Gary Varvel: White House Quack Doctor

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I’m praying for former President Joe Biden. As you probably know by now he has been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer which has metastasized to his bones. He has probably had cancer for 5-7 years, specialists say.

What is puzzling about this diagnosis is that prostate cancer is so easy to detect with a simple blood test. Biden’s White House physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor either failed to diagnose the cancer, which would make him a quack doctor, or he covered-up Biden’s condition.

The New York Post reports: “Several doctors have said it’s “inconceivable” that former President Joe Biden’s aggressive form of prostate cancer went undetected by his medical team — as first son Don Trump Jr. even questioned whether the health diagnosis was part of a ‘cover-up.’”

Either way, O’Connor needs to answer questions about the medical care he provided for the president.

Personal note: In 2023, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I’m happy to say that I got treatment right away and I am cancer-free today.

For the last 15 years, I’ve had yearly PSA tests as part of my physical exams. In 2011, my PSA was zero. But over the years it began to creep up little by little. My family has a history of prostate cancer so when my PSA reached 3.39 in 2023, I decided to see a urologist.

FYI: A PSA under 4 is usually cancer-free. But since my PSA had been trending up, I had an MRI which revealed a spot one centimeter wide. A biopsy showed that it was malignant but it was contained on one side of my prostate.

Biden’s gleason score was 9. Mine was 6 and 7 which is a low to intermediate grade which means it was slow growing and less likely to spread (metastasize).

After doing a lot of research of different treatments, I chose Proton Radiation Therapy because it is less invasive and has less side-effects.

I have a friend who lives in Florida who was treated for prostate cancer at the University of Florida Health Proton Therapy Institute in 2015 and he is still cancer-free. He called it his radiation vacation. So that is where I chose go for my treatment too.

Why proton? As it was described to me, Proton Radiation can be targeted to an exact spot like a bullet compared to Photon Radiation which is more like a shotgun that scatters radiation through your body.

I had to have 26 treatments — Once a day, 5 days a week (weekends off). Some with more advanced cancer had to have up to 42 treatments. My wife and I spent 6 weeks in Jacksonville, Florida in February and March of 2024. The treatments are a breeze. It only takes 15 to 20 minutes and I didn’t feel a thing. The only side-effect was a little fatigue, so I took naps, we went to the beach a lot and I worked the whole time and never missed a newsletter deadline.

I’m not a doctor but I learned the reason radiation works is that it changes the DNA of the cancer cells so that they can’t reproduce. I can testify that it works because my PSA is 0.4 now. My doctor says anything under a PSA of 1 is safe.

Men, when you reach 50 ask your doctor to test your PSA when they test your blood. Prostate cancer is not a death sentence if you catch it early. But too many men don’t catch it early. In Biden’s case, he must have had prostate cancer for 5 to 7 years for it to metastasize.

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