one study i worked on showed that on average every 12th cigarette you smoked created a mutation in your DNA. usually benign but that’s another path for how it starts.
the cigarette study i mentioned was looking at cells in the lungs and tumor samples iirc.
Being able to read and understand legal text helps you in common areas like agreeing to terms when signing up for cable.
Be your own lawyer or doctor but accept the level of skill and education you currently have and call one when you are over your head.
but are we experts at choosing experts?
life is such is that we have to muddle through when we barely know anything
live or die by your own choices you got only this one
Anecdata, my mother's cancer diagnosis (which she passed from a year later) took longer than it should have because her general physician was a piece of crap and kept insisting it was just bad constipation.
Take a first, second, third, whatever opinion always. And best not to show previous diagnosis reports to the next guy, as that tends to bias them.
Had a "reputed" doctor-professor at an Indian medical school who barely looked at my endoscopy and colonoscopy reports and insisted I was simply suffering from stress and diet issues, when it was actually the signs of Crohn's disease, which was correctly diagnosed by NHS doctors.
And only 20% of Americans get an annual physical.
So, yes, if you can afford both the the time and money to seek proactive, possibly concierge medical advice from a professional, choose it.
Doctors are similarly limited by your advice. If you want to eat healthy, a dietician will be able to offer much more specific and actionable advice. If you want to gain mobility, muscle, and health span, a physical therapist, physical trainer, or yoga instructor is who you want to see.
Financially, we're at a point where blood and urine tests can be taken at home for a fraction of the cost of a single health care professional visit, boosting sample rates and ability to react (including talking to a doctor)
There are certain preventive care services which are justified by evidence-based medicine criteria on an annual (or other periodic) basis. But those aren't what most people think of as a "physical".
https://www.healthcare.gov/coverage/preventive-care-benefits...
(And as someone with a rare incurable disease, I had no choice but to advocate for better tests, second opinions, more information. ALWAYS get a second opinion on major life events, IMO.)
Most doctors would tell you they would love it if patients advocated for their own health. Most of the time they deal with patients who are barely interested in their health.
There is good medical evidence to support colorectal cancer screening so go ahead and get that (along with other recommended preventive care services) if you meet the criteria.
https://www.healthcare.gov/preventive-care-adults/
Obesity and insulin resistance (type-2 diabetes) greatly increase the risk of many types of cancer. Don't overeat, don't get fat, and exercise enough to keep your metabolism working well.
Critically, risks are cumulative so the chances of cancer depend not on individual events taken in isolation but multiple events combined, and many of them are under your control.
>> and many of them are under your control
This is the societal problem with cancer. If someone gets cancer I'm guessing it might be an incorrect reaction for one to think it was the person's "fault", but the reality is cancer just happens, and it's not a modern phenomena. No one can control the type of cancer they get and no one can control the (unaided) outcome.
My banana comment was partly in jest, but as an example that ionized radiation is found everywhere, and our body is set up to protect, remove, and repair broken DNA on a regular basis.
But there’s a great number of things that increase risks of cancer to the point where you can be well below average cancer risks.
Cancer is scary, because there always looms the unknown causes. Heart disease, less scary, because people have much more control through healthy habits. Cancer, not as much.
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.
Doctors don't just say it, evidence bears it out. Screening detects way more false positive than true positives. Following everything up is simply not possible, unless you have tons of money and basically making your life about prevention and little else.