Patrick Swayze: "I'm Battling Cancer. How About Some Help, Congress?"

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

I'm Battling Cancer. How About Some Help, Congress?

By Patrick Swayze Sunday, February 8, 2009; Page B04

For me, fighting cancer is personal. Ever since I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2008, I've been waging an intense, often hellacious battle. It's me (with a lot of love and medical support) against my disease.

But I'm not alone. More than 1.4 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year. In the United States, one out of three women and one out of two men will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes. Look around you; at one point or another, cancer will strike very close to home for everyone. Last week, it struck one of our legal titans, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who underwent surgery at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer during a routine checkup. She was already a colon cancer survivor. Both of us hope to be pancreatic cancer survivors, too.

Our individual battles should also be national ones. With Congress about to decide how much money to include for medical research as part of the economic stimulus package, the time has come to take my personal fight to a larger stage. My message to our senators and representatives is simple: Vote for the maximum funding to let the National Institutes of Health fight cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. It's not only good for our nation's health; it's also good for our economic well-being.

Congress is facing two proposals: a bill approved by the House of Representatives, which includes $3.5 billion for the NIH, and a Senate bill that provides $10 billion for lifesaving scientific work. At a moment when our economy is on its back, the money will also create high-paying jobs and spark economic activity in every part of the United States: The NIH funds projects at hospitals, universities and medical research facilities in towns and cities in each of the 50 states. This money will help every region of America, as well as the individual Americans who will be diagnosed with cancer across the land. Congress should be aggressive and vote for the $10 billion.

...So here's my plea to Congress: Stand up to cancer. Stand up for people fighting serious disease. Stand up and help restore America's economy. Stand up and help build a prosperous and healthy future for our people by giving the NIH $10 billion for research. Stand up to create jobs, fight illness and deliver hope.

... more at the link

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/06/AR2009020602850.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

[elocs]

1. Imagine if all the money that went to Iraq was instead spent of finding a cure for cancer.

Imagine.

[Tigress DEM]

5. Can't. I'd be crying all night and into tomorrow cause that money is gone. nt

[tularetom]

2. Sure, have a tax cut

The money you save will enable you to pay someone to find a cure.

The market will save your life.

:sarcasm:

[cascadiance]

3. Thanks Patrick, I wonder if Steve Jobs will add his voice to yours too...

... since he's also suffering from pancreatic cancer too.

It sounds like a horrible disease to deal with, and I hope some day we can find a cure!

Perhaps Jobs can talk the high end types into understanding that this also affects the CEOs, etc. too and they should want a cure also, and help persuade the more honorable of them (if there are many out there) to get behind a decent stimulus bill. Then perhaps we can call it the "Jobs bill" and people can appreciate the pun and understand it also is about putting people back to work and many other needed things...

[Prophet 451]

8. Shit, when was he diagnosed?

I must have missed that.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

10. the Natl Election Reform movement lost a hero, Andy Stephenson to pancreatic cancer

A bunch of DUers held a fundraising drive right here in DU to raise the money
to get Andy to Johns Hopkins to get a special treatment.

Fellow activists and friends raised nearly $70 K to pay for the surgery and treatment.

Some right wingers contacted paypal and claimed that the huge amount of money
donated to Andy's paypal account was fraudulent, and PayPal froze the account.

Some asshats said Andy was faking, and was just scamming people.

It took about 2 weeks to unfreeze the money, and delayed Andy's special "whipple" surgery.
Andy had the surgery, but got sepsis, and later died.



:cry:

[cascadiance]

12. It looks like he's in better shape than Swayze is, but here's the info on Jobs...

He earlier was diagnosed with a curable type of this cancer...

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-08-02-jobs-cancer_x.htm

He waited a little longer than he should have to get surgery, but still some said that he'd conquered it...

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/02/news/companies/elkind_jobs.fortune/index.htm

Now with him looking thin, there are rumors that his cancer has returned...

http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/06/13/steve-jobs-life-after-the-whipple/

And last month doctors are also speculating on his cancer's return...

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article5524640.ece

[glitch]

4. God Bless you Patrick Swayze. K & R nt

[NC_Nurse]

6. Right on. I wish more people were speaking up about these issues. People

actually NEED the things in this bill. Tax cuts are usually best for people who don't really need them.
Let's put the poor, the sick, and the unemployed first for a change.

[Lorien]

7. I have to ask: is the NIH headed by big pharma lobbyists like the EPA and FDA

are staffed by lobbyists for Monsanto and big polluters? If so, funding won't help until we clean house.Gut the NIH of all repug appointees-THEN maybe we'll see some cures!

[Prophet 451]

9. Well said, that man n/t

[Skittles]

11. I never was a Swayze fan but I am now

the man is showing us all how it is done, living with a hideous disease - living each day to its fullest AND trying to help others. FUCKING AWESOME. :thumbsup:

[cascadiance]

13. Yes, thanks for giving us your "Christopher Reeve" moment...

[Skittles]

21. ???

it's my honest assessment - what's your fucking problem?

[cascadiance]

22. ouch, I was just trying to compliment him on following what Reeve was doing...

to help further the cause of research into fixing back injuries (and stem cell research supporting it) until his dying days, which elevated him to a lot greater stature than just being an actor as much as I admire Patrick Swayze for coming out and making a last big effort to help give pancreatic cancer (and other forms of cancer) more attention that it needs to get a cure.

I feel the same way about folks like Paul Newman, who is larger than life in so many other ways than just his talent (which was considerable too) in the acting profession. He will also be sorely missed.

Not sure what I did to offend you. I meant no ill towards anyone and was trying to compliment Swayze on his efforts. I think I see the confusion though. I should have said "Yes Patrick, thanks ..." I wasn't directing that comment at you... Sorry about that.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

23. Patrick Swayze said it with style, and since he has a tv show now

they might listen.

[TechBear_Seattle]

24. Michael J. Fox did the same for Parkinsons; Melissa Ethridge with breast cancer

It is rather sad that we need celebrities to do what, in a truly civilized society, we would be working to stop anyway.

[varkam]

15. And A&E's 'The Beast' is pretty damn good, too. eom

[thereismore]

16. It's very good. nt

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

17. he's so intense in the new television show - his message to congress - strait on!

but I find it sort of thrilling to read his very eloquent op/ed.

Awesome, and well put.

[cascadiance]

14. And many others afflicted too... (Bill Hicks, Luciano Pavarotti, Michael Landon, etc.)

Bill Hicks:

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Bill-Hicks

Luciano Pavarotti:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/394501/remembering_the_legendary_tenor_luciano.html?cat=33

Benjamin Orr - Bass and Lead singer of The Cars

http://elvispelvis.com/benjaminorr.htm

Michael Landon:

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

And SO many more:

http://www.kantrowitz.com/cancerpoints/celebrities.html

And these are just the celebrities. Think of all in your lives that have been touched by this disease too.

This article wishes there were more like Patrick who had some time to do something about it...

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/checkup/2008/04/national_cancer_institute.html

[shaniqua6392]

18. I know someone with that horrible disease right now.

It is stage 4 too. He lost his job with Ford Motor Company. His insurance benefits have run out. He has no money and can not sell any of his belongings, such as his house, a boat and car because we live in Michigan and the market is flooded. He is just going to have to file bankruptcy soon. How can people be expected to fight diseases such as these with no insurance? I applaud Swayze for his plea to our Congress. I am also pleading with them to help those of us without health insurance in this country. They are just putting the nail in the coffin of our fellow Americans when they need help the most. It makes me sick how little our government really cares about us. All they really want is to take our money without giving anything back to us in return.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

20. exactly - "how little our government really cares about us..

I have cousins in New Zealand and Australia, and they are USED to having universal health care.
And NZ and Australia have an agreement to treat and care for each others citizens who are traveling.

They can buy private insurance if they want.

My cousin said - "We have a government that cares about us."

[Baby Snooks]

19. A cure will not help those without insurance...

He may be lucky and survive. Ruth Bader Ginsburg may be lucky and survive. Steve Jobs may be lucky and survive. But it may be merely a matter of being lucky but simply a matter of having access to the best health care available.

Many others do not. Many others die of pancreatic cancer long before they are scheduled for treatment in the public health care system. Along with victims of other types of cancer.

My heart goes out to these three. What courage all three have. But my heart really goes out to those who have the courage but not the access to health care.

And that should have been focused upon. Hopefully it will be.