# So. You got cancer in your balls. And this entitled you to.... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 22, 2012, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521 "2012-10-22T13:51:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![diggerwam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/919ad9/32.png) [@diggerwam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diggerwam)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/61 "2012-10-22T18:10:11Z")
1st point. If he cheats in this aspect of his life who is to say it does not flow thru to other aspects, such as his charity. I like to see a really good acounting firm take a look at the books. He obviously thought of himself above the rules of his chosen sport and willing to do anything in order to win. It doesn’t matter that everyone else was doing it, I think my mother talked about jumping off a bridge with my friends when I was a teenager. I’d rather my money not go to a guy like that. 2nd point. His fame brought his charity money that could have gone to other charities. So yes, he brought that money into his charity under false pretenses. He presented himself as something he wasn’t. Once the accusations started to fly he could have fessed up, but he just doubled down on the lie. All things being equal, I’d rather my money not go to someone like that. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/62 "2012-10-22T18:23:45Z")
> [@happycamper\_5](#): > > Now, the pedants will say that $20 million for research is still nothing to sneeze at and they’d be right. I’d wager that’s certainly more than everyone here has raised for cancer research, myself included. However, Livestrong is not now, nor has it ever been, an organization devoted entirely to cancer research. WHAT?!?!? I mean, really…wt…WHAT!!! Any clue as to what they are doing with the money? ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/63 "2012-10-22T18:31:14Z")
Those little yellow bracelets don’t just manufacture themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/64 "2012-10-22T18:37:08Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > Cheated at bike racing. > > Raised over $470 million dollars for cancer research. Wouldn’t this make a great slogan for those inspirational billboards? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/65 "2012-10-22T18:39:01Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > WHAT?!?!? > > I mean, really…wt…WHAT!!! > Any clue as to what they are doing with the money? They are helping out, financially, and quite substantially, cancer patients. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/66 "2012-10-22T18:42:35Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Those little yellow bracelets don’t just manufacture themselves. Yes, which is why upward of 75% of the funds are applied toward self-manufacturing bracelet research. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/67 "2012-10-22T19:12:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Since everyone doped, the playing fiend was, in fact, even. Thus his winning 7 times in a row did mean supreme dedication to hard work and strong will. I am surprised you posted this, the flaws in this argument are huge. However, to add a little bit, you should also understand that the those with a particular biology gain less from doping than others, it turns out that those who have the best natural advantages in cycling are the ones who have most to lose by others who dope. You really need to read that thread in the Games forum, at least you’ll have a better understanding of the arguments. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/68 "2012-10-22T19:20:25Z")
Celebrity come with benefits, which he has richly enjoyed for many years. Infamy comes with costs too. Just ask Monica Lewinski. Neither one will ever get the stink off, nor do they really deserve to, for that matter. My bet is it isn’t going to be pretty. A guy this enamored of the admiration and respect won’t likely take well to being the low watermark in his sport, a joke in athletics. I suspect he’s about to get exactly what he deserves, “Pity the fool!” ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/69 "2012-10-22T20:05:09Z")
He has been asked to return his prize money. Interesting because he cannot do it as easily as all that, because anything the team leader wins he shares amongst his team, thats why the team fight so hard to keep their leader in Yellow, even one day in yellow is worth many thousands of $ to them. Given that all his team were also doping, I wonder what sort of deal was made in return for their testimony. If he refuses to return the prize money, I wonder if the UCI can enforce it through the courts, there’s lots of jurisdictions to go through here. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/70 "2012-10-22T21:31:16Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I understand the worship. If he hadn’t doped, then winning 7 times in a row would have meant a supreme dedication to hard work and strong will. That’s something folks look up to. Doping and supreme dedication to hard work and strong will aren’t mutually exclusive. I don’t there’s any doubt that Armstrong worked his ass off. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/71 "2012-10-22T22:40:02Z")
A good friend of mine died at 52 years old. He was impotent his entire life, suffered from chronic high blood pressure and a number of other problems all as a result of doping for high school football for 3 years. He thought he was taking vitamin B shots. I blame the coach, the booster club and the parents. Honest athletes don’t stand a chance anymore or it is at least a lot tougher on them. I feel it was the doping because he has 4 brothers and they all look pretty much alike and none of them had these problems. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/72 "2012-10-22T22:50:56Z")
> [@happycamper\_5](#): > > Let me say first that, beyond morbid curiosity, I couldn’t give two shits about Lance Armstrong or the sport of cycling in general. However, this myth right here: > > needs to die. According to [Bill Gifford at Outdoor Magazine](http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/athletes/lance-armstrong/Its-Not-About-the-Lab-Rats.html?page=all): > > Now, the pedants will say that $20 million for research is still nothing to sneeze at and they’d be right. I’d wager that’s certainly more than everyone here has raised for cancer research, myself included. However, Livestrong is not now, nor has it ever been, an organization devoted entirely to cancer research. I don’t think the money had to specifically go to cancer research to be used as a force for good. Livestrong’s site says their mission is to “inspire and empower people affected by cancer” and goes on to say “We have provided financial resources to more than 550 organizations that conduct cancer survivorship research or offer services to people affected by cancer, and 81 cents of every dollar raised has gone directly to support our programs and services for survivors.” [http://www.livestrong.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Strength/Financial-Information](http://www.livestrong.org/Who-We-Are/Our-Strength/Financial-Information) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/73 "2012-10-22T23:02:12Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > The real outrage here should be against all of the clean teachers and firefighters. Just imagine how well a teacher could teach or a firefighter save people if they were only willing to dope a bit. As a squeaky clean teacher, I’m willing to give it a shot. [/pun] I think I’d be up to 35% faster in squelching teen snark, give up to twice the homework, and reduce rude rebels to puddles of politeness in record time. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/74 "2012-10-22T23:06:12Z")
[QUOTE=Me] I understand the worship. If he hadn’t doped, then winning 7 times in a row would have meant a supreme dedication to hard work and strong will. That’s something folks look up to. [/QUOTE] > [@Yookeroo](#): > > Doping and supreme dedication to hard work and strong will aren’t mutually exclusive. I don’t there’s any doubt that Armstrong worked his ass off. Right. I agree completely. I only qualified my statement because I knew if I didn’t say, “If he hadn’t doped” someone would come along and point out the doping. See, [QUOTE=Terr] Since everyone doped, the playing fiend was, in fact, even. Thus his winning 7 times in a row did mean supreme dedication to hard work and strong will. [/QUOTE] And sure enough, a poster comes along… [QUOTE=casdave] I am surprised you posted this, the flaws in this argument are huge. [/QUOTE] Maybe casdave disagrees with the part where Terr said the playing field was ‘even.’ Still, the essence of the post was to make the point that Armstrong worked very hard and had a will of steel. Those are characteristics that people naturally look up to…doesn’t make them idiots as some posters have suggested. I had to qualify the “if he hadn’t doped” part though, or else I knew a poster would come along to make the point. I am quicker on the ‘\*qualify \*\*every \*\*statement \*on the dope’ draw than Terr is. ---
**Author:** ![humblebumble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@humblebumble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/humblebumble)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/75 "2012-10-22T23:08:29Z")
Well, people will endorse anyone these days. I never liked the guy. He’s an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/76 "2012-10-22T23:19:39Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > So now he’s just a guy who beat cancer and trained all winter in mountains. > > This is what I don’t get. Could I win the Tour de France next year if I start taking drugs right now? I’m guessing the answer is no, because I struggle to finish a 5K and the last time I rode a bike was three years ago. > > Everyone keeps talking about this like Lance Armstrong took magic flying pills that let him fly an invisible hover-bike to the finish line of his races. I’m pretty sure he was still training his ass off, along with all the other guys alongside him (who were also taking drugs, most likely). > > I mean, I’m not disagreeing with his removal. You break the rules, you take your lumps. But everyone acting like this is some kind of personal betrayal, like he was formerly a great hero and worthy of idolization but now he’s just some jerk – like his cancer foundation and the work he put in to train and all of that stuff that you formerly admired, doesn’t “count” now somehow. I don’t get that. You don’t get it, **MsWhatsit** : Lance Armstrong was [del]like[/del] Jesus on a bike (band name!) to these people. He would come pedaling into their dreams every night to gently massage their genitals and promise that he wasn’t on drugs. Turns out he’s Satan. And all that money people were giving to his cancer foundation? Apparently it’s been _giving kids testicular cancer_. Even the girls. You obviously don’t get what a serious issue this is, so why don’t you just shut the fuck up? Maybe _you’d_ like to get testicular cancer. Keep it up and it’ll be arranged. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/77 "2012-10-22T23:27:33Z")
I’m. Cracking. Up. I honestly don’t know the point of any of the posts in this thread, including the OP. But Clocks just made me understand that it is all worth it. I may even go ahead and read the game room thread now. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/78 "2012-10-23T01:36:35Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > **Cartooniverse** Pit threads: recreational outrage on _steroids_! Your quality humor to post ratio is well above the median. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/79 "2012-10-23T02:58:11Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > They are helping out, financially, and quite substantially, cancer patients. You mean, people like Lance Armstrong? > [@Eliahna](#): > > …and81 cents of every dollarraised has gone directly to support our programs and services for survivors."… Survivors like Lance Armstrong? My WAG – $470 million dollars to support 2 cancer survivors – Lance Armstrong, and some hot chick with breast cancer whose breasts he’s managed to save – perhaps in a jar. 3 if each breast counts as a survivor. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521/80 "2012-10-23T03:00:48Z")
Back from work and have read the thread. Look, he’s a fraud. Did some money get raised through fraudulent means? Yes. An indisputable fact. He lied, he cheated. He doped. He rode around with his arms above his head in joyous victory because he cheated. Did others cheat? I don’t know, I don’t care. Do all cyclists dope? I don’t know, I don’t care. THIS person conned millions out of millions of dollars. People- some of whom [want their money back](http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/sns-sports-la-lance-armstrong-donors-money-back,0,2136779.story)- donated. In some cases, they donated millions. We don’t know how much went into real research or directly to survivors/ families opposed to paying fat salaries to board members. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-you-got-cancer-in-your-balls-and-this-entitled-you-to/638521.md?page=5)