This idea came from all of the advances going on in healthcare that involve testing your DNA, early cancer screenings, early Alzheimer's tests, all of these things that are helpful to people, catching problems sooner. In theory, this will deliver peace of mind and help us get ahead of any problems.

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But what happens when the doctor tells you, "So uh, bad news... you've got 20 years to live. You'll be totally healthy for the first 18 or 19 years of that but then things are gonna get kinda rough."

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It's long enough that the main character can't do all of the fun, "You've got one year left" stuff like quit their job, travel the world, cross things off their bucket list. But it's short enough to change perspective. Should I still get married? Have a family? Save for my 401k?

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From there, the author can explore the question: Would you even want to know if you had 20 years left to live?