own brand of misery: bureaucracy, inflated costs, indifference, and sometimes outright cruelty.
Sometimes the treatment is deadlier than the disease. A friend’s mother, diagnosed with cancer, didn’t die from the cancer itself, but from the effects of the treatment. Her last months were agony.
How Doctors and Patients Hear “Treatable”
One small study asked 24 laypeople and 24 physicians to interpret the word “treatable.”
- Laypeople heard optimism: “treatable” meant a favorable outcome.
- Physicians heard opportunity: “treatable” meant they could take action—without necessarily implying a better prognosis or quality of life.
I’ve heard doctors use the word as a verbal sedative. Years ago, when I was given a serious (and false) diagnosis, a resident told me, “It’s a treatable condition.” It was meant to comfort and to dismiss the seriousness of the condition. Yet it ultimately was meaningless.
When “Treatable” Blocks Hard Conversations
Arguments against assisted dying often lean on the claim: “The condition is treatable.” Depression, for example, is frequently described as “highly treatable,” but that doesn’t mean every patient recovers—or that recovery comes without pain and risk.
Hearing “treatable” should trigger questions, not blind faith. An article by a patient advocate suggests asking ten tough questions when you’re told something is “treatable”
A Word That Serves the System
The truth is, every treatment—successful or not—generates revenue for the medical system. “Treatable” might bring something to the hospital, the clinic, or the pharmaceutical company. It might bring nothing to you.
When you hear the word, don’t assume good things. Ask the hard questions. And then make decisions based on the answers.
