The most probable explanation of the McCain camp’s squirrely handling of his medical records is that he really had a Stage III melanoma in 1990. One pathologist’s reading resulted in a IIA, but another set of pathologists saw what looked like a satellite metastasis near the primary. You might consider that a draw of sorts, but they treated it as if it were a III, in that they excised wide margins and did a very aggressive lymph node dissection. It was so aggressive that it seems to have left McCain with some left facial nerve damage, presumably because branches fo that nerve were cut dissecting out the proe-auricular lymph nodes.

But even if McCain was really a III, and therefore had a much higher actuarial risk at the time of diagnosis than the IIA he has claimed to have been, eight years later, and, more importantly, since 2002 a four-time melanoma patient, there really are no actuarial tables to tell what sort of risk of recurrence he has. Not enough people survive III by eight years to know their further prognosis into the further out years. Not enough people get four recurrences of this cancer and are still alive six years later that we have any idea what prognosis that gives you either. The reasonable summarry of his condition, and there really isn’t much that a complete review of his records would add or subtract from the worry about his survival odds, is that he probably has latent metastases that have been held in latency by an immune surveillance that we have no idea how long will hold, but which has already exceeded expectations, and that he is an unusually fertile field for new melanomas, and we have no idea how long non-recurrence will hold up. His odds of survival, anywhere in the range from three months to 30 years, is pretty much a crap shoot. We know that without knowing any more about his condition than is already public knowledge.

Concerns about debilitating treatment, as opposed to death, from melanoma, are largely misplaced. New melanomas will presumably be dealt with by local surgery, not a all debilitating. Yes, they may miss a new one until it has already metastasized, but he probably gets checked every month, and has probably already had every stray nevus removed. If a metastasis from his 2000 melanoma escapes immune surveillance, or he has a new Stage III/IV, his prognosis would be grim, he probably wouldn’t survive long, but there isn’t much likelihood either of a prolonged, debilitating course of treatment. Melanoma differs from breast cancer in that respect. It is, mostly, surgically curable or it is not curable, because it doesn’t respond well to chemo.

But I’ll be happy to let Alaskan’s deal with her.

There have been a number of celebrities who have come out with a similar sort of confusion about who the mother was….as in here a grandmother or aunt. While it’s an interesting bio, there is no real public significance. In this case, however, the sham is a sham. Together with the apparently true story of the daughter being out of school and with an aunt. There is something really amiss in not wanting to clear up a very odd, to say the least, rumor. Sarah the Sham has earned her reputation.

He reportedly went to AZ to prepare for the debate and made no appearance over the weekend. His doctor is in Scottsdale,AZ. Did he have some procedure over that weekend that reduced or removed that lump?

Surgery could be covered up by using that “skin” used by actors to age them. In a clip since the debate McCain touched the area beneath his left eye and a small bubble appeared there and remained for the duration of the clip.

IMO McCain and the Republican National Committee are trying to deceive the people of America. More lies.

personally the fact that neither is releasing (or only releasing what they want) is going to be troubling for those few independants still undecided. I think there’s general consensus here as to whom we are voting but for anyone still undecided the longer this has legs, the worse it looks for both McCain and especially Palin.

Much has been made of Sen. McCain’s bouts with melanoma. That coupled with his age is giving the appearance of something being hidden that is worse than the obvoius scars and bandages that we’ve seen in the past. For anyone thinking that Sen. McCain will not serve his full term this is exasperating those fears. It’s for this reason also that Gov. Palin’s refusal to release hers is even more troubling. She is by all accounts a healthy mid-40ish woman. Her medical records should not be that difficult to disect, unless…………

It’s this unless that seems to me to be the classic case of ideology vs. reality if Trig is not naturally her son. The failure to put this to rest definitavely is the only reason that this debate continues. Medical records of her pregnancy easily clears that up. However it does then raise issues of her judgement in the events that led up to his birth. I would be hard pressed to defend her flying from Dallas to Alaska (with a layover in Seattle) knowing that she was in active labor knowing that that child was going to be special needs and knowing that some of the finest medical facilities were within minutes of where she was. If for some ideological reason Trig had to be born in Alaska, then that needs to be addressed.

But what if Trig was actually her daughter’s child. That fact would (as it has done to those who believe this) directly fly into the face of her ideology of abstinence and family values. It would give the impression of pro-life not being as much a choice in and of itself but an edict. It also gives the impression of one who couldn’t teach her own daughter those values that she claims to hold dearly.

Finally, the economics of raising a special needs child is enormous. Would Trig be covered under the fathers insurance? Would Trig be covered under her mothers insurance (state health plan since Todd doesn’t appear to have a full time job) or would he have to be covered under a federal/state medical assistance program? What option would you take if you had the opportunity?

I guess, in short, it’s no so much the minute details that are of a concern to me with respects to both Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin, it’s knowing that there’s nothing to hide.

just because the Rs do bullshit stuff like this doesn’t mean we have to.

and p.s. you sure this is about credibility and veracity and not looking for a partisan advantage?