Biden's Medical History Not Scrutinized

Politico: Dem VP Nominee's Near-Fatal Aneurysms In 1988 Have Yet To Come Under The Spotlight

(The Politico)  This story was written by Andy Barr.

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While John McCain’s past battles with skin cancer has received a great deal of scrutiny, Joe Biden’s near-fatal aneurysms in 1988 have yet to come under the spotlight.

Soon after ending his first presidential bid that year, Biden, who had been suffering from what he thought were headaches and a pinched nerve, collapsed in a hotel room shortly after giving a speech on foreign policy.

In his book "Promises to Keep," Biden says that he was unconscious for over four hours before he woke up in a hospital in Wilmington, Del. The senator was told that an artery was leaking blood into his brain and he was given his last rites by a priest. He was transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center where it was discovered that he had a second aneurysm on the other side of his brain.

Biden immediately underwent a four-and-a-half-hour operation to remove the leaking aneurysm. He had a second surgery in May to repair the other aneurysm and fully recovered after taking a seven-month leave from his seat as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Following the memorial service of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who died in August of an aneurysm, Biden said, “I know it sounds corny, it almost sounds maudlin, but you know, here she was one day walking around, just like I was the next day.

“I woke up four hours later on the floor with a hemorrhage. In her case, the same thing happened, only she never made it back.”

Dr. Anthony J. Caputy, chairman of the neurology department at George Washington University Hospital, said that after being treated for the aneurysms, Biden is “highly unlikely” to experience the problem again.

“Once they’re dealt with, they’re dealt with,” Caputy said. “The likelihood that he would ever have any trouble is very small, even smaller than the general population.”

Biden, now 67 years old, has yet to release his medical history, of which the aneurysms are one of the few known episodes.

Biden’s spokesman David Wade told Politico that "we intend to make available his medical history before the election.”

He added that "Sen. Biden is in terrific health and he's full of unbridled energy on the campaign trail. He leads an active lifestyle, works out regularly even as he campaigns, and his wife and family always make sure he drinks plenty of water and eats right. After a health scare over 20 years ago, he's been blessed with excellent health."

Like Biden, McCain's running mate Sarah Palin has not yet released her medical records. Spokesman Ben Porritt said only “we have no announcement at this time.”

McCain, who is four years older than Biden, provided access to nearly 2,000 pages of his recent medical history in May following questions about his history of melanoma and concerns about his age.

McCain has had four procedures to remove melanoma, a type of skin cancer that can be fatal if it spreads to other organs. He has had more than a dozen such patches of abnormal skin removed.

The Republican had his most severe surgery in 2000, when a large Stage IIa melanoma on the left side of his face, along with 38 lymph nodes and a gland that proved to be cancer free, was removed. He has been cancer free since.

The ten-year survival rate of patients who have had a Stage II melanoma is roughly 65 percent.

On a conference call with reporters following the release of McCain’s medical records, the senator’s personal physician, John Eckstein, said, “Sen. McCain enjoys excellent heath and displays extraordinary energy.”

"There is no medical reason or problem that would preclude Sen. McCain from fulfilling all of the duties and obligations as president of the United States."

Still McCain’s health has been an issue, especially after selecting Palin as his running mate. Democrats frequently questioned her experience by pointing out that if elcted, she would be “a heartbeat from the presidency,” a thinly veiled shot at McCain’s age and previous medical concerns.

Soon after the Palin pick, top Barack Obama surrogate Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) invoked McCain’s history of skin cancer on ABC’s “This Week,” telling host George Stephanopoulos, “I think what we're talking about is a reality. Other people talk about his melanoma. We’re talking about a reality here that we have to face. This is someone who's going to be one heartbeat away from the presidency. All of us know it. I just think that it’s the facts.”

Obama released a brief letter summarizing his medical history shortly after McCain made his medical records available. The summary, written by Dr. David L. Scheiner, revealed that Obama had struggled to quit smoking but is overall in “excellent health.”

The line most media outlets seized on from the summary is that Obama is “lean and muscular with no excess body fat.”

While the short letter released by the Democrat’s campaign praised his diet and fitness regime, the full disclosure McCain provided opened him up to some embarrassment. One note in a report from McCain’s oncologist, Dr. Suzanne Connolly, drew particular interest: “Buttocks unremarkable except for some very light tan freckling.”

[slayrre007]

None of this matters. Once Barack Obama, as Commander-In-Chief, is given our countries top military secrets... he will find a way to give the information to his "brothers" in the middle east. This country has lost its identity as Americans in their efforts to prove, even at the risk of threatening the security of this country, that a black man can become elected President. How soon Americans everywhere forget how unprepared we were for 9/11. Intellectually we could not accept the real danger of such an attack. Now we are unprepared to accept the realistic threat that the next attack to destroy America will come from within....that threat is Barack Obama. He will be the catalyst to the fall of America and the ending of the American way of life.

[joe-truth]

"Please direct me to the scrutiny; as far as I know, his cancer has been dismissed out of hand and thousands of doctors are clamoring for more information. What''''s he hiding?" - Chrisssh

Chris....you need to read more, get educated...you are embarassing to the Obama campaign:

From AP Article
The details of McCain''s health are contained in 1,173 pages of medical documents spanning 2000 to 2008 that his campaign made available to the Associated Press to make the case that he''s healthy enough to serve as president, as well as to counter the notion that he''s too old.

Compared to Obama who only just recently admitted he was a smoke and has fallen of the wagon a few times this year:
Barack Obama has given the public far less information on his health than McCain - a one-page report detailing the last 21 years of care he has received.

[excoachken]

We need "full disclosure" including Barrack''s cigarette habit, John McCain''s unsuccessful PTSD and anger management "treatments" and why any woman like Sarah Palin would take the extreme risk of "unprotected ***" after age 40 when there is such a greater chance of having a Downs Syndrome child as a result. We should be able to see just how stable the person is who might end up with their finger on the button.

[gogam]

The media favors Obama because McCain reminds the heads of the media of Bush''s idiotic administration. Remember when Bush''s administration disenfranchised the media and journalists were jailed for not revealing their sources? Well, it''s pay back time and poor McCain has been the poster boy for retribution ever since. If Obama loses this election...then McCain will be known as a candidate to have won with EVERYTHING going against him. His battle in Hanoi Hilton would pale in comparison.

[chrisssh]

You wrote
"While John McCain%u2019s past battles with skin cancer has received a great deal of scrutiny, Joe Biden%u2019s near-fatal aneurysms in 1988 have yet to come under the spotlight. "

Please direct me to the scrutiny; as far as I know, his cancer has been dismissed out of hand and thousands of doctors are clamoring for more information. What''s he hiding?

[ttmo2]

CBS-- you need to remove duplicate submissions to keep these idiots from monoplizing this forum

[ttmo2]

There are only two parts of this article that are relevant:

1) Dr. Anthony J. Caputy said that after being treated for the aneurysms, Biden is %u201Chighly unlikely%u201D to experience the problem again. %u201COnce they%u2019re dealt with, they%u2019re dealt with. The likelihood that he would ever have any trouble is even smaller than the general population.%u201D

--- In otherwords, not a concern.

2) McCain has had four procedures to remove melanoma, a type of skin cancer that can be fatal if it spreads to other organs. The Republican had his most severe surgery in 2000, when a large Stage IIa melanoma on the left side of his face was removed. The 10-yr survival rate of patients who have had a Stage II melanoma is roughly 65%.

---- About 1 of 3 with stage 2 melanoma removed die w/in 10 years! If anything is being under-reported it is the seriousness of McCain''s cancer.

McCain''s risk of serious health problems or death over the next several years (resulting in a Sarah Palin presidency) is real. If you are an undecided voter, you had better be comfortable with the prospect of Sarah Palin being your president before you consider casting your vote for McCain. I, for one, am not. --Independent voting Obama/Biden

[missingamerica]

dunno why it is a big deal when it has been revealed that Powell lied about Iraq''s WMD in 2003 to promote the war at the UN and lost credibility....

Posted by hjedtyj at 09:48 PM : Oct 19, 2008

Powell merely what he was told, and did so at the direction of the President of the United States of America - a.k.a. his boss.

Funny how you guys can go from shrilling "U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President!!" to demanding that a former member of this President''s cabinet not only buck his President''s wishes but filter out all of the Bush, Cheney, & PNAC, LLP lies on his own.

Republican memories would make a fascinating paper for JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

I have never seen a condition that fluctuates between complete memory loss and selective memory loss within the bounds of political parameters even on Fox''s "House".

[mumu11]

There was no scrutiny because none was needed, since Mr. Biden himself published the information about his health. Don''t push for artificial appearance of scoop when there is none possible: that''s called dishonest pandering.

[hjedtyj]

Obama may win in November because of the following...

the media is supporting him and not reporting negative stories about him with examples including....

his criminal associate Tony Rezko''s jail sentencing scheduled for October 28 or 29 the same time Obama bought half hour tv time with CBS and NBC...

a few networks/media outlets have deliberately oversampled african americans to give Obama the mistaken edge in polls for months...

Obama''s flip flopping on campaign finance law where he decides to change his mind to accept private donations and allowing Bush/Cheney to wiretap americans while giving phone companies immunity with FISA laws for political expediency...

no surprise Powell endorses Obama since he revealed he was already excited about his candidancy in the spring as a african american....dunno why it is a big deal when it has been revealed that Powell lied about Iraq''s WMD in 2003 to promote the war at the UN and lost credibility....