The Daily Background
| Mrs Romney once wished she could “just have cancer and die.” How does Elizabeth Edwards feel?
by Arlen Parsa
The wife of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is facing criticism from some cancer patients and survivors for saying in a magazine interview that, rather than continue living with multiple sclerosis, she once wished she could “just have cancer and die.â€
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The comment received an angry reaction from Leroy Sievers, a journalist who has been chronicling his own battle with cancer on National Public Radio.“Cancer does not bring a quick death. Cancer is painful and debilitating,†said Sievers on his “My Cancer†blog on NPR’s Web site. “Cancer wreaks havoc on the life of anyone who has it and the lives of the people who care about them. Cancer twists the present and steals the future. Cancer hurts.â€
Gee, what a tasteful thing to say, especially when Elizabeth Edwards has non-curable cancer. Even if Mrs Romney no longer thinks that way, it’s disgusting to suggest that cancer is some sort of lesser, nonpainful ailment.
I think there is room for compassion for Mrs. Romney, as well. Of course her statement sounds foolish to anyone who has known someone who had cancer. But when a person is suffering, it can be difficult to comprehend the suffering of others.