John McCain's Health

Matt Stoller has gotten some criticism for calling John McCain a "crazy cancer-ridden dishonest madman".   Most of the criticism focuses on the "cancer-ridden" claim, which is both insulting to cancer victims and contradicted by all available evidence.   I'm also curious how Stoller can claim in a single post that "[McCain] did let the media peek at his records", followed by  "McCain wouldn't let reporters look at his records".

But leave that aside for now.  If Stoller wants to produce any evidence, he's welcome to do so. 

Instead, because I think this is a charge that will be made repeatedly in coming months, let's address a second claim Stoller makes.

McCain is 72 years old and he was a POW, a member of a group with high rates of illness due to ill-treatment on the part of their captors.  

Stoller provided no citation for his claim - and I cannot imagine what the link could be between being a former POW and getting cancer (he does not offer suggestions) - so I checked.  According to a Institute of Medicine study of WWII and Korean War POW's, he's wrong.

In summary, excepting psychiatric illness, this report shows little evidence of wide spread ill health among former prisoners of war compared with their non-POW veteran counterparts.

While there are some medical conditions associated with POW's, they are largely things like joint pain and issues related to the physical duress.   These are quality-of-life, and not mortality, issues.   Otherwise, there is "little evidence of wide spread ill health among former" POW's. 

The Institute of Medicine study did except psychiatric illnesses - which, I assume consists of PTSD, readjustment to civilian life and the like - which would seem in one degree or another to most veterans of war.  I checked on that, as well.  According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, which did research specifically on the subject of "the relative cognitive status of US Navy Vietnam-era POWs"...

The few statistically significant differences between repatriated POWs and controls showed better intellectual functioning in the POWs.

 UPDATE

Matt Stoller says he does have evidence.  However, his only citation is a former POW who says "Most of us who survived that experience are now in our late 60's and 70's. Sadly, we have died and are dying off at a greater rate than our non-POW contemporaries."   So, bald assertion is backed up by bald assertion of anecdotal evidence, but contradicted by medical research.   Regardless, the differences appear to be relatively minimal.

Make up your own mind.