Follow Newser on Twitter   Friend Newser on Facebook
Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook
Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Cancer May Have Killed FDR

Possible deception in 1944 election raises lots of what-if questions

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 24, 2009 2:11 PM CST
Email

(Newser) – Speculating about Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s real cause of death has been a popular sport for years, and now two authors have a provocative theory: brain cancer. The shifting opinions are well documented: FDR’s own doctor, who at first likened the deadly brain hemorrhage to a “bolt of lightning,” admitted in 1970 that the president had ongoing blood pressure and heart problems. In 1979, another author first speculated on a possible melanoma. But the new research is the most in-depth yet.

The authors of FDR's Deadly Secret, Steven Lomazow and Eric Fettman, suspect that the melanoma—perhaps visible in pictures before 1940—spread to the brain. They hypothesize that he lost vision on his left side because of a tumor—an analysis of stumbling speeches he made toward the end of his life suggests he may have been unable to see half of his remarks. In any case, Barron H. Lerner notes in Slate, the possibility that FDR covered up cancer before the 1944 election raises questions about an alternate post-war history, had he come clean.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Russian Marshal Josef Stalin at Yalta in 1945.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Russian Marshal Josef Stalin at Yalta in 1945.   (AP Photo)
President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.   (AP Photo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
My TakeCLICK BELOW TO VOTE
50%
0%
0%
0%
50%
0%
To report an error on this story, notify our editors.
A snapshot of the day's best news stories.
 
COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 17 comments
yukonchuck06
Nov 25, 2009 10:09 AM CST
YAWN.............. He was our greatest president as far as accolades, but christ that was 60 years ago. He died, he's dead, move on....
RockyPneumonia
Nov 25, 2009 7:18 AM CST
Yes, there are books ccontaining unsupported allegations. There are not , as far as I know (which is pretty far) ,any books that cite any actual evidence -- because there is none.
CenterIndependent
Nov 25, 2009 7:13 AM CST
hhmm a bit unamerican, but really doesnt surprise me since the right crazies are hardly american.
Politics • Science • US

 
presidential campaign • Cold War • World War II • melanoma • FDR • Franklin D. Roosevelt • Harry Truman • brain cancer • cover-up • cerebral hemorrhage • deception • Steven Lomazow

More Newser Stories

Julia Child Dished Up Secrets in WWII
NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS
Other Sites We Like:   24/7 Wall St.   |   Betty Confidential   |   BuzzFeed   |   Cracked   |   Fark   |   Timelines   |   The Frisky   |   Geek Sugar   |   NewsOne