Despite ABC News's concerns about Republican presidential candidate John McCain's health, 1,173 pages of medical records just released to the press show the Arizona senator "appears cancer-free, has a strong heart and is in otherwise general good health."
This is in stark contrast to a segment on Thursday's "World News with Charles Gibson" (reported by my colleague Brent Baker) which addressed concerns about McCain having suffered "physical" and "psychological damage" while "he was in captivity in North Vietnam," and him having "about a 30 percent chance of developing serious memory loss or even dementia."
Makes you wonder if Gibson will do a follow-up report Friday evening to address the medical information just analyzed by the Associated Press (emphasis added):
Three-time melanoma survivor John McCain appears cancer-free, has a strong heart and is in otherwise general good health, according to eight years of medical records reviewed by The Associated Press.
The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting remains at risk for developing new skin cancers, and gets a thorough check by a Mayo Clinic dermatologist every few months.
"I do not see any worrisome lesions," Dr. Suzanne Connolly concluded after McCain's most recent exam, on May 12.
The details of McCain's health are contained in 1,173 pages of medical documents spanning 2000 to 2008 that his campaign made available to the AP to make the case that he's healthy enough to serve as president, as well as to counter the notion that he's too old. The Arizona senator will turn 72 in August and would be the oldest elected president.
Like many aging Americans, McCain takes medicine to keep his cholesterol in check.
But Mayo internist Dr. John Eckstein, his longtime personal physician, lauded McCain's performance on a heart stress test - sweating it out for 10 minutes when Eckstein routinely sees patients decades younger quit at five or seven minutes.
"I think physiologically he is considerably younger than his chronologic age based on his cardiovascular fitness," Eckstein said in an interview Thursday. "I got a call from the cardiologist who said that he had not seen anyone that age exercise for that long in a long time."
Will this be covered tonight by Gibson with an apology for Thursday's report?
Stay tuned.
—Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters. Follow him at Facebook and Twitter.
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Come to think of it ...
May 23, 2008 - 09:12 ET by... isn't McCain at a 100 percent risk of eventually expiring?
Listen, there's no doubt
May 23, 2008 - 09:25 ET by marpelListen, there's no doubt that McCain is in constant pain from his injuries sustained as a POW. He can't even raise his arms to comb his hair. I too worried about the Melanoma, but he seems to have this under control. I don't have any worries about his health as it is currently, but I think it's important for him to pick a good candidate for VP in the event he gets sick. This said, I think it's important for anyone running for President to pick the best VP he can. You don't know what will happen in the future.
Melanoma is one of the most
May 23, 2008 - 11:55 ET by Hero SquadMelanoma is one of the most treatable forms of cancer when caught early, which it was.
Someone who has a melanoma is at a 20% chance of having another melanoma resurface.
But here's the thing. Once you have melanoma, your doctor/dermatologist knows it, and since you are in a high risk category, it's checked often and would be caught early. It does not put you at any higher risk for other forms of cancer.
So, sure, he's at risk of recurrence. But it's the most visible and treatable form of cancer, and can be treated with simple outpatient surgery. He'd miss, what? A day of work?
If this is the worst health problem he has, then in my opinion it's a non-issue.
(Can you tell I just wrote an article on skin cancer?)
*****
"People only insist that a debate stop when they are afraid of what might be learned if it continues." - George Will
Thanks, Hero. I used to
May 23, 2008 - 12:05 ET by marpelThanks, Hero. I used to work for a plastic surgeon and I saw too many people die from Melanoma. I also have friends who have, and it's very concerning. But, again, thanks for the info!
Hero: I'd like to add
May 24, 2008 - 09:58 ET by stratmanHero:
I'd like to add some more data to your good post for further clarification.
Once one has had a melanoma and it has been "appropriately" removed (excised), there are 2 major ways of describing an appearance of another melanoma.
1) Recurrence
This is when the original (primary) melanoma was either not completely removed and reappears in the same/close location OR the original primary melanoma had metastisized (spread) beyond the location of the original visible lesion and this spreading was not detected and removed. Recurrence deals with the same melanoma appearing near or at the site of the original lesion after treatment.
Recurrence is divided into Low-Risk (your 20% figure), Intermediate-Risk (20-50%) and High-Risk (> 50%).
Risk of recurrence increases with increasing thickness of the original lesion, presence of ulceration in the original lesion, and presence of microsatellite metastases.
2) A Secondary melanoma
This is a new lesion unrelated to the original primary melanoma lesion.
There is a 2.8% risk of developing a secondary melanoma after 5 years, and a 3.6% risk after 10 years. This risk is about 10 times that of those who have never had a melanoma.
Appearance of another melanoma, whether by recurrence or a new secondary lesion, does not necessarily mean a bad prognosis, since the patient is more likely to be having regular skin examinations and the lesions will be detected in the early stages.
McCain had aggressive lymph node dissection and exploration (the scar going down the side of his face) and there was no metastases found. I am assuming that the primary lesion was removed completely according to good surgical practices. McCain's risk for recurrence may very well be 20%, and, as time from his surgery increases, his risk of recurrence decreases. His risk of developing a new secondary melanoma, on the other hand, remains unchanged.
Bottomline, concern over melanoma and McCain as president is very low heat. This is more a political ideological football than a medical controversy - ie more chaff than wheat for the MSM pro-Obama mill.
http://www.melanomacenter.org/life/recurs.html
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20050715/269.html
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1524-4725.2004.30562.x
RRAM Tough!
Somebody should do a
May 23, 2008 - 09:31 ET by Jack BauerSomebody should do a medical health check on the 60 Minutes crew.
Isn't their aveage age something like 97?
Touche, Jack! I'm Cindy
May 23, 2008 - 09:38 ET by marpelTouche, Jack! I'm Cindy McCain's age and my husband would have been 75 this year. I guess I never thought about how old those 60 Mins dudes are until you pointed that out. Too funny.
I think it's more like 87,
May 23, 2008 - 10:06 ET by mattmI think it's more like 87, which, coincidentally, is also their average I.Q.
Spew alert, matt!!
May 23, 2008 - 10:20 ET by motherbeltYou should have had a spew alert!!
ROFL!
My question is
May 23, 2008 - 09:47 ET by americaneagleWho are these hacks that ABC used to smear McCain and publicly question his health? And how could any doctor in good conscience make these types of statements, which border on diagnoses, without having even met Sen. McCain? Isn't that just a tad unethical?
Speaking of dementia
May 23, 2008 - 13:30 ET by merlin61They say McCain could suffer from dementia
because of his age. If I'm not hearing things,
I thought I heard Obama say to the people in
Florida today that they were celebrating
"Independence Day". Its Memorial Day weekend,
Obama, Independence Day is the 4th of July.
57 States and now doesn't know the difference
between these dates?
Par for the Course
May 23, 2008 - 09:52 ET by MeanderingThis is how the MSM is, they say what they want and don't have to take responsibility for it. Is McCain's health an issue? Yes, but its an issue for all the candidates as well as their mental capacity and I'm afraid Obama seriously needs help with his decision making skills. (Wright, Ayers) Can't seem to make good decisions on whom he calls friends.
I don't know about fully "released to the press."
May 23, 2008 - 10:03 ET by sarcasmoBecause what I heard on CNN this morning is more like "Sanjay Gupta gets to go in a room with the document and take notes, but there shall be no copy machines & no cellphones, and the availability lasts for exactly 3 hours." Better than nothing? Sure, but not like a true "release," because assuming no breaks at all, it's a bit over 6.5 pages PER MINUTE in realityville.
JMR
The tax & spend drug war looks racist in the real world.
Just another example of the
May 23, 2008 - 11:11 ET by QueenMumJust another example of the MsM hoping for the worst and then just moving right along when the news doesn't comport with the agenda.
Now, let's have a look at Sen. Obama's medical records. Who's to say that just because he's younger he has no health issues? If there are concerns about McCain's brain being damaged by his prisoner of war experiences, what about Obama's admitted drug use? I'm not trying to make an issue of the drug use. Just pointing out that the "concern" about McCain's mental capacity is a pretty transparent political device.
I am the exotic Queen Mum, and I approved this message.
Good point QM
May 23, 2008 - 11:42 ET by okiehawk44As someone whose age is between McCain & Obama, my experiences include many friends DYING at Obama's age or younger. I lost two close friends in their early 30s within a two week time span. Johnny Mc has lived through a whole lot more than Barack Obama has ever even read about, and I'm not slamming BO here -- it is what it is and BO could be harboring a cancerous tumor (like his friend Teddy Kennedy) or lukemia or MS (like Michael J. Fox) or ...! Barack get yourself to the doctor for a major physical exam like the 4-day exams at Mayo Clinic. By the way, aren't both of your parents deceased? You do know that I saw Johnny Mc's mother on TV the other day and she is still very much alive. BO I'd go ahead and get that physical -- maybe start it this afternoon -- now that I think about your genetic history. My God man, you could be a "dead man walking." I pray that the media cares as much about you and your health as I do. Really -- Scout's honor!
Or Parkinsons?
May 23, 2008 - 11:48 ET by Cool ArrowLike Michael J. Fox?
LYDSEXICS UNTIE!
McCain's health is
May 23, 2008 - 12:27 ET by NL207McCain's health is irrelevant beyond his immediate ability to assume the office. FDR, who died in office, was not in the best of health when assumed the Presidency in 1933. He was a paraplegic as the result of polio. And it really did not matter. Roosevelt had first as John N. Garner VP, then Henry A Wallace and later Harry S. Truman.
More than, this, the national government is supposed to be a Limited Republic. Power is not to be concentrated in the hands of one man. The government is not just one man. It is an amalgam of many men. The life or death of one man is largely inconsequential in such a scheme. This is why the Framers created a lengthy succession for the Presidency. They understood that individual men are mortal and the stability of the Republic could not be made dependent on the beating of one heart.
McCain will have the opportunity to designate a Vice President. I hope he wisely chooses a true conservative who is capable of assuming the Presidency if called upon. The people have chosen the Democrats to control the Congress, thus installing Nancy Pelosi in the succession. The next President will appoint a new Secretary of State and other Cabinet Officers.