---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a poor doctor who can't cure one…"
description: "\"It's a poor doctor who can't cure one disease without giving you another.\" — Thomas More"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/thomas-more-3382_cures_it-s-a-poor-doctor-who-can-t-cure-one-di_2144475.jpg"
---

#  It's a poor doctor who can't cure one disease without…

![“It's a poor doctor who can't cure one disease without giving you another.” quote by Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/thomas-more-3382_cures_it-s-a-poor-doctor-who-can-t-cure-one-di_2144475.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/thomas-more-3382_cures_it-s-a-poor-doctor-who-can-t-cure-one-di_2144475.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/thomas-more-3382_cures_it-s-a-poor-doctor-who-can-t-cure-one-di_2144475.jpg)

> “It's a poor doctor who can't cure one disease without giving you another.”

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He critiques doctors who cure one disease while causing another, highlighting medical trade‑offs.

**In simple terms:** Doctors may cure one illness but cause another.

Key Takeaway

Consider unintended consequences in treatment.

Themes

medicine ethics trade‑offs healthcare

Mood

critical thoughtful

Type

ethical medical

When to use this quote

- clinical practice
- policy regulation
- patient education

Key Concepts

risk assessment patient safety

Questions to Reflect On

- How can doctors balance benefits and harms?
- What safeguards reduce medical side effects?

A Different Perspective

Complex diseases may require compromises.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Doctor who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor-who/) [Doctors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctors/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/)

## Related quotes

> [There's another advantage to being poor - a doctor will cure you faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kin-hubbard/there-s-another-advantage-to-being-poor-a-doctor-will-cure-you-faster/)

[Kin Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kin-hubbard/)

> [“I'll become a doctor who can cure any disease! Because... because there's no disease in this world that can't be cured!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-chopper/i-ll-become-a-doctor-who-can-cure-any-disease-because-because-there-s/)

Tony Chopper

> [Doctor can cure a disease but pharmacist can cure a patient!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ketaki/doctor-can-cure-a-disease-but-pharmacist-can-cure-a-patient/)

Ketaki

> [Now, on this road trip, my mind seemed to uncrinkle, to breathe, to present to itself a cure for a disease it had not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/now-on-this-road-trip-my-mind-seemed-to-uncrinkle-to-breathe-to/)

[Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/)

> [Cure the symptoms, cure the disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/cure-the-symptoms-cure-the-disease/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Give me a chance to create a fever and I will cure any disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parmenides/give-me-a-chance-to-create-a-fever-and-i-will-cure-any-disease/)

[Parmenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parmenides/)

> [Treat persons who profess to be able to cure disease as you treat fortune tellers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/treat-persons-who-profess-to-be-able-to-cure-disease-as-you-treat/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [It's the Marilyn Monroe school of medicine where enough of any drug will cure any disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/it-s-the-marilyn-monroe-school-of-medicine-where-enough-of-any-drug/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

> [Nothing is more dangerous than a poor doctor: not even a poor employer or a poor landlord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/nothing-is-more-dangerous-than-a-poor-doctor-not-even-a-poor-employer/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [A smart mother makes often a better diagnosis than a poor doctor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-bier/a-smart-mother-makes-often-a-better-diagnosis-than-a-poor-doctor-2/)

[August Bier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-bier/)

> [As with eggs, there is no such thing as a poor doctor, doctors are either good or bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fuller-albright/as-with-eggs-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-poor-doctor-doctors-are/)

[Fuller Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fuller-albright/)

> [Taking all the round of professions and occupations, you will find that every man is the worse for being poor; and the doctor is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/taking-all-the-round-of-professions-and-occupations-you-will-find/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [A man who cannot work without his hypodermic needle is a poor doctor. The amount of narcotic you use is inversely proportional to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-h-fischer/a-man-who-cannot-work-without-his-hypodermic-needle-is-a-poor-doctor/)

[Martin H. Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-h-fischer/)

> [A doctor who keeps a person from becoming ill deserves more merit than one who cures him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/a-doctor-who-keeps-a-person-from-becoming-ill-deserves-more-merit/)

[Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/)

> [In her novel Regeneration, Pat Barker writes of a doctor who 'knew only too well how often the early stages of change or cure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-her-novel-regeneration-pat-barker-writes-of-a-doctor-who-knew-only/)

[Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/)

## More by Thomas More

> [“But what they find most amazing and despicable is the insanity of those who all but worship the rich, to whom they owe nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/but-what-they-find-most-amazing-and-despicable-is-the-insanity-of/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> ["Tell me, what's Love?" said Youth, one day, To drooping Age, who crost his way, "It is a sunny hour of play, For which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/tell-me-what-s-love-said-youth-one-day-to-drooping-age-who-crost-his/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> [“Why do you suppose they made you king in the first place?' I ask him. 'Not for your benefit, but for theirs. They meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/why-do-you-suppose-they-made-you-king-in-the-first-place-i-ask-him/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> [“This lively health, when entirely free from all mixture of pain, of itself gives an inward pleasure, independent of all external objects of delight;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/this-lively-health-when-entirely-free-from-all-mixture-of-pain-of/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> [Nobody sees a flower really,it is so small. We haven't time,and to see takes time- like to have a friend takes time. One of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/nobody-sees-a-flower-really-it-is-so-small-we-haven-t-time-and-to-see/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> [Friendship demands attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/friendship-demands-attention/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> [“(...) personal prejudice and financial greed are the two great evils that threaten courts of law, and once they get the upper hand they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/personal-prejudice-and-financial-greed-are-the-two-great-evils-that/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> [Pride thinks it's own happiness shines the brighter by comparing it with the misfortunes of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/pride-thinks-it-s-own-happiness-shines-the-brighter-by-comparing-it/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> [In the first place, most princes apply themselves to the arts of war, in which I have neither ability nor interest, instead of to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/in-the-first-place-most-princes-apply-themselves-to-the-arts-of-war/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> [No living creature is naturally greedy, except from fear of want - or in the case of human beings, from vanity, the notion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/no-living-creature-is-naturally-greedy-except-from-fear-of-want-or-in/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> [Lord, give me a sense of humor so that I may take some happiness from this life and share it with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/lord-give-me-a-sense-of-humor-so-that-i-may-take-some-happiness-from/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> [“The leaving him thus did not a little gratify one that was more fond of travelling than of returning home to be buried in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/the-leaving-him-thus-did-not-a-little-gratify-one-that-was-more-fond/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> [There are several sorts of religions, not only in different parts of the island, but even in every town; some worshipping the sun, others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/there-are-several-sorts-of-religions-not-only-in-different-parts-of/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> [“... the way to heaven is the same from all places, and he that had no grave had the heavens still over him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/the-way-to-heaven-is-the-same-from-all-places-and-he-that-had-no/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

> [I would uphold the law if for no other reason but to protect myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/i-would-uphold-the-law-if-for-no-other-reason-but-to-protect-myself/)

[Thomas More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

[Explore all 126 Thomas More quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/)

## More Cures quotes

> [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/)

[Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/)

> [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/)

[Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/)

> [We are all potentially such sick men. The sanest and best of us are of one clay with lunatics and prison-inmates. And whenever we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/we-are-all-potentially-such-sick-men-the-sanest-and-best-of-us-are-of/)

[William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/)

> [Jesus never met a disease he could not cure, a birth defect he could not reverse, a demon he could not exorcise. But he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/jesus-never-met-a-disease-he-could-not-cure-a-birth-defect-he-could/)

[Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/)

> [It is some alleviation to ills we cannot cure to speak of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/it-is-some-alleviation-to-ills-we-cannot-cure-to-speak-of-them/)

[Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/)

> [Being single isnt the cause of loneliness, and marriage is not necessarily the cure. There are many lonely married people as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renee-jones/being-single-isnt-the-cause-of-loneliness-and-marriage-is-not/)

Renee Jones

> [We know nothing of the principle of health, the positive of which pathology is the negative, except from observation and experience. And nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/we-know-nothing-of-the-principle-of-health-the-positive-of-which/)

[Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/)

> [One day I was running around playing with my son Connor when afterwards I was sweating, tired and out of breath. I was embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-carey/one-day-i-was-running-around-playing-with-my-son-connor-when/)

[Drew Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-carey/)

> [Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said, it was revealed to him, that the King's hand would cure him, and at the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/arise-evans-had-a-fungous-nose-and-said-it-was-revealed-to-him-that/)

[John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/)

> [In the history of man it has been very generally the case that when evils have grown insufferable they have touched the point of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-hubbel-chapin/in-the-history-of-man-it-has-been-very-generally-the-case-that-when/)

[Edwin Hubbel Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-hubbel-chapin/)

> [“Suckers think that you cure greed with money, addiction with substances, expert problems with experts, banking with bankers, economics with economists, and debt crises…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/suckers-think-that-you-cure-greed-with-money-addiction-with/)

[Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/)

> [A lean purse is easier to cure than to endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-s-clason/a-lean-purse-is-easier-to-cure-than-to-endure/)

[George S. Clason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-s-clason/)

> [Physicians, when the cause of disease is discovered, consider that the cure is discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/physicians-when-the-cause-of-disease-is-discovered-consider-that-the/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [I think self-deprecation is such a disease, and I want to cure everybody of it and so that's my contribution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/i-think-self-deprecation-is-such-a-disease-and-i-want-to-cure/)

[Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/)

> [Care is no cure, but rather corrosive, For things that are not to be remedied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/care-is-no-cure-but-rather-corrosive-for-things-that-are-not-to-be/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

Browse all 1,511 Cures quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It's a poor doctor who can't cure one disease without giving you another.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas More"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/it-s-a-poor-doctor-who-can-t-cure-one-disease-without-giving-you/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Cures"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/it-s-a-poor-doctor-who-can-t-cure-one-disease-without-giving-you/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/thomas-more-3382_cures_it-s-a-poor-doctor-who-can-t-cure-one-di_2144475.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/thomas-more-3382_cures_it-s-a-poor-doctor-who-can-t-cure-one-di_2144475.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/507/thomas-more-3382_cures_it-s-a-poor-doctor-who-can-t-cure-one-di_2144475.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It's a poor doctor who can't cure one disease without giving you another.” — Thomas More",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Thomas More",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-more/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It's a poor doctor who can't...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/it-s-a-poor-doctor-who-can-t-cure-one-disease-without-giving-you/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-more/it-s-a-poor-doctor-who-can-t-cure-one-disease-without-giving-you/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
