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YC: Requests for Startups

(www.ycombinator.com)
514 points sarimkx | 2 comments | 14 Feb 24 16:31 UTC | HN request time: 2.071s | source
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yashap ◴[14 Feb 24 15:35 UTC] No.39371018[source]▶
> A way to end cancer

What they’re proposing here seems so doable. Certainly not EASY, but POSSIBLE. Companies tackling this problem could legitimately change the world.

replies(1): >>39371121 #
hef19898 ◴[14 Feb 24 15:40 UTC] No.39371121[source]▶
They do already as we speak.
replies(1): >>39377877 #
yashap ◴[15 Feb 24 01:07 UTC] No.39377877[source]▶
The idea is basically “MRIs for all, so that we can consistently catch early stage cancer before it spreads.”

They don’t go into specifics, but it seems to me like this means making MRIs cheap enough, with low enough false positive rates, that every day ppl can get them frequently. Probably ~twice a year, given how fast cancer spreads.

I’m aware of companies doing proactive MRIs that cost ~$2K/scan, that aren’t covered by health insurance. Great for the wealthy, but seems infeasible for every day ppl. I’m not aware of anyone legitimately trying to make this affordable/scalable enough that most people can get scanned frequently. Maybe they’re out there and I just haven’t heard of them? Or were you referring more to the ~$2K/scan companies?

replies(1): >>39379850 #
1. hef19898 ◴[15 Feb 24 06:55 UTC] No.39379850[source]▶
Look up all the mRNA research going into fighting cancer for example. Or tailor made treatment. Fighting cancer is so much more than just early detection, which isbincredibly important for sure.
replies(1): >>39389162 #
2. yashap ◴[15 Feb 24 21:27 UTC] No.39389162[source]▶
Yeah agreed, early detection isn’t a panacea, but it does seem like a pretty promising approach to have a big impact.