That thing on McCain's face is betting bigger. How come nobody acknowledges the obvious?

[MindMatter]

I don't know if anybody has analyzed campaign tape from the past few months, but I saw a couple of pictures of McCain campaigning where that tumor looked a lot bigger than I had seen before.

Has anybody come across a reliable source of comparative pictures?

It is unbelievable to me that that story is being buried. I mean it isn't a cosmetic. We're not saying he has a funny looking nose or his eyeborws are too bushy. It is melanoma. Serious stuff.

[babylonsister]

1. The melanoma was removed supposedly; isn't that supposedly scar tissue? nt

[NMDemDist2]

2. not if it's growing..... n/t

[babylonsister]

5. But we don't really know that, do we. That's why I think it stinks

that this topic is forbidden. He needs to level with Americans. That could also be why he's not.

[opihimoimoi]

3. Its a baby ALIEN living in his FACE...thats why he is so grumpy

[chupacabranation]

14. Face-sucker aliens!!! (SCREECH)

[MindMatter]

4. Do scars normally keep growing in size, and get bluer?

[babylonsister]

7. I haven't heard of anyone else who thought it was growing, and

bluer? How could you tell with all the make-up?

[liberal renegade]

6. it looks more like a knot.

[Mojorabbit]

27. I think they also

removed the parotid glands on that side.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

8. I have. That's why it's terrifying that that dumb female evil clown is running w/him nt

[Myrina]

9. maybe they upped his botox in preparation for the debate ...

... and went a little overboard?


:shrug:

[Ilsa]

10. He looks like he has some sort of implant to stretch out the scar on his

face where they removed the tumor. But maybe it is tumor regrowth. We won't know until after the election.

[MindMatter]

11. I predict we'll see a quiet leave of absense immediately after the election

[Duer 157099]

12. This thing?

It's getting HUGE. And growing hair.

[MindMatter]

15. No. That tumor isn't getting bigger, just snarkier. :)

[racaulk]

19. ROFL!

Nice! :thumbsup:

[crossroads]

20. Ewww... thats funny! lol

[Phx_Dem]

13. You know, I've been thinking he's been looking more

like Uncle Fester lately because his face seems rounder.

[BklynChick]

16. during Keith's show tonight, they showed a profile of McCain speaking and I was blown away by how

huge it is.

[MindMatter]

18. I saw a couple on KO, but there was a shocking one just a few minutes ago on Maddow

Seriously, this is the elephant in the room that everybody wants to ignore.

[MindMatter]

17. Seriously folks, I just saw a fresh shot of him from his left

and that thing definitely looks bigger to me. Notice how almost all the camera shots these days are from his right. I understand that was part of the negotiations for the town hall format -- the permissible camera angles. I wonder if McCain negotiated for the chair on Brokaw's right, knowing that would lead to more camera angles on McCain's right.

[rurallib]

21. Saw a couple minutes of Fred Flinstrone's brother Sean's show tonite

and commented about that to my wife.

[Poiuyt]

22. I think the swelling is because he had the lymph nodes removed from that side

BTW, there was an article on CNN.com just today about McCain's age and health:

McCain faces questions on age, health

(CNN) -- Meghan McCain was on the talk-show couch, being grilled by the hosts of "The View." Does it bother her to hear jokes about her father's age? Megan, 23, started chuckling, and allowed, "He IS old!" Tension was replaced by laughter. But that was summer. These days, for Republican Sen. John McCain, age is no laughing matter.

Age as political issue has become a reality the McCain campaign does indeed have to face. McCain turned 72 in August, which would make him the oldest man to begin a first term as president -- three years older than Ronald Reagan.

Clips of McCain making supposed age-related gaffes circulate on the Internet. Last month, Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat and a supporter of Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama, said McCain's age and skin cancer history were fair game as a campaign issue. "We're talking about a reality here that we have to face." A few days ago, a liberal activist group, Brave New Films, ran a full-page ad in the New York Times, accompanied by a petition signed by more than 2,700 physicians calling on McCain to release his full medical records.

more -

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/10/08/ftl.mccain.health/index.html

[dgibby]

23. Quite possibly side effects from previous surgery.

Scars can increase in size. Some people develop keloids, an abnormal thickening of the scar tissue.
All the lymph nodes on that side of his face were removed during previous surgery, thus causing poor drainage of fluids with resulting swelling.

[MindMatter]

25. Is it possible that it simply swelling, and not a return of the tumor?

Perhaps the stress of the campaign, lack of sleep, lots of air travel, etc. is aggravating that area causing swelling that wouldn't normally be as evident.

Whatever the cause, it seems to be getting considerably larger.

[dgibby]

28. Not only possible, but probable

He is checked approx. every 3mos at the Cleveland Clinic (according to him). The swelling is actually a collection of fluid due to the fact that he has no lymph nodes on that side of his face. The surgery was actually quite extensive, with a large resection of tissue, glands, etc., in order to excise the melanoma.
While melanoma is a very serious, life threatening cancer, I would expect it would probably metastasize to other areas rather than recur in that spot due to the extent of the surgery in that area. I do believe that he is examined often and thoroughly, since to do otherwise would almost certainly be a death sentence.
Having said all this, I also believe that he is not in good health. I noticed he appeared to be short of breath during the last debate, and I wonder if that's the reason he left so soon. I am also very concerned about his mental status, as evidenced by many gaffs, etc. Yesterday's "my fellow prisoners" remark was disconcerting, to say the least.

[MindMatter]

29. Thank you for that. My concern about "fellow prisoners" was ...

The people behind him, espcially Sarah Palin seemed to have no reaction at all.

How could McCain say this without correcting himself? Often when you flub a phrase, it is best to go on, but this one was so bizarre that you would surely stop to correct that, and maybe make a self-deprecating quip. The fact that he cruised right ahead tells me he wasn't even aware he had done it.

That happens, but how could the people behind him not react to that? My guess is that they see all sorts of bizarre behavior from him and just ignore it.

I also noticed the shortness of breath. I attributed this to nervousness. We already saw he was acting the submissive dog in teh last debate, refusing to make eye contact. These encounters could be very stressful for him.

[weezie1317]

24. Here are some photos

Good shot comparing both of his cheeks

There are several photos here - http://jaydolan.blogspot.com/2008/04/14-mccain-and-abel.html

And here is a good one of his swollen\bulging cheek --

[RagAss]

26. Jesus...that's hideous looking.