October 20, 2020

"You know, I’ve loved to point out we all only get one life. We don’t get a do-over in the… Well, we do. Actually, we get a do-over every day if we choose to look at it that way."

"Once we’re old enough and mature enough to understand what life is and that there is only one, then you do get do-overs, an opportunity to fix what you think you might not have done so well the day before, which is an operative philosophy of mine. But the fact that I have that option and that opportunity compared to where I thought I would be at this time? I mean, that’s 'go get the hallelujah chorus and have ’em start singing to me,' because that’s exactly where this is — and the future? Far more optimistic than pessimistic, attitudinally, to me, because of the support systems I have, the people that are helping me, family. Ooh! Anyway, that’s it."

Said Rush Limbaugh at the end of his long opening monologue yesterday, in which he revealed that after getting his stage 4 lung cancer last January, he did not think he'd live to October.
It was hopeless. It was absolutely hopeless. Yet a treatment regimen was begun, and the first two of them failed. (chuckling) I mean, big-time failed. The third one? Magic! It worked. That’s where we were able, over the course of months, to render the cancer dormant.
But there some news now that the cancer has progressed.

30 comments:

gerry said...

Pray for Rush Limbaugh.

Sam L. said...

Czncer is progressive. The word, "Progressive", always reminds me of cancer. It killed my wife.

Birkel said...

And Leftist Collectivists dance on his grave.

But I get Amy Coney Barrett and all they get is another conservative radio host.

Bay Area Guy said...

Rush changed talk radio, and then changed the country (for the better).

I loved him at first, then got bored of him and stopped listening, then restarted listening to him the past few years.

He is a national treasure.

bagoh20 said...

Cancer is asshole.

rcocean said...

It was a brilliant monologue and showed what a great man Limbaugh is. He's facing this disease with good humor, courage, and faith in Jesus Christ. As he stated, using a baseball analogy, he's on 2nd trying to get to home plate (cured) and this set-back was like trying to get to 3rd and being waved off and going back to 2nd base.

Per Rush this is the kind of cancer that is almost impossible to detect before it reaches Stage 4. I think he now regrets all those cigarettes and cigars, but y'know he's 70 and people who don't smoke die at 70 too.

rcocean said...

Talking about Cigars, I had always thought they were OK (except for throat and mouth cancer). But no, even if you don't inhale, they vastly increase the risk for lung cancer. Surprising. I've never had to worry about that, because any kind of smoking is weird and unnatural. "Hey, lets light something on fire, and then breathe in the smoke". Not something I'm attracted to.

DrSquid said...

I heard the opening of his show yesterday and after the long buildup and as upbeat as he sounded, I thought he was going to announce that he was cancer free (which is different from cured, just ask RBG).

He is facing his disease with tremendous and remarkable courage.

wild chicken said...

Cue the progs whining that Rush gets high dollar treatment unaffordable to everyone else. Or something.

tim in vermont said...

I owe that man more than I can say here for giving good advice on his show in a couple of things, which I took and prospered with.

Readering said...

Don't follow the hallelujah chorus bit. But it would benefit his listeners, who trend old, for him to talk more about the way immediate despair about his diagnosis gave way to taking trial and error measures instead of simple resignation.

tim in vermont said...

Rush says that he plans to hang out and keep on keepin’ on.

https://twitter.com/RealRLimbaugh/status/1318334639656894465

M Jordan said...

Rush Limbaugh is a conservative American hero. He never cucked out, never wavered in his values. He was a little tepid towards Trump in the beginning, at least as I interpreted it, but once he realized Trump was the one the people wanted, he not only jumped on the train, he bent his own conservative views in the new arc it was taking.. populism.

I am saddened he may not be with us much longer. I really don’t know how much his passing will destabilize the conservative cause.

Owen said...

Prayers up for Rush and all others caught in the grip of this horrible disease.

Cheryl said...

He really is a national treasure. I haven't listened in years but I appreciate everything he did for talk radio and for the country. That was an incredible monologue, one that deserves a second read or listen.

Maillard Reactionary said...

Grace under pressure-- Hemingway's definition of courage.

Good for him.

Michael K said...

Rush certainly changed talk radio. I mostly don't listen anymore because I'm not driving, which is when I listened. Good luck to him. I had a patient with a Pancoast tumor, lung cancer invading the chest wall, and he was cured.

Dave Begley said...

There is a story today about Atkinson, Nebraska lawyer Andy Hoffman. At a very young age his son Jack Hoffman got brain cancer. It was put into remission in short order. There is a famous video of a very young Jack Hoffman running for a 60 plus yard touchdown in the Husker Spring football game.

His dad, Andy, now has brain cancer at age 41. A bad turn recently and he's back at Mayo.

Jack, the son, is more or less okay. But two people in one family with brain cancer. The wife and mom has been through hell and is living it now.

Dave Begley said...

Story is in Omaha World-Herald.

Howard said...

That sucks.

Rory said...

Good thing about Rush: he's nearly always right there with the burning issue of the day, instead of focusing on this and that diversion.

Dave Begley said...

One of my friend's husband died of lung cancer. Never smoked but the house had a high radon level. According to my friend, he suffered quite a bit and it was a relatively quick time from diagnosis to death.

stever said...

There is "karma alert" element here but he's got the right attitude. I've seen the benefit of being able to get some do-overs.

Joe Smith said...

"But there some news now that the cancer has progressed.

But then...?

But there's...?

Curious George said...

"Dave Begley said...
One of my friend's husband died of lung cancer. Never smoked but the house had a high radon level. According to my friend, he suffered quite a bit and it was a relatively quick time from diagnosis to death."

Lots of things cause lung cancer besides smoking.

William said...

Whatever your view of Rush's politics, there can be no denying that he has handled this disease in a brave and gracious way. Here's a guy struggling with a difficult and probably mortal disease and he comes across the radio as astute in his analysis and cheerful in his outlook. He's quite admirable....I listen to him more often now. We're all mortal, but some of us are more mortal than others. There will be a huge vacant space after he's gone. There are plenty of conservative commentators, but he's one of the few with a sense of humor.

boatbuilder said...

Rush is an American treasure. God Bless him.

Marcus Bressler said...

If you want to see pure evil, look at the Twitter comments regarding Rush's situation. Pathetic.

THEOLDMAN

DavidUW said...

Cancer sucks.

Everyone dies, and cancer is the reason for 21% of those who die when they're over 65.

Bart Hall said...

Medicine, and in particular cancer treatment continues to improve and we (collectively) are getting much closer to understanding that family of diseases. In 1997 my brother-in-law was given no better than 50 percent to survive his cancer for a year, and essentially zero chance for five years. Twenty-three years on, his cancer continues "dormant" as Limbaugh put it so well.

In 2015 my wife was diagnosed Stage IV. After two years she was declared cancer-free, and for the last two years has been on annual follow-up only.

We are probably no more than a couple of decades from near-complete elimination of cancer in general.