COVID or Cancer?

I was planning to write something about inspiring persons. Maybe a small multi-part post or something. Then my father posted something dumb on our Family WhatsApp group. I have to take a little detour at first.

I was sending a statistic about the infectious mortality of the Coronavirus that the german virologist published. My father was responding to that. I’m going to freely translate it.

“That’s the least of my worries. On average, almost every other person in Germany will develop cancer in their lifetime. In Austria, it will probably not much different. I would rather die of corona than spend years vegetating with cancer.”

A quick search showed that he was correct on the fact that many people get cancer nowadays, but what he’s completely missing is the rate people are cured. Sure cancer is bad, but considering that he is only getting 50 years old next years, the statistics speak for him. I think I read something where most men get cancer at the age of 70 and beyond.

For me, his argument is just dumb, but I can’t think of an argument I could write that isn’t just “backfiring”. I also know if I would come up with statistics and stuff, he would just block arguments. So for now I can only shake my head, don’t respond and think about something other.