Yes? Then read on, have I got a deal for you!

Our vision at HeadUp Labs is to pull together all of the disparate, invisible data points and elements floating around you, to help you lead a long, healthy, happy life. Some of the life-saving, life changing tools that are available to you, you’re likely not even aware of. And many of them cost nothing. Someone else is willing to pay.  

If you’re like me, you want to enjoy as many summers as you can. I want to age well and bounce my grandkids on my knee. I want to walk my daughters down the aisle. I want to pass on everything I’ve ever learned to my kids. I want to be one of those cute little old men that wears a hat and overdresses and opens the car door for my little old wife.  

I know the key to achieving this comes down to two things:

1. Lead a healthy lifestyle.

This one is easy enough to understand. I’m not saying it’s easy to do, but its straight forward enough. Maintain relationships, and have a purpose, don’t smoke, get enough sleep, eat and drink sensibly, move your body every day. 

The second one is more complicated.  

2. Identify risks early and often.

This isn’t so straight forward. Lots of risks are invisible until it’s too late. Lots of cancers, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and mental health issues seem to creep up in the night. Plus there are lots of other things that may be baked into your DNA. The trick therefore is early detection.  

Thanks to the wonders of modern science and medicine, we’ve discovered and invented ways to cure or at least manage all kinds of ailments and deliver infinitely better outcomes.  

For most things, early detection is the key. Obviously its neither practical or economical to get poked and prodded and pried for everything all the time. So where HeadUp comes in, is we help you understand what you need to be on the look-out for based on your own individual data and circumstances. We’re able to signpost you to things that may well save your life. And the good news, is that there are other people out there who are willing to stump up their $ for it.  

Believe it or not, there are people out there, besides your friends and family, that don’t want you to get sick or die either.  

Your boss is one. Your boss has invested in you and it’s in his/her/their (depending on how they identify themselves on LinkedIn) interest to ensure you keep showing up doing what you do. Equally, so does your life insurer. Sure, they’ll send a cheque to your family if you fall off the perch this year, but they’d much, much rather not. The same goes for your health insurer. They don’t want to open an envelope stuffed full of expensive medical bills from a hospital that urgently need to be paid. Neither does your superfund. There’s a whole industry that relies on your contribution each month. And finally, there’s the government. Yes the federal government cares about you.  

Okay, maybe ‘cares’ is a bit too soppy, but I can promise you that some actuaries in cardigans in a windowless office in Canberra have figured out the cost to them/us of you getting sick and dying. You dying isn’t good for the economy – which is a relief, right? In the government’s case, they use a term called LYG (life years gained) to help calculate the value of each year of your life. It makes sense. How else can they determine, which drugs and treatments are worth funding and how to approach all kinds of things from a sensible economic perspective.  

Anyway, back to you. And me.  

Bowel cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in Australia, and we have one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world. One of the most effective ways to detect the early signs of bowel cancer is using a simple, at-home test kit.  

When found early, over 90% of bowel cancers can be successfully treated. the government wants you to take this test. Because according to their excel spreadsheets, by stumping up for a free bowel cancer screening program (for people aged 50-74 years of age), it will cost about $150 million but it’ll reduce CRC mortality (Colorectal cancer) by 15%-25%, prevent 300-500 deaths and save 3,600-6,000 life years annually – Those extra years mean you can keep showing up and raising kids and paying tax and buying stuff and volunteering at sausage sizzles. That’s worth a lot to them. 
  

So this is where HeadUp slid into my DM’s.  

Thanks to the hard work we’ve done to create a sense of intimacy and trust, we can use a language and tone and cover topics that the government, your insurance company and your employer can’t.  

And drive people to do all kinds of things – like in my case, exercise harder, eat better, sleep better, make time for my friends, get a skin cancer check, get an eye test and last month’s timely reminder about protecting my a$$. This got me to make it my business to go online and request the free kit that soon arrived in my letterbox.  

By helping me identify where my risks are, HeadUp is helping me avoid nasty surprises and that’s a good thing. For me. For my family. For my employer. My superfund. My health insurer. My life insurer. And according to their calculations, the government. Bless them.  

But wait there’s more. If you’ve ever wanted to take a dump in an envelope and post it to the government, then from the age of 50 in Australia, you can do it. Legally. And they even pay for the envelope and the postage an everything. And you can do it every 2 years. Yesterday I placed mine in the post box and honestly, I haven’t felt that good since the last time I voted. 📮 😉