Sorry, I'm no longer convinced of this. I think there's a large range of procedures/treatments being done that don't work, that kill people all the time. And in the end you are often just trading short term risk, for a longer payoff.

Say you have prostate cancer. Should you risk the low chance of dying of prostate cancer 10 years from now, or the higher chance of incontinence, and medical complications from the treatment you undertake now.