By GottaLaff
The office of New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg says the 86-year-old Democrat has stomach cancer.Spokesman Caley Gray says doctors for the nation's second-oldest U.S. senator found B-cell lymphoma of the stomach. His office says the tumor is "curable" and will require treatment over the next few months.
Fingers crossed, toes crossed, eyes crossed.
By GottaLaff
(click on image to enlarge)It seems that there was one email from Sarah regarding Piper Palin that a bunch of the Teabaggers thought was "so cute." I expected something like the hair-flattening moment at the Republican Convention so I decided to check it out. Imagine my horror when I read this:Mean girls, indeed.From: gov.sarah@yahoo.com [mailto :gov.sarah@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday , January 15 , 2008 9:08 AM
To: Kelly, Russell T (GOV); Tibbles, Michael A (GOV); Frank Bailey ; Perry, Kristina Y (GOV);
Leighow, Sharon W (GOV); Leschper, Beth (GOV); Frye, Ivy J (DOA)
Cc: Balash , Joseph R (GOV); Todd ; Anders, Bruce F (DNR); Irwin , Tom E ( DNR); Rutherford, MartyK (DNR); Sally Heath ; Molly; ChuckSubject: Lyda vs Piper
Oh no. Last night Piper overheard me griping about Lyda's action - and she said : "Can you pull her hair?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Frye, Ivy J (DOA) [/O=SOA/OU=FIRST ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP/CN=RECIPIENTS/CN=IJFRYE]
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 9:11 AM
To: External Ernailgsp
Cc: fek9wnr@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: Lyda vs PiperNow that's the best idea I've heard yet! What a smart kid!
So we think it's funny to suggest beating up a grandma who is a cancer survivor? We already knew Sarah's lack-of-class regarding Ms. Green. We have it recorded when she giggled incessantly while Bob Lester called Lyda a "bitch" and a "cancer."
Of course, the spin back then was that she was just laughing because she didn't know what else to do, yet these emails are totally backing the "Mean Girl" persona Sarah's former friends and co-workers have described. Isn't it facinating how the "real" Sarah is leaking out all over from these private-account emails?
By GottaLaff
A loophole in the Senate health care bill would let insurance companies place annual dollar limits on medical care for people struggling with costly illnesses such as cancer.Merry Christmas cancer patients!
Adding to the confusion, the language is tucked away in a clause of the bill captioned "No lifetime or annual limits." Advocates for patients say it fails to deliver on that promise.Where's my tinsel? I want to throw some on that Big Box-O'-Empty to pretty it up.
The legislation that originally passed the Senate health committee last summer would have banned dollar limits on medical coverage, but a second panel — the Finance Committee — disagreed. Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and others feared that an outright ban could drive insurance premiums higher for everyone, and sought to strike a balance.I'm sure it's not as bad as it looks. I'm sure the limits are well-defined and I'm reading more into this than I should:
As currently written, the Senate Democratic health care bill would permit insurance companies to place annual limits on the dollar value of medical care, as long as those limits are not "unreasonable." The bill does not define what level of limits would be allowable, delegating that task to administration officials.Stephen Finan, a policy expert with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network:
"If you put a limit on benefits, by definition it's going to affect people who are dealing with catastrophic loss." [...]The House bill doesn't allow annual or lifetime limits.
"If you can have annual limits, saying there's no lifetime limits becomes meaningless [...] If you are a cancer patient you could be faced with a situation where you either have to terminate your care, or face a financial catastrophe..."
A selfless and aware gesture. And very, very sad.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is battling brain cancer, has asked his state’s governor and legislative leaders to change the succession law to ensure Massachusetts has two seats in the Senate, according to The Boston Globe.
(snip)
The letter to Gov. Deval Patrick (D) and the Massachusetts state House and Senate leaders does not mention the healthcare battle over Kennedy’s own health issues, according to the Globe, but makes it clear that Kennedy sees it as vitally important that there be a way to fill a seat more quickly than under his state’s current system.
“I strongly support that law and the principle that the people should elect their senator,’’ Kennedy writes in the letter.
“I also believe it is vital for this Commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election.’’
By GottaLaff
I wanted to let you know that I've been diagnosed with an early stage of prostate cancer.
This diagnosis is very common among men my age. In fact, one in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point during their life.
Luckily, a routine test allowed my doctor to catch it at a very early stage, and my prognosis is excellent - we expect a full and speedy recovery.
I want to assure you that I'm feeling fine. As you know, we've been working hard to pass health care legislation and reform our nation's financial system to protect consumers, and that hard work will continue.
After the Senate adjourns at the end of next week, I'll have surgery to remove the cancer. After a week or two of recuperation, I expect to be right back to work.
After all, as a Member of Congress, I have great health insurance. I was able to get screened, seek the opinions of highly skilled doctors, consider all the available options, and choose the treatment that was right for me.
And I know you'll agree that every American deserves the same ability.
We have health care legislation to pass - and an election to win. And I can’t thank you enough for your support.
Sincerely,
Chris
CBS News has learned CT Senator Chris Dodd has been diagnosed w early stage prostate cancer.More:
U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd has been diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer.He's currently in some hot water over Countrywide favors. Not a good time for Senator Dodd. I wish him a speedy recovery.
Dodd is scheduled to undergo surgery during the Senate's August recess and said he expects to be back at work after a "brief recuperation" at home. [...]
Dodd, a Democrat, said he feels fine and intends to run for re-election in November 2010. "As you have probably noticed, I'm working some long and hard hours lately,'' he said. "And that will continue." [...]
Dodd is scheduled to hold a press conference this afternoon at 2 p.m. at his Hartford office.
Very good news that frankly, I was not expecting.
Sen. Edward Kennedy’s brain cancer is in remission and the Massachusetts Democrat is expected back in the Senate after the Memorial Day recess, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Sen. Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday that he spoke with Kennedy’s wife and was told the 77-year-old lawmaker will return to work full time during the first week of June.
(snip)
On Tuesday, Reid confirmed that Kennedy would in fact return in June.
Kennedy has been working behind the scenes on the healthcare legislation and even dropped his seat on the Senate Judiciary Committee to focus his attention on that policy area. He is expected to lead the debate in the upper chamber along with Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.)
By GottaLaff
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is battling brain cancer, has returned to Washington for what is expected to be his longest stretch back on the job since the new Congress convened in January.Stick around, Ted. We need you.
Kennedy will vote Monday night in Senate, and remain in town for at least the next two weeks to work on health care reform and national service legislation, a senior Democratic aide said.
By GottaLaff
This new treatment option sounds fantastic:
NEW DELHI: Offering hope in several cases of technically inoperable tumours, the most advanced CyberKnife robotic radio surgery system will be available to cancer patients from next week at the Apollo Specialty Cancer hospital, Chennai. [...]It's nice that we have it here in the U.S.A. where science is acceptable again.
"This technology will offer a new treatment option that would revolutionise cancer treatment in India," Prathap C. Reddy, executive chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, told reporters here Saturday. [...]
Apart from being the only machine of its kind in South Asia, the CyberKnife is unique in its design. It offers large dosages of targeted radiation controlled with image guided technology and computer robotics.
"The advanced technology behind CyberKnife uses real time image guidance technology and computer controlled robotics to deliver an extremely precise dose of radiation to targets, thereby avoiding the surrounding healthy tissue and adjusting for patient and tumour movement during treatment," explained John Rodenbeck Adler, professor of Neurosurgery and oncology at the Stanford University Medical Centre.
"The procedure requires no anaesthesia, as the treatment is painless and non-invasive,"said Adler, who is in India to create awareness about the machine.
The treatment has a higher rate of success with small tumours, and generally lasts between 30 to 90 minutes involving administration of 100-200 radiation beams delivered from different directions each lasting 10 to 15 seconds. The machine's robotic arm works continually with image guided technology and has the ability to move in three dimensions according to the treatment plan. [...]
This treatment can also successfully treat lung cancers and other such cancers that are on organs that move involuntarily - like in the respiratory or digestive system.
The treatment that formally began at Stanford in 1994, has had about 60,000 beneficiaries so far, with around 98 percent success rate in dealing with benign tumours and about 95 percent in dealing with malignant tumours. It has a three percent complication risk, Adler informed.
By GottaLaff
A new study involving nearly 1.3 million middle-aged British women -- the largest ever to examine whether alcohol increases a woman's risk of cancer -- found that just one glass of chardonnay, a single beer or any other type of alcoholic drink per day poses a danger.I need a drink.
By GottaLaff
Sen. Ted Kennedy, wintering in an undisclosed location in Florida, may never return to the Senate, friends say, as his battle with brain cancer enters its final rounds.
“He’s someplace sunny, near the water, where he can rest and sail,” said a pal of the senior senator. “Time is of the essence. It’s very sad.” [...]
“He’s very sick,” said another Kennedy associate. “He’s actually done well to get to this point.” [...]
Because of Kennedy’s condition, off-the-record speculation about the future of his Senate seat has been rampant this week - especially in light of a seven-part Boring Broadsheet opus that is being widely viewed as a premature obituary. And yesterday’s installment was interpreted by some close to the matter as the first step in a torch-passing to Kennedy’s wife, Vicki.
“It appeared to be setting up Vicki’s senate campaign,” said one insider.
The story described the former Victoria Reggie as “a great lawyer” with “tremendous political skills” and “great sense of humor.” [...]
Should Kennedy be unable to finish out his senate term, which ends in 2012, a special election must be held within 145 to 160 days of the seat becoming vacant. The big question is: Will Kennedy make it known that he wants his wife to succeed him - a move that would almost assuredly guarantee Vicki the seat?
My heart is breaking.
By GottaLaff
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been released from a New York hospital and is recovering from surgery at her home in Washington, a Supreme Court official says. [...]According to her doctors, during the surgery to remove that tumor, which turned out to be benign, they discovered a previously undetected and even smaller tumor.
It was that smaller tumor, one they did not know existed, that turned out to be cancerous.
Her doctors say Justice Ginsburg's lymph nodes showed no sign of cancer, and they do not believe the pancreatic cancer spread. [...]
Ginsburg's associates say she remains determined to be at the Supreme Court when the justices return to the bench on Monday, Feb. 23.
By GottaLaff
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg plans to return to the bench less than three weeks after being hospitalized for pancreatic cancer, her office said Friday.
Ginsburg anticipates returning to the bench for the court’s next arguments on Feb. 23, according to Kathy Arberg, a spokeswoman for the Supreme Court.
By GottaLaff
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg "has undergone surgery for pancreatic cancer, apparently at an early stage," the Associated Press reports.
She will remain in the hospital for seven to 10 days.
By GottaLaff
The office of Jack Kemp -- the former congressman, HUD secretary, and GOP vice presidential candidate -- announced today that he has cancer.
Per a statement, "Mr. Kemp has been undergoing tests to determine the origin of the disease and the options for continued treatment. He will continue to serve as Chairman of Kemp Partners and plans to remain involved in his business, charitable and politically related activities. Mr. Kemp and his family are grateful for the thoughts and prayers of friends and appreciate respect for their privacy at this time."
By GottaLaff
Current and former career officials at OSHA say that such sagas were a recurrent feature during the Bush administration, as political appointees ordered the withdrawal of dozens of workplace health regulations, slow-rolled others, and altered the reach of its warnings and rules in response to industry pressure.With BushCo, economic considerations (their own and their cronies') always trump the physical well-being of the U.S. population (actually, that of the entire planet), the health of the U.S. economy, morale, and/or the environment.
The result is a legacy of unregulation common to several health-protection agencies under Bush: From 2001 to the end of 2007, OSHA officials issued 86 percent fewer rules or regulations termed economically significant by the Office of Management and Budget than their counterparts did during a similar period in President Bill Clinton's tenure, according to White House lists.
White House officials have dismissed such tallies, emphasizing in recent regulatory overviews that their "objective is quality, not quantity," and that heavy restrictions on corporations harm economic performance. [...]
"The legacy of the Bush administration has been one of dismal inaction," said Robert Harrison, a professor at the University of California at San Francisco and chairman of the occupational health section of the American Public Health Association. It has been "like turning a ketchup bottle upside down, banging the bottom of the container, and nothing comes out. You shake and shake and nothing comes out," Harrison said.
More than two dozen current and former senior career officials further said in interviews that the agency's strategic choices were frequently made without input from its experienced hands. Political appointees "shut us out," a longtime senior career official said.
Among the regulations proposed by OSHA's staff but scuttled by political appointees was one meant to protect health workers from tuberculosis. Although OSHA concluded in 1997 that the regulation could avert as many as 32,700 infections and 190 deaths annually and save $115 million, it was blocked by opposition from large hospitals.
In the summer, the agency decided against moving further toward the regulation of crystalline silica, the tiny fibrous material in cement and stone dust that causes lung disease or cancer. OSHA promised a scientific peer review of the health risks by early 2005 and then by early 2007, but it never acted. Regulating silica exposures would have prevented an estimated 41 silicosis deaths and 20 to 40 lung cancers annually, according to OSHA.
In the spring, political appointees quietly scrapped work on another long-pending regulation of hazardous exposure to ionizing radiation in mailrooms, food warehouses, and hospitals and airports. It cited "resource constraints and other priorities" -- the same reason officials gave for withdrawing more than a dozen regulatory proposals in 2001.
By GottaLaff
Republican presidential candidate John McCain, who has suffered from skin cancer in the past, had a spot removed from his face on Monday during a routine checkup by a doctor in Phoenix, an aide said.McMole is on TV right now live warning everyone to wear sunscreen. He says everything's fine, but he paused before he answered as he waved it off and made his exit."At this point it was just a precautionary removal," the aide told reporters on McCain's campaign plane.
The aide described the spot, on one of McCain's temples, as being like a mole. It was visible on the side of his face and covered with a bandage, the aide said.
McCain has had four malignant melanomas -- a potentially lethal type of skin cancer -- surgically removed since 1993.
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) is responding well to radiation and chemotherapy treatments for brain cancer, his wife reported in an e-mail to friends and family obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
The senator is tired, but otherwise doing well, the AP reports.
He exercises every morning before his treatments. Excellent.
"The only side effect is fatigue, and that word has never been in Teddy's vocabulary before," Vicki Kennedy e-mailed. "But he's learning to cope with it. As I have mentioned to many of you, he is tackling cancer with his trademark grit and determination, and he is doing everything he needs to do to regain his strength and health." [...]
Vicki has drawn the line at letting her husband go sailing in thunderstorms, but other than that reports that he sails nearly every day.
I don't even like to drive in thunderstorms, and he wants to go sailing in one. Go, Teddy!
Senator Kennedy is planning to go back to work in September.
Alot of rumblings about John McCain this morning, none of it sounding very good.
Bush asks Saudis to increase oil production
Iraqi refugee finds life in U.S. harder than foreseen
USA Today: In Final Contests, It's All About Momentum If leading pledged delegate counts and the seating of Michigan and Florida delegates are the determining events for the nomination, what are the last few contests for? Bragging rights, momentum and symbolism.
Bin Laden: Palestinian cause fuels war
Ex-Army Corps consultant indicted in Katrina bribery case
NY Times: In South, Black Turnout May Challenge the G.O.P. The sharp surge in black turnout that Senator Barack Obama has helped to generate in recent primaries and Congressional races could signal a threat this fall to the longtime Republican dominance of the South, according to politicians and voting experts.
18 'Awesome' Imaginary Worlds
Vitamin D deficiency linked to breast cancer in new study
AP: GOP Abandons Bush on Food, Energy Issues WASHINGTON — President Bush's calls for fiscal responsibility received scant notice this week on Capitol Hill. Fellow Republicans had something bigger on their minds — high prices for groceries and gasoline in an election year that is looking increasingly bleak for their party.
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