NYT: Many Holes in Disclosure of Nominees’ Health

[RedEarth]

Source: nyt

Fifteen days before the election, serious gaps remain in the public’s knowledge about the health of the presidential and vice-presidential nominees. The limited information provided by the candidates is a striking departure from recent campaigns, in which many candidates and their doctors were more forthcoming

In past elections, the decisions of some candidates for the nation’s top elected offices to withhold health information turned out to have a significant impact after the information came to light. This year, the health issue carries extraordinary significance because two of the four nominees have survived potentially fatal medical problems that could recur.

If elected, Senator John McCain of Arizona, 72, the Republican nominee, would be the oldest man to be sworn in to a first term as president and the first cancer survivor to win the office. The scars on his puffy left cheek are cosmetic reminders of the extensive surgery he underwent in 2000 to remove a malignant melanoma.

Last May, his campaign and his doctors released nearly 1,200 pages of medical information, far more than the three other nominees. But the documents were released in a restricted way that leaves questions, even confusion, about his cancer.

A critical question concerns inconsistencies in medical opinions about the severity of his melanoma; if the classification of his melanoma is more severe, it would increase the statistical likelihood of death from a recurrence of the cancer.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/us/politics/20health.html?hp

[Faygo Kid]

1. Sarah Palin - who 95% of DUers would crush at Jeopardy - a heartbeat away.

I don't think so.

[WheelWalker]

14. There is no way

SP would beat 5% of DUer's at Jeopardy. She MIGHT beat 5% of Freepers. MAYBE!

ON EDIT: Oh, I see. You're just saying 95% of DU'ers would CRUSH her. The other 5% would still beat her. O.K. I can believe that.

[VWolf]

22. Depends on the topics

Moose Hunting
Shotgun Weddings
Alaska
Secessionism
Famous MILFs
and
Campaign Trainwrecks


I think she might squeak out a win with those.

[illuminaughty]

17. Interesting

I was thinking the other day that the candidates ought to have to play some "Presidential Jeopardy"
That way you can't spin the answers and either you know the facts or you don't.

After all, there is a basic knowledge that we expect them to have to hold the highest office. It would be quite interesting.

[pnwmom]

2. Thanks! K & R. n/t

[tblue]

3. My dermatologist told me there is about a 5 year survival expectation for Stage 2 melanoma

(Stage 4 being the worst). Stage 2 melanoma means the cancer has spread into the body. We don't know which stage McC had. But he's had 4 separate diagnoses, which is very rare. She also said the large scar and puffiness on his cheek appear to suggest a large tumor was removed. The fact that McC holds his medical records so close to his chest should be very troubling to every voter. What is he hiding?

[jemsan]

5. Stage 2 has NOT spread into the body

It requires a MOHS surgery and no chemo or radiation. Stage 3 however does. Stage 4 is shat Maureen Reagan had and died from.

[tblue]

24. Okay. My dermatologist lied.

[Rose Siding]

4. He released more records than Barack because he HAS more records

I don't know about Palin or Biden (he should have plenty) but I hate to see reports that make this point about the difference in the quantity of records released between McCain and Barack. The most obvious reason Obama released one page is because he's young, fit and has no history of serious illness.

[Hawaii Hiker]

6. Wow, Obama's cholesterol numbers are very impressive!

"According to the newly released documents, in January 2007 Mr. Obama had a total cholesterol level of 173 (HDL 68 and LDL 96) and triglycerides of 44. Those levels were normal".

Obama has a HDL (good cholesterol) of 68, that is outstanding....HDL levels >60 are considered a negative risk factor for heart disease...

>60 High HDL level, optimal condition considered protective against heart disease

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_density_lipoprotein

[FarCenter]

7. Palin has released no medical records

Drug use, mental illness, STDs or an abortion?

Take your pick.

[PSPS]

8. It's obvious, isn't it?

There would be no record of her recent "pregnancy," just like there's no record of him being born in the hospital she claims he was born in.

[eagertolearn]

9. Or not having a baby last April?????n/t

[TxBlue]

13. humph! Didn't think of her medical records. Thangs that make you go hmmmmm?

[katandmoon]

10. ALL the candidates need to release detailed medical records

[Princess Turandot]

11. Hmmm..

There are some curious things in the article. The author went out of his way to mention that the physician who spoke to them about Biden's health (a Dr. Parker) had contributed to Obama's campaign. No similar info was provided for McCain's doctors.

He also notes that Mr. Obama has had a notable medical problem: a difficulty in stopping smoking. While I hope that Obama quits smoking, it seems rather odd to describe nicotine addiction as 'notable' without an existing disease that is caused by or exacerbated by smoking, such as emphysema. And what about McCain? Do those yellow teeth of his result from eating too much corn on the cob??

[TxBlue]

12. hmmm indeed mb mccain's yellow teeth are from casino smoke

All that second hand smoke could be just as bad.

Didn't Clinton smoke cigars?

[msongs]

15. ive read that mccain quit a 2 pack a day addicition (its NOT a habit) nt

[illuminaughty]

18. He did more than smoke them. (sorry)

[Celebration]

16. the Obama donation

This was relevant because he was not Biden's doctor and had not examined him. So the campaign provided a doctor who was a supporter of the campaign who interviewed Biden's doctor. Had Biden's doctor been interviewed, it would not have been relevant. I think that the donation by Dr. Parker should have been disclosed (though it didn't bother me).

[JimDandy]

19. It should be a law that all SCOTUS, congressional and presidential candidates

release the last 20 years of their medical and tax records. Is this constitutionally possible, though?

[LisaL]

20. The 72 year old man with a history of cancer.

Yikes.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

21. Washington Post: A Hale Chief? Better Check Up on That.

By Robert Dallek
Sunday, October 19, 2008; Page B03

-skip-

So on Oct. 3, when I read a full-page ad in the New York Times by 2,768 medical doctors calling on John McCain to release fully his health records to the public, I cheered. The voters' judgments should rest on the fullest possible information about the presidential candidates' potential performance in office. The fact that McCain could be our oldest elected president, a 72-year-old man with a history of skin cancer and a largely untested running mate, makes it all the more urgent that we know more about his health before voting. It's admirable that he shared 1,173 pages of his medical records with a small number of reporters during a three-hour period in May. But the limits the McCain campaign imposed on the review of those materials -- the eyebrow-raising time constraints, the exclusion of a New York Times reporter with an M.D. from the pool, the refusal to permit photocopying -- raise questions about what medical experts might find if given unrestricted access.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/17/AR2008101702058.html

[radfringe]

23. should mention about McCain's released records

while volumunous, people looking at them were not allow to take notes or otherwise make copies of records

they were restricted to looking through them in a room for a short period of time