When I was young (sooooo long ago!), I worked at a tiny Catholic hospital.  There was a patient who had had a tapeworm for years, so many years that he'd named his worm Fred, and the Dr would periodically admit the guy to try to get rid of the worm once and for all.  Part of the treatment at that time involved a very strict diet plan along with medication, and it wasn't a quick fix......took...IIRC....about 3 weeks to go thru the whole thing.  One day the man checked himself out of the hospital quite a while before the treatment was to be completed.  When he was asked what in the world he was gonna do now, he just told the desk clerk, "I'm gonna go buy Fred a steak".