Perspective. This is a cancer story of someone well-to-do and is very likely not to match a lot of folks' experience.

I don’t see many articles about a homeless guy with cancer making the front page of HN. You’re right it doesn’t change the article, but knowing the context helps us understand how we ended up reading it. And then helps us question the truth of the article.

If they are in the US, the homeless guy is more likely to simply die instead of being able to get treatment. The homeless guy couldn't have gotten a preventative scan to catch it, after all, and even if he felt it, what would he do about it?

Poverty - or lack thereof - changes the story itself because not everywhere cares about its people.

Exactly, who cares who's wife she is. Steve Jobs was one of the richest in the world but still died of cancer fairly young unfortunately. It's a deadly disease that affects millions every year and unfortunate thing is that we still don't have a guaranteed cure.

It doesn't, but I found it interesting to know.