The glamour of disease

So. Cancer.
Last night I sat hunched over the wireless, listening diligently to one of my favourite radio shows: Saturday Night Live on LBC. Usually I like this show- I haven't tired of celebrity gossip yet, and the host (Cristo) makes my saturday evenings more entertaining than I could ever hope for. Last night, though, I couldn't help but frown inwardly at their topic of conversation.

Jade. Goody.

Yes, I know you're cringing too. We all know that this woman is famous for nothing. Got bucket loads of cash for dressing up like a pig on Big Brother (to be honest I don't care what number it was, that show has long outstayed it's welcome).
Well, she has cancer. Now I don't wish any disease on anyone, but people have a habit of either making or breaking your empathy for them.

You don't know what I mean?
Well, I'm sorry, but my Grandfather died a few weeks ago of liver cancer, and do you think he had time to be giving the nation hourly updates on his condition? Selling his story to every glossy magazine out there? Not only is that tasteless, but it makes a mockery out of a very serious illness.
The sad thing about it though, is that coming out of the Big Brother house and seeing how much The Sun had made her look even worse off than she was (but hey, they were only doing their job; she wasn't forced to strip on national television), did nothing for Jade. Instead she lapped up the five minutes of fame, and now, left with only a few pennies, publicising her illness is the only way she can feed her children.
I can't judge her for that, because at the end of the day, children come first.
But why didn't she bloody think of that before?

And I'm sorry, but Cristo's cohort yesterday was an idiot. Do you know what she said?
"Well, the papers made Jade look so bad before, now that she's milking this, she's kind of got them back at their own game."
What? WHAAAAAAAAAAT?
Dying of Cancer is getting the tabloids back at their own game? Excuse me whilst I massage my confused brain. If anything, this is the worst possible way to loose at anything. Jade sells her story to the same tabloids who bashed her when she was down, and we, as the brainless puppets we are, buy these magazines, thus making the tabloids richer at Goody's expense. And I am absolutely sure that getting the tabloids back is the last thing on this woman's mind. I mean, "hello?" She's dying. That comment was probably the most innapropriate thing that was said on that show, period-this is the same show which claims Jessica Simpson has eaten the Dukes of Hazzard mind you-and I almost called in to give 'em a piece of my mind!

I just think they were being much to flippant last night. When you have cancer, you certainly don't milk it, do you? Unless you're a complete idiot. I remember when I was in year seven. A young teacher at the girls' school I was attending at that time had been diagnosed with Lukaemia. A year later she was on GMTV for survival. She was mix-raced, and as you may or may not know, black and mix-raced donors run sparce in the UK, and she was in desparate need of a bone-marrow transplant. In the end, the DeGale organisation helped her, and thank God she's alive and well today. That kind of publicity I understood, because this young lady had gone on to GMTV to get help. Jade has admitted she's doing this for the money.

So, I'm just not sure what to think anymore. I'm British, what do you expect? Just a few months ago we were all ready to kill Jade Goody post-Shilpa Shetty scandal, and now we're all falling over backwards to hear her story. I think Jade knows us better than we know ourselves.

Anyway, I'm off now.
To listen to Sunday Night Live, of course!