The following is an editorial by Armstrong Williams.
The news recently announced that former President Joe Biden has received an aggressive diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer. The disease, which has now spread to its bones, is deadly and deeply serious.
Let me say that clearly: whether you like it or hate it, whether you voted for it or not – this kind of news should stop us all on our traces.
Because before anything else – before politics, power or politics – Joe Biden is a man. A husband. A father. A grandfather. And like any man confronted with this kind of diagnosis, he is someone who is now looking at the most difficult fight in his life.
It’s a moment that requires our empathy – not our ideology.
We have all said things about political figures in the heat of the moment. We have criticized their files, their decisions, their rhetoric. It comes with the territory. Politics, by its very nature, is a difficult and often brutal arena. But there is a difference between a disagreement on clear policy and the dehumanization of cruelty.
We must never let the policy that we practice prevail over humanity that we call to live.
Biden cancer is not only aggressive – it is advanced. And what makes this news even more worrying is that the warning signs may have been missed – or worse, ignored. According to Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a leading oncologist and former health advisor of the Obama administration, this form of cancer could have developed inside Biden up to a decade.
Emanuel said what in the medical world: where was the projection? Where were PSA tests? These are standards for men from Biden – simple and accessible tools that can detect cancer early, while it is always treatable.
However, publicly released medical records of Biden, examined each year during his presidency, have shown no test of the specific antigen of prostate (PSA). It is deeply worrying.
And this should be alarm clock – not only a question of transparency in the public service, but on the way in which we speak and prioritize the health of men in general.
Let me be honest: I am not a doctor. But I know the facts. Prostate cancer is increasing, and it strikes younger men with greater frequency than ever. The American Cancer Society recommended screening at 50. Now they suggest the age of 45 – and for high -risk groups, including African -American men and those who have family history, screening should start from 40 years.
In fact, more and more men in their thirties – and even in twenty – are starting to be tested early, just to be safe. And here is the good news: almost all insurance plans cover these exams. This includes PSA projections.
Prostate cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer if it is taken early. But once it spreads, history changes. Dramatically. So I say that to every man reading: Don’t wait. Don’t delay. Be checked.
It takes ten minutes and could save your life.
As a person who has spent their career at the intersection of politics and culture, I understand the reflex to run everything through a partisan objective. But some things transcend partisanary. It is one of them.
I sincerely hope that Biden receives the best possible care and that his family finds strength and comfort during this difficult season. Whatever your policy, it deserves our prayers and our compassion – not only as a former president, but as an American colleague in front of a fight, none of us would like anyone.
And if something well can get out of this situation, whether it is: that the men of this country take their health more seriously. That we stop treating force as a silence. That we make our well-being a priority-not only for ourselves, but for the people who love us and who depend on us.
Politics can divide us. But our common mortality should unite us. Be checked, stay informed and above all – stay human.
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Mr. Williams is HOWARD STIRK HOLDINGS I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the owner of the 2016 multicultural media dissemination of the year.
www.armstrongwilliams.com | www.howardstirkholdings.com
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Publisher’s note: Sinclair Broadcast Group has a commercial relationship with Armstrong Williams, who is a political commentator and owner of Howard Stirk Holdings.