Michael Douglas smoking again

Lelia said:

Maybe he's not as tough a cookie.
Nancy, I'm gonna go with your lede in this thread where you stated "It is none of my business really"

Is Michael Douglas proud of his smoking relapse? I'm confident he is not, and he's not the only cancer patient struggling with nicotine addiction. Why single him out just because his job is in acting? He doesn't owe us anything.

For a glimpse into how Mr. Douglas feels about privacy invasions and having been stalked and photographed by the 'razzis for months--often looking very ill, like most H&Nc patients in the throes of treatment--here's a portion of the NBC Today Show's blog The Scoop after his appearance on the show:

"Douglas' cancer battle has been chronicled with Douglas' cooperation, on TODAY and in places like People magazine, but some of his story -- specifically the story painted by portraits snapped by paparazzi -- has been documented without his permission, and Douglas resents that. 'With the amount of paparazzi that they have and these video cameras, you know, you just can't do anything. And I resent the amount of imposition on our children, too, because it used to be at least they (the paparazzi) would try to keep them out of that and they don't at all,' Douglas said. 'But they were having -- there was sort of a macabre enjoyment out of sort of watching me go down there for a while, I felt, by the paparazzi.' "

"...macabre enjoyment out of ... watching me go down..."
Wow. This is an intense statement that resonates with me. Did anyone else experience this sort of attention and reaction from folks in their lives? I did. Not everyone, and not all the time, but there were a few folks who all-of-a-sudden were very interested in taking me out to lunch (not that I could even eat) and grilling me with endless prying questions until I was completely drained and exhausted and my throat was hoarse from talking. Ick. They still call me. I've wised up, and I'm declining the lunch dates now.

This is one of those things that should be added to the "cancer ettiquette" list.

Deb