Science can determine your serious illness tomorrow today. But how to live it?

in collaboration with

Amélie Boukhobza (Clinical psychologist)

Today, medicine does more than treat or prevent disease. In the age of AI, it can now predict your risks of developing cancer, or a hereditary or even degenerative disease which will impact your end of life. And the examples in research are permanent.

Illnesses detected up to 20 years in advance?

So in a latest study published this month, a team of scientists announces that they can predict Parkinson’s disease 7 years before the first symptoms, thanks to 8 proteins present in the blood. Thanks to the presence of other proteins, an Australian team also proved a few months ago that Alzheimer’s could be diagnosed up to 20 years before its first signs.

If this research remains fascinating and intends to propose an advance in the preservation of functions (earlier diagnosis and treatment could, for example, help protect brain cells for longer) and care, there remains a more complex point: how does life do we have this new data? When we know that Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s is lurking and we are heading towards this outcome? Should we take a step back, like Chris Hemsworth did, actor who discovered a predisposition to dementia in 2023? Cope with the news or “enjoy” life while knowing that a serious illness could occur?

Living in the present moment, a not-so-obvious solution

We asked this delicate question to a psychologist, Amélie Boukhobza, member of our expert committee, who indeed finds this new medical possibility not very obvious on a personal level. Because knowing that you could suffer from a serious illness in the future can cause a whirlwind of emotions: fear, anxiety, sadness, even anger that is difficult to digest.

This health planning involves new postures. “Of course, on a medical level, this is progress. But the risk is still letting fear of the future dominate the present. In this context, putting in place strategies for the future, such as advance directives and financial security measures, can provide some peace of mind. Then the goal should be to live each day to the fullest.” she advises.

Knowing how to take care of yourself, whatever the outcome

This announcement can also disrupt one’s own relationship to care, good health, and well-being. This is also something you need to be aware of if you undertake tests. “Let’s remember: carrying the gene for Alzheimer’s or another serious illness does not necessarily mean that the disease will inevitably occur. And we must succeed in saying that knowledge allows us to adopt a healthy lifestyle to perhaps delay the appearance of symptoms or mitigate their impact.”

A balanced diet, regular exercise and brain-stimulating activities are recommended, illness or not. Taking care of your mental well-being is just as important.

Should we track everything? That is the question

There remains the question of necessity. If screening for a gene linked to cancer has every interest in being carried out in a family at risk, for example, in order to treat the disease as early as possible, what about a currently incurable disease like Alzheimer’s? Is it useful to know that an illness hovers over our existence, if no real solution is offered to us. “Difficult to give a firm answer.” replies our psychologist.

Advances in screening also raise important ethical questions. Is it always beneficial to know? What impact does this have on our autonomy and our ability to live fully? The answer varies depending on individuals and situations.