The vast knowledge we have to prevent cancer, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses is staggering.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Think about it: Heart disease and diabetes, which account for more deaths in the U.S. and worldwide than everything else combined, are completely preventable by making comprehensive lifestyle changes. Without drugs or surgery.
We need to think of chronic disease, hypertension, cancer, like H1N1. In fact, there's an epidemic of chronic disease.
I think that that's the wisest thing - to prevent illness before we try to cure something.
The tremendous acquisition of basic knowledge will allow a much more rational treatment of cancer, viral infections, degenerative diseases and, most importantly, mental diseases.
We've gone from a preponderance of acute and infectious disease as a source of premature death to chronic diseases, which are the preponderance of the burden of illness in most of the world. That puts a much higher premium on the prevention of chronic disease than ever in history.
We should have lifelong monitoring of our vital signs that predict things like skin or pancreatic cancer so we can eradicate it. We should have personalized medicine; there's a huge amount of innovation possible.
We know a great deal more about the causes of physical disease than we do about the causes of physical health.
We are paying the price for living longer, collecting degenerative diseases along the way. Cancer is only one. Others are heart and brain diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinsons.
We're not going to find a magic cure for cancer. We've got to prevent it.
We may never understand illnesses such as cancer. In fact, we may never cure it. But an ounce of prevention is worth more than a million pounds of cure.