Is Suzanne Somers suffering from 'Tom Cruise Syndrome'?

Since Suzanne Somers has decided to take her crusade against chemotherapy to the TV airwaves, I figured it was fair game to ruminate on the topic because why not let subject matter which not only affects me personally but also millions of other people serve as my first Zap2it Op-Ed?

Like many other viewers, when I first learned of Suzanne Somers' cancer diagnosis from a CNN news report I remember pausing and thinking, "Oh, how sad. Chrissy Snow from 'Three's Company' has cancer. That's heartbreaking. I really hope she beats it." Fortunately -- unlike many cancer victims -- she did beat the disease.

Following Somers' ordeal -- like many of her celebrity peers -- she took to the talk show and cable news circuit to share her story of survival mostly in an effort to educate, enlighten and inspire. As a person who's been all too close to this disease, trust me when I say I'm a strong proponent of individuals telling their courageous stories about their battles with cancer to as many people who will listen. Especially when the individual emerges victorious.

Somers spoke on various TV programs about the alternative treatments she opted for instead of traditional chemotherapy. Understandable that Somers would feel she was doing a duty not only as a celebrity with a voice who can encourage change but also as a Good Samaritan. Then gradually I noticed Somers' tale of survival was slowly turning into a complete anti-traditional cancer drugs and treatment stance.
 
It wasn't until a press release advance from one of the half-hour entertainment news programs landed in my inbox on Tuesday (Oct. 20) with the subject line "Suzanne Somers Regrets Swayze Comments" that I realized how deeply and uncharacteristically affected I was by this particular story.

Normally my first instinct would've been to shoot the release over to our intrepid Dish Rag blogger Elizabeth Snead requesting she post a side-by-side of Suzanne Somers and --- in this case --- Janice the Muppet. Then write some quip next to the photo along the lines of: "Is the Restalyne or Botox seeping into Suzanne's brain? What on earth is she talking about?"

But it just didn't seem fitting, having lost my mother to a very long battle with cancer when I was 21 years old. (However, in the spirit of full disclosure I admittedly did post Suzanne and Janice on my personal Facebook page. All I can say is it was cathartic at that moment. I mean look the composite was literally handed to me by Google Images).

Anyway I digress -- so to provide some brief context into Somers' mea culpa, she essentially told a Canadian reporter at the Toronto Film Festival that basically the cancer treatment drugs not the cancer actually killed Patrick Swayze. Wow!

"When I turned down conventional treatment, chemotherapy, I was warned, 'You'll probably die if you do this' and I said, 'I don't think so," said Somers. "They took this beautiful man, and they basically put poison in him."

Somers claims she wasn't aware the comments were on the record and they were taken out of context. I was not in attendance at this year's festival so without possessing firsthand knowledge, I take Somers at her word. But I can only assume that those quotes must have been just the ray of sunshine Patrick Swayze's grieving wife and loved ones needed to hear during this extremely difficult time.

I fully respect Somers' about-face and public apology but you know what they say about a day late and a dollar short. Or about putting the proverbial foot in one's mouth. Now as a member of the "liberal media," (Sorry, couldn't resist. Thank you Sarah Palin) I don't pretend to live in a sheltered fantasy world. We all know celebrities will continue to publicly use their influence and voices for both good (thankfully) and bad (unfortunately).

It's slightly frightening how Somers' crusade is starting to eerily resemble Tom Cruise's mission (impossible) of maligning and vilifying psychiatry and the drugs prescribed to patients diagnosed and suffering with mental conditions and disorders. Including targeting Brooke Shields during an attack on medication prescribed to women suffering from postpartum depression. Unless you've been living under a rock you no doubt haven't forgotten the "Today Show" "Matt, you're so glib" debacle. (In case you did, feel free to view here for reference).

Now without this turning into the world bearing witness to therapy over my mother's death, I will just say that when a loved one is diagnosed with a terminal disease there are many emotions one goes through: fear, anger, confusion, sadness, numbness to name just a few. Then as one comes to terms with reality, our loved one who's been stricken and everyone around them scrambles to research. No one ever prepares for cancer, so who's to say what the proper reaction/course of action is. Especially after the fact.

I can remember so vividly my tireless internet pursuit for answers to questions about all the cancer treatment options available. I spent hours reading inches and inches of material on the Internet. Search engines became my new best pals with frequent inquiries ranging from: What is the survival rate for this cancer? What is the most effective type of chemotherapy or radiation for this particular cancer? How does someone qualify for a clinical trial with a new experimental drug?

Now I don't personally know Suzanne Somers and I'm sure she could be a lovely individual to knock back a few martinis with at a party. But my experience with Somers is limited to watching her as Chrissy Snow on first season reruns of "Three's Company." Then of course  another experience of watching some very painful subsequent seasons where she was simply on one-way phone calls with cast members most of the time. (Which maybe is starting to make sense to me now? Kidding. It was contract disputes didn't you see the TV movie!)

So as the teleprompter blinks away at me to 'Wrap it Up, Wrap It Up,' I guess my plea to Suzanne Somers not from a position as editorial director of an entertainment news site but simply as a human being: Please carefully reconsider your public crusade against traditional cancer treatments.

Even the biggest celebrity in the world (which no offense Suzanne you're not) doesn't have the right to abuse their stardom by imposing opinions about such extremely personal decisions. Please continue to tell your survival story. Please let the world know what methods of treatment worked for you. Please inspire those who are battling the disease to keep fighting. But allow them to fight with the weapons they choose not only the ones you're evangelizing.

Essentially each time Somers speaks on TV about how evil chemotherapy or traditional cancer treatments are she could potentially be robbing a person who's battling this horrible disease more precious time with their loved ones. Or even worse dissuading them away from deciding on a course of treatment that could result in outright survival of the cancer.

From where I'm observing, you're doing more harm than good not only to cancer victims but also to yourself every time you label chemotherapy words such as "poison." Remember the aforementioned biggest stars in the world comment, well perhaps you should trade notes with Tom Cruise. I mean he's still arguably one of the biggest movie stars in the world and still bankable for film studios but the image rehab to remedy the fallout of his anti-psychiatry drugs crusade still continues to this day. Suzanne you can quit while you're still ahead. (Depending on whom you ask and who's keeping score at this point).

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