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Taylor Lorenz Nov 15, 2023

“Long Covid, a disease that studies have shown to have a quality of life worse than some end-stage cancers. We know it can be fatal. Many people with Long Covid have described it as a ‘living death.’

There are no cures, no established treatments, no financial support, and no incoming research funding despite the risk of Long Covid increasing with each COVID-19 infection.” https://thesicktimes.org/2023/11/14/welcome-to-the-sick-times-a-letter-from-our-co-founder-miles-w-griffis/

Welcome to The Sick Times, a letter from our co-founder Miles W. Griffis - The Sick Times

It’s not mysterious. A highly contagious airborne virus has spread around the world for the past four years and continues to infect people as I write. SARS-Cov-2 has killed an excess of 23 million people worldwide and plagued over 65 million people with Long Covid and other associated conditions.

The Sick Times - Chronicling the Long Covid crisis

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Selena Nov 15, 2023

@taylorlorenz
'worse than end-stage cancer' seems like quite an accusation: cancer is the kind of disease where people can die screaming of pain, seeking the strongest opioids that science can give them.

If that's not long-covid it should not be suggested it is: things can be terribly bad and debilitating without resorting to 'worse than cancer' shorthand.

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craftycat Nov 15, 2023

@Selena @taylorlorenz Yeah, I have to agree with this. There will never be a way to get anyone to take Long Covid seriously if people keep using hyperbole to describe it. The medical field does not deal with "this is worse/better than cancer", the medical field deals with actual scientific and measurable symptoms and issues.

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Lewis Nov 15, 2023

@craftycat @Selena @taylorlorenz It's not hyperbole.

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craftycat

@LewisHarrington @Selena @taylorlorenz provided that we even believe that a medical statement about what illness is worse is possible at all, I find it interesting then that the article itself provides nothing that would make such a comparison possible to begin with. The most common symptoms of long covid include long lasting fatigue, recurring fevers, headaches and neurological issues. I would love to see the scientific comparison between these symptoms in long covid vs cancer patients.