Hacker News Reader

Comment by aespinoza | Hacker News Reader

I think at this point, even doctors don't know. See I have talked to several, and the answers are always mixed.

Some believe the results, some are just waiting for a more definitive study.

In the end one doctor said "..not to take it even if it has SOME benefits. Aspirin, like any other pill can cause gastrointestinal bleeding. So if there is no reason to take it avoid it..."

View on HN

This is true. However, you are going to get a far more informed opinion talking to your doctor than you are here or on any other web forum.

If there's a marked decrease in cancer, associated with a mild increase in gastro-whatever bleeding, then it's probably a good trade-off.

If it is mild, it might. I don't know if everybody is willing to take that trade-off. It seems like fixing one problem with another problem.

It's funny, though, how everyone already takes similar trade-offs all the time. E.g., we're trading a high risk of dying a violent death at the hands (or claws) of enemies and predators (life in the primeval savanna) for a lower risk of dying of obesity, diabetes, and so on (modern "civilized" life).

No one's making that choice, it just kind of happened.

That bleeding can cause other problems like anemia, and aspirin can also cause ulcers, which besides the discomfort, can become a serious medical emergency.

This is truly a balancing act, and we really don't know enough to balance it for generally-healthy people at large.

What if the gastrointestinal bleeding is the cause of the decrease in cancer?

All pills can do that? I thought many were designed to dissolve in your stomach like tums. Not sure why they should be exceptionally bad, unless tums cause issues too.

I read "pills" as referring to other Aspirin-class medications (OTC NSAIDs and/or pain relievers), such as Naproxen Sodium, Paracetamol and Ibuprofen.

A pill, after all, is just a transport mechanism. It's the substance of the pill that determines side effects and risk. For example, you don't often hear about multivitamins causing stomach bleeding.

Well they all MIGHT. My understanding is that most pills these days have some kind of protection for your stomach. But it doesn't work 100%, and it doesn't work perfectly on everybody.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com