Of Course a College Football Game at the University of North Carolina is More Important Than Treatment for Cancer

Why Would Anyone Think Otherwise?

In an effort to add to the billions of dollars that college football generates each year the schools now schedule games on Thursday evening.  Why?  Because they get extra television revenue for that game.  Do this interfere with the operations of the University?  Who cares.

In Chapel Hill a few weeks ago the Thursday night game caused a cancer patient to have her therapy postponed.

CHAPEL HILL — At least one cancer patient was told her radiation treatment was postponed Thursday because of UNC-Chapel Hill’s night football game, friends say.

Kathleen Keating, an elder-care specialist from Chapel Hill, said her friend received a phone call Wednesday informing her that her radiation treatment scheduled for Thursday would have to be done another day because of the game.

Now before anybody gets all upset, everyone should know that the University was only thinking of the patients. 

Officials with UNC Health Care said they had planned for the night game for months and had not scheduled patients after 3:30 p.m. Thursday. The game’s kickoff was 7:45 p.m.

“We’ve been planning quite in advance for the fact that we wouldn’t want our patients in a major traffic jam,” said UNC Health Care spokeswoman Karen McCall.

And lest anyone think UNC Health Care is completely heartless, why they set up Saturday scheduling.

The radiation oncology clinics set up Saturday treatments to accommodate patients who could not be seen on Thursday, he said. Physicians determined who could wait “without harming their care,” he added.

“So it was a decision that was made by the providers,” Earp said. “Some of those people are going to have their therapy on Saturday. Some may not. It may not make a difference whether they have it every day. ... It was a considered decision.”

Gosh, for some, not for all, but for some it may no make a difference when their therapy takes place.  As for the patient who had to have her therapy changed because of a football game,

“I think it’s criminal,” Keating said. “I like football, but it’s not even an equation you need to do in your head. Football versus cancer treatment? It’s just not a question.”

The unnamed patient was too ill to be interviewed Thursday, Keating said. She has Stage 4 breast cancer and is in considerable pain, Keating said.

of course football trumps patient treatment.

As for UNC, they lost their football game Thursday.  Actually they lost more than a football game.