Updated 25/05/2026
A 17-year-old diagnosed with melanoma in situ faced not just the prospect of cancer, but decades of mandatory surveillance—a experience that raises a troubling question: at what point does the management of risk transform into a disease of its own? This case, documented by Davies in The BMJ, reveals the persistent tension of “lifelong vigilance.” As argued by Aronowitz, “one underappreciated consequence of modern clinical and public health practices is that the experience of being at risk for disease has been converging with the experience of disease itself.” This experience involves regular medical visits and tests accompanied by anxiety, affecting quality of life, ability to work, and creating considerable economic burden.
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Medically reviewed by Prof. Giorgi Pkhakadze, MD, MPH, PhD. Spotted an error? Contact the editorial team.
