PLATFORM : Overcoming Cancer
People with cancer are inspired when they see a cancer survivor--someone who emerged from treatment--run for the presidency. It’s further evidence that you can recover and aspire to any goal, that you can have a challenging life after treatment.
People who have had cancer have a different perspective on life, a view based on their special experience. Those who survive and recover gain a certain inner strength because they have had to face their mortality.
However, I don’t think Tsongas’ medical history should be a positive or a negative in the context of the campaign; it has no bearing on the question of his qualifications for the presidency.
People with a history of cancer are already being rejected in the job market and can’t afford medical insurance.
If cancer is used as a campaign issue against Tsongas, anyone who has had a life-threatening disease can be held back and society will be taking a backward step.
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