Former surgeon general faces his wife's cancer - and the 'Trump Effect'

Lacey and her husband, a former surgeon general, often talk about the Trump Effect.

They lived in the Indianapolis suburbs after moving from Washington. When he was looking for a job in academia, he received polite rejections from university officials who worried that someone who served in the administration of the former president would be badly received by their left-leaning students. Corporations decided he was too bad to work for them.

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Two years have passed since Adams left office as the 20th surgeon general of the U.S. They were hoping that Donald Trump's announcement that he will run for president again would fade away by now.

They like talking about public health in a personal way. Lacey Adams had a third recurrence of melanoma. The Adamses are trying to spread a message about skin-cancer prevention. Even though neither of them is a supporter of his campaign, the stigma of his association with Trump continues.

Adams said that Trump takes the air out of the room. I'm still feeling the effects of the Trump hangover. He thinks the Trump campaign will make things harder for him.

The plight of the former surgeon general underscores the fact that association with Trump becomes a permanent tarnish. The aftermath of one of the more chaotic presidencies in modern American history has led to the downfall of a cavalcade of former Trump World figures.

Lacey knew it would come. She hated Trump so much that she didn't want her husband to leave his comfortable life in Indiana, where he practiced anesthesiology and served as state health commissioner. Lacey was worried about a long-term stigma but her husband talked her into supporting their move because he thought he could make a bigger difference inside the administration.

"Trump's surgeon general" is an image sealed by his role during the White House's response to the coronaviruses epidemic. He feels that other surgeons general have been less identified with the president who appointed them because of partisan politics.

It wasn't him. Lacey said that it was difficult for him to find a landing spot because of the Trump effect. After leaving office, he couldn't get a job. Lacey doesn't work outside the home so the couple worried about how they would support their children.

People still don't want to touch anything associated with Trump. He told the interviewer that he is not complaining. He said it's context.

Adams was hired as the first executive director of health equity initiatives in September of 2021.

Adams was engaged in a constant battle on social media as he was trying to define the next chapter of his life Attacks from both the right and the left have been drawn by his constant use of social media. He has often punched back at his critics, engaging in lengthy spats on the social networking site.

He has battled on social media over his recommendation that people continue to wear masks in crowded indoor settings, his criticism of President Biden's declaration of an end to the Pandemic, and his advocacy for coronaviruses vaccinations for children and adults. He gets heat from the left for his pro-life stance on abortion and from the right for his opposition to laws that dictate what a doctor can say to a patient about abortion.

Lacey said she gets mad at him for being addicted to the social networking site. The people hated him because he was in the administration. The Trump people don't like him anymore.

Carrie Benton, an Ohio medical lab scientist who has tangled with Jerome Adams on social media, is critical of what she considers "blanket statements" he is now making. She thinks he should be held accountable for the mistakes made by the Trump administration.

The pushback didn't make Adams change his mind. He would like to debate. He would like to argue. He is trying to find ways to use his platform in a way that doesn't turn into a political spat.

He said it was difficult to find an issue.

He had hoped that the topic of the August issue would not feel so personal. Lacey had tumors on her right thigh during a follow-up check.

Lacey said to herself.

She was first diagnosed with melanoma in 2010 when she spotted a mole. She had it taken away. She thought she was out of harm's way.

She said there was no large deal.

She was a frequent user of tanning beds when she was a child. Even though she is light-skinned she didn't worry about the sun. She became a different person after the mole was removed. There is a sunscreen The sleeves are long She said that her mother would chase her with hats. She began to get regular skin checks. All was well. It wasn't until it was not.

She noticed a lump on her groin when she shaved her bikini line. The doctor in her house was a public health advocate and oversaw thousands of members of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. She said that her absent-minded professor is the doctor in her house.

Lacey called the doctor next door, her friend and neighbor, Amy. When she realized that her friend was calling, she put her on the phone so that her husband could hear her.

He wanted to know if it was on the same side as the melanoma from a long time ago. She agreed. She heard the worry in their voices.

They told her to stop unpacking. Don't go to fancy events with your husband. This needs to be a priority for you.

She was taken to a special area of the medical center for high-ranking officials and their families. She was given a robe with a logo on it.

"All of a sudden it is like you are in the Ritz-Carlton," she said, and wondered why she was deserving of this special attention.

There was a Tumor between the size of a pea and a grape shown in a Scan. She was going to have an operation. The doctors had to remove some of the cancer-causing cells. While she was recovering from surgery, her husband came into the room with a request that was hard for her to comprehend because of the drugs she was taking.

She took a picture at the medical center and posted it to her Facebook page, but also took a jab at the administration. He told her that the White House didn't like it. They wanted it removed.

She would think she had beaten cancer in the future. She was treated for a year. She rang the bell at Walter Reed after being cancer-free.

She thought of cancer and schmancers.

There were other worries. A plague that had hit members of his family was the reason why her husband came to Washington. The coronaviruses thrust him into a much more public role. The new surgeon general set off many fires as the Trump administration struggled.

He urged people to get flu shots after sharing a poem on social media that said the regular flu was more dangerous than covid. African Americans were told to take precautions to protect themselves from the coronaviruses.

He made incomplete or poorly explained statements in each case. There was a shortage of masks and he asked people not to purchase them. Projections made by the Trump administration suggested more people would get the regular flu, which was later shown to be incorrect.

He was accused of using a Trump-style racist dog whistle because he thought it would connect him with African Americans.

Adams has blamed a partisan atmosphere for some of the gaffes. He didn't know how people would show up for his family. The troll called his family ugly. Adams married a White woman.

Lacey put off medical appointments while limiting her movements because of the risk of contracting the coronaviruses while her husband was trying to fend off critics and nasty commenters. In January 2020, she had a clear Scan. In July of that year, she came back for a second scans. She had a Tumor on her Back.

Stage 4 was the second stage of the cancer. She began to fight infections. She defeated it again. She passed regular scans for two years. The tests that showed the cancer had come back came this summer. His wife is tired at night. She is resilient, he marvels.

She has been speaking and writing about the disease that threatens to deprive her of so many things that she looks forward to, like her children graduating or getting married.

She's too sick from her treatments to do much. Sometimes she is full of energy and ready to leave. The doctors keep telling her that Melanoma is a stealthy disease and that people might look at her and not know. It can be hidden inside people. She had a mole on her face, but it didn't show up on her skin. She hid the disease from her.

She knows that she has a place in the world. If she were not the wife of the former surgeon general, no one would listen to her.

Her husband asked if he could post a photo of her on the social networking site. She told him to proceed. On a day when she wasn't feeling great, it showed her lying in bed with the covers on. He asked for help, but he also told people to see a doctor if a mole changes.

It was amazing to them. People wished the best for Lacey even though they were against her politics. Your wife, bless you. Even though I disagree with some of your decisions, I am sorry that your wife has cancer.

People asked for advice. Are we worried about a single mole or are we looking for strange shapes and changes in several? The person did not say anything about Trump. They may be able to help that person. They dared to imagine the end of the Trump Effect and the start of the Lacey Effect.

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