Edward Brooke Raises Male Breast Cancer Awareness

Edward Brooke

Pol Light Moment #128 occurred on June 4, 2003, when Edward Brooke (1919-2015) started to raise awareness for male breast cancer. Edward Brooke served as a United States Senator from Massachusetts from 1967-1979. Prior to that he had served as the Attorney General of Massachusetts from 1963-1967.

Edward Brooke was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 and in September 2002 had a double mastectomy. After a period of recovery and reflection on June 4, 2003, Brooke started to share his story about male breast cancer in order to raise awareness for this rare condition. He would continue to speak on that subject as he had opportunity for the next 12 years of his life.

Edward Brooke said the following in June 2003 about raising awareness of male breast cancer:

I want to produce some male breast cancer awareness on a national level. I'm a very private person, but if I have to give up my privacy to save a life, then I am willing to do that. Because if you have breast tissue, you can get breast cancer. Don't forget that (Edward Brooke as quoted in USA Today, Sen. Brooke Advocates Male Breast Cancer Awareness, June 24, 2003).

The American Cancer Society indicates that 1 in 1,000 men will develop breast cancer (Dr. Sharon Giordano, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Tackling the Rare and Under-Researched Area of Male Breast Cancer, January 23, 2015). Men are less likely than women to get screened for breast cancer because it is a rare disease for them. This can make the prognosis more dire and stresses the importance of famous men like Edward Brooke raising awareness of breast cancer.

The following are some links on Edward Brooke and his crusade for male breast cancer awareness.

• The New York Times, Surprise Roll for Ex-Senator: Male Breast Cancer Patient, Lynette Clemetson, June 10, 2003.
• USA Today, Sen. Brooke Advocates Male Breast Cancer Awareness, June 24, 2003.
• Beliefnet, Famous Men Who Battled Breast Cancer.

Edward Brooke has been featured on other posts at Pol Light. To view them search the blog with the label "Edward Brooke".

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

The photo of Edward Brooke is in the Public Domain.

Joe Biden Joins Facebook to Promote Cancer Initiative

Pol Light Moment #125 is when Joe Biden started a Facebook page on February 4, 2016, making history as the first Vice-President of the United States to join Facebook. The first status message Joe Biden shared on his Facebook page was related to President Obama's Cancer Initiative. Joe Biden has been the Vice President of the United States from 2009 to the present. Prior to that he served as a United States Senator for Delaware from 1973-2009.

President Obama asked Joe Biden to lead a new task force to end cancer. It is especially close to Biden's heart because his oldest son Beau Biden died of brain cancer in May of 2015 (CNN.com, Sophie Tatum, Joe Biden Joins Facebook, Will Field Questions on Cancer Initiative, February 4, 2016). 

Below is the first message and video that Joe Biden posted on his Facebook page. He came back to Facebook a few hours later at 3:14 ET and answered questions for about 45 minutes about the cancer initiative for World Cancer Day. 

Hi, folks. Welcome to my Facebook page. It’s the first time a Vice President has had one of these. I’d like it to be a...
Posted by Vice President Biden on Thursday, February 4, 2016

Joe Biden has been featured on other posts at Pol Light. To view them search the blog with the label "Joe Biden".

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

Photo: The photo of Joe Biden is in the Public Domain and is the official United States federal government photo of Joe Biden.

Betty Ford Discloses Her Breast Cancer

A Pol Light Encore for Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Original Post: February 17, 2012

Pol Light Moment #3 occurred in September, 1974, when Betty Ford shared about her diagnosis of breast cancer. Betty Ford (1918-2011) was the First Lady of the United States while her husband Gerald Ford served as the 38th President of the United States from August 9, 1974-January 20, 1977.

On September 28, 1974 (just a few weeks after becoming First Lady), Betty Ford had a mastectomy for breast cancer. She decided to go public with her health condition in order to raise public awareness of breast cancer. It should be noted that in the 1970's it was less common for political leaders to share this type of personal information. This event led the United States to greater public awareness of this cancer and the critical prevention screening.

Betty Ford lived into her 90's and became a 37 year survivor of breast cancer. Jody MacGready said, "By her mere survival, she showed that early detection keeps you alive and to pay attention to your own body (Breast Cancer Survivors Embrace Betty Ford's Legacy of Courage, Hope, MLive)."

Here is a video showing how Betty Ford's disclosure that she had breast cancer had a lasting influence on the medical treatment of the disease and specifically touched the life of Jane Boomstra who was one of the very first patients to use the Betty Ford Breast Cancer Services Center that is part of Spectrum Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We apologize but this video is not available on mobile phones.

For more information on Betty Ford's survival and advocacy over breast cancer see a CNN article called Betty Ford Brought Breast Cancer Out Into the Open, that was written on July 12, 2011, around the time of Betty Ford's death.  

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

Photo: The photo in this post is in the Wikipedia Commons and is not copyrighted because it is an official photograph of a White House official.

George H.W. Bush Shaves Head to Support Young Cancer Patient

Pol Light Moment #59 happened during the week of July 24, 2013, when George H.W. Bush shaved his head in order to support a 2 year old cancer patient named Patrick who is battling Leukemia. George H.W. Bush was the 41st President of the United States, serving from 1989-1993. He also served as the Vice-President of the United States from 1981-1989. He is presently 89 years old.   The following is a video of a CNN news story on this heartwarming story.

Patrick is the 2 year old son of a member of the Secret Service detail assigned to protect President George H.W. Bush. George H.W. Bush shaved his head in solidarity of the young cancer patient. You can find out how to become one of Patrick's Pals at his website at www.patrickspals.org.

Bush's office released a statement that said, "Once President and Mrs. Bush learned of this 'Patrick's Pals' effort, they made a donation and President Bush volunteered to shave his head as well. The Bushes lost their second child, Robin, to leukemia 60 years ago this October at the age of four(Source)."

George H. W. Bush has been featured on other Pol Light posts. To view all George H. W. Bush posts search with George H. W. Bush label at Pol Light.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

John and Teresa Heinz Kerry Discuss Her Breast Cancer

Pol Light Moment #54 is when John Kerry and his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry did the first public interview about Teresa's breast cancer diagnosis with Larry King on February 10, 2010.  John Kerry served as a United States Senator from Massachusetts from 1985-2013. He is currently the Secretary of State of the United States.

In September, 2009, Teresa Heinz Kerry was diagnosed with breast cancer (Source). The following is the first public interview that the Kerrys did with Larry King of CNN. This interview on February 10, 2010 with the Kerry's is considered one of the select group of greatest interviews that Larry King has ever done (Source).

Teresa Heinz Kerry has stressed her opposition to the recommendations for mammography screening by the U.S. Preventative Health Task Force which said routine screenings of women were not needed until age 50 and then only on a biennial basis (Source). The following is the AP news story on Teresa Heinz Kerry's breast cancer and her feelings on screening standards. 

John Kerry has been featured on other posts at Pol Light. To view them search with the label John Kerry.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.
The above photo of John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry at John's swearing in as United States Secretary of State is in the Public Domain. 

John Kerry's Victory Over His Prostate Cancer

Pol Light Moment #24 is when John Kerry overcame his prostate cancer in 2003. John Kerry served as a United States Senator from Massachusetts from 1985-2013. He is currently the Secretary of State of the United States.

John Kerry learned he had prostate cancer in December, 2002, when his physicians discovered a localized tumor at its very early stages. He had surgery on February 12, 2003 (Source). His experience raised public awareness of prostate cancer.

Former Mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliana said, "Senator Kerry is a good example to men to get an examination, get it early, keep getting it and then you'll pick it up at an early stage and you'll be able to do something about. That's the key to curing prostate cancer (Source)."

Here is a video of a speech where John Kerry speaks about his prostate cancer treatment at the Livestrong Summit in Austin, Texas on October 29, 2006. For more information see this article at mycanceradvisor.com.


Following his surgery in 2003, John Kerry resumed his duties as a United States Senator and also was a candidate for President of the United States in 2004. The way in which he bounced back from prostate cancer surgery and resumed a rigorous schedule offers hope to other healthy men who face the same condition.

Dr. Patrick C. Walsh, the Johns Hopkins University urologist who performed the operation on John Kerry declared the procedure a success and in 2004 noted that it was unlikely there would be any recurrence (Source).

For more information on John Kerry's prostate cancer read an article hosted by the Urological Sciences Research Foundation web repository at http://www.usrf.org/news/john_kerry.html.

John Kerry has been featured on other posts at Pol Light. To view them search with the label John Kerry.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

The photo of John Kerry is in the  Public Domain.

George W. Bush's Quiet Service in Zambia

Pol Light Moment #19 is George W. Bush's service trip to Zambia in the first week of July 2012.  George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States, serving from 2001-2009.

George W. Bush and his wife Laura visited Zambia in July, 2012 to help build a cervical cancer clinic. The refurbished clinic will be located in Kabwe, the second largest city in Zambia. The clinic will provide a place to screen, diagnose, and treat cervical cancer. George W. Bush has helped raise 85 million dollars for the cervical cancer initiatives through his George W. Bush Center (Source). While in Zambia, George W. Bush also dedicated a teaching hospital in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. He also visited an orphanage where most of the children were born with AIDS.

At a trip to the clinic in Zambia in July 2012, he said, "I hope you don't see much of it [me]. I don't want to be in the news. In other words I believe that quiet service is the best kind of service." 

“I do want to be able to say that on this particular trip, that myself and friends have left behind a clinic in hopes to inspire others to come and refurbish clinics as well and to encourage the Zambian government to make sure there are the healthcare works necessary to make sure the clinic doesn't sit there empty,” Bush said in a video at an event announcing the renovation of Ngungu Health Center. Read more on Newsmax.com: Bush and Wife Laura in Zambia Promoting Cancer Initiative.

George W. Bush has been featured on other Pol Light posts. To view all George W. Bush posts search with George W. Bush label at Pol Light.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

Photo: The photo of George W. Bush is in the Public Domain. 

Kirsten Gillibrand Helps Haiti Cancer Patient

Pol Light Moment #5 is a story that crosses the miles from Haiti to New York City. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is a United States Senator from New York. She helped a cancer patient from Haiti secure a humanitarian visa to come to her state in the United States in 2011 for life saving medical treatment.

Ollenare Desrosiers is a schoolteacher from Haiti and the mother of two children. In 2011 she needed radiation treatment to help assure that her breast cancer was eliminated. According to the New York Daily Post, "Desrosiers was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer and had a full mastectomy in Haiti, but doctors told her without radiation treatment, the cancer was likely to spread (Source)."

The one facility in Haiti that provided this was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake that hit Haiti and was not available in 2011. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was able to secure a humanitarian visa for Ollenare Desrosiers to come to New York for the needed treatment.

Ollenare Desrosiers spent a year in New York City receiving medical treatment. After the year of treatments her cancer was determined to be in remission. In February, 2012, Ollenare Desrosiers was able to return to her homeland of Haiti (Source).

For more information on this story read these articles on the situation by the New York Daily News.

• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Helps Haiti Cancer Patient Get Proper Treatment in New York City
• Home to Haiti After Life Saving Cancer Treatment in New York

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

Photo: The photo of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is the official photo of a US Government official and is in public domain (Source).