THE INVINCIBILITY FALLACY

Some WELLNESS-ORIENTED PEOPLE lull themselves into A FALSE SENSE OF CONTROL, which can have TRAGIC OUTCOMES. Here's why "DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT" isn't quite enough.

- BETH HOWARD

SINCE SHE TURNED 55, Roz Faulhaber, a guidance counselor near Fort Worth, TX, had ignored her doctor's advice to get a colonoscopy. Though the screening was then recommended when people hit 50, she didn't think she needed it. She had no suspicious symptoms-no pain, bleeding, or unexpected weight loss. More important, she was doing everything possible to achieve optimal health. Her weight was fine; she ate abundant fruits and vegetables; she never smoked and drank only occasionally. Every other day she took a Zumba class or did some cardio at her local recreation center. "I was the epitome of health," she says.

After a friend's daughter got colon cancer in 2019, however, Faulhaber, then 62, finally agreed to the screening. She wasn't worried. Just before the anesthesia kicked in, she imagined the big breakfast she and her husband had planned after it was over.

When she came to, Faulhaber knew something was wrong. Her husband, the doctor, and a nurse were huddled around her bed. Faulhaber was sent for an emergency CT scan, which confirmed her surgeon's suspicion that she had colon cancer. A few days later, her surgeon removed about 14 inches of her colon and started her on chemotherapy. After chemo, a PET scan showed that the cancer had spread to other parts of her body, including to an inoperable spot. Since 2020, regular infusions of an immunotherapy drug have kept her cancer at bay. She doesn't know what the future may hold, so she is focused on sharing what she has learned.

"As a school counselor, I tell kids that you can't go back in time," says Faulhaber. "But if I could turn back the clock, I would. I believed I was doing everything I was supposed to do and that it was enough."

The limits of CONTROL