History Main / WeWillHavePerfectHealthInTheFuture

* Cancer is mentioned to have been cured by the 22nd century in ''Series/TimeTrax''. Additionally, people are generally much healthier and more fit. See this excerpt from the pilot narration describing the protagonist:
-->''"He grew up a normal child of his times: IQ 204, Speed Memorization rate 1.2 pages per second (slightly above average). He was a competent athlete. His best speed for the 100 meters was 8.6 seconds, and for the Mile Run -- 3 minutes 38 seconds. He wondered how the Olympic Champion could ever have done it twenty seconds faster. His heartbeat was a normal 35 beats per minute. His life expectancy -- 120 years. His lungs were average, capable of air storage up to six minutes. Beta wave training had given his generation mind control capabilities unavailable fifty years before his birth. One of these was the ability to slow down the speed of visual images reaching the brain, popularly called 'time stalling'. It demanded rigorous training."''
** It's a little odd that the IQ scale hasn't been adjusted to account for the general increase in intelligence, as is done in RealLife (on the IQ scale, 100 is the norm). Also, in a later episode, it's revealed that 22nd-century humans who spend enough time in the 20th century eventually "adjust", resulting in greater difficulties in detecting the temporal fugitives (e.g., by heartbeat). It's not entirely clear how or why this happens, but may be a result of higher pollution and worse medical care.

* The ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' episode "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS1E13TimeWarped The Once and Future Thing: Time, Warped]]" uses this to explain why Static is still up for hero duty in the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' era.

* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] in ''Series/TheExpanse''. It is indicated that the average human lifespan for Earth residents has been bumped up to 130,[[note]]The oldest ever person that we have reliable documentation for lived to 122[[/note]] and it's mentioned that Martians can live even longer. However, on the space colonies in the asteroid belt, there are already people with debilitating physical and mental conditions due to things like low-oxygen environments. There are also signs of evolution, with some people being born with more fragile bones due to low gravity, meaning that they can't really survive on Earth anymore.

* ''Film/{{Elysium}}'': Residents of the titular planet/city can be put into chambers that can heal ''any'' disease and physical injury, which serves as a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything futuristic allegory]] for universal healthcare.

* {{averted|Trope}} in the Sci-Fi Visual Novel ''No More Future''. The story is set in a SolarPunk future where technology has thrived, being advanced enough for even cheap apartment complexes to have advanced AI, not to mention some humans (well, [[OurHumansAreDifferent yuumans]]) have evolved to possess amazing elemental abilities. Despite this, chemotherapy has '''not''' been able to advanced beyond what it is in our present, something Agent Bradbury even lampshades. However, Dr. Mary Shelley of Pandora Labs has been working on an alternative: immortality via transferring your consciousness into a robotic body. The plot of the Visual Novel starts when our protagonist Isaac is hospitalized, with no hope of surviving their brain tumor, until they are visited by Mary and offered to be a test subject for this work in progress of hers.

* {{averted|Trope}} in the Sci-Fi Visual Novel ''No More Future''. The story is set in a SolarPunk future where technology has thrived, being advanced enough for even cheap apartment complexes to have advanced AI, not to mention some humans (well, [[OurHumansAreDifferent yuumans]]) have evolved to possess amazing elemental abilities. Despite this, chemotherapy has '''not''' been able to advanced beyond what it is in our present, something Agent Bradbury even lampshades. However, Dr. Mary Shelley of Pandora Labs has been working on an alternative: immortality via transferring your consciousness into a robotic body. The plot of the Visual Novel starts when our protagonist Isaac is hospitalized, with no hope of surviving his brain tumor, until he is visited by Mary and offered to be a test subject for this work in progress of hers.

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' features this in the episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E137Number12LooksJustLikeYou Number 12 Looks Just Like You]]". The episode takes place in the year 2000. The setting is a blissfully CrapsaccharineWorld where everyone is beautiful, completely healthy and young due to the advances made in science. While Marilyn Cumberle does not want the transformation, she does admit that she'd like to be young and healthy without having her physical appearance altered if it were possible.

One of the signs that a story is taking place in TheFuture (and not just NextSundayAD) is the [[PerfectHealth elimination of all illnesses and disease]]. Whether it's by a [[EvilutionaryBiologist eugenics]] [[DesignerBabies program]], a [[MagicAntidote miracle cure-all]], or [[TheSpartanWay lots of mandatory Phys Ed]], people in the future simply won't get sick. This is often lampshaded by a future citizen talking about having a cure for the [[DefinitelyJustACold common cold.]] Although almost as often, the common cold is the only thing that ''hasn't'' been cured. A CureForCancer is another hallmark.

Needless to say, this is highly unlikely, if not impossible, to occur in real life; while medicine will continue to advance, eventually to the point that incurable diseases today are easily managed - just as is the case with many other formerly-lethal conditions that we've been able to put in check with new treatments throughout history - the prominence of common conditions and illnesses such as the common cold show that no matter what, pathogens will continue to follow our advancements.

Subtrope of IdealIllnessImmunity. Often found in futures with CrystalSpiresAndTogas and PerfectPacifistPeople. Also see PerfectHealth, MagicAntidote, WeWillNotHaveAppendixesInTheFuture, MagicalAntibiotics, FantasyContraception, HumanPopsicle, and [[{{Transhuman}} Transhumanism]]. Contrast with BigFatFuture, unless the health hazards of obesity have also been eliminated.

* While there are diseases in the world of ''ComicBook/JudgeDredd'' (some very nasty), the common cold has been eliminated to the point that it is almost used as a [[WeaponOfMassDestruction biological weapon]]. Also, rejuvenation treatments are a thing. Dredd himself is actually a very old man, but he still looks like a well-kept middle-aged one.
* ''ComicBook/{{Transmetropolitan}}'' also shows that disease catches up with society, but [[SmokingIsCool smoking has lost most of its stigma]], as people can "install" genetic traits in themselves that make them [[CureForCancer immune to carcinogens]].
* In one Creator/ECComics story, a man and a woman who can't be together decide to use the man's newly invented cryotube to escape into the future. They sleep for five hundred years (but not before the man [[CompoundInterestTimeTravelGambit makes a small deposit in a bank that grows into billions of dollars with interest]]) and awaken rich and famous in a utopian future, where mankind has had perfect health for several generations. Unfortunately, the woman had a cold, which none of the future population has any resistance to, and within a few months everyone on Earth (except them) is dead.
* One character in the ''ComicBook/RogueTrooper'' SpinOff ''The 86ers'' implies that the [[SuperSoldier GI]] [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke project]] would have had byproducts that could have cured certain diseases. His own [[YoungerThanTheyLook progeria]] has been treated so that his life span extends to his mid-fifties as opposed to fourteen untreated. Naturally, after the Quartz Zone Massacre and the project is cancelled, he is forced to find alternatives.
* The ''ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica'' eventually adds a new Starman, who as it turns out is a grown-up version of Star Boy from the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes. He also has FunnySchizophrenia. This is eventually explained away by saying that the 31st-century has ''immensely'' better antipsychotics for treating conditions such as schizophrenia, and Starman finds the side effects of 21st-century atypical antipsychotics to be unbearable by comparison.

* As ''Fanfic/Plan7Of9FromOuterSpace'' parodies these {{Failed Future Forecast}}s there's a mention of cancer and TB being extinct by the year 2009.

* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] in 2015 in ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartII''. As Marty finds out, seventy-something Doc Brown was able to get a rejuvenation in 2015, adding a good "thirty to forty years" to his life and giving him enough pep and youth to have a thirty-something love interest in the [[Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII third movie]]. In addition, bionic implants are also available in 2015, as demonstrated by Griff and his gang. However, Old Biff is a stooped-over old man with a cane, and Old George [=McFly=] has thrown out his back and needs to be inverted for treatment.
** In a 2015 with [[FuturisticTechIndex future tech]] and [[RidiculousFutureInflation ridiculous future inflation]], it is likely that retired old men such as Biff (auto detailer) and George (author) don't have the financial means for such, while Griff and co. are young enough to qualify for credit, and Doc is a time traveler with a briefcase full of ([[GenreSavvy dated]]) money.

* ''{{Film/Elysium}}'': Residents of the titular planet/city can be put into chambers that can heal ''any'' disease and physical injury, which serves as a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything futuristic allegory]] for universal healthcare.

** In ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'', Dr [=McCoy=], visiting a twentieth century hospital, is horrified that a woman is undergoing kidney dialysis. "Dialysis? What is this, the Dark Ages?" He gives her a pill, and minutes later, doctors are dumbfounded by her miraculous recovery as she grows a new kidney(!).
** ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'' mentions that Kirk is allergic to a common medicine used to treat presbyopia; [=McCoy=] prescribes reading glasses instead. People with allergies to one substance are often allergic to related substances also, so maybe the medication is chemically similar to the vaccine used in the next example.
** In ''Film/StarTrek2009'', it is implied that all diseases are under control. [=McCoy=] gives Kirk a vaccine for the disease as an excuse to get him on the ''Enterprise''. HilarityEnsues when Kirk starts reacting to both the vaccine and everything designed to treat the symptoms.

** The 2009 ''Star Trek'' movie also has an offhand reference to Admiral Archer, the same Archer from ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', who would be 146 now, suggesting that life expectancy has jumped. See similar examples from the various TV series below.

* ''Literature/{{Uglies}}'' gives us the "Pretty Operation" which gives people beauty and resistance to disease... among other things.
* The science-fiction novel ''Literature/{{Nova}}'' has a future where absolutely all disease has been eradicated. A character who has a broad knowledge of history explains some aspects of past hygiene (washing your hands, not eating food off the ground, etc.) and his comrades are flabbergasted at the idea. That bit of dialogue is introduced by a character handing another a piece of food... with his foot.

* In Creator/VernorVinge's ''Literature/MaroonedInRealtime'', people living in the far future have the medical technology to eliminate all disease and aging -- but what if you outlive the civilisation holding it all up?
* In ''Literature/TheNightMayor'' by Creator/KimNewman, the protagonists are writers, and there's a sequence about the difficulties of the hack romantic novelist now that science has eliminated all of [[VictorianNovelDisease the diseases that heroines used to romantically die of]].
* In Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/RobotSeries'', Earthers have lifespans comparable to 20th-century Americans, where the eugenically-perfected [[SpacePeople Spacers]] tend not to experience "middle age" until turning 250 or so. They enforce this by carefully controlling the microbes introduced to their worlds from Earthers, and look down on the filthy disgusting shortlived Earthmen. The Spacers' weakened immune systems mean that when an Earthman visits, the visitor has to be thoroughly sterilized and most of the Spacers wear gloves and nose-plugs and keep their distance. It does have its price -- there is no alcohol nor tobacco on any Spacer world, and as for the required ''prosthetics'' (it is common to have a few artificial joints and fingers by 250), any reference to them is the strictest taboo possible.
* In ''Literature/TheSuccessionDuology'', all the major factions have absolutely no disease at all. However, they maintain a joint [[TheNeutralZone neutral zone]] called the Plague Axis in which diseases are allowed to flourish among the inhabitants just in case a new plague ever arises and they might be able to find a cure among the diseased. Inhabitant of the Plague Axis are required to wear environmental isolation suits when on envoys to the other factions. The Plaguemen are descendants of the poor who couldn't afford the massive gene-"fixing" everyone else got a thousand years or so before the start of the story. It wasn't until after the genes for autism and unattractiveness were removed that people realized that they had benefits.
* In Kir Bulychev's series ''Literature/AliceGirlFromTheFuture'', by the end of 21st century, humans have cured every known disease, and even the common cold will be cured soon. They also enjoy better health and fitness in general, to such an extent that when Alice travels back to the '70s of the 20th century, she exhibits athletic skills considered superhuman by locals.
* Strugatsky brothers' Literature/NoonUniverse:

* Given a dark spin in ''Feed'', the first book in the ''Literature/{{Newsflesh}}'' trilogy by Mira Grant -- scientists [[CureForCancer cure cancer]] and the common cold, but the two viruses that were engineered to do the curing mutate together, and that virus [[PlagueZombie turns people into zombies]].

* A big plot-point in ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds1898'' -- since the Martians had eradicated all disease long ago, they no longer had any defence against it, causing them to get wiped out by earth pathogens.

* In the novel ''Literature/ManifoldOrigin'', by Creator/StephenBaxter, [[CureForCancer cancer is apparently curable]] via a regiment of giant cancer-fighting pills (similar to taking a round of antibiotics). It's still treated as a serious illness, however, as one character reacts with anger when they find another character had been hiding their cancer diagnosis from them.
* In ''Literature/{{Spin}}'' by Robert Charles Wilson, ''Earth'' humans have roughly the same level of medical science as us (a treatment for multiple sclerosis is mentioned but is not 100% effective). However, the ''Mars'' humans (who have had millions of years over their Earth cousins) have developed a way to transform into what they call the Fourth Life Stage (after childhood, adolescence, and adulthood), allowing them to live for many more decades. In order to avoid an OverpopulationCrisis, those who choose to undergo the procedure are forbidden from reproducing. The novel itself starts with the protagonist (an Earth human) undergoing the same procedure while having flashbacks to when it all started as a side-effect of the process.
* ''Literature/CaptainFrenchOrTheQuestForParadise'' has humans on most settled planets have cures for all ills, including ''aging''. [[LongevityTreatment Cell Regeneration]] (or CR for short) is a one-time treatment that stops the aging process in its tracks. It's completely reversible, although the reverse is only done as punishment for heinous crimes (in lieu of the death penalty). The titular protagonist was actually born on Earth before CR was developed but spent much of his life performing [[TimeDilation relativistic jumps]]. He got the treatment much later than most (early 50s), and his graying hair causes looks of puzzlement to most. Even a planet full of religious fanatics not only doesn't ban CR but provides it for free as God's blessing. It's also the only planet that doesn't have the aging punishment, believing it to be blasphemy (i.e., if God wanted humans to die of old age, He wouldn't have given us CR). Other medical breakthroughs include bio-sculpting, which allows anyone (especially women) to change their body to whatever they wish. In the protagonist's opinion, this results in most women looking very similar to one another. In fact, he ends up picking his new wife because her beauty (and green eyes) is natural.
* The ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'' has elements of this. Citizens of Beta Colony, with its advanced technology and gene cleaning, can expect to get 120 years standard. The Cetagandans, with their genetic manipulation (among the [[DesignerBabies haut]] at least) can also live past the century mark, and possibly longer. In contrast, Barrayar, which is emerging from the Time of Isolation and medieval medicine, is dealing with a number of health problems (one character, at 70, is considered old for Barrayar but only middle-aged galactically), but they are improving health standards.
* In Neal Asher's ''Cowl'', futuristic humans have advanced physically to the degree where they are superhumanly strong, fast, and intelligent compared to the "current" humans when they travel back in time. A "current" human has his body and mind re-engineered so that he can even operate when he is brought forwards in time.
* In the ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' prequel ''The Andalite Chronicles'', Elfangor notes that human technology is so primitive doctors "can't even treat a simple tumor without cutting large holes in the body."
** This trope is partially {{subverted|Trope}}, though. Andalites still have at least one deadly infectious disease. It merely causes flu-like symptoms in other species, but causes an organ in the Andalite's brain to rupture, which must be removed at a specific time, or they will die, somewhat like appendicitis.
* Creator/DamonKnight has this in his novella ''The Dying Man'', also known as ''Dio''. In the far-off future, humanity has engineered itself into [[TheAgeless immortal]], Olympic/model quality perfection, including [[WeWillAllFlyInTheFuture levitation]] and [[HealingFactor regeneration of injured body parts]]. Dio finds out he's going to die and has lost all his immunities. Since the old diseases were never eradicated, he's lucky all he catches is a cold.
* In ''Literature/StarCarrier'', the vast majority of humanity has {{nano|machines}}tech implants, one function of which is monitoring the person's health and resolving any problems, including combating infections. In fact, doctors regularly upload patches to the system of any newly discovered pathogens, similar to how people update their antivirus software. It's gotten to the point where people habitually walk around naked, using their personal holo-emitters to generate the image of whatever clothing they like (including military uniforms). Presumably, any issues with leakage and periods are dealt with using the implants. This is why it's such a shock when people aboard the ''America'' suddenly start to fall ill. The ship's doc determines that it appears to be a previously-unknown STD of some kind, which the implants have yet to figure out how to stop, and given that this is a FreeLoveFuture, it spreads rapidly throughout the ship.
* ''Literature/Aeon14'':
** In the early 5th millennium, humans' {{nano|machines}} takes care of most health problems, even giving them HealingFactor in the case of serious injuries. It's less good at dealing with aging, but CloningBodyParts fills the gap, so humans can expect to live for many hundreds of years: Tanis Richards, 212 years old in ''Destiny Lost'' (not counting [[HumanPopsicle time in stasis]] and a 4,600-year TimeDilation event), is considered middle-aged at most.
** In the 9th millennium, however, the cataclysm of the FTL Wars (brought on by the discovery of FasterThanLightTravel in the late 5th millennium) has caused much knowledge to be lost. The average lifespan has fallen to about 200 as a consequence.
* A minor plot point in Creator/EricFlint's ''Literature/SixteenThirtyTwo'' series, but in this case the future is brought back to the past. The up-timers (who came from West Virginia USA approximately 2000) are brought back to the middle of Germany in 1632, and every down-timer who meets them comments on their health, their lack of pox marks and scars from childhood diseases, the percentage of children who survive to adulthood, and mostly their amazingly healthy teeth. The up-timers attempt to implement some public health measures and supply antibiotics to help with all of these. It helps somewhat, but some up-timers still fall ill with the plague and other down-time diseases.
* ''Literature/{{Digitesque}}'':
** At one point someone mentions humans being infected with a disease, and Ada calls them crazy. Diseases are for animals; humans don't get them. This is another of the {{Transhuman}} modifications humans made to themselves before the Fall, a {{nano|machines}}tech upgrade to their immune systems that can fight off any mundane disease easily.
** Furthermore, even human aging has been mostly eliminated. People grow to adulthood, live for about a hundred years, and then grow grey and wrinkly in their last couple years before they die. It's to the point that it's not clear how old Ada and Isavel are actually supposed to be. They look like they're in their mid-twenties, but no one ever bothers referencing their exact ages. They both only have vague memories of how children are supposed to act, implying it was a long time ago for them.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** In one [[Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse novel]], Tasha Yar is surprised to find someone wearing actual physical glasses instead of using Space-LASIK.
** In the [[Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse novel]] "The Fearful Summons", Dr. Leonard [=McCoy=] finds civilian practice on Earth to be pretty boring, with congenital defects being corrected before people are born and many conditions once considered difficult or impossible to treat now considered minor medical problems. [=McCoy=] goes on to grumble that most of the time he was treating people for preventable injuries or hearing from patients who wanted the latest aphrodisiacs.
** In the [[Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse novel]] "The Captain's Daughter," by the late 23rd century human beings routinely having internal organs cloned from their own DNA and held them in storage for future use - which greatly reduced the possibility of rejection. In 2294, Dr. [=McCoy=] is mentioned as having several cloned organs "in the bank" and that he'll be OK. The treatment was obviously successful as [=McCoy=] went on to live at least another 70 years.
** Introduced in the [=DS9=] relaunch novel ''Avatar'' human Starfleet officer Elias Vaughn arrives at the station to become the station's new first officer in 2276. Already 102 years old at that point, Vaughn had been working about 80 years in Starfleet Intelligence before deciding to transfer to command. Even though his doctor grumbles some about the physical stress Vaughn is under he still gives him a clean bill of health that enables him to continue on as an active Starfleet commander. He later is promoted to Captain and given command of [=DS9=] before given command of a starship.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'': Upon returning to B5 as an aide for the Vorlon Ambassador Kosh, Lyta Alexander undergoes a medical exam by Dr. Franklin, who finds her to be in perfect health with some long standing genetic defects corrected.

** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E1NewEarth New Earth]]", the religious order known as the [[CatFolk Sisters of Plentitude]] attempt to create a disease-free world for the human race. While their motives are charitable, their [[TestedOnHumans methods are]] [[ArtificialHuman less than]] [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans ethical]]. The Doctor comments on it when Rose asks why they still have hospitals, despite being in the future — even though life evolves and tech gets better, so do the diseases.
* ZigZaggingTrope in ''Series/TheExpanse''. It is indicated that the average human lifespan for Earth residents has been bumped up to 130[[note]]The oldest ever person that we have reliable documentation for lived to 122[[/note]], and it's mentioned that Martians can live even longer. However, on the space colonies in the asteroid belt, there are already people with debilitating physical and mental conditions due to things like low-oxygen environments. There are also signs of evolution, with some people being born with more fragile bones due to low gravity, meaning that they can't really survive on Earth anymore.

** In the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries original TV show]], Kirk is amazed when they discover a planet where nobody is sick and marvels at the potential to extend human life.
** Now-Admiral [=McCoy=] puts in a cameo appearance in the premiere episode of ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', at the age of 137 and appearing to be in his 90s by modern standards.
** In the first season ''Next Generation'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E8TheBattle The Battle]]", Beverly Crusher is amazed that Captain Picard has a headache in this day and age: "In the past people used to just get headaches", implying that in the future we will all either be fit and healthy, or suffering from a serious illness, with nothing in between. However, in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E3EnsignRo Ensign Ro]]", an admiral starts the episode with a common cold, which Wesley Crusher [[SeriesContinuityError referred to in an earlier episode]] as "a disease my mom says humans used to get". The admiral later mentions that it's a Cardassian virus, not a human one.

*** The first season episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E25TheNeutralZone The Neutral Zone]]" has a trio of corpses recovered from the 20th century which were [[HumanPopsicle frozen immediately after their death]]. Reanimating the dead and repairing what killed them is a very routine matter for Dr. Crusher once they're thawed out, even replacing the heart of one such patient. She remarks that all three humans had what by the 24th century were minor medical issues, which had obviously been very difficult to treat or terminal in the 20th century. Even Clemonds, who had wrecked his body due to his lifestyle.
*** For that matter, Picard has an artificial heart as well, with medical technology keeping him alive after he was stabbed in his original one. By the end of the first season of ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' his entire body is artificial.

** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS01E06TerraNova Terra Nova]]" it's revealed that a human scientist had found [[CureForCancer the cure for cancer]] in the 21st century. Arriving at the Minshara class world Terra Nova to track down a LostColony, they find a survivor suffering from lung cancer, which Phlox is easily able to treat.

* Cancer is also mentioned to have been cured by the 22nd century in ''Series/TimeTrax''. Additionally, people are generally much healthier and more fit. See this excerpt from the pilot narration describing the protagonist:

* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' features this in the episode entitled "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS5E137Number12LooksJustLikeYou Number 12 Looks Just Like You]]". The episode takes place in the year 2000. The setting is a blissfully CrapsaccharineWorld where everyone is beautiful, completely healthy and young due to the advances made in science. While Marilyn Cumberle does not want the transformation, she does admit that she'd like to be young and healthy without having her physical appearance altered if it were possible.
* It's fairly easy to regrow or reattach lost limbs in ''Series/TheOrville'' and it's implied that [[CureForCancer cancer will be cured]] a few decades from now.

* {{Parodied|Trope}} in the Secondary Phase of ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978'' (although technically not the future, the technologically-advanced galactic civilization seems equivalent to us) where all medical problems are curable (except mental ones, meaning psychiatrists get very rich indeed) and so people resort to faking injuries and disabilities in order to keep the medical profession in business, and create something of a challenge, or similar.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'', with the ''Bio-Tech'' supplement, you can pick an advantage called ''Pan-immunity'' to make your character disease resistant.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': In the grim darkness of the far future, health care for military veterans is so good that just about anything short of having one's brain destroyed is survivable. Spectacular advances in surgery and [[{{Cyborg}} augmetic enhancements]] allow just about anyone to live for two hundred years or more, and that's assuming you don't splurge on a mechanical coffin that can preserve you for millennia. However, for the average Imperial on the street who can't afford such luxuries, this trope is comprehensively {{averted|Trope}}; poor health and disease are commonplace throughout the Imperium, and that's ''before'' [[{{Plaguemaster}} the god of disease itself]] starts paying special attention to you.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'' takes the approach that, while disease and infirmity will evolve in horrible ways (especially when magic reenters the system), a lot of the early 21st century health concerns have effectively become invalid. In addition to cyberware in general, limbs can be regrown, spinal injuries can be healed, you can get a genetic treatment to prevent cancer, and there are even ways to extend your life or biologically reset yourself to 21 years of age. Of course, the question then becomes whether you can ''afford'' all of this...
* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] in the {{backstory}} to ''TabletopGame/HcSvntDracones''. The [[HalfHumanHybrid Vectors]] that replaced humanity were initially engineered to be immune to all known diseases at the time, which resulted in a health crisis when the pathogens mutated; the healthcorps almost went broke trying to cure all the new diseases but eventually they figured it out and became some of the wealthiest [[MegaCorp megacorps]] in the system. Then, 300 years later, a division of the espionage corp Spyglass, known as [[http://hcsvntdracones-game.tumblr.com/post/90301667430/much-of-the-character-flavor-and-differentiation Progenitus]], discovered that the healthcorps had discovered cures for everything and were greatly inflating the prices, they made it public. In the present Progenitus provides universal healthcare to every corptown willing to protect them and support them with a very small tax.

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' uses {{nanomachines}} to fix problems within the body, and while not perfect there are multiple levels of nanomachines, with the most powerful form being capable of instantaneously regenerating wounds ranging from deep piercing stab and slash wounds from a 4-foot sword ''and'' gunshot wounds to the head. [[spoiler:Naomi Hunter]] is being kept alive by hers due to a serious form of cancer and dies pretty much instantly once she shuts them off.
* The plot of the ''VideoGame/TwelveThirteen'' trilogy is related to this. Some scientific group breeds some clones to be resistant/immune to disease, only for it to backfire horribly.

* In the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series, cancer is so rare that most people have never heard of it and it takes about six hours to remove. It is also pointed out in the setting that Sergeant Johnson's [[SmokingIsCool smoking of cigars]] is a harmless hobby because damage to the lungs and even lung cancer can be eliminated very easily.
* The ''VideoGame/{{X}}-Encyclopedia'' mentions that due to advanced medical science and easy access to good nutrition, both Terran and Argon humans can expect to live to about 110.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'', many of the Population Growth increasing and Leader Lifespan extending technologies are given some FlavorText that explicitly relate to better health outcomes.

* Parodied in ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings, where it turns out that nobody in the [[BuffySpeak space future]] needs to worry about getting cancer... because the entire human population already has it. The twist is that cancer has become such an integral part of human biology that all forms of it have evolved into {{Beneficial Disease}}s that function as a minor HealingFactor rather than anything deadly, meaning Commander Badass can chain-smoke cigars while weight-lifting all he wants without having to worry about damaging his lungs.
* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': In the futuristic city of 4-U City, injury, disease, and [[HappinessIsMandatory unhappiness]] have been wiped out -- aggressively -- with nanobots and copious amounts of drugs.
* The future of ''Webcomic/TimesLikeThis'' has Ready Remedy vending machines, which dispenses medicine that completely cures over 25,000 ailments.
* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': Tagon's Toughs start off being able to recover from pretty much most injuries, from loss of limb to loss of ''body'' (usually leaving just a "head in a jar"); the joke is usually whether or not they want to argue with [[ObstructiveBureaucrat the HMO]] over just getting a prosthetic, or an actual replacement 'part' and having to pay higher insurance rates as a result. [[spoiler:Later story developments, such as RED-RIO, [=RedHack=], and the Laz-R-Us protocols, allow them to even recover from being in a ship that is shot out from underneath them. Which, given the volatility of the series' annie-plant power, tends to vaporize the unlucky individual.]]

* The ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS1E13TimeWarped The Once and Future Thing: Time, Warped]]" uses this to explain why Static is still up for hero duty in the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' era.

** The 2009 ''Star Trek'' movie also has an offhand reference to Admiral Archer, the same Archer from ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', who would be 146 now, suggesting that life expectancy has jumped.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Road to the Multiverse", Brian and Stewie stumble into an AlternateUniverse version of the "present day" where due to an absence of Christianity and subsequent dark ages of scientific repression, technology is about a millennium more advanced ([[AuthorTract just roll with it]]). As a demonstration of this, they see [[LovableSexManiac Quagmire]] leaving a house after having sex with someone, receiving a notification that he contracted AIDS "again", before popping a quick "[=NyQuil Cold, Flu, and AIDS=]" pill, which instantly seems to fix him up.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', Fry accidentally re-introduces the long extinct common cold. The symptoms aren't much worse than they are for modern people but the government still plastic-wraps New New York and makes plans to toss it into the sun before the Professor recreates the vaccine.
** Even before this episode, it is made clear that health care and medication are far better in the 31st century than in the present, resulting in a massive increase in the average life spans for humans. Living past the age of 160 is very common (which is why the Near-Death Star was built), and flashbacks about Professor Farnsworth's life show that even a man in his 80s can still look like a man in his late 30s/early 40s in the world of Futurama. Also, injuries that would be permanently crippling to us (like having your hands bitten off by a T-Rex) are mere annoyances.
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' uses this to explain why Static is still up for hero duty in the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' era.

* A big plot-point in ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' -- since the Martians had eradicated all disease long ago, they no longer had any defence against it, causing them to get wiped out by earth pathogens.

** Introduced in the [=DS9=] relaunch novel ''Avatar'' human Starfleet officer Elias Vaughn arrives at the station to become the station's new first officer in 2276. Already 102 years old at that point, Vaughn had been had been working about 80 years in Starfleet Intelligence before deciding to transfer to command. Even though his doctor grumbles some about the physical stress Vaughn is under he still gives him a clean bill of health that enables him to continue on as an active Starfleet commander.

** A major plot point in the first season of ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'' is that [[spoiler:[[spoiler:LittlestCancerPatient Doctor M'Benga's daughter Rukiya]]]] is dying of a rare disease called cygnokemia. It's eventually revealed that at least one alien planet has medical science advanced enough to cure her condition, but unfortunately, they refuse to share their technology with the Federation or any other outsiders.