Author: openjargon

More Americans in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are getting diagnosed with cancer. These are people juggling careers, young families, and a brutal economy.

While some of that rise can be explained by lifestyle changes, that doesn't tell the whole story.

We've spent the past year digging into this — talking with dozens of patients, caregivers, doctors, researchers, and economists to understand what's happening, what it's costing people, and what can actually help.

Scroll down to explore our reporting project, The True Cost of Young Cancer. Our video and six stories delve into the most pressing aspects of this trend, from the unique financial challenges to the patchwork of fertility laws that young patients face.

But first, here are six of the best tips we gleaned throughout our reporting. The system isn't built for patients under 50. Still, there are some things you can focus on to protect yourself in a world where the causes are complex and the costs are high.

1. Understand what's driving the trend

Cancer diagnoses in people under 50 are rising sharply.

Standard advice still focuses on personal habits — eat better, move more — but the science shows it's not just about lifestyle.

2. How to protect yourself — realistically

Prevention isn't one-size-fits-all — and it's not entirely in your hands. The "exposome" (a word scientists use to describe the total mix of environmental exposures affecting our health) shapes risk as much as diet does.

Still, there are some things you can do to reduce your risk of an early cancer diagnosis.

3. When to push for screening, even if you're 'too young'

Colon cancer is the fastest-rising cancer among young adults.

Still, many younger patients are told to "wait until 45" for a colonoscopy, even when symptoms or family history suggest otherwise.

The same questions apply for other types of cancer.

If you're 45 or older and denied coverage for a colonoscopy, appeal — the screening age was officially lowered in 2021.

If a procedure isn't urgent, waiting for prior authorization from your health insurance company can help prevent unexpected bills later.

4. Keep track and trust your instincts

Many early diagnoses start with someone noticing something "off." Younger patients are often dismissed or misdiagnosed.

5. Ask the money questions early

Treatment can drain savings even for the insured. Costs often hit before patients realize they can negotiate or get help.

Navigators are professionals who guide you through appointments, insurance paperwork, and financial aid. Many people told us patient navigator programs were the single most helpful resource in managing both cancer treatment and stress.

They can also help you find clinical trials that cover newer, "experimental" treatments like immunotherapy — sometimes with travel or lodging support.

If your hospital offers one, ask to be connected early. If not, ask awareness groups where you can find one.

6. Build your support network

No one should have to face the physical, financial, or emotional toll of cancer alone.

Read the reporting

• Racquel Oden has worked in global banking for over two decades.
• Some of the advice she gives family and friends is to focus on retirement as soon as possible.
• She also says to prioritize investments over student loan debt and CDs over regular savings accounts.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Racquel Oden, US head of wealth and private banking at HSBC. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I've worked in global banking for HSBC, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Merril Lynch, and many more. Over the years, I've given my clients plenty of advice on saving, budgeting, investing, retirement, and financial planning.

When it comes to my family and friends, the most important financial advice I give them is to start putting away money as soon as possible.

You're never too young to start saving or investing — and there are many things that even Generation Z could be doing now to help themselves reach their financial goals, whether that's saving up for a down payment for a house, a dream trip abroad, a lavish wedding, or even an early retirement.

If you're working, you should be focused on retirement and your personal savings

I know it sounds far away, but you should always be saving for retirement by paying into your 401(k).

Simultaneously, you should also be getting to the point where you have enough in your personal savings account to support your living expenses for the next six months in case you happen to lose your job for whatever reason. This money is what I call short-term cash on hand, what you can use to pay your basic needs — things like your apartment rent, car payments, grocery bills, etc.

You're ready to invest once you have more than short-term cash on hand

I think for a lot of young investors, they're unsure of when to start investing. We often think, "I need to have all this money to invest."

I want to take that stigma away. Any amount of money will work better for you in money markets than in a savings account, which doesn't provide much or any interest. Once you have more than short-term cash on hand, you can create another account in preparation for investing.

Create a financial plan with the help of a financial advisor

What's great about sitting down with a financial advisor is that most banks do not initially charge for this service.

Making a plan is a point of entry into investing, and it's a comfortable one because you get to sit down and ask yourself, "What do I want to achieve with my finances? Do I want to buy a home, plan a wedding, or take that next big trip?" With this plan, you can think beyond just retirement.

I encourage people to think of their lives in terms of different buckets — for example, saving for a house can be one bucket. Each of these buckets or larger financial goals has a different time horizon. Creating a larger financial plan can help you understand the timeframes for each goal better and remove some of the anxiety around investing.

Always seek out accurate financial resources and screen out the non-factual ones

We like watching TikTok and surfing Instagram, but do yourself a favor and ground yourself with the basics before you look through those places.

Reach out to traditional resources, like financial advisors at your bank. You can follow social influencers for some things, but not for something as crucial as your finances. Become comfortable with the traditional sources of this info, like banks — it doesn't mean you ultimately have to pick them or choose their services.

You can shop around and find the right financial advisor for you.

Make your money work for you

Checking and savings accounts are the lowest interest-bearing accounts out there, right now. Short-term vehicles like CDs, or Certificate of Deposit, a type of savings account that earns a fixed interest rate, can be better options than a regular savings account.

CDs can be a great option, allowing you to make a short investment of, say, nine months or so and earn an interest of 4% in some cases. But you must remember these interest rates are always changing, so stay on top of them.

Prioritize investing and savings over paying off your student loan debt

I encourage clients to, of course, pay their minimum monthly payment that's due. But the concept of paying off student loan debt should not be something you're concerned about because having cash on hand — and making sure your cash is working for you — is the smarter way.

However, if your cash is just sitting in checking accounts, not collecting interest, then pay off the student loan because, in this case, your money is not working for you. You are not gaining any yield on your cash sitting in a checking account. However, lowering debt does bring up your credit score, so this is also something to think about.

Do you have a story to share about financial planning? If so, please reach out to the editor, Manseen Logan, at mlogan@businessinsider.com.

• On the internet, nobody knows you're a dog.
• That's even more true on social media platforms, which allow anonymous users to rile up other users.
• Elon Musk supercharged this idea when he bought Twitter. So it's no surprise that a lot of big accounts there turned out to be overseas trolls.

Breaking news from the everything app: Not everything you see on the everything app is real.

This is not news to you, of course: You are a savvy internet user.

But lots of other people seemed to be shocked to learn that some high-profile accounts on X, the app formerly known as Twitter, are not who they say they are: A new feature on the app lets you see (more or less) where people are posting from, and it turns out that lots of X accounts that position themselves as very interested in American politics and culture are coming from places like India, Thailand and Eastern Europe.

In my version of the internet, this unmasking is suffused with partisan glee, as folks point out "America First" or MAGA accounts that seem to be being made by people very far from America.

But the real surprise isn't where these accounts are posting from — it's that anyone's still surprised.

We've known forever that people like to misrepresent their identity online. Sometimes it's for lolz, sometimes it's for safety reasons. Sometimes it's a state-sponsored effort to destabilize a foe.

But the primary reason to type stuff under a fake name is money: The internet can turn outrage into clicks, and clicks into pennies, and if you do it enough, those pennies can add up.

Yes, the Russian military tried to influence the 2016 election by screwing around on social media. But a bunch of Macedonian teenagers were ginning up fake Facebook posts during the election, too — so they could direct traffic to ad-filled blogs.

"Yes, the info in the blogs is bad, false, and misleading but the rationale is that 'if it gets the people to click on it and engage, then use it,'" one of the teens told BuzzFeed.

There was lots of hand-wringing and investigating into disinformation and the like after the 2016 election. That energy has dissipated, but the core issue remains unchanged: Internet platforms that give users an incentive to reach people and rile them up will find lots of users trying to reach people and rile them up. And that incentive structure may be particularly appealing to people in countries where a few pennies go a long way.

And when Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, he didn't try to fix the problem at all: He accelerated it by creating a new system that paid Twitter users directly for creating engaging posts. He got what he paid for.

Still, it's too easy to see an opinion you don't like online and assume it's the work of an overseas troll farmer. Rage-bait works because it highlights divisions that already exist.

Which means what happens on X — or anywhere else on the internet — isn't necessarily fake. The money is real, the reach is real, and the effects are real, even if the people posting aren't who they claim to be.

But it's also not a reliable map of what people actually think. Most people don't post on social media at all. A handful of accounts — some real, some not — produce the noise that the rest of us mistake for consensus. This weekend's depantsing is a reminder to treat all of it with more skepticism, not to tune it out completely.

• A federal judge has temporarily blocked OpenAI from using the term "cameo" in the Sora video app.
• US District Judge Eumi K. Lee's ruling lasts until December 22.
• Cameo, the personalized video company, sued OpenAI for trademark infringement.

OpenAI may have to go back to the drawing board to name a core feature of its popular AI video generation app, Sora.

US District Judge Eumi K. Lee has ruled that OpenAI cannot use the word "cameo," or any other similar name, tied to the use or promotion of its Sora app, until December 22.

The AI company named a feature on the TikTok-esque app that creates a linkness of the user, a pet, or even an object in the app "cameos." On October 28, Cameo, the personalized video company, filed a trademark suit against OpenAI in federal court in California to stop it from using the word.

As of late Monday morning, OpenAI was still using "cameo" on the Sora app.

Lee wrote in her ruling that OpenAI is likely infringing on the trademark held by Cameo, known for allowing users to pay for personalized videos, often recorded by celebrities.

"Defendants' only argument to the contrary is that the requested injunction would 'harm OpenAI's ability to successfully launch its Sora app and other Sora 2 functionality,'" Lee wrote in a ruling issued on Friday. 'However, Defendants' harm arises from its own likely infringing use of a federally registered mark."

Cameo CEO Steven Galanis on X called for OpenAI to move swiftly to adhere to the judge's order.

"It's critical that @OpenAI adheres to Judge Lee's Temporary Restraining Order ASAP to prevent further irreparable harm to Cameo's brand and IP," he wrote, adding, "30% of all @BookCameo videos get created between Thanksgiving and Christmas so time is of the essence."

OpenAI said it looks "forward to continuing to make our case to the court."

"We disagree with the complaint's assertion that anyone can claim exclusive ownership over the word 'cameo,'" an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider.

Lee has scheduled a hearing for December 19 on whether the temporary block should be made permanent.

Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times of the year. We visited Qatar's Hamad International and Singapore's Changi airports to see how they stack up. Between branded experiences and massive art installations, countries are pouring billions into their airports, vying to be named No. 1 in the world.

• When my dad sent me an email with the subject line, "Estate info," I cringed.
• But when my dad got ill just months later, the file became crucial.
• Creating a "when I die doc" is a powerful gift for those we leave behind.

When an email from my dad with the subject line "Estate Info" popped into my mailbox, I cringed.

My parents have been transparent about their estate planning for a long time — perhaps partially because when I was in my 20s, my younger brother died unexpectedly, and I became their only surviving child. When I was in my 30s and starting a family of my own, my parents even invited me to a planning meeting with their estate attorney.

Unfortunately, I needed it just a few months later, when my dad died 10 days after being diagnosed with cancer.

My dad chose his inheritance with his siblings

My dad comes by this pragmatic approach honestly. His parents, my grandparents, once invited their adult children over to choose which pieces of artwork they'd like when my grandparents died. A morbid spin on an art show, perhaps, but my grandparents felt strongly that allowing their children to participate in choosing their inheritance would make future life a smidge smoother.

So in 2019, when my dad sent me that email entitled "Estate info", I didn't welcome the email with open arms, but it also wasn't out of the blue. My dad was 74 and seemingly healthy at the time, and since his parents had lived to be 89 and 94, I figured I'd tuck the info away until some blurry future day when I needed it. Which I did end up needing.

My dad died on Father's Day

In an unfun twist of fate, the day after my dad died happened to be Father's Day. Instead of celebrating him and my husband over brunch, I was 3,000 miles away from my husband and kids, living out of a suitcase, revisiting the brutal physicality of grief, the way it feels like something had been ripped out of my chest.

While my world felt as if it'd ground to a halt, bureaucracy slows down for no one. My mom and I had to let people know my dad had died. We needed to choose a mortuary and contact my parents' attorney and financial advisor. We needed to order death certificates to bring or send to banks, life insurance companies, and utility companies.

Those days were a haze of shock, decisions, and tasks. While my dad's file didn't soften that feeling in my sternum, I often pondered how much worse it'd be if we'd had to embark on elaborate treasure hunts for important documents and information.

I wish I could thank my dad

The file my dad sent me contained all the information we'd need as we settled his estate, including:

• My parents' Social Security numbers
• A list of all bank accounts
• The physical location of important documents, like life insurance policies, house deeds, and other files
• Passwords
• Information on auto, home, health, and long-term care insurance
• Information on retirement benefits
• Information on a financial advisor
• Information on an estate attorney
• Information on advance care directives

It's been over six years now since my dad died. As I revisit that estate document, I'm struck by how much thought he put into creating it. I can picture him sitting at his kitchen island, pecking away at his laptop, trying to make sure he'd included every single bit of information we might need. He'd thought through everything — he'd even included the location of a document with biographical details we could use while writing his obituary.

Contemplating his own death in such detail couldn't have been pleasant. But he did it anyway. I think about the discomfort I'd felt when my parents openly talked about their estate plans, and I view it differently now. It's not fun to talk about death, but what's even less fun is when someone dies and the people left behind have to figure it all out — while grieving.

I've come to see my dad's file as what it was — a continuation of the steady love he'd been giving me my whole life. One last way, even after he was gone, that he could father me.

The longest government shutdown in US history hit air traffic controllers hard. Thirteen thousand worked without pay for over a month, taking up jobs driving for DoorDash and Instacart to survive.

But staff shortages in US control towers go back decades before the shutdown. Despite being fatigued and overworked, the remaining controllers hold thousands of lives in their hands every day.

Why is directing planes one of the most challenging jobs in the world? And why are there so few left to get passengers safely on the ground?

• Jony Ive said the device he's working on with OpenAI will be available in less than two years.
• Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman remain mostly mum on what the mysterious device will be.
• Altman said he wants the device to feel vastly different than what's currently available.

Sam Altman and Jony Ive say they want OpenAI's mysterious device to be so irresistible that you might be tempted to eat it. But the pair recently revealed that at least one attempt wasn't that appetizing.

"There was an earlier prototype that we were quite excited about, but I did not have any feeling of, I want to pick up that thing and take a bite out of it," Altman said during an onstage conversation last week with Ive moderated by Laurene Powell Jobs at the Emmerson Collective's DemoDay. "And then, finally, we got there all of a sudden."

Altman said it was Ive who came up with the unusual-sounding test.

"I remember he said once early on, we'll know we have the design right?" Altman said. "I don't remember whether he said, when you want to lick it or take a bite out of it, or something like that."

A later prototype, Altman said, "finally got there."

Altman and Ive have continued to stay mostly mum about the details of OpenAI's long-awaited consumer device, which led the frontier model maker to team up with Ive, the legendary iPhone designer. After persistent prodding, Ive told Jobs that the OpenAI device will be available in "even less than" two years.

In May, OpenAI announced that it was buying Ive's AI hardware startup, IO, for roughly $6.5 billion. The pair also revealed that they were collaborating on a "family of AI products." Consumer devices are just one of the many industries OpenAI is trying to disrupt.

When people see their device, Altman said he hopes their reaction is, "That's it."

"Like it is so simple, but then it just does, as we were talking about, AI can do just so much for you that so much can fall away," Altman said. "And the degree to which Jony has chipped away at every little thing that this doesn't need to do or doesn't need to be in there is remarkable."

Altman said that he and Ive want their device to spark joy, a feeling he contrasted with how using current devices feels like "walking through Times Square" as users are bombarded by notifications.

"I understand how we got here, but I don't think it's making any of our lives peaceful and calm and just letting us focus on other stuff," he said.

Ive said that the best-designed products come with a "sense of inevitability" that belies the amount of thought and care that went into their creation.

"I can't bear products that are like a dog wagging their tail in your face, or products that are so proud that they solved a complicated problem, they want to remind you of how hard it was," he said. "I love solutions that teeter on appearing almost naive in their simplicity."

• My mom and I went to Italy to celebrate her retirement and tried to avoid the most touristy spots.
• We skipped popular cities like Florence and Rome and visited smaller ones, like Ravenna and Padua.
• They were relaxing and had few crowds. Next time we're in Italy, we'll visit other smaller cities.

When my mom retired, I wanted to celebrate with her in a big way. She wasn't interested in a traditional retirement party, so we planned a vacation instead.

Traveling with my mom has been one of my favorite ways to spend quality time together. Since we live on opposite sides of the country, it's a great way for us to see each other and explore the beautiful places around the world.

Since we had such a great trip to Italy last year, we decided to visit the country again for her retirement vacation. This time, however, we opted to skip the big cities in favor of less-popular destinations.

Rather than visiting places like Rome, Venice, and Florence, we traveled to smaller cities, like Padua and Ravenna.

By going off the beaten path, we hoped to find a more authentic Italian experience away from the crowds — and that's exactly what happened.

Cities like Rome and Venice can get overwhelmingly busy, but Italy has so much more to offer

When I brought my mom on her first trip to Italy last year, we prioritized visiting many of the country's main attractions, from the ancient ruins of Pompeii to St. Mark's Square in Venice.

Yet my mom's favorite moments from that trip were far away from the busy tourist areas. She enjoyed visiting crowded places like the Colosseum, but preferred our four-night stay in Sicily, where we had a peaceful getaway in Cefalù.

She loved sipping espresso in peaceful piazzas, strolling the waterfront promenade at sunset, and shopping at local markets.

Compared to the hustle and bustle of Rome, Cefalù's small size and lack of crowds was a breath of fresh air.

So, when I planned her retirement trip, I looked beyond the best-known destinations. I searched travel blogs for the "best day trips" from cities like Milan, Bologna, Venice, and Rome.

I wanted to find small cities with convenient access to the country's biggest airports and train stations, as this would make it easier to travel from place to place.

After some research, I booked stays in the small cities of Ravenna (about 50 miles from Bologna) and Padua (just over 20 miles away from Venice).

Not only do the cities have convenient access to Italy's major transportation hubs, but they also offer plenty of historical and cultural sights to discover.

We loved the quaint, local feel of Italy's smaller cities

Throughout our trip, I felt confident that we made the right choice by skipping Italy's big cities.

Our first stop, Ravenna, is known for its fifth- and sixth-century Byzantine mosaics.

My mom and I were awestruck by sites like the Basilica di San Vitale, which features floor-to-ceiling mosaics with spectacularly intricate designs.

Ravenna welcomes a lot of tourists, but most seemed to be visiting on day trips from nearby cities, such as Bologna.

Many of these tourists left Ravenna as the afternoon hit, leaving a local feel on the city's streets by evening. There were few crowds, and we never had to make dinner reservations — not even in the middle of the historic center.

In Padua, we encountered a similar scenario. Sites like the Basilica of St. Anthony and Scrovegni Chapel were busy in the morning, but most tourists seemed to be gone before it got dark.

Since Padua is only a 30-minute train ride from Venice, I also assume most visitors were on day trips.

As crowds dwindled in both Ravenna and Padua, my mom and I spent our evenings trying local cuisine and sipping cocktails at outdoor bars.

We loved tasting Ravenna's famed cappelletti pasta, and never missed an opportunity for an Aperol Spritz, which originated in the city of Padua.

Visiting smaller cities gave us the best of both worlds, and I'd do it again

Italy is among the most visited countries in Europe.

For context, Venice alone typically receives well over 10 million visitors a year. (Though growing in popularity as a tourist destination, Padua sees a fraction of that.)

There's merit in visiting super-popular places like Rome and Florence on your first trip to Italy. After all, sights like the Sistine Chapel and Duomo are world-famous for a reason, and you could spend weeks in each city without running out of things to do.

Yet for my mom and me, the downsides of these big cities outweigh the benefits.

Though the attractions are noteworthy, they're often overshadowed by overwhelming crowds, especially during the peak summer season, which coincided with our trip in late May.

Visiting Ravenna and Padua, on the other hand, gave us the best of both worlds. We made wonderful memories together while exploring each city's historical attractions, and loved spending quiet evenings wandering around picturesque city centers.

Next time we visit Italy, we'll be sure to skip the big cities again to discover even more of the country's lesser-known destinations.