Today’s winner is the New Zealand Herald. They get the award for the following headline–
McCain had melanoma spot removed
Did anyone at the NZ Herald bother reading the article that accompanies the headline?
BAKERSFIELD – Republican presidential candidate John McCain, a three-time melanoma survivor, had a spot of skin removed from his right cheek early Monday.
The Arizona senator underwent the procedure in Phoenix during a checkup he undergoes every three months. He sported a small bandaged on his upper right cheek on his campaign plane but had removed it by the time he spoke with reporters. A small, dark spot stood out clearly on his face.
“She said that I was doing fine, took a small little nick from my cheek, as she does regularly, and that will be biopsied just to make sure that everything is fine,” he said.
Asked if his doctor was confident the problem was nothing serious, McCain replied, “Sure, sure.”
The fair-skinned Arizona senator, who suffered severe sun damage from his 5 1/2 years in Vietnamese prison camps, gets an in-depth skin cancer check every few months because of a medical history of dangerous melanomas.
The answer to my above question is apparently not. There is no mention of what the biopsy result is, for the simple fact is, it takes time for a skin lesion to be properly biopsied. Anywhere from a couple of days(If its rushed, and in McCain’s case with his cancer history, it certainly may be) to up to two weeks. I know, I’m a multiple malignant melanoma survivor. In addition to having five of these cancers diagnosed, I’ve had eight times as many lesions removed from my skin to make sure they weren’t cancer. See I have something called dysplastic nevi syndrome.
Back to McCain, there is a good chance his lesion will be seen by one of the top dermapathologists in the country. Perhaps Dr Bernard Ackerman. I’ve had a lesion checked by Dr. Ackerman at least once.
There is no way anyone would know for certain yet if McCain has another skin cancer at this time For misinforming its readers, The New Zealand Herald is today’s Knucklehead of the Day. I actually do give my awards to non-golf members of the media.
