Most people don’t think about cancer, until they have to.

But in Assistant Professor Andy Tay’s recent podcast conversation on The Wisdom Vault, the Presidential Young Professor at the Department of Biomedical Engineering offers a different starting point.

Understanding cancer earlier may actually change how we experience it later.

One statistic stands out immediately. People with higher levels of education tend to have significantly lower cancer mortality rates.

Not because education protects you from cancer, but because it shapes how you interpret symptoms, how early you act, and how confidently you navigate the system.

In other words, knowledge matters, more than we sometimes realise.

Prof Andy begins with a simple but powerful explanation.

Cancer is not a single event. It is the result of accumulated mutations over time.

Every time a cell divides, DNA is copied. And occasionally, mistakes happen.

Most of the time, the body corrects them. Sometimes, it doesn’t. And over years — even decades — those small errors can add up.

This leads to an uncomfortable but important insight.

As we live longer, the risk of cancer increases. Not because something has gone wrong, but because time itself creates the conditions.

And yet, this is only one side of the story. Because while cancer incidence is rising, outcomes are improving.

This is where the conversation turns to one of the most promising areas in medicine today: immunotherapy.

Instead of attacking cancer cells directly, what if we could train the body to do it itself?

That is the idea behind therapies like CAR T-cell treatment.

Prof Andy shares the story of one of the earliest patients — a young girl who has remained cancer-free years after treatment.

It is a powerful example. Not of hype, but of what becomes possible when science shifts direction.

The conversation doesn’t stop at treatment. It widens to include how stress may influence cancer progression, how AI is accelerating drug discovery and personalised care, and how lifestyle still plays a significant role in risk.

This last point is easy to overlook, but it matters. Because even as science advances, human agency remains.

One of the most grounded takeaways from the interview is that we cannot outsource our health entirely. Doctors, technology and breakthroughs all matter. But so do our awareness, early action and everyday choices.

Prof Andy’s work sits at the frontier of cancer research. From engineering immune cells to developing new delivery methods that improve treatment precision.

But what makes his voice particularly valuable is not just the science. It is the clarity.

In DSFP’s signature module, Thriving in the 100-Year Life, this clarity is essential. Because thriving in a longer life is not only about purpose or reinvention. It is also about understanding the realities that come with longevity, and engaging with them, not avoiding them.

Cancer is one of those realities. But so is progress.

And perhaps the most important shift is this: from fear to informed understanding.

Watch Prof Andy’s full podcast conversation here.