Mo's Field Notes

Issue 3

Trust Before Tools in Cancer Prevention

Welcome back to the third issue of Mo's Field Notes.

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Today is February 4th, marking World Cancer Day. I think it's usually framed around cures, breakthroughs, and heroic survivorship. All of that matters, of course. But prevention is a much quieter work. It lives upstream, in policies, environments, and trust.

Cancer prevention is not solely about individual choices such as diet, exercise, or avoiding tobacco. It also depends on whether people trust systems that ask them to screen early, share data, or adopt new technologies before they become ill. A screening program is only as effective as the public’s confidence in it. Early detection tools only save lives if people believe they are safe, ethical, and meant to help rather than surveil or exclude.

Technology now sits at the center of this tension. AI-assisted imaging, risk prediction models, and digital screening tools promise earlier detection than ever before. At the same time, they raise legitimate questions about data use, bias, access, and consent. Communities that medical systems have historically harmed are often the first to be asked to “trust the algorithm,” without transparency or control over how these tools are designed and deployed.

Prevention, then, is not only biomedical. It is social, and it requires clear communication, ethical guardrails, and community-centered design. Trust is a significant component of the infrastructure. Without it, even the most advanced technologies fail to reach the people who need them most.

If you want to explore this intersection of cancer prevention, trust, and technology more deeply, the following free resources are worth bookmarking:

Free Online Resources

📘 Prevent Cancer Advocacy Workshop 2024 & 2025 Watch Recordings

📘 Toolkits from the George Washington University Cancer Center Get Toolkits

📘 NIH's Guide on How to Find Trusted Cancer Resources Read Article

Research on Trust and Information

📘 Open‑access paper on preferences in trusted cancer information sources, including doctors, family, and the internet. Read Article

📘 Study on how unmet social needs reduce trust in cancer information from doctors and institutions. Read Article

📘 Open-access article outlining recommendations to improve inclusion and trust in early detection research, especially for minority groups. Read Article

On World Cancer Day, it is worth remembering that prevention is not passive. It is deliberate, political, and relational. The future of cancer prevention will not be decided by technology alone, but by whether people trust the systems behind it, and whether those systems are worthy of that trust.

Thank you for reading. I hope you found this issue helpful. See you in the next issue!

-Mo

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