In part because there are over 10,000 known human diseases and symptoms thereof may have numerous possible explanations, frequently diagnostic tests can be in-determinative or less informative than observing (termed: watchful waiting) a suspected disease’s clinical course over time. Because of diagnostic complexities population level diagnostic errors represent a significant public health problem. Nevertheless, despite the progress made in treating cancer - as Ropeik writes in his introduction two-thirds of nearly 200 types of cancer are either treatable as chronic diseases or entirely curable - cancer today remains the emperor of nosophobias that in turn leads to over-screening, over diagnosis and false positives, over treatment, potentially harmful side effects, death and excessive healthcare budgeting and wasteful spending. As one reviewer of the book wrote, “Ropeik details how the gravity force of cancerphobia warps risk perception, leading to personal and societal harms and legislative misdirection.”