Rudolph Giuliani, in a recent campaign radio advertisement, made a shocking claim: “My chances of surviving prostate cancer — and thank God I was cured of it — in the United States, 82 percent. My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England, only 44 percent under socialized medicine.”

Could socialized medicine be so much worse in curing people of cancer than the United States? Well, no. It turns out that Giuliani’s claim is just plain false.

Giuliani based his claim upon outdated information that was misinterpreted by a right wing publication. Up to date information and a proper analysis of statistics show that men in England and men in the United States have about the same rate of death from prostate cancer. Men in the two countries who have prostate cancer also have an equivalent survival rate.

If you want to elect a sloppy thinker who allows his ideological agenda to lead him into acceptance of inaccurate claims about health care, then Rudy Giuliani would be your pick.

(Source: Eugene Register-Guard, November 5, 2007)