If you need heady discussion starters at a party, just invite me. I’m one of those people, the party-goer who can’t help but (painfully) reveal too much personal information. I’m wont to bring up politics, religion, illness, personal foibles, etc., just to engage in conversation.
My old friends have a phrase for this: “That’s just Sean being Sean.” It covers, fortunately, all manner of sins.
I used to worry that I was too open, especially in discussing my son’s allergies or my diabetes. But in this day of the Internet, I thought it was impossible to really hide something as significant as a life-threatening illness or condition.
Apparently I am wrong. Consider the mysterious case of one Steven Jobs. Everyone wants to know what’s wrong with the billionaire, icon, and saviour of Apple. Jobs announced a few years ago that he had a treatable form of pancreatic cancer.
But last year he showed up gaunt in public and then disappeared altogether from public view in October. It’s led to rampant speculation:
• Does Steve Jobs actually have the same type of pancreatic cancer that is killing Patrick Swayze?
• Has his less severe form of that cancer returned?
• Will he have his entire pancreas removed, thereby becoming a severe diabetic?
• Is Bill Gates putting arsenic in his cereal? (Okay, I made that last one up.)
But Apple won’t tell anyone what’s going on with his health. And Job’s push for medical privacy is driving reporters, bloggers, and the financial world mad.
Frankly, I wish he’d speak up, too, but not in the way that I make inappropriate admissions at parties and not because I’m concerned about the future of the iPhone. I want his illness to be useful.
This is the real reason I talk about my diabetes and my son’s food allergies. I want our illnesses to be useful, too. But I’m not a celebrity and my reach is limited.
Last week, I spoke to American Idol Judge and rocker Randy Jackson about his struggles with weight and diabetes. Type 2 diabetes has a lot of spokespeople educating the public about the risks of the disease, how to prevent it, and about treatment options. It needs people like Jackson.
Chances are, whatever Steve Jobs has, needs the same kind of celebrity attention. Perhaps Jobs could use the creative energy that he has put into consumer electronics and computers.
Maybe then the focus wouldn’t be speculation or idle party chatter but substantive discussion about the condition and a cure.
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Comments (1)
Spreading the word on Intractable ,chronic pain patients. We need to get the word out for cpp. There are over 78,000 patients dieing,yes dieing from chronic pain,it is a disease just like any other,it can kill you and will if not treated or undertreated.The gov. dea dont seem to care.Its called The chilling effect and its in every state,docs are affraid to help ,for losing their licience.We need a Big voice, prn is a non profit organization, If anyone knows of a way to get a voice please post,stop the war on drugs,doctors treating pat. not the cops or dea or feds and so on,if you know of someone with any disease leaving them bed ridden in pain ,no help visit (www.chronicpainforumofthepainfrliefnetwork.org/forum/forum) thank you