Growing bigger boobs is as easy as chewing a piece of gum. Bust-Up gum, developed in Japan (why am I not surprised) has been an instant hit with Tokyo women, even though it cost about $25 for 200 pieces. The company has already received thousands of orders and intends to sell it at convenience stores.

This magic chewing gum is made by the B2Up comapny, and not only will it give you the breasts of your dreams, but according to the company, when chewed three or four times a day, it will also fight ageing, improve circulation and reduce stress. Sounds too good to be true.

While it contains a number of ingredients, the most active one appears to be pueraria mirifica. Whatever that is. Anyway, it would be nice if it really works, but I’m not holding my breath. These magic bullits seem to come and go, faster than a speeding bullit.

Rumors. Urban legends. It is amazing what sometimes begins in the mind of one person and spreads to the point of becoming fact. I am currently embroiled in an argument on another board over Terri Schiavo, and one person (who believes that they are an expert on the case, even though it is obvious that they haven’t read all the facts) came out with such a bizarre statement–well, makes my flesh crawl. But even though I answered him/her (anonymous posts) on this particular board, I feel it is worth mentioning here. Not to give this person a platform, but to point out how easy it is for fantasy to turn into fact.

The Case of the Brainless Baby

This particular person is in favor of removing Terri’s feeding tube, and judging from some of his/her (maybe I’ll just say “it” to make it easier) comments, it seems that either this person just has been relying on the poor presentation of the case by the media, or is just naturally cruel. Or just doesn’t understand what is actually going on. You know, one of the death-with-dignity people.

Anyway, this person accused another poster of “spreading misinformation” and then proceeded to weave into some strange yarn about how a family friend lost his medical license for advocating that anacephalic babies not be put on life support. I had to blink a few times, and reread, to make sure that what I was reading correctly. According to this post, the doctor friend lost his license simply because of what he said; ie, that he thought it was wrong to spend millions of dollars keeping anacephalic babies alive.

Okay, some facts. An anacephalic baby is one born without a brain. That’s the simplest explanation. More technically, the upper part of the brain and the overlying skull cap are absent, although the lower part of the brain or brainstem do develop to a certain extent. It is not very common in the general population and occurs in about 1:1,000 pregnancies. And it is not compatible with life. One cannot survive without a brain.

The poster also said that the doctor friend brought up questions about the quality of life of a human being born with little or no brain. Uh, that is really a moot point since there is no life without a brain. One cannot argue about the quality of life in such a person, because there is no life!

So let’s take this bizarre post apart. First, most anacephalic babies are stillborn or die shortly after birth. The longest I have ever seen one survive is about 3 days. We feed them, keep them warm and comfy, but that’s it. In the 15 years that I worked in newborn intensive care, I have never heard of a doctor or nurse or parent wanted to perform heroics to try to keep the baby alive. Anyone suggesting it would be considered just as brainless as the baby. And I can’t see how “millions” are being spent on these infants. The amount of money that they cost is primarily the mother’s bill for labor and delivery, and postpartum.

Second, a doctor losing his license over “comments.” Please, don’t insult my intelligence. There has to be known “willful misconduct” for a license to be revoked. There are physicians still practicing who have committed gross malpractice, who are incompetent and have been sued, who are drug abusers, etc, and are still practicing. The idea that a doctor would have his license revoked, for offering his opinion on anything–and especially, when the opinion is in line with medical protocol.

Urban Legend, Here I Come

The reason I have posted this story is because it is so easy for a rumor to become “fact.” We begin with the person who posted this. Obviously, the poster has absolutely no medical knowledge, but has heard of babies being born without a brain. Knows the medical term as well, but that’s about it because he seems to think that these babies can somehow be kept alive for long periods of time. If he or she didn’t make it up entirely, then perhaps the story filtered down through many mouths, going through many “transitions,” until it reached its present form. Who knows, this doctor in question may have lost his license for killing a baby that was only brain damaged and not brainless. The possibilities are endless.

Now, once a person posts something like this on a popular board, particularly one lacking in readers who work in healthcare, then the rumor is likely to spread. Someone sees it and thinks, “Gee, are millions really being spent to keep anacephalic babies alive? That’s insane. And poor doctor, for being an advocate. What a hero, a martyr, losing his license for standing up to the powers that be.” And so, this person posts this story elsewhere, and before you know it, this crazy tale is all over the Internet.

Anyway, I’ve had enough craziness for one weekend.