Treatment ◆ Above All, Do No Harm
Chunichi Shimbun, Morning Edition, February 2, 2007
First Do No Harm (1997, USA)
Childhood epilepsy is a condition characterized by recurrent severe seizures and loss of consciousness. Although medical treatments have advanced considerably, children whose seizures cannot be controlled may face disadvantages later in life, including difficulties finding employment.
The film First Do No Harm is a medical drama about a mother who begins to question her doctors’ treatment decisions for her son with epilepsy.
Lori (Meryl Streep) lives a happy life with her three children until one day her youngest, Robbie, a preschooler, suffers a seizure. He is diagnosed with intractable epilepsy.
Various medications fail to help, and Robbie grows weaker from their side effects. When his doctors recommend surgery, Lori is unconvinced. As she searches through medical literature, she discovers the ketogenic diet, a dietary therapy that can be considered for children with drug-resistant epilepsy.
The doctors oppose the approach, saying it is not an established treatment. Determined to explore every possibility, Lori takes Robbie to Johns Hopkins University, where the ketogenic diet is used to treat epilepsy.
With careful meal planning and dedicated guidance from a specialist dietitian, who weighs every ingredient precisely, Robbie’s condition improves dramatically. Based on a true story, the film movingly portrays the power of a mother’s love and determination.
However, I hope viewers will not conclude from this film that doctors cannot be trusted. Robbie’s first physician recommended medication and surgery based on EEG findings and brain imaging because these were standard treatments. The diagnosis was not necessarily wrong. Yet when standard medical treatment fails, a gap can emerge between a family’s hopes and the medical team’s approach.
The film’s original title, First Do No Harm, echoes the principle traditionally associated with the Hippocratic Oath: above all, do no harm. At the heart of medicine is the commitment to avoid making a patient’s condition worse. This principle remains fundamental, especially when treatment decisions are difficult and the best course of action is uncertain.
