If my father had been alive, I wouldn’t have done it. He was a doctor who had a diverse background in medical research, medical writing and editing, both private and hospital practice, and pharmaceutical advertising, and he was always exceedingly wary about treatments that he considered unnecessarily dangerous or insufficiently tested. When my pediatrician wanted to have my adenoids taken out, he said no, and whenever I went to the dentist he wouldn’t let the guy give me novacaine.
