agreed - americans should see FULL medical history and scans. No way we should just 'take her word for it'.
BUT
there's a huge precedent for us just taking the president's word for it. Mccain was a 4x cancer survivor and all we got was a quick skim of records for selected media. Palin had promiscious Glen-rice behavior and erratic rants - STDs and medication were definitely something to consider - we got one paragraph from her doc saying everything is awesome.
JFK was addled with back issues and living on pain meds - dangerous, and his results were erratic. Tsongas would have died in office - he lied about his cancer being healed, knowingly. There is no real accountability for health - but they should be. Many suspect hilary's medical probs are way worse - but we will never know.
JFK was a getbigger and took steroids.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=125593President John F. Kennedy's medical records reveal that he had suffered health problems since childhood, and used an arsenal of drugs, including painkillers and stimulants, to treat various medical conditions during his presidency.
A historian who examined his medical records was stunned at the extent of the health problems that the seemingly vigorous president dealt with.
"There was hardly a day that went by that he didn't suffer terribly," presidential historian Robert Dallek, a history professor at Boston University, told ABCNEWS' Good Morning America.
The revelations about JFK's health are included in Dallek's forthcoming book, An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963, which is excerpted in the December issue of Atlantic Monthly. Dallek was granted exclusive access to Kennedy's private papers for the years 1955 to 1963, including his X-rays and prescription drug records.
Kennedy suffered from colitis, prostatitis, and a disorder called Addison's disease, which affects the body's ability to regulate blood sugar and sodium. He also had osteoporosis of the lower back, causing pain so severe that he was unable to perform simple tasks such as reaching across his desk to pull papers forward, or pulling the shoe and sock onto his left foot, Dallek said.
Taking Drugs During Crises
To fight the pain, Kennedy took as many as 12 medications at once, taking more during times of stress.
The medical records reveal that Kennedy variously took codeine, Demerol and methadone for pain; Ritalin, a stimulant; meprobamate and librium for anxiety; barbiturates for sleep; thyroid hormone; and injections of a blood derivative, gamma globulin, a medicine that combats infections.
During the Bay of Pigs fiasco in 1961, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962, Kennedy was taking steroids for his Addison's disease, painkillers for his back, anti-spasmodics for his colitis, antibiotics for urinary tract infections, antihistamines for his allergies, and on at least one occasion, an anti-psychotic drug to treat a severe mood change that Jackie Kennedy believed was brought on by the antihistamines.
This deluge of drugs often had side effects, including grogginess or even depression. To treat this Kennedy took more still anti-anxiety medications. Yet, there is no indication that the medications impaired JFK's judgment during crucial moments in U.S. history.
"I studied very closely his performance during these crisis, and what was striking is how effective he was," Dallek said. "He made a bet with himself and the country, in a sense, that he could be president, and he carried it off brilliantly. It was extraordinary."
Hiding the Pain
But Kennedy and his closest circle took great pains to hide his health problems from the public, fearing it would impair his political career. JFK was particularly fearful that revelations about his health problems would hurt him in the neck-and-neck presidential race with Richard Nixon in 1960.
He was so terrified of his medical conditions being known that in the 1960 fight for the Democratic nomination, Lyndon Johnson aides aired the fact that Kennedy had Addison's disease, and the Kennedy campaign flatly denied it, Dallek said. His doctors later published a letter saying his health was excellent.
As amazing as the list of drugs Kennedy took is the fact that it was kept mostly secret. To this day, his closest aides don't know or won't admit the extent of his ailments.
