Depends on whether its a first degree relative with cancer. There are evidence-based guidelines that healthcare professionals follow to ensure they’re not overtesting the population.
There are multiple sides to this testing argument:
Undertesting: if we don’t test enough of the population, many will succumb to the disease if treatment is readily available. Solution is to promote testing.
Overtesting: if we overtest, we waste resources that could be better used for our public health initiatives.
Treatment: Is there an effective treatment for the disease? How does the government define effective (for example, what if treatment only extends life by 3 months)?
Treatment: Is it cost effective for the government to cover the treatment? If you test a bunch of people who are positive for the disease but don’t have coverage or the ability to treat it, then you waste a bunch of money telling people they have a condition that they can’t do anything about anyway.
If knowing whether you have a disease is important and not covered, could always for @dragonbones suggestion and just get tested out of pocket.
Yes, i totally agree. The government likely has a great hand in promoting some kinds of health care. That said they care more about getting voted in than long term success for the greater population. Right or wrong, acceptable or not, most democracies face the exact same issue. It often isnt the best case scenario for the people. This is something we as a country need to collaborate on in a meaningful way . And not just within the political and financial realms.
I am not saying that job is easy. It is insanely problematic as you have domestic and international pressures coming from a thousand angles on both ends of the spectrum. However, just cause its hard and other countries do it worse does not mean we are doing well…better sure. But from a standpoint of looking in through science nd logic, still failing. Issue is, we must deal with culture. And thus becomes the ever turning cycle of inneptitude that is damned if you do, damned if you dont.
As always, educating the population on scientific facts is likely the knly way. Long term thinking. Decades worth, often generational. Somethung our dumb tribal mentality hasnt come to grasp very well. And we do it without going full Chinese, Incan, Egyptian etc style.
my company would offer us an annual health check benefit, i would say it’s akin to an executive check up, the whole nine yards, with tumor biomarkers as part of the deal to check (via drawn blood) if you have protein spikes of certain cancer cells (colorectal, liver, prostate, thyroid, etc) that is out of whack. It will cost you around 7K NT with Cathay Health Care Management for an out of pocket health check.