Posted on 05/04/2005 9:17:23 PM PDT by CHARLITE
This is the demystification of illness, especially cancer. It is being demystified by the number of people who have lately come forward to tell people they were ill and to ask for their help. Tony Snow of Fox is one, Peter Jennings of ABC another. Melissa Etheridge came out at the recent Grammy Awards and rocked the house with her brilliance, energy and bald-from-chemo head.
And there is Laura Ingraham. Laura was, as pretty much everyone who reads this column knows, recently diagnosed with breast cancer. At first, like everyone in such circumstances, she was shocked. Then she did an amazing thing. She told friends and family exactly what was happening; then she told her listeners on her popular radio show and asked for their prayers. She gave daily treatment updates on her Web page. Before April, Laura hadn't been to a gynecologist in 3 1/2 years. Now she is reminding women not to be as "moronic" as she was.
Laura is funny, irreverent, beautiful and about to be married. She once told me that before she met her excellent fiancé she'd met her share of frogs. I teased her that it wasn't a few, it was more like the ending of "Magnolia." Her laugh filled the restaurant and made people stare. After she was diagnosed she took a week off from her radio show. But she called in from outside the operating room to report she'd just asked the surgeon if he was offering a lift with the lumpectomy.
It is not possible that her beautiful spirit--and Tony's, and Peter's, and Melissa Etheridge's--isn't helping people.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
The best line of the article!
Sometimes, I think they feel that because of their access to so many people... they feel they are helping others to go have themselves checked out. When faced with something like that, it can make a person think a little differently.
"So why not open the windows, air it, let everyone know? Why not let those who choose to talk to God talk to God for you? Laura had full convents praying for her. The day of her operation, a Mass was said for her at a small church in Brooklyn, where strangers very specifically prayed for her full recovery."
I continue my prayers, along with SO very many, for Laura's full recovery.
Thank you for posting this, Charlite.
My doc who does them says his patient-load has grown by 2/3 since Couric's emphasis on the importance of regular check-ups.
I do love Laura--she deserves a prince.
Until you are the 24/7 caregiver for someone who is dying, whether it be from cancer, or from something else, none of you will ever know.
why would you leave this line out?
"Yet there is one change in the national conversation that has been beneficial. It is one case in which the sharing of personal information has struck me as a big step forward."
Sorry if that seemed combative,I hit the post too soon.
I think Laura was pretty wise to talk about it openly.
She controlled what was being said then, to do otherwise would open the episode up to endless speculation .
Laura has been absolutely magnificent!!
The Opinion Journal only allows excerpts, with a link to the entire article on the webpage. FR limits excerpts to 300 characters only. So, I didn't leave out anything. I just entered an excerpt. The link to the article is there at the bottom of the excerpt. http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110006646
See?
Myself being in a situation such as you just mentioned, I too can understand the mental and physical pain in can bring onto a person. I can't think of many things harder to deal with.
But wait, I wanted to tell everyone about my sexual preferences too! In fact, I was thinking of presenting a kit to the school district so they could have a class on it and maybe even a special day about it.
bump and thanks!
Myself being in a situation such as you just mentioned, I too can understand the mental and physical pain in can bring onto a person. I can't think of many things harder to deal with.
Good luck to you both. My wife was diagnosed(breast cancer) in December of '97 and died(breast to bone, liver, kidney, brain) in March of '04. The first half of that was a lot better than the second half of that but we managed. You don't know where you find what you need to go on until you, once again, consider what the person with the illness is dealing with. The caregiver role is tough and no one feels right complaining because your loved one has it so much worse. Again, good luck to you both.
Thanks for the ping...I listened to Laura the other night. What an amazing woman.
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