My brother had his first chemo and radiation therapy for brain cancer today.

[grantcart]

They are small dots now, almost invisible. They found out about it because in removing a benign growth they were able to biopsy the small little specs and find that they were malignant.

An accomplished lawyer he taught courses in law at a respected law school but medical events late in life curbed his professional life. Now, in his early 70s he lives on social security and has a chance to win this battle because of Medicare, something Republicans also fought like hell. Had he gotten this when he was fifty, before the ACA, and it went untreated these little specks would grow and he would only have 18 months left. Now he has a chance, because of Medicare they caught it early.

John McCain stood up for his fellow POWs when he refused an early swap to leave his POW prison where his health was faltering and had less than a 50% chance of making it. He stayed in line, first in first out. By not undermining morale and giving the NV a tool to divide other POWs he gave some the strength they needed to hang on and survive.

John McCain stood up for an unknown girl dying in Bangladesh when his wife found her and brought her to the US. He adopted her sight unseen and helped save her life.

John McCain stood up and did the right thing at a critical point of US/Vietnamese rapprochement giving cover so that right wingers could not sabotage it. I was in Vietnam after the war and saw how depleted Vietnamese hospitals were. By assisting in establishing diplomatic ties steps were taken that allowed Vietnamese hospitals to take giant leaps at recovery and lives were saved.

I hope he recovers and has a long life.

I wish the old John McCain would return and stand up for guys like my brother who are in their 50s now and the other 30 million good decent folks that may lose the only health care they have under the Affordable Care Act simply because Donald Trump wants to win a pissing match.

I miss the old John McCain, I really do.

[spanone]

1. K&R...

[Ken Burch]

4. What spanone said.

[Horse with no Name]

2. Prayers to your brother. N/t

[Tanuki]

3. Best of luck to your brother.

[Leghorn21]

5. This is a most beautiful and heartbreaking post, grantcart - thank you so much. I, too, send

all best wishes and good thoughts to your brother and his family and friends...and his brother, who wrote this. You have compiled so exquisitely all the reasons I'm so sad and conflicted tonight with the news of Sen. McCain's current diagnosis. Yes, I think we all miss the "old" John McCain, badly.

Thank you again, grantcart, for this moving post -

[grantcart]

11. Thank you for your kind comment

[Catmusicfan]

6. Sending healing thoughts your brother's way.

Take care of yourself so you can be his support and cheerleader.

[lpbk2713]

7. McCain could inspire a lot of people if he opposed Trump.

I'd like to see him do it.

[grantcart]

21. It would be his greatest contribution to the country

[flamingdem]

8. Thank you for this

and my best wishes for your brothers recovery.

I didn't know this about the old McCain. He really was a good guy back then.

[Skittles]

9. wishing your brother and his loved ones the best

I too remember a time when I truly admired John McCain

I do wish him well

[sueh]

10. Thank you, grantcart. Healing vibes to your brother.

[eppur_se_muova]

12. McCain could simply decline to attend McTurtle's vote next week ...

or even decide to step down, leaving a vacant seat for the near future.

(((((For your brother.)))) (That's DU hugs, not RW echoes )

[pnwmom]

13. I miss that John McCain, too. I hope he returns and does the right thing --

help us improve, not repeal or replace, Obamacare.

And I wish you and your brother and your family all the best.

[Lucinda]

14. I miss that McCain too. I think Bushco broke something in him and he hasn't been quite the same

since W ended up with the nomination...

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

15. I sincerely hope your brother has more than social security to live on.

Surely all those years he taught at a law school resulted in some sort of retirement.

As for John McCain, well there's a lot of different information and opinions about his POW experiences. It seems as if he was not the war hero he's been held up to be. And on a more mundane level, I was living in Phoenix when he moved from his original Congressional district to a much better part of the city shortly before he ran for the U.S Senate. Really? Can you spell hypocrisy?

A few presidential cycles back he was being touted here on DU as someone who was about to abandon his Republican affiliation and move over to the Democratic side. Maybe even be a VP nominee. I knew then, in no small part because I understood how party politics actually worked, that such a move was not going to happen. McCain was said to be a "Maverick" which he wasn't. Period. It's instructive to watch Steven Colbert at the White House Correspondent's Dinner in 2006 -- yes, that long ago.

On one hand it's a different universe. On the other, Plus ca change . . .

[CaptainTruth]

16. My best wishes to your brother. And I agree about McCain

I remember when conservatives cared about their fellow Americans. That doesn't mean I agreed with them on all points, & it doesn't mean they were as dedicated to "the good of the many" as we Democrats are. But they didn't find joy in killing 24,000 Americans, as the current GOP members of Congress do.

(Or find joy in killing 50,000+ Americans as the GW Bush cabal did.)

I'm not sure they realize it, but if @GOP is to continue to exist as a viable party, they need a LOT more McCains.

At this point, I think it's best to let them fail.


I wish all the best for your brother.

[smirkymonkey]

17. I wish the best for you brother and I also hope he recovers and has a long life.

I hope McCain does the right thing and fights for your brother and people like him. I can't understand the cruelty of today's republican party. How can they do this to people and live with themselves?

[brer cat]

18. Sending my best wishes

to your brother and all of you walking this road with him.

That was a kind and very thoughtful post.

[Stuart G]

19. Sending my best wishes to your family

[mcar]

20. Best to your brother

[malaise]

22. Wishing your brother all the best

[sheshe2]

23. Best wishes to your brother, grantcart.

...and thank you for this moving post.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

24. A rare moment of decency in American politics.

Retweeted by Preet Bharara: https://twitter.com/PreetBharara

A rare moment of decency in American politics.

Link to tweet

[grantcart]

25. Thanks

[lapfog_1]

26. Never forget what KKKarl Rove and the Bush Crime Family

did to McCain in South Carolina BECAUSE he adopted a girl from Bangladesh.

[grantcart]

29. It was an unspeakable and unamerican act against McCain

You have to wonder how he reconciles that action with staying in the party.

[LeftishBrit]

27. Best wishes to your brother

[Beaverhausen]

28. I don't think McCain has long to live

I have a friend, 47 years old, with a Glioblastoma-actually several. She was diagnosed two years ago. Hers is inoperable but they found it by opening her skull, which as many of us know give the tumors oxygen, which we don't want to do. She had radiation and chemo and is using the Novocure therapy. So far she has lived longer than expected and her tumors are not growing.

https://www.novocure.com/our-therapy/

The fact that McCain's options are radiation and chemo and not surgery doesn't look good for him.

Of course I'm no expert but I know more than most.

Best of luck to your brother.


EDIT: I read McCain's tumor was removed, so maybe he will live longer after all.