ABSTRACT
You enter a virtual room. Standing before you is you—well, the virtual you. You walk around the representation and find that virtual you looks exactly like you do, from the crooked smile to the scar on your knee to the raised mole on the back of your neck. You hear the voice of your health care provider, Dr. Jones: “If you keep your tanning habit, this is what you can expect.” You watch as the crow’s feet form around your eyes and the skin on your hands gets leathery. A dark growth becomes apparent at your hairline. Is that …? Dr. Jones notices your gaze. “Yes, given your family history, sun exposure, and lack of sun safety practices, I anticipate that at some point in the future you will develop melanoma.” Yikes. “If you change now, however …” Suddenly, the virtual you transforms into an older, healthier you with no melanoma growth in sight. Relief. “We’ve already noticed some change here,” Dr. Jones says, as an arrow directs your attention to your neck mole. A calendar pops up and you see how the mole has changed in the last two years. “But as long as it doesn’t evolve into this”—the mole grows larger, with an uneven border and color—“you shouldn’t worry.”
