Main content

Hannah Fry: Understanding the numbers of cancer

The maths professor on the choices she and others have faced after a cancer diagnosis

British mathematics professor and broadcaster Hannah Fry has spent many years trying to explain the world through numbers. But when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer she embarked on a new mission – to discover whether the medical world, and we as individuals, make the right choices around treatment.

Are patients always given the facts – and the time - they need to make rational decisions? And could we be at risk of unnecessary overtreatment?

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Jon Bithrey
Programme Coordinator: Brenda Brown
Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill

Available now

9 minutes

Last on

Mon 13 Jun 2022 09:50GMT
BBC World Service

More episodes

Previous

Employment puzzle, pyramids and triplets

Next

Maternity litigation, stars, bees and windowless planes

See all episodes from More or Less

Broadcasts

  • Sat 11 Jun 2022 04:50GMT
    BBC World Service
  • Sat 11 Jun 2022 22:50GMT
    BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean
  • Sat 11 Jun 2022 23:50GMT
    BBC World Service Online, UK DAB/Freeview, News Internet & Europe and the Middle East only
  • Sun 12 Jun 2022 00:50GMT
    BBC World Service South Asia & East Asia only
  • Sun 12 Jun 2022 13:50GMT
    BBC World Service Australasia & News Internet only
  • Sun 12 Jun 2022 22:50GMT
    BBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
  • Mon 13 Jun 2022 09:50GMT
    BBC World Service

Unlock the history and truth behind the data with The OU

Unlock the history and truth behind the data with The OU

Explore how numbers shape, and sometimes mislead us, with The Open University.

When can you trust statistics?

When can you trust statistics?

BBC Ideas discovers three easy ways to help make sense of statistics.

Podcast

  • More or Less

    Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics used in everyday life