Postby Jeremiah » Mon Nov 05, 2007 2:11 am
First: If you are offended by something I posted, let me know exactly what that was. If you are offended at my entire post, then I feel sorry for you if someone's informed, albiet passionate, opinion offends.
Second: Oprah and the majority of the women she has in her audience cackle every time someone says poop. Then, she says poop 3 different ways to see how many laughs she can get. As for her spreading the word about cancer, if you are going to do it, do it right - do it well - and do it to completion. Cover the deeps stuff too, not just the surface. Start digging into the fact that some states will decline coverage to some patients if their cancer was determined to be genetic (which get's tagged as a pre-existing condition. That is just an example, but my point is...what always gets people talking? When do people speak loud and listen up? Right....when they get mad. People remember something that made them mad. You make my mom mad and she will write letters, call companies, etc. I think most of us have moms like that. You tell someone that you are ok if your poop floats and need to change their diet if it sinks is not something that will get people motivated. And to be honest, there have been a couple of times where Dr. Oz was incorrect and giving out some not-so-sound advice. Neither he, nor Oprah, properly disclaim how one should consider his advise. It is implied that his advise should be taken as law.
Third: Oprah is about as hypocritical as it comes. She has people on, like Bill Cosby, who are trying to promote improvement in particular communities and language was one of the issues. Eliminating "jive" or "street talk" in the black community was fairly specific to what he was trying to eliminate. Oprah acts as if she is so intellectually motivated and supportive of what Bill is doing, yet she turns around and throws out more jive talk than anyone I have every heard.
Fourth: If most of the people in the audience sat and thought "wow, Dr. Oz really makes sense, I will go see my doctor" then I would agree with you but somehow, and this is my opinion (being the realist that I am), I think most of the people are using Dr. Oz like a free in house doctor. About the same for Dr. Phil would be my guess. We are creatures of habit and convenience. We keep doing things that are convenient to us. If they can get medical advice from a tv show, without leaving their house, chances are they are going to keep doing that. Most of your "facts" or "statistics" are coming from Oprah and the Today show. When is the last time someone picked up a book or went to the library? When is the last time someone wrote their congressman/woman?? When is the last time folks actually went out and gathered their own statistics, talked to patients, family members, etc. If I die, I hope someone speaks with my famliy and asks, "what do you feel were the biggest obstacles during your husband's fight?" No offense, but society seems content with just wearing a cancer ribbon and letting Oprah spread the word. About 10 months ago I sent out a letter to everyone that gave support to my family. In it I thanked them and ran through all of the details about my experience. Like on these boards, I don't hold back and I gave all the details. I would guess that they felt glad that their generosity had helped deeply.....and that they were both mad and scared that such a monster could demolish a human being. I say that because of the 43 people that I sent the letter to 15 mentioned they've already done colonoscopies, 10 actually went and got a check done shortly after my letter, 4 had polyps, and 1 was diagnosed with stage 1 colon cancer. Also, I have since taken the initiative to get genetic testing done. I am waiting on the last round of results, but my guess is this is genetic. I am thrilled that my getting cancer may save the live of everyone else in my family. My 3 brothers have gotten checked now and each had polyps. Their ages are 39, 38, and 30. With this testing, we will also now have genetic evidence that will allow my daughters (and their daughters) to be checked at age 20ish. The same goes for my brothers kids. But hey, I guess only people with talk shows telling you to see if your poop floats or not is the best way to spread the word? We don't NEED the media. I get pretty tired of society relying on fox news for literally EVERYTHING. TV has become dictionary, doctor, teacher, baby-sitter, psycho therapy, and more. I hate that we have become that type of society. A little girl decided she was going to raise money. She just built a stand and people around her spread the word. She raised tons of money and then the media reported it. After all, why would the media cover a girl who builds a lemonade stand unless and until it makes alot of money. They, or course, have since then covered the story as the machine she created thrived and is carried on to this day, but you get the point that she did what she set out to do without media, without Oprah, without anything but determination and heart.
Fifth: Isn't the majority of my post directed at finding a cure for this? Getting fired up and more folks involved in awareness and finding a cure? I just don't think Oprah is a very constructive approach. We don't need Oprah to spread the word. We can do that ourselves. We can stop electing idiots to office and start putting folks there who care about the healthcare program. Start putting someone in office who will challenge our society to find a cure and will provide the financial funding necessary to achieve such a goal. Let's stop relying on Oprah to drive cancer awareness. (And while we are at it, let's stop worrying about what the hell Brittney Spears is doing)
Sixth: You said... "We need to reassure people that you aren't awake, that it doesn't hurt, that yeah, the prep is nasty, but it's only for one day". Actually, there are many people who find a good amount of paid/discomfort in doing a colonoscopy. There are also many folks who remain awake during the procedure. My mom and dad for example. They simply "relax" you with medication but do not put you completely out. Dad watched his procedure on the monitor.
Soccermom, my apologies, but I don't know your story and don't know what you have or have not been through. I honestly mean not to offend, but it does sound like the basis of your thinking, and facts are coming from tv shows. The above example about there sometimes being pain and consciousness during colonoscopies stands out. People deserve to be told the truth. The key is for us as a society is to help those people feel comfortable with the facts, know as much as possible about the topic, and that they have the support of those around them no matter what flavor the experience may be for them.
Jeremiah MooreStg 4 Colon Cancer: Diag. Apr 18, 06 at Age 32
Personal Website"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a persistant one." -Albert Einstein