A data-driven approach to health. Garbage in, panic out

On the data-driven approach to health.

I'm 29 and I decided it was time to "take care of my health".

Like any normal product manager, I went about it systematically. Opened a lab's website, picked the "Full body checkup" package: 47 biomarkers, tumor markers, hormones, vitamins. $500. Health matters most, right?

I get the results. Three markers "out of reference range", one tumor marker slightly elevated. First reaction: shock. Fuck. Then two weeks of talking to Claude, four consultants, and one more ultrasound for $150. Exhale. I'm healthy. Every "deviation" turned out to be a variant of normal or a false positive.

After this whole saga I walk into a clinic, and the internist looks at my stack of results:

• Doctor: "Why did you take all of these?"
• Me: "Prevention, early detection..."
• Her: "You're healthy! You're 28. You needed to measure your blood pressure and see a couple of doctors. Done."

Turns out evidence-based medicine settled this ages ago. Before 30 the whole program is blood pressure once a year, a visit to a few basic doctors, and hepatitis tests if you live like a rock star (I don't). Glucose and lipids show up from 35, colon cancer screening from 45, PSA from 55. And what healthy people don't need at any age: tumor markers, whole-body MRI, DNA predisposition tests. That stuff produces a pile of false positives, panic and pointless follow-ups instead of catching disease.

TL;DR: I spent $650 on a data-driven approach to my health and got garbage in, panic out. In product terms, I was collecting every metric in sight instead of the ones that actually move the outcome. 🤡

Stay tuned