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I have always believed in full disclosure. When I announced that I had a recurrence of salivary cancer that required surgery, I had no idea when I went into the hospital on June 16 that I would still be here on August 16.
On June 16 they removed the cancer in my right jaw area, including a section of my jaw bone. It was successfully reconstructed. On July 1, I was packing to leave the hospital when my blood vessel ruptured. We have since learned that the rupture was caused by a break down of tissue surrounding the artery as a result of radiation treatments I had three years ago.
I had a particularly intense form of radiation called neutron beam radiation, which is more effective for certain cancers, but which is also more debilitating to healthy tissue than conventional radiation. Finding a solution to protecting the arteries is what has kept me in the hospital, and in bed, since July 1. As you can imagine, it is no fun being hospitalized this long. Fortunately for me, I have received excellent medical care at Northwestern Hospital led by Doctors Harold Pelzer and Neil Fine. This is a unique situation and the doctors are moving cautiously, but they are enthusiastically optimistic about my recovery. I have also had the loving support of my bride Chaz, and good friends and colleagues. I am a lucky man.
I have learned, however, just how quickly one loses strength when confined to the bed for a long period of time. I will need rehabilitation to regain my strength, including voice rehabilitation to strengthen my vocal cords. The doctors have had me on a tracheostomy collar to keep my airways open during the period of surgeries for the ruptured blood vessels. Your vocal cords are like other muscles, they get rusty when they are not used daily. I may have other treatments or procedures as prescribed by my doctors, and so I hope you understand that while I believe in full disclosure, I also need the time and privacy to heal.
I am happy to report that despite all, I am doing well. I started physical therapy, I communicate with friends on a daily basis, I play my iPod and listen to songs with Chaz and the doctors and nurses, and I write. Don Dupree, the Executive Producer of “Ebert & Roeper” installed a plasma TV and DVD player in my room. I am going to watch "Half Nelson" and I hope Kevin Smith was right. I also thank my good friend Jay Leno for sitting in my chair in my absence, and, of course, thanks to Richard Roeper.
I thank all of you for your prayers, your well-wishes, your gifts, cards, e-mails and flowers. I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t tell you when, but I sure look forward to being back on the movie beat.
Roger Ebert
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"She calls it ‘comedy chemo,’" Tom Poston says as he describes his wife Suzanne Pleshette’s current cancer treatment. Meanwhile. Poston said he is "getting better every day and I’m trying to get more active" as he is under treatment for a white cell problem. While Tom was resting at home, Suzanne, he said, was "out shopping — at the framers." They had recently moved into a new, high-rise condominium. Tom said Suzanne "hasn’t smoked in years" and had undergone two sessions of chemo therapy last week after the cancer was discovered during an examination for what she thought was a heart problem. "Her heart is as sound as a dollar," Tom reported, adding she will have two more sessions of chemotherapy in two weeks. "She’s doing absolutely great and they say it (the cancer) is in the best possible place — easy to get at — if it (surgery) is needed after the next two treatments."
Army Archerd
I find it interesting that he brought up that she hasn’t smoked in years.
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Actress Suzanne Pleshette is undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer that was caught at an early stage, her agent said Friday.The cancer, discovered during a routine X-ray, is the size of "a grain of sand and was caught very much in time," said agent Joel Dean. "She feels very lucky. … She’s not concerned and in great spirits."Pleshette, 69, is receiving chemotherapy as an outpatient at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where the cancer was diagnosed, he said.The actress is best known for her role in The Bob Newhart Show, the 1970s comedy in which she played Newhart’s sardonic wife, Emily. Her extensive TV credits include 8 Simple Rules and Will & Grace, and her throaty voice has been heard in Spirited Away and other recent animated films.
USA Today
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Hugh Hefner says he’s doing just fine. "I’ve never felt better," the 80-year-old Hefner told The Associated Press when asked Monday about a report he was in ill health.A newspaper gossip item said Monday the Playboy empire founder had a mini-stroke. But Playboy spokesman Rob Hilburger insisted the report was "completely untrue." Then Hefner got on the phone with assurances he was OK."We had a lingerie party Saturday night and I went up a little early because (girlfriend) Holly (Madison) had a cold. I am in very good health," Hefner said.
CBS News
Had not heard the rumor, but just in case y’all had I posted this story.
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