William Hurt......

https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/william-hurt-dead-obit-1320664/

hurt had terminal prostate cancer. RIP

Kicked my paranoia up a notch, for sure. RIP bro.

I just read an article from WINK News, South Florida station that interviewed him May 16, 2018, and he reported he had received Side Effect Free chemotherapy at the Berkeley Institute and Alin Foundation. It was claimed that SEF prevented nausea and hair loss. Another person was quoted as having been saved from pancreatic cancer from the same treatment. Both were described as “cancer survivors”. The article said the treatment cost was $150,000 as compared to about $16,000 for traditional chemotherapy. Dr. Kenneth Matsumura was quoted as saying he had used the SEF therapy for some 20 years and had patients in complete remission for 12 years. The article said the station could find no peer reviewed clinical studies, only the self published claims by Dr. Matsumura. Hurt said, in the interview, that it saved his life. A picture showed him looking alright and with hair.

JNF said...
The article said the treatment cost was $150,000 as compared to about $16,000 for traditional chemotherapy.

I read it the other way, his side effect free (SEF) treatment is cheaper since it uses trad chemo augmented with something that interferes with the side effects, as opposed to the latest greatest. To quote...

Matsumura does acknowledge his cancer therapy does come with opposition from the medical world.

“It is a real tough situation for drug companies,” said Matsumura. “They’re charging $150,000 for treatment.”

A typical treatment using SEF Chemo costs about $16,000.

Because of their wealth and fame celebrities can sometimes access "alternative" treatments for what ails them -- often to their detriment. Steve McQueen, Steve Jobs, and Michael Jackson come to mind. Perhaps arrogance clouds the judgement.

Not sure if it applies to Hurt. I liked his movies

RIP

mattam said...
Because of their wealth and fame celebrities can sometimes access "alternative" treatments for what ails them -- often to their detriment. Steve McQueen, Steve Jobs, and Michael Jackson come to mind. Perhaps arrogance clouds the judgement.

Not sure if it applies to Hurt. I liked his movies

RIP

sure sounds like it. i think we all know with conventional treatment he would most likely still be alive

Everyone wants to leave a positive legacy behind, and in a way William Hurt does just that through his performance in the 1991 film "The Doctor."

For those of you unfamiliar with the plot of the film, it's the story of an arrogant, self-centered doctor who, after his diagnosis of and successful treatment for cancer, realizes what a jerk he has been been, and then transforms himself into a more caring and compassionate doctor.

From the Wikipedia article on the film:

"The biopsy comes back positive for cancer. His time spent with another cold, impersonal surgeon in this examination is the beginning of his transformation."

"As Jack experiences life as a patient, he gains a clearer understanding of the emotional void hospitals, some doctors, and his own colleagues can display."

"The experience changes Jack forever. When he returns to work, he begins to teach new medical interns about the importance of showing compassion and sensitivity towards their patients, which in turn will make them better doctors."

And the film's dialogue is not without some biting humor:

(At one point) "Jack asks a colleague he has previously ridiculed, Dr. Eli Bloomfield, to perform his needed surgery ... to which Eli replies with a smile, "Well, Jack, I've always wanted to slit your throat, and now I've got the chance."

and from Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmus7ygmxhu

So the film is a sort of morality tale on how one man becomes both a better doctor and a better human being, after getting a second chance at life.

But it's a positive message that Hurt delivers in his role, and possibly one he may well have been proud of.

So sad. Some of the articles quote Hurt's son who said that his father had died of natural causes. But some of the articles do state that Hurt had been diagnosed in 2018 with terminal prostate cancer. Apparently it had metastasized to his bones.

Is it possible that he didn't die of prostate cancer?

I, too, saw the interview regarding SEF chemo. I was curious about the pancreatic cancer patient/survivor. Either she's still alive or her obituary is not findable on the internet.

mattam said...
Because of their wealth and fame celebrities can sometimes access "alternative" treatments for what ails them -- often to their detriment. Steve McQueen, Steve Jobs, and Michael Jackson come to mind. Perhaps arrogance clouds the judgement.

Many people make the tragic mistake of thinking that large sums of money can turn them into 25-year olds again. At some point, no amount of money will cause cells to act perfectly. If you want proof, just visit any number of retirement and snowbird communities here in Arizona and observe the elderly women with facelifts and tights.

Melaine said...
So sad. Some of the articles quote Hurt's son who said that his father had died of natural causes. But some of the articles do state that Hurt had been diagnosed in 2018 with terminal prostate cancer. Apparently it had metastasized to his bones.

The 2018 article actually said that he had been diagnosed with Prostate Cancer that had gone to his bones back in 2012. So he'd been fighting the long fight already by 2018, and fought off metastasized cancer for a good 10 years.

CentralPAdude: thanks for sharing that. I’d read a number of articles and I never saw anything about 2012. That’s good to know. (Well, good in that that was a longer fight than I had originally thought. Obviously not good for William Hurt.)

My wife just said that they did an article on him in the new people magazine. She said the article did say his death was due to “ Complications from Prostate Cancer.” My wife said that after reading the article, that he was a jerk to the women in his life. More than one accused him of abuse and one said he raped her. Hate to see anyone die of PC, but……. My best to all,
Jack