McCain's 10 areas of bad health: hgh blood pressure, prostate, cancer, Ambien etc

[b]McCain's 10 areas of declining health[/b] [img]http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo/_new/080903-mccain-palin-1030a.h2.jpg[/img] 1. 5 cancer operations 1 malignant 2. a prostate operation in 2001 at Mayo Clinic 3. high blood pressure the silent killer 4. high cholesterol.. yet continues says the NY Times to eat high cholesterol food 5. recurring kidney stones 6. removal of bladder stones at Mayo Clinic 7. smoking 2 packs a day 25 years 8. Ambien, the Zombie drug, for insomnia.. takes him out of commission for 7 to 9 hours 9. removal of 34 lymph nodes 10. removal of part of his parotid gland [b] Palin, considered unqualified to be president, has as of Oct 23 stalled in releasing her records.[/b] This article is compiled from Lawrence Atlman MD of the NY Times and other physician sources.[b]McCain at 72 is the oldest man ever to run for president. 32% of Americans believe that disqualifies him. He was a 2 pack a day smoker for 25 years. He has high cholesterol, high blood pressure, recurring kidney and bladder stones and according to the NY Times the week of Oct 26 continues to eat high cholesterol food. He has had cancers on his shoulder, arm, nose and left temple.[/b] The left temple cancer was classed as malignant. To those who view him from the left, the ball like cancer seems very serious. [b] Surgeons in his 5 bouts with cancer also removed 34 lymph nodes as a precautionary measure near the cancer and part of his saliva-producing parotid gland. He also had an operation on his prostate. [B]McCain's prostate surgery[/b] http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/08/29/surgery.mccain/index.html Country's foremost authority on presidential health Lawrence Altman MD http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/us/politics/20health.html Ambien a security threat? http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Politics/Story?id=4919842&page=1 http://www.weitzlux.com/Ambien_612326.html Ambien http://msnbcmedia3.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo/_new/080903-mccain-palin-1030a.h2.jpg picture of McCain tumor from a rare angle McCain's cholesterol http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=4922123 In addition he uses Ambien for his insomnia.[/B]Ambien has been sued by many because of its correlation to sleepwalking and sleepdriving, headache etc. Presidents must be willing to be awakened at 3 a.m. Ambien prevents alertness and is correlated to memory loss.[/B] He has selected A woman with no experience as his running mate [b] http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/20/us/politics/20health.html?_r=1&oref=slogin Lawrence Altman, for 36 years a reporter on presidential candidate health.[/b]www.abcnews.com Does McCain's Ambien use make him a security risk? [b]McCain's Ambien Use: a Security Threat?[/b] Sleep Drug Known for Memory-Linked Side Effects; Most Doctors Unconcerned By DAN CHILDS ABC News Medical Unit May 23, 2008— In a presidential race marked by references to preparedness in the face of the 3 a.m. call, the revelation that presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain has taken the sleeping pill Ambien during his travels raises concerns that the rare side effects of the medication could impair his judgment. "Taking more than the recommended dosage of Ambien or combining it with other sedative-hypnotics for example, alcohol may result in amnesia, fugue states and sleep walking," said Dr. Peter A. Fotinakes, medical director of the St. Joseph Sleep Disorders Center in Orange, Calif. "Used appropriately, Ambien is a relatively safe medication." Though rare, such side effects associated with Ambien have made headlines. Patients who claimed that they engaged in a bizarre variety of activities while asleep after taking the drug from binge eating to driving their cars while asleep lodged class action lawsuit in 2006 against Sanofi-Aventis, the maker of the drug. The unusual side effects of the drug once again made headlines a few months later, when Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy smashed his Ford Mustang into a barrier near Capitol Hill. He later released a statement saying that he had been disoriented by two prescription medications he had taken, one of which was Ambien. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has uncovered more than a dozen reports of sleep-driving, all linked to the drug. Partly in response to such reports, the FDA urged sleep drug manufacturers on March 14, 2007 to strengthen their package labeling to include warnings of sleep walking, "sleep driving" and other behaviors. Still, some sleep experts maintained that the rarity of these side effects, coupled with the wide use of the drug, make it unlikely that a problem would arise if the commander-in-chief were taking the pills. "I suspect that drugs like Ambien are used very commonly by government officials, particularly when crossing time zones," noted Dr. Donald W. Greenblatt, director of the Strong Sleep Disorders Center at the University of Rochester Medical Center. "Temazepam was used extensively to facilitate British troop transport to the Falkland Islands years ago," he added. "You may recall the talk of President Bush Sr. taking his "little blue pill" Halcion to help sleep when traveling. These drugs Ambien less so than Halcion have the potential to alter behavior and actions if the person taking them tries to stay awake." Dr. Emmanuel Mignot, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine, agreed that McCain's use of Ambien would likely pose little concern. "It is perfectly legitimate to use Ambien when traveling," he said. "I would say that overall I would prefer to have a commander-in-chief well rested when he is traveling after taking Ambien rather than someone who is sleep-deprived because of jet lag. "The only potential issue is if there is an emergency in the middle of the night, but honestly, I am not sure it is worse than being sleep-deprived there too. Of course, Ambien can have side effects, [b]for example on memory [/b] sleep deprivation too. Life is a trade off." Timing Is Everything But while the overall risks of behavioral and judgment effects due to Ambien may be low, sleep experts agree that in a high-importance role such as the presidency, proper planning is needed when considering its use. [b]"Ambien should only be taken when you have a window of seven to eight hours for sleep," Greenblatt said. "Your staff should know that you've taken the medication, and that you should not be involved in any decision-making during that time." [/b] [b]Fotinakes added that sleeping pills and other sedatives have been proven to be more potent in the elderly. [/b]In light of this, he said, "It may not be the best idea for the commander-in-chief to be under the influence when he or she may have to make a snap decision regarding national security in the middle of the night; [b]Other sedatives such as antihistamines and alcohol could have similar effects, [/b]he added. "Yet, most people would not turn a hair if the president had a few shots before retiring to bed." And as long as he is cautious in his timing, McCain may have little problem with the side effects of Ambien a widely used drug which accounted for more than 45 million prescriptions in the United States in 2005. [b]"The key is to use Ambien-like sleeping medications in moderation and don't mix them with other sedative drugs or alcohol," [/b]Fotinakes said[b]. "Most importantly, avoid use in the event you have to consider escalation from Defcon 4 to Defcon 3." [/b] [b]McCain's prostate surgery[/b] http://archives.cnn.com/2001/ALLPOLITICS/08/29/surgery.mccain/index.html McCain recovering after prostate surgery PHOENIX, Arizona (CNN) -- Sen. John McCain is "expected to make a full and rapid recovery" after routine prostate surgery Wednesday, his 65th birthday, his office said. The surgery lasted roughly one hour and went off without a hitch, the senator's office added. "The procedure was straightforward, with no complications," according to a statement released in Washington. McCain also had some bladder stones removed. Entering the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix early Wednesday morning, McCain joked he had found a "great way to have a birthday party," and admitted to feeling "slightly embarrassed" that his prostate surgery had received so much publicity. The maverick Republican and former presidential candidate said he expected to be released within "a day or so." He said the health matter was not serious. "This isn't anything in any way life-threatening," McCain said. "This is a benign situation." McCain had surgery for skin cancer on his face last summer. "This isn't comparable," he said Wednesday. Reached at the hospital, Cindy McCain, the senator's wife, was also optimistic about her husband's recovery. "Certainly, surgery is never routine, but it's fine. This is much less serious than last summer," she said. McCain should be out of the hospital after one or two nights there, according to the statement. He plans to rest at his Arizona home over the weekend and return to Washington next week. The surgery, called a transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), is not related to McCain's history of skin cancer. However, the prostate problem was uncovered during a quarterly cancer checkup on Aug. 17, according to sources. That checkup indicated that McCain's body is free of cancer -- marking the fourth check in a row to show him as being cancer-free. Doctors did discover, however, that McCain's prostate was enlarged and was pressing against his bladder, causing bleeding and the formation of the bladder stones. Surgeons, led by Dr. Scott Swanson, removed part of McCain's enlarged prostate and performed a cystolithopaxy, in which a laser is used to break up bladder stones so they can be removed without open surgery. McCain had arrived in Arizona on Tuesday night after wrapping up a whirlwind, five-day trip through Eastern Europe. Cindy McCain said her husband enjoyed an early birthday dinner with his family Tuesday night. -- CNN Congressional Correspondent Kate Snow in Washington contributed to this report.