3 ms·

We definitely know obvious bad behaviors can cause cancer, probably the ones you've heard of. But I think some big part of it is genetics and/or luck. I see w

We definitely know obvious bad behaviors can cause cancer, probably the ones you've heard of. But I think some big part of it is genetics and/or luck. I see what happened to Jobs, and people like him - reasonably healthy people. Then I see men in my family who've routinely drank a ton and chewed tobacco, overweight, spent all day in the sun to the point of looking like leather, and live well into their 80s. Yes everyone has some anecdote that doesn't mean much, but it's hard to reconcile.

_cenw 3y ago
Ever since I had a sometimes-cancerous soft issue tumor so rare, information on it mostly exists in academic writing to then find out it was not cancerous yet at the time it got cut out (probably, but get screened for the next few years anyway) I gave up on looking at numbers to console myself with statistics. Not to say you shouldn't minimize your risk, but it can still hit you regardless.
cmcaleer 3y ago
Re: Jobs specifically, if one has cancer it's best to accept it immediately and to get chemo and other treatments that work, as opposed to colon cleanses, acupuncture etc.. Had he done this his odds of survival. He reportedly expressed regret about this towards the end, per [0]. I think about this kind of thing lot, like how I think about TotalBiscuit's cancer and his regret regarding not getting seen to earlier. The profound level of regret these people must have felt during their final days must have been frustrating and saddening, but I appreciate their efforts to warn others as they have been responsible for me personally making sure I get serious signs and symptoms seen to rather than ignoring a bloody stool as though it's normal, or thinking I can treat something myself without professional advice. [0]: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/oct/21/steve-jobs-cancer-surgery-regret https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/oct/21/steve-job...

_cenw 3y ago

Ever since I had a sometimes-cancerous soft issue tumor so rare, information on it mostly exists in academic writing to then find out it was not cancerous yet at the time it got cut out (probably, but get screened for the next few years anyway) I gave up on looking at numbers to console myself with statistics. Not to say you shouldn't minimize your risk, but it can still hit you regardless.

cmcaleer 3y ago

Re: Jobs specifically, if one has cancer it's best to accept it immediately and to get chemo and other treatments that work, as opposed to colon cleanses, acupuncture etc.. Had he done this his odds of survival. He reportedly expressed regret about this towards the end, per [0]. I think about this kind of thing lot, like how I think about TotalBiscuit's cancer and his regret regarding not getting seen to earlier. The profound level of regret these people must have felt during their final days must have been frustrating and saddening, but I appreciate their efforts to warn others as they have been responsible for me personally making sure I get serious signs and symptoms seen to rather than ignoring a bloody stool as though it's normal, or thinking I can treat something myself without professional advice. [0]: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/oct/21/steve-jobs-cancer-surgery-regret https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/oct/21/steve-job...