John McCain: end of a career
A few weeks ago, John McCain seemed to be having a bit of word-finding problems (dysnomia) and was a bit confused as evidenced on some broadcast senate hearings. 3 days ago he underwent surgery for a blood clot (hematoma) in the left frontal lobe. At age 80, this isn't so surprising, as due to brain shrinkage (atrophy) blood clots can often form after minor trauma. Most clots are benign, in the sense that they are unassociated by other brain abnormalities. But in this case, McCain wasn't so lucky. He underwent a sub frontal (inferior to eyebrow) craniotomy for an 5 cm diameter blood clot. 5 cm is the size of a golf ball. The clot was located in the left frontal lobe, actually the part called pre-frontal lobe. This is the last cerebral area to mature, often not fully developed until age 25. The pre-frontal lobes are important in executive functioning (decision making), self-monitoring, especially in social situations. Emotional constraint is also a critical part of prefrontal function. Typically the left pre-frontal lobe is the more "analytical" portion relative to the right pre-frontal lobe but both are important regulators of cognitive, emotional, and social function.
The biopsy, which is routinely performed with any removal of tissue from inside the cranium, revealed glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is one of four grades of intrinsic malignant brain tumors. They are based upon unregulated growth of glial cells. Glial cells outnumber neurons 9:1. They play important roles in neural nutrition, protection, physical support, and very likely non-cognitive functions. Glial cells like neurons require blood supply. The blood vessels accompanied by normal glial cells are, for lack of a better word, normaL
Gliomas are typically divided into four groups, ranging in severity. The divisions are usually based upon tissue morphology (histology) but other factors enter into this. Mixed glioma types are not rare so that portions of the tumor may look more benign or less benign than other parts of the tumor. No matter what the grade of malignancy, ALL gliomas infiltrate surrounding normal tissue. Gliomas can be localized through direct vision or imaging to some extent, but the microscopic spread is impossible to detect with the naked eye, operating microscope and even sophisticated neuroimaging.
The four basic types of glioma, from least malignant to most malignant are:
1. Astrocytoma
2. Anaplastic astrocytoma
3. Glioblastoma
4. Glioblastoma multiforme
The Mayo Hospital derived biopsy report as well as the neuroimaging pre-operatively are so far unavailable to the public. Important considerations are location, size, histologic invasiveness and patient comorbidities.
"Cure" of gliomas is so rare as to be reportable in medical journals. Control is the best that can be hoped for, but control is not cessation of growth. In the usual cases of glioblastoma, the cavity left in the brain from tumor resection can be filled up with new malignant tumor in a surprisingly rapid manner. The faster this occurs, the worse the prognosis.
Typical surgical adjuncts consist of chemotherapy and external radiation. Intracranial radiation may also be used for high local dosing but is generally ineffective for diffuse control. The typical radiation is whole head with/or without stereotactic (highly focused) radiation. Treatment doses can be anywhere from 20 to 30 sessions, usually administered either 5 times a week or every other day, depending upon circumstances.
The acute and subacute results of whole head radiation are not simple. Besides the inevitable hairloss, intense scalp "sunburn" occurs. Taste sensation is lost or severely reduced, at least temporarily. Appetite is markedly curtailed, so weight loss and relative malnutrition occur in the subacute period.
But more importantly in the perspective of John McCain as a sitting United States Senator, his ability to function during the period of radiation will be completely halted. Chemotherapy, deepening upon the agent(s) used may have additional negative aspects.
Despite all the optimism voiced on TV, by all the pols, etc., the prognosis for John McCain returning to work in a productive manner is close to zero. A neurosurgeon from Mayo said on television yesterday that survivals of 5 years or longer have occurred. But such prolonged survivals are almost unheard of for grades 3 and 4 gliomas. Even if McCain survives to his next election, extremely unlikely in my opinion, he will be almost totally, if not totally, ineffective as a legislator--regardless of your opinion of his politics.
Comments
Evil assholes are evil to the end.
Rot in hell John McCain. You got your well deserved desserts.
Take your neocon anti-Russian war mongering and shove it up your ass.
Lessee....
Almost failed Annapolis; crashed several very expensive planes; Keating Five; Sarah Palin; a crabby old rich guy, living off the public dime.
Hardly an illustrious career.
Gëzuar!!
from a reasonably stable genius.
@Bollox Ref
being son of an admiral helps.
also married into Hensley beer money. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Hensley
and onto the public tit.
nice going.
All I can hope for
is that he's too stubborn to resign. He can hold onto his seat, and (like Kennedy) he will be unable to make it to the floor to vote, which chips away at McConnel's fragile coalition and further erodes El Trumpo's ability to do anything legislatively. This, along with investigations, is all a delaying action until we can re-establish gridlock.
"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone
those that deal in death deserve it
question everything
I get only one ballot.
To paraphrase the late, great R. Milihous Nixon
Your proposed course of action is perfect
My humanity does not permit
My humanity does not permit me to think like that. I believe that hate consumes the hater.
Hate the sin, love the sinner.
[see my sig]
It's just my opinion. It can't hurt you
Love the sinner- hah!
"Without the right to offend, freedom of speech does not exist." Taslima Nasrin
After the third sin, one has to start hating the sinner.
McCain has lived long past the time he could be forgiven. Some people are pure evil. McCain is such a person. He has zero respect for humanity. His solutions and responses to the world's problems have been more death and destruction. The entire world would be aflame right now if he had got his way in the Senate each time he advocated for military interventions.
It appears McCain is going to his deathbed the same way he lived - war mongering based on outright lying and misdirection. He's now bitching about cancelling the $500 million 2018 Pentagon program to arm and train the so-called "rebels" in Syria to continue waging war against the legitimate president. There would not have been 500,000 men, women and children now dead plus 11 million more maimed and displaced if it was not for the US and its allies deliberately fomenting war and strife in that nation. McCain played a major part in this fiasco.
This is what happens when asshole McCain doesn't get his way:
The Lebanese just kill their enemies
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
Once McCain is dead then I won't ever speak about him again
As long as he is still breathing and trying to kill more innocent people in foreign countries he is fair game. I can believe his dying words will be "Bomb Iran. Nuke Russia."
And this is fine for you to think like this
No one's opinion is worth more than another's here.
People are free to express their views here that would get people possibly banned from DK if they expressed their views there.
This is what makes this site special, IMO.
No one is trying to change your mind on how to feel about McCain's upcoming death or his actions.
I hope you will continue to stick around stay involved with this community. Especially since we have been thinking about creating a real community when the shit hits the fan
My "humanity" may just be different than yours
I don't presume to speak for anyone else, or impose my beliefs on them. I just take no joy in the suffering or misfortunes of others. Schadenfreude is not an emotion that comes as easily to me as to some others.
Also, one man can't be responsible for all of the suffering you attribute to him. He wasn't a dictator. He was one of a hundred Senators, any 41 of which could have prevented a lot of misery.
Allow me my empathy, and I will allow that you may feel differently - or is there another line I need to toe that I am not yet aware of?
It's just my opinion. It can't hurt you
There's a world of difference from preventing or attempting
to prevent armed conflict to being neutral to actively advocating for it. I can think of no other senator that has pushed as much and as consistently for armed confrontation as a solution to conflicts in the world than John McCain. Even the other war-mongering senators, Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham, rode McCain's coattails. These men even went out of their way on their own time to advocate for armed conflict personally right on the front lines.
Lieberman is gone. McCain is on the way out and Lindsey Graham is powerless on his own. Now we will just be left with the non-elected war-mongers that they empowered to deal with.
To give peace a chance you have to first get rid of the influential war-mongers. In the last two decades, none have been more powerful than McCain.
The world will be a better place without these men in it. I'm not sorry Ted Bundy is gone. I won't be sorry when John McCain is gone. They were both sociopaths in their own right.
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@CS in AZ Thanks!
Thanks!
It's just my opinion. It can't hurt you
I need to cleanse my brain from this McCain crap
Here's a wholesome daughter/father duet in the car. There's still some good and decency in the world.
The Ellen interview of them is priceless.
Real people. First TV appearance.
And he's not even gone yet.
John McCain is going to continue trying to cause big trouble, right up until his last dying breath. It's a good idea to exercise caution, if you are dealing with an angry rattlesnake at close quarters -- even one who appears to be mortally wounded.
native
I think that if I knew that I was facing death soon
This is definitely not what McCain is doing. He is continuing thinking of ways to create more deaths and misery for people who are no threat to our country.
I have no idea why he is so set on continuing his actions. It's not going to affect his life in any way, so I just don't understand why he's still pushing for funding the Syrian rebels.
He has to know about the atrocities they have committed. They beheaded a 12 year old boy for gawd's sake. What type of person could think that is okay?
And he still wants to kick millions of their insurance! For what reason does this make sense? The money for this isn't coming from his pockets.
No, he's doing this just because this is the type of person he is.
I suspect the man
may have been psychologically damaged during his stay at the Hanoi Hilton.
native
It was Soviet made AA which brought McCain down.
The Soviets were also directly advising and training the Vietnamese on how to bring down the American bombers. The Soviet missiles and anti-aircraft fire were highly successful in neutering the Americans. Without Soviet assistance, the Americans could have bombed the shit out Vietnam with impunity like they did in Laos and Cambodia.
McCain had permanent damage to his body that probably reminded him of this every night when he lay in bed - permanent PTSD.
I just can't work up any sympathy for McCain.
He will have the best care on earth, will not suffer a split-second.
He has been pushing for war and murder almost all of his life.
I hope he is too ill to cast another vote.
If he dies at one of his mansions while having had all the morphine he wanted, that is fine by me.
The world will be better off with one less killer around.
What CS in AZ said about fighting cancer is spot on. It isn't a boxing match or endurance race.
My best friend died from pancreatic cancer, died "fighting", absolutely incredulous that she couldn't beat it, with all the fighting she had done.
My husband died from melanoma, said "fuck it", spent his last days telling his friends, family, and me, that he loved us.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
Bless you, dervish
Love your avatar. Get the .gif version!
It's just my opinion. It can't hurt you
This is totally off-topic
C99 here is great, and a real breath of fresh air after the GOS, but others include jackpineradicals, moon of alabama, reddit sites, the progressive wing, and oddly in my case, the conservative treehouse (Sundance gets it right occasionally).
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
Shit happens
and every so often it happens to shitheels.
"If not examined too closely, it passes for justice." Terry Pratchett, The Last Hero, p. 144
There is no justice. There can be no peace.
John McCain's bloody legacy.
McCain's efforts to support the "rebels" and sanction Syria has directly resulted in the Syrian people losing their cancer hospital as well as access to life saving cancer drugs.
Spot on CB.
What fucking insane people praise god
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