RELATED MEDICAL ISSUES RIGHT NOW! #1: Cause Célèbre

 From the first moment my wife discovered she had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog… 

From the first moment I discovered my dad had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it seemed like I was alone in this ugly place. Even ones who had loved ones suffering in this way; even though people TALKED about the disease, it felt for me like they did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I added a section to this blog…

The immediate crisis that was Breast Cancer and Alzheimer’s have passed. There are, however ancillary issues like testing and treatments that may not be directly related to BC or A but intersect with them. Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you. Today: Cause Célèbre

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/black-panther.jpg
https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/01/time-machine-inventor-01.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=618&h=410&crop=1

The "sudden" death of Chadwick Boseman, who played the blockbuster character of Black Panther in Marvel Universe movie of the same name as well as appearing in many of the rest of the Universe’ movies, sent shock waves through Hollywood and the rest of Marvel fandom. No one knew because Mr. Boseman had shared the knowledge of his cancer with the people who matter to him most – and that didn’t include the rest of the world.

When Michael J. Fox, beloved actor of American televisions shows Family Ties and Spin City, is perhaps best known for his recurring role as Marty McFly of “…the 13th-highest-grossing trilogy of all time…” was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder, people were stunned.

Fox started displaying symptoms of early-onset Parkinson's disease “in 1991 while shooting the movie Doc Hollywood, and was diagnosed shortly thereafter…” Outside of his family, no one knew of the diagnosis, until, after a long period of denial, in “…1998, he went public about his Parkinson's disease, and has become a strong advocate of Parkinson's disease research. His foundation, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, was created to help advance every promising research path to curing Parkinson's disease…Michael J. Fox Foundation…became an advocate for people living with Parkinson's disease.” As well, Fox wielded his fame to “the US Senate Appropriations Subcommittee in 1999…”

“In 2016, Boseman was diagnosed with colon cancer. Boseman kept his condition private, continuing to act until his death from complications related to the illness in August 2020…[He] achieved international fame for playing superhero Black Panther in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) from 2016 to 2019”…becoming “the first black actor to headline an MCU film, he was also named in the 2018 Time 100.” Boseman “…extensively supported cancer charities publicly and privately...”

Colon cancer and breast cancer are both cancers...

Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s are both neurodegenerative diseases…

My wife had BC, Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at 84.

Not the same, but my wife and Dad were not celebrities. Fox and Boseman were.

I have no beef with their struggles or their dedication to the cause of finding cures for colon cancer and Parkinson’s. I question the rest of their “fans”…They flocked to the cause because a pair of superstars they loved had the diseases and suddenly, their fans HAD to do SOMETHING to make a difference. “…absolutely devastating…” and “…an icon for the ages…” were only a couple of the comments describing Boseman.

How many normal people died because their plight was just that…”normal”? Their fates were unmarked except by a small circle of family and friends, and devoid of invitations to address Senate subcommittees…

I lament not the MEN, but the rest of us. I wonder sometimes about “us” as a country. As a people. We ignore what we don’t want to see until suddenly, our icons are stricken and something we had no interest in knowing anything about becomes a consuming passion and accolades, invitations, and imperative research, and the interest is not based on real needs, it’s based on the effect of a pervasive disease that has (for some reason we think is inexplicable) on people we have idolized because of characters they've played on towering movie screens…

At any rate, because of this, I offer the existential question:

“If the idols in my life don’t suffer from it, does it exist?”

Resources: https://variety.com/2020/film/news/chadwick-boseman-dead-dies-black-panther-1234753232/, https://www.medicinenet.com/michael_j_fox_has_parkinson_disease/views.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chadwick_Boseman, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_J._Fox Image: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQWFDJVgpz0G9kdb-eRXgRxMiv-Qz-Moaiw9w&usqp=CAU