Proactive Diagnostics
If you want to be healthy to 100 years old, you have to avoid being caught by preventable mortalities.
Annual screening is the foundation—this page adds practical diagnostics (low-cost → higher-cost) to help you understand risk and catch issues earlier.
Theme: early detection
Order: cost-based
Diagnostics only
Top 10 causes of death in the U.S.
These are the leading causes of death (ranked by number of deaths). Many are strongly influenced by long-term life choices—especially heart disease, stroke, lung disease, and diabetes. Cancer is often influenced by these same levers, but it can remain silent until late; early detection matters.
| Rank | Cause of death | Deaths (U.S.) | Share of deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heart disease | 683,491 | 22.2% |
| 2 | Cancer (malignant neoplasms) | 619,876 | 20.2% |
| 3 | Unintentional injuries (accidents) | 197,449 | 6.4% |
| 4 | Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases) | 166,852 | 5.4% |
| 5 | Chronic lower respiratory diseases | 145,643 | 4.7% |
| 6 | Alzheimer disease | 116,022 | 3.8% |
| 7 | Diabetes | 94,445 | 3.1% |
| 8 | Kidney disease (nephritis/nephrosis) | 55,081 | 1.8% |
| 9 | Chronic liver disease & cirrhosis | 52,274 | 1.7% |
| 10 | Suicide (intentional self-harm) | 48,824 | 1.6% |
The “first 80%” comes from knowledge + discipline
Your first defense is your yearly physical. Follow your primary care clinician’s screening advice, keep up with women’s health and cancer screenings, know your family history, and track your numbers over time (labs, blood pressure, waist/weight, sleep, activity). This is the highest ROI work—and it’s mostly behavior, not money.
Tests & programs I’m tracking (low cost → high cost)
These are diagnostics-focused programs I’m interested in. Pricing changes often—these reflect prominent advertised options on each site. I’ll work through these over time and post reviews/results here.
Oura Health Panels
Starter labs that integrate with wearable trends.
$99/panel
- Includes: Lab testing for ~50 biomarkers (Quest partnership) with in-app results experience.
- Best for: baseline + context (sleep/readiness/activity trends).
Superpower (biomarker membership)
Annual bloodwork snapshot with an optimization-style report.
$199/year
- Includes: One annual blood test with 100+ biomarkers and a report/dashboard.
Empirical Health (100+ biomarkers)
Broad labs with clinician interpretation.
$249 self-pay
- Includes: 100+ biomarkers + MD-interpreted results (self-pay product).
Function Health (membership)
Recurring “whole-body” labs with clinician review.
$365–$499/year
- Includes: Membership bundling extensive lab testing (often 160+ tests) + clinician review over time.
Details: What they test
Viome (microbiome)
Gut-focused insights and recommendations; prices vary and promos are common.
$300–$400 (typical range)
- Includes: At-home sample kit + digital results with multiple “health score” outputs and nutrition recommendations (product-specific).
Pricing notes: Viome cost explainer
Food sensitivity & allergy testing:
Everlywell
+
Quest Diagnostics
Two different questions: “sensitivity” (often IgG) vs “allergy” (often IgE).
Immune
-
Everlywell Food Sensitivity: $199 (standard) or $299 (comprehensive).
Includes: at-home kit + results for reactivity to a list of foods (brand describes IgG reactivity).
Links: Standard,
Comprehensive -
QuestDirect Food Allergy Panel (IgE): $189.
Includes: blood test for IgE antibodies to common food allergens; some reflex component testing included when specific results are abnormal.
Link: QuestDirect panel
Next Health (Medicine 4.0 membership)
Clinic-based membership with quarterly testing + consults.
$99/month (~$1,188/yr)
- Includes (advertised): quarterly biomarker/functional testing + quarterly provider consults/personal plan.
Galleri (multi-cancer early detection blood test)
A screening tool; not a diagnosis and not a replacement for guideline screening.
$949 list price
- Includes: blood draw + Galleri analysis/report (pricing may vary by provider; discounts may exist).
Context: AAFP overview
Craft Body Scan (imaging packages)
Targeted imaging (e.g., coronary calcium scoring) when clinically appropriate.
$640+ typical example
- Includes (examples): scan + radiology interpretation/report (package-specific).
Genetic testing (because family history matters)
If your family history is important, your inherited genetic trends may be informative too.
Risk trends
-
Sequencing.com (WGS bundles):
“Starter” bundles advertised as beginning around $379–$399 depending on bundle and promotions.
Includes: kit + ~30x whole genome sequencing + included reports/apps (varies by bundle).
(Bundles) -
Invitae (provider-ordered panels):
$250 (Cancer Genetic Risk Panel) or $299 (Comprehensive Genetic Risk Panel).
Includes: clinical-style genetic risk panels ordered through a provider pathway.
(Catalog)
Fountain Life (executive-style diagnostics)
High-cost, high-convenience “one day, many tests” approach.
$10,000+ (example cited)
- Includes: varies by package—confirm the exact diagnostics included.
How I’ll review these (so we don’t fool ourselves)
- Actionability: did results change decisions (screening/follow-up/lifestyle) in a meaningful way?
- Noise: did it create anxiety or incidental findings without clear benefit?
- Follow-up: was there a clinician-led plan for abnormal results?
- Repeatability: can we re-test on a sensible cadence to show improvement?
- Cost vs benefit: would time/money be better spent on basics (sleep, food, activity, stress)?
References
- CDC/NCHS “Ten leading causes of death” table. CDC source
- Superpower “What’s included” ($199/year). Source
- Everlywell Food Sensitivity $199 + Comprehensive $299. Standard, Comprehensive
- QuestDirect Food Allergy Panel (IgE) $189. Source
- Galleri official cost. Cost
- AAFP overview of Galleri context. Source
- Viome products + cost explainer. Products, Cost
- Sequencing.com cost + bundles. Cost info, Bundles
- Invitae program pricing update + catalog. Pricing, Catalog
- Craft Body Scan pricing. Source
- Next Health membership. Source
- Fountain Life executive physical cost overview. Source