A Little Bit of Cancer?

Should we say a little bit of cancer? Many argue that we should avoid the phrase and instead relabel early cancers as a strategy to prevent overtreatment. Against this, I argue that we should not shy away from saying a little bit of cancer, and, moreover, that shying away misses a key opportunity to address the problem of overtreatment. Drawing on speech act theory, I examine the diagnosis of cancer as an illocutionary speech act and argue for a revisionist strategy which seeks to shift the normative force of the cancer diagnosis qua speech act. I show how this strategy offers distinct advantages vis-à-vis alternative approaches to tackling the problem of overtreatment.