Fox News has finally been called out for what they are -- an opinion network masquerading as straight news. Even their alleged news segments are intended to influence viewers toward a conservative viewpoint.
Fox has always claimed to be a real news network, but they have never really made any attempt to act like one. Roger Ailes, Fox News president, is a Republican media consultant who worked for Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush the elder. The station has consistently attacked Barack Obama and before him Bill Clinton, but they fawned over George W. Bush for eight years. For a real investigation of all the shenanigans these guys pull, I recommend the documentary Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism. There are also many other available sources. The evidence is overwhelming.
I only watch Fox News on rare occasions, just to see what they are up to. One of my favorite examples of their work happened during the primaries, while Hillary Clinton was campaigning in New Hampshire. The "news" anchor asked the reporter covering Clinton a question along the lines of: "Some people are saying that a Hillary Clinton presidency would be an embarrassment to the United States, and that's because of Bill Clinton. Are you hearing anything like that?" The reporter, to her credit, seemed surprised by the question, but the point is, that was not really a question. It was a suggestion planted in the minds of the Fox faithful, in the guise of a question, on a "regular news" segment, by a "news anchor." You don't have to watch very long to realize that something is wrong.
If you know me at all, you can guess that I think it's great that someone has finally told the truth about what Fox News represents. I find it funny, but also a little sad, that Fox News has chosen to respond by insisting that they really are a news network, not an opinion network. That Fox News is fair and balanced is one of the biggest lies ever lied, and everyone at Fox who is now defending the network is a big fat liar. They know. At least Rush Limbaugh has the courage to be honest about what he does for a living.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Thyroid Cancer, Diagnosis
I looked up "cancer survivor" on the Internet, and I like this definition: "Someone who has completed initial cancer management and has no apparent evidence of active disease." By that definition, I am not yet a cancer survivor, but I hope to be soon. For now, I am a cancer patient.
On July 29, I went to my doctor, Dr. Johnson, for a physical, because I wanted to go to Cub Scout camp with Jarrod, and they require a physical. I don't go regularly but had been maybe two years earlier. Everything was fine, but Dr. Johnson noticed a small lump on my thyroid. No big deal, most lumps are benign, but it could be cancer, so the next step is an ultrasound.
I went in for the ultrasound on August 10. Dr. Johnson had said that he would be on vacation until September 1, but whatever the result of the ultrasound, we could talk after that. At the ultrasound, the first sign that something was wrong was that the ultrasound tech spent 50 minutes and kept going up and down my neck over and over. The next sign was that she asked me to stay after the ultrasound so that she could check with the radiologist. Just routine I imagined, but then I waited 50 minutes before she came back out and said that they were trying to reach my doctor's office. Twenty minutes later, she came back and said that they had reached someone at my doctor's practice, and that I should see the doctor the next day. "Not the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow."
This was not supposed to happen. Whatever the result, I was going to wait three weeks to talk to Dr. Johnson. All the ultrasound tech would say was that there were "findings", but obviously what she had seen was not good. The next day I talked to a different doctor, Dr. Singh, and she explained that I had a really large mass in my neck, that there was bloodflow to it, that based on the ultrasound I should see an endocrinologist, and that the ultrasound pointed toward the possibility that I had cancer. She also explained that thyroid cancer can be cured and explained a bit about the treatment.
After I had rushed to the doctor following the ultrasound, I got an appointment to see the endocrinologist four weeks later, on September 9. During the next four weeks, my wife and I researched thyroid cancer on the Internet. It turns out that most thyroid cancers can be cured with a success rate over 90%; however, there is one rare kind, called anaplastic, that is almost incurable and will kill you in months. Once I read that, my only concern was that I might have anaplastic thyroid cancer. Finding out that I had another type of cancer would be a relief.
On September 9, I saw the endocrinologist. She took some samples from my neck using needles, a procedure called fine needle aspiration. It's sort of a biopsy, but they get very small samples.
She used four different needles to get samples from different places.
At the end of the appointment, she asked if I had any questions. I told her I knew there were different types of thyroid cancer and asked if there were any indications that mine might be the more dangerous kind. Then she listed about four reasons to be concerned that I might have anaplastic thyroid cancer, and she said the word "anaplastic" each time she gave me a reason. As in, "There is a lot of blood flow to this mass, and that indicates that it might be anaplastic." "It's a really large lump, so that tells us it might be anaplastic."
I was beside myself. Getting anaplastic thyroid cancer is literally a million-to-one shot, but I really did not want to be that one, and my odds kept getting worse.
The doctor called on Friday, September 11 with the results of the fine needle aspiration. I had cancer, but papillary cancer, the most common kind. I was in fact relieved, very relieved. I wonder how many people feel as good as I did when they learn they have cancer.
So now I was pretty sure what I had (the fine needle aspiration test is not considered to be definitive.) Next, the cure.
On July 29, I went to my doctor, Dr. Johnson, for a physical, because I wanted to go to Cub Scout camp with Jarrod, and they require a physical. I don't go regularly but had been maybe two years earlier. Everything was fine, but Dr. Johnson noticed a small lump on my thyroid. No big deal, most lumps are benign, but it could be cancer, so the next step is an ultrasound.
I went in for the ultrasound on August 10. Dr. Johnson had said that he would be on vacation until September 1, but whatever the result of the ultrasound, we could talk after that. At the ultrasound, the first sign that something was wrong was that the ultrasound tech spent 50 minutes and kept going up and down my neck over and over. The next sign was that she asked me to stay after the ultrasound so that she could check with the radiologist. Just routine I imagined, but then I waited 50 minutes before she came back out and said that they were trying to reach my doctor's office. Twenty minutes later, she came back and said that they had reached someone at my doctor's practice, and that I should see the doctor the next day. "Not the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow."
This was not supposed to happen. Whatever the result, I was going to wait three weeks to talk to Dr. Johnson. All the ultrasound tech would say was that there were "findings", but obviously what she had seen was not good. The next day I talked to a different doctor, Dr. Singh, and she explained that I had a really large mass in my neck, that there was bloodflow to it, that based on the ultrasound I should see an endocrinologist, and that the ultrasound pointed toward the possibility that I had cancer. She also explained that thyroid cancer can be cured and explained a bit about the treatment.
After I had rushed to the doctor following the ultrasound, I got an appointment to see the endocrinologist four weeks later, on September 9. During the next four weeks, my wife and I researched thyroid cancer on the Internet. It turns out that most thyroid cancers can be cured with a success rate over 90%; however, there is one rare kind, called anaplastic, that is almost incurable and will kill you in months. Once I read that, my only concern was that I might have anaplastic thyroid cancer. Finding out that I had another type of cancer would be a relief.
On September 9, I saw the endocrinologist. She took some samples from my neck using needles, a procedure called fine needle aspiration. It's sort of a biopsy, but they get very small samples.
She used four different needles to get samples from different places.
At the end of the appointment, she asked if I had any questions. I told her I knew there were different types of thyroid cancer and asked if there were any indications that mine might be the more dangerous kind. Then she listed about four reasons to be concerned that I might have anaplastic thyroid cancer, and she said the word "anaplastic" each time she gave me a reason. As in, "There is a lot of blood flow to this mass, and that indicates that it might be anaplastic." "It's a really large lump, so that tells us it might be anaplastic."
I was beside myself. Getting anaplastic thyroid cancer is literally a million-to-one shot, but I really did not want to be that one, and my odds kept getting worse.
The doctor called on Friday, September 11 with the results of the fine needle aspiration. I had cancer, but papillary cancer, the most common kind. I was in fact relieved, very relieved. I wonder how many people feel as good as I did when they learn they have cancer.
So now I was pretty sure what I had (the fine needle aspiration test is not considered to be definitive.) Next, the cure.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Living and Dying
I found out recently that I have thyroid cancer. It turns out that it's a type that can usually be cured relatively easily, but for awhile there was reason to believe that I might have a more dangerous kind. The more dangerous kind (called anaplastic) will kill you in a few months.
I have always felt that I want to keep on living, a long time if possible, but I have never before had to face such a strong possibility that I might not. The experience made it very clear to me that I most assuredly do not want to die anytime soon. I am not one of those people (if there are such people) who will look at my life and say that I have been lucky (although I have) and go peacefully.
This made me think about why this is so; what is it that makes me so unwilling to call it good and accept that the end is inevitable? OK, biology obviously. But beyond that, I have a sense of unfinished business, things I still want to do. When I thought about things I would leave behind, I realized which ones bothered me the most:
I have always felt that I want to keep on living, a long time if possible, but I have never before had to face such a strong possibility that I might not. The experience made it very clear to me that I most assuredly do not want to die anytime soon. I am not one of those people (if there are such people) who will look at my life and say that I have been lucky (although I have) and go peacefully.
This made me think about why this is so; what is it that makes me so unwilling to call it good and accept that the end is inevitable? OK, biology obviously. But beyond that, I have a sense of unfinished business, things I still want to do. When I thought about things I would leave behind, I realized which ones bothered me the most:
- I want to see my kids grow up. This is for their sake as well as mine; I can't help but feel they are better off with me around. For me, raising the boys is the biggest project of my life, and I want to see it through and see how it turns out.
- I don't want to leave my wife behind, again for her sake as well as mine. I suspect she would be fine in time, but meanwhile raising the kids alone would be tough.
- I want to experience retirement. Almost all of my adult life I have worked, taking a week or two of vacation every year. When I was younger, I took some trips to Europe that lasted longer, up to three months. I did that then because I felt that I might not get another chance for a long time. I was right; the last one was 27 years ago. Jackie and I have plans.
Beyond those big things, I realized more than ever that I like my life. I like video games, conversations with friends, eating, movies, the Mariners, books, music, the outdoors, hiking, weekends, vacations, long drives, new places, restaurants, solving puzzles, political websites, doing nothing, and spending time with my family. Life is fun, and I'm not ready to stop having fun yet.
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