News came out over the wekend that Wendy Richards has cancer. Not a big fan but sorry to hear that, it's been a battle for a time for her over the last few years. I don't know whether it became public knowledge because she brought it up in an interview or through answering a question from the press. Hopefully, there'll be little else about it and she can get on with her plans in private and with some dignity.
And it is that final bit that has got my goat over Jade Goody and her brush with cervical cancer recently. To be fair, I have only seen odd headlines on the front of the magazines which litter the racks of Tesco and Sainsburys but she apparently has been so close to death on an ever increasing number of occasions that it is a miracle she has had the time, the inclination or the health to do interviews. Now I gather she is faced with her Chemo which she can hardly deal with the thought of.
Yes Jade, you and all the other people in the country who have had, and presently have, cancer. Yet they manage to cope with what dignity they can in situations which I suspect are many times worse than yours. I may be being incredibly uncharitable but I suspect the pain of her illness was somewhat lessened by the anaesthetic of yet more column inches in the media.
1 comment:
I was going to write a post on exactly this, but as you've beat me to it, I'll resign to just commenting on yours, if you don't mind.
Yes, Jade Goody has got cancer... and I don't care.
I'm not trying to be harsh and I certainly don't wish the Big C on anyone - not even Jade - it's a terrible, terrible disease, but, as you said, thousands of others have the same and they just get on with their lives quietly.
Why should a celebrity (B-list at that) command so many column inches?
My cousin's wife was diagnosed with breast/lymph node cancer a year ago. She has faced up to the disease and the treatment with such a stoically brave face, that you'd hardly know she was so ill.
I learnt only yesterday, that a friend of mine who has been battling against it for years, has now been told by doctors that there is no more they can do for him and they have given him 6 to 12 months. But knowing him as I do, I know that he will just sort out his affairs, make his arrangements and then quietly spend his remaining time with friends and family. No fuss.
But not all celebrities crave the limelight in such circumstances. Now that the news has broken, I believe that Wendy Richards will deal with her own illness in quiet dignity.
And perhaps Jade could take take a leaf out of Kylie's book. Despite the constant hounding from the press, she managed to almost disappear from view during her treatment.
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