Posted: Mon 03 Nov 2008 21:48 Post subject: Madelyn Dunham (Obama's grandmother) has passed away
Quote:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's grandmother died of cancer, he said in a statement on Monday, a little more than a week after Obama interrupted the White House race to say goodbye to her in Hawaii.
"It is with great sadness that we announce that our grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, has died peacefully after a battle with cancer," Obama said in a joint statement with his sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng. "She was the cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment, strength, and humility."
Dunham helped raise Obama from the age of 10 while his mother was working in Indonesia, and Obama took an emotional 22-hour trip to Hawaii to visit her on October 23 and 24.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Barack Obama called the last day of his presidential race "bittersweet." He carried himself with the confidence of a candidate who sensed victory after an intense, two-year campaign and learned that the woman who helped raise him wouldn't get to see the outcome.
As the first black Democratic presidential nominee began Monday in a Florida hotel room, he got word that his grandmother Madelyn Dunham had died at the apartment in Honolulu where he lived with her as a child. He went ahead with his campaign plans, grieving privately for several hours before breaking into tears in front of 25,000 people gathered in the rain for a rally at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
"She's gone home," Obama said as the rowdy group of supporters grew silent and tears ran down both cheeks. "And she died peacefully in her sleep with my sister at her side. And so there is great joy as well as tears. I'm not going to talk about it too long because it is hard for me to talk about."
It was a unique personal and humanizing moment in a long campaign that frequently turned ugly and, for Obama, has been an uphill struggle from Day One. He entered the primary race as the underdog against Hillary Rodham Clinton, and faced persistent questions about whether he was qualified for the presidency and nasty rumors that falsely suggested a sinister background.
His grandmother was a central part of his real story, and he interrupted his campaign last month to visit her as her life neared its end. "Toot," as he called her in an abbreviated version the Hawaiian word for grandmother, raised a young Obama for several years in Hawaii while his mother lived in Indonesia. He explained to the North Carolina audience how Dunham inspired his campaign by her lifetime of hard work and sacrifice.
"In just one more day we have the opportunity to honor all those quiet heroes all across America," Obama said. "We can bring change to America to make sure their work and their sacrifice is honored. That's what we're fighting for."
Obama's wife, Michelle, also choked back emotion as she remembered her grandmother-in-law who couldn't travel but followed the campaign closely on CNN.
"This is an emotional time for us," Michelle Obama told supporters in Colorado. "We were hoping she'd hang in there but she didn't. But she knew what was going on."
No matter what happens today, I hope that he will be comforted in knowing that his grandmother (his "Toot") was aware of how far he has come. Bittersweet, indeed.
His mother, grandfather, and grandmother all died from cancer...bizarre.
While that does seem like horrible odds, the truth is cancer kills over half a million Americans each year. Apparently, in the U.S. and Canada, cancer deaths comes in at #2, behind cardiovascular disease, in regard to deaths per year. In fact, if you adjust for age, in the U.S., cancer is the number one killer of people under 85. On the Sopranos, they called it "The Big C". My dad died from pancreatic cancer in 2003. I bet we all know of someone who has had or has cancer. I can think of a bunch of people. But, yes, losing all three of the people who raised you to cancer...I don't know how else to put it, other than to say THAT SUCKS!
That SUCKS, but its also probably GENETICS too. I hope Barry gets screened annually for Cancer since he has double the odds.
Well McCain has more than double as he has had 2 bouts.
Let me put my SCIENCE hat on for you, since you obvious don't get it, and have tried to turn my simple comment into a political debate:
Quote:
Cancer: Are You at Risk?
Who is at risk for cancer?
Everyone has some risk for cancer. In the United States, cancer is likely to affect 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women at least once in their lifetime. The amount of risk you have depends on a number of factors. These factors include tobacco use, lifestyle choices (such as diet and exercise), family history and factors in your workplace and environment
How does my family history affect my risk for cancer?
Unfortunately, some types of cancer seem to run in families. People of a certain race or ethnic group also may have a higher risk of some kinds of cancer.
Your doctor will ask you whether other people in your family have had cancer. If someone in your immediate family (a parent, brother, sister or child) has had cancer, you probably are at higher risk for cancer, also.You can't change your family history, but it helps to be aware of it. If you and your doctor know that cancer tends to run in your family, you can watch more closely for the early signs of the disease. For example, if you are a woman and have a family history of breast cancer, your doctor may want you to start having mammograms more often or at a younger age.
Joined: 07 Feb 2007 {Posts: 1301 } Location: Lookin DC Metro, Feelin Geneva
Posted: Tue 04 Nov 2008 16:33 Post subject:
Melani23 wrote:
Dragon Horse wrote:
Melani23 wrote:
That SUCKS, but its also probably GENETICS too. I hope Barry gets screened annually for Cancer since he has double the odds.
Well McCain has more than double as he has had 2 bouts.
Let me put my SCIENCE hat on for you, since you obvious don't get it, and have tried to turn my simple comment into a political debate:
Quote:
Cancer: Are You at Risk?
Who is at risk for cancer?
Everyone has some risk for cancer. In the United States, cancer is likely to affect 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women at least once in their lifetime. The amount of risk you have depends on a number of factors. These factors include tobacco use, lifestyle choices (such as diet and exercise), family history and factors in your workplace and environment
How does my family history affect my risk for cancer?
Unfortunately, some types of cancer seem to run in families. People of a certain race or ethnic group also may have a higher risk of some kinds of cancer.
Your doctor will ask you whether other people in your family have had cancer. If someone in your immediate family (a parent, brother, sister or child) has had cancer, you probably are at higher risk for cancer, also.You can't change your family history, but it helps to be aware of it. If you and your doctor know that cancer tends to run in your family, you can watch more closely for the early signs of the disease. For example, if you are a woman and have a family history of breast cancer, your doctor may want you to start having mammograms more often or at a younger age.
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No matter what happens today, I hope that he will be comforted in knowing that his grandmother (his "Toot") was aware of how far he has come. Bittersweet, indeed.
