A new report released by Google Health shows that over 60% of all people who Google their symptoms are told they either have a tumor or some form of cancer.
Health symptoms are the third most visited type of site on the internet, behind search engines and email. In an effort to avoid going to a real doctor, more and more people are turning to the internet. However, it turns out that searching your symptoms on the internet leads to one of two conclusions: a tumor or cancer.
“I’m not really surprised” says Dr. Steve Gorkin, emergency room physician and lover of web 2.0. “Most symptoms people have are also symptoms of a more serious disease. Unfortunately this leads to a lot of visits to the ER with people who are sure they have a tumor or are dying of cancer.”
While scientists and doctors are happy that people are taking their health into their own hands, there are downsides to it as well. The America Academy of Internet Health has added ‘Google Cancer’ and ‘Google Tumor’ to its new list of diseases for 2016.
