Colorectal cancer is now the #1 cancer killer in Americans under 50 — and roughly 60% of cases are diagnosed at stage III or IV. What if your toilet could spot the earliest sign years before symptoms?

Robert Lufkin MD sits down with Scott Hickle, co-founder and CEO of Throne Science, to talk about the first AI-powered smart toilet — a hands-free, daily monitor that detects fecal occult blood, tracks gut microbiome shifts, measures hydration and prostate health via sonouroflowmetry, and uses AI to coach behavior change. We unpack why your waste is the richest health signal you currently ignore, the Warren Buffett car-sensor analogy for continuous health monitoring, the 46% hemorrhoid risk from phone use on the toilet, and Throne's 10-year vision to be the first alarm system for cancer.

CHAPTERS

00:00 — Introduction
01:14 — Meet Scott Hickle: From Mechanical Engineer to Smart Toilet CEO
03:00 — How a Call With His Mom Sparked the Throne Idea
05:02 — Why Your Waste Is the Richest Health Signal You Ignore
07:02 — How Modern Plumbing Made Stool Analysis Taboo
10:02 — Fecal Occult Blood: The Earliest Sign of Colorectal Cancer
13:02 — Why Colorectal Cancer Is Now the #1 Cancer Killer Under 50
14:30 — The Warren Buffett Car Sensor Analogy for Continuous Health Monitoring
16:03 — Throne vs Gut Microbiome Tests: A CGM for Your Gut
18:03 — Stress Is the #1 Driver of Gut Health (And Other Self-Experiments)
22:04 — The 46% Hemorrhoid Risk From Phone Use on the Toilet
24:04 — How the Throne Hardware and AI Software Actually Work
27:00 — Sonouroflowmetry: Measuring Prostate Health From the Sound of Your Pee
29:05 — Privacy, Data Security, and Camera Placement
31:05 — Medical Advisors, Clinical Studies, and FDA Pathway
34:06 — The AI Gut Health Coach and Behavior Change
37:06 — The 10-Year Vision: A First Alarm System for Cancer
40:07 — Where to Pre-Order Throne (thronescience.com)

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Colorectal cancer is the only top-five cancer whose mortality has risen every year since 2005 — and it's now the #1 cancer killer in Americans under 50.
Polyps take 7–10 years to become tumors. Colorectal cancer is one of the few cancers we know how to cure before it becomes cancer — but only 3–6% of people return the at-home FIT test.
Visible blood in stool requires 40,000–50,000 µg of hemoglobin per gram. The FIT test detects 10–20 µg/g — about 8,000× more sensitive than what your eye can see.
A single bleed could be a hemorrhoid or food poisoning. A monotonic four-to-six-month rising trend is the pattern that signals colorectal cancer — and you can only see patterns with continuous monitoring.
Stress is the #1 driver of gut health in Scott's own n=1 self-experiments — bigger than any food, supplement, or fiber intervention he's tried.
Sitting on the toilet with a phone for more than 5 minutes is associated with a 46% increased risk of hemorrhoids (Inan et al., PLOS One 2025).

STUDIES & SOURCES MENTIONED

American Cancer Society / JAMA, January 2026 — Cancer mortality decline under 50 — https://pressroom.cancer.org/under-50-mortality-declines
Inan et al., PLOS One 2025 — Smartphone use on the toilet and hemorrhoid risk — https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40901789/
Scott Hickle, TEDxBoston — "The History and Power of Poop" — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v42gznW6cuA
Dr. David Rubin, MD, University of Chicago (Throne medical advisor) —

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The Smart Toilet That Could Detect Cancer Before You Know You Have It | Scott Hickle (Throne)

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The Smart Toilet That Could Detect Cancer Before You Know You Have It | Scott Hickle (Throne)