[Spooky23]

My wife fell victim to metastatic melanoma and we lost her a little over a year ago. She previously had a cancerous mole removed on her shoulder that was detected within days of appearing.

She was 5 years out. By all reasonable accounts, she was clear of cancer and had a low risk of recurring. Until it did.

I say this because cancer is fundamentally a numbers game. Very few cancers can be prevented by medical intervention and some of the common ways to prevent certain cancers (HPV vaccines) are controversial, because society is stupid.

So you take your 23andMe, and find out you have a 50% increased risk of developing cancer of some sort. Now what? Do you know what that really means? Do you go to your doctor? What do they say? Do you decide you’re gonna die anyway and embrace van life? Do you go buy squid ink from some Instagram quack for $50/oz?

In business we make a distinction between data and information. This is data that creates anxiety with no purpose.

In my wife’s case, what should she have done? She had elevated, low risk for developing melanoma within 5 years. We knew that, she knew that. Ultimately, cancer is about math and risk. Reduce risk if you can - stop drinking and smoking. The variables you can’t control are fate. Worry won’t affect them, but will affect you.