Comment by shevy-java

> You may need to push for comprehensive genetic testing. > This caused a multi-month delay to getting genetic results, since the first results were done on the surgery tumor, not the biopsy tumor.

I am confused. What does "comprehensive genetic testing" mean here?

Note: I understand perfectly fine the idea of testing. I fail to see why this is required here.

For instance, the blog author differs between surgery tumor and biopsy tumor. However had, a tumor is a clone, by definition; see Henrietta Lacks cells (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrietta_Lacks).

I do not understand his distinction here. I don't think the distinction makes any logical sense either.

> Use AI to help you figure out what to pick based on your case.

I fail to see the point here either.

> The rest of the HN comments are worth reading too.

I am not sure about that either.

I understand the issue of cancer being different, and some can kill people quickly (Henrietta did not reach an old age), but I had small benign tumors removed surgically (fibroma of the fatty underskin). No extra treatment was necessary after that (this happened about 15 years ago or so). I understand that benign tumors are very different from metastasizing cancers; my point is more that I don't really agree with the statements made there in general. I think that surgery is a perfectly fine way for many cancers/tumors. It also is potentially very risky and can come in with huge problems. In my case, though, chopping off the small fibromas was the right choice. Unfortunately cancer will hat many people, also differently, so one may never be secure: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/understanding-...

Risk of getting any type of cancer may be up to 40%; dying may be in between 13-17%, higher for older people. So I am not at all suggesting cancer is harmless at all, but at the same time I would not use that recipe listed on the author's blog entry either. I think the best qualitative assessment I could do is to say "it depends"; and to not rely on AI either. IMO most people should read up on things for a while, does not have to take long, say a week or two of slow, concentrated reading in a non-emotional but objective manner. Then you may understand a lot more. Cancer biology is, for the most part, actually cytology/cell biology. (The cancer chapter in the book molecular biology of the cell is also good; I think even non-scientists will understand most of that via slow reading too. Why does everyone want to succumb to AI here? I don't understand it.)