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Craig Venter says early detection is the way to eliminate cancer: https://youtu.be/iUqgTYbkHP8?t=15m37s https://youtu.be/iUqgTYbkHP8?t=15m37s

threeseed 4y ago
But that's kind of not the issue here. It's that false positives in the cancer detection process can sometimes be more likely to kill you than if you didn't check for cancer in the first place. And of course all the flow on effects where the cost of detecting cancer and doing all of these exploratory surgeries means you spend less money on food, well being, basic medical care, dental care etc. Which then may kill you faster than just living with the cancer.
adamredwoods 4y ago
And then what? Blast with chemo? Radiation? We don't have proper tools to stop cancer yet.
- bergenty 4y ago
  So you’d rather not know?
  - refurb 4y ago
    If it's not actionable information, then it's not worth the time or the cost. "Our test indicates you have a 90% chance of <tumor type> cancer cells somewhere in your body. There is no solid tumor, so there is nothing to remove. We can do more work-up to try and find it, but unfortunately the government won't reimburse the cost because it's not cost-effective. Or we could just start giving you chemotherapy for a year, then check later and see if there is any cancer. But there is a chance this is a false postive and you don't have any cancer at all. How do you want to proceed?"
  - FollowingTheDao 4y ago
    At this point, since we don’t know if these early biomarkers lead to any significant harmful outcomes, yes, I would rather not know. If after they do a few decades of test with This and show me that The DNA they found was linked to premature death, then maybe.
- yazaddaruvala 4y ago
  The smaller it is, the safer the operation, the less chemo needed, etc.
- doctoring 4y ago
  Wait, but we do have the tools... We can (and do) cure so many cancers. Usually with surgery, +/- chemo/radiation. Sometimes just radiation. It's hard to overstate how curable most cancers are at early stage -- for some it's well over 90% and approaching 100%. The whole point of these screening tests is to try to find more cancers at more curable stages.
FollowingTheDao 4y ago
Of course you did! He’s a businessman! Always looking for a way to make a profit! I mean he tried to patent our genes!

threeseed 4y ago

But that's kind of not the issue here. It's that false positives in the cancer detection process can sometimes be more likely to kill you than if you didn't check for cancer in the first place. And of course all the flow on effects where the cost of detecting cancer and doing all of these exploratory surgeries means you spend less money on food, well being, basic medical care, dental care etc. Which then may kill you faster than just living with the cancer.

adamredwoods 4y ago

And then what? Blast with chemo? Radiation? We don't have proper tools to stop cancer yet.

bergenty 4y ago
So you’d rather not know?
- refurb 4y ago
  If it's not actionable information, then it's not worth the time or the cost. "Our test indicates you have a 90% chance of <tumor type> cancer cells somewhere in your body. There is no solid tumor, so there is nothing to remove. We can do more work-up to try and find it, but unfortunately the government won't reimburse the cost because it's not cost-effective. Or we could just start giving you chemotherapy for a year, then check later and see if there is any cancer. But there is a chance this is a false postive and you don't have any cancer at all. How do you want to proceed?"
- FollowingTheDao 4y ago
  At this point, since we don’t know if these early biomarkers lead to any significant harmful outcomes, yes, I would rather not know. If after they do a few decades of test with This and show me that The DNA they found was linked to premature death, then maybe.
yazaddaruvala 4y ago
The smaller it is, the safer the operation, the less chemo needed, etc.
doctoring 4y ago
Wait, but we do have the tools... We can (and do) cure so many cancers. Usually with surgery, +/- chemo/radiation. Sometimes just radiation. It's hard to overstate how curable most cancers are at early stage -- for some it's well over 90% and approaching 100%. The whole point of these screening tests is to try to find more cancers at more curable stages.

FollowingTheDao 4y ago

Of course you did! He’s a businessman! Always looking for a way to make a profit! I mean he tried to patent our genes!