I have been enjoying your new series this week on “Making a Difference.” Thursday night’s story struck close to home, but in an uncomfortable way.

Our family has been living with lymphoma for the last 7 years, and there seems to be no end in sight. Like the actress my husband, who was 41 years old at the time of his diagnosis, continued to work through his diagnosis and treatment realizing that many others counted on him.

But I question why was this actress was highlighted in a “Making a Difference” segment. I not understand how she is “Making a Difference” for others. I could argue that she actually has done the opposite.

We did not get a diagnosis in hours. Instead it took months of wrong diagnoses and treatment for allergies. We changed doctors twice before someone believed he was sick, and then it took three weeks to schedule the MRI that revealed cancer. After the MRI we were informed about the diagnosis by a phone call where we were not told directly that my husband had cancer, but instructed to get an appointment with an oncologist - who was unable to fit us in for 2 weeks.

So how did this actress move so swiftly move to the front of the line? And how many people did she displace that had been patiently moving through a system that unless you are rich, famous, wealthy, or foreign rarely works as well as it did in her case? How did her surgery get scheduled so fast? We have been able to get surgeries with in a day or two only with established providers and then only by being able to contact the doctor directly. But most of our doctors are unable to see us no matter how urgent in less than two weeks.

Your story depicts a fairy tale of rapid appropriate care that we all would like to believe exists. You also credited early diagnosis to her success. At 45 years old she should have had at least a couple of mammograms by now. Has she? You didn’t say. If she did they didn’t find this and therefore did not contribute to an early diagnosis. If she didn’t she lost an opportunity to find the cancer earlier. It was her celebratory status that got her quickly to a doctor, and maybe even that same celebrity status that got a doctor to listen to her concerns. Finally to top it all off she was lucky enough to be in the US. If she was a nobody in her native England she would have been waiting a queue with every one else.

Having not gotten to see how the medical system usually works, she has a reduced opportunity to make a difference. Some may find her inspiring, some may be an inspiration to her, but some will not find her inspiring – just another celebrity with cancer that got special treatment. This last group of individuals may find themselves saying, “Why me?” - not “Why me, why did I get cancer?”, but “Why me, why didn’t I get treated like that? And it would it have made a difference?”

Her story perpetuates the myth that you will be taken care of, rather than telling the truth – that it is up to you to manage your own care. Someone who makes the lines shorter for all, sees to it that all patients are followed up on promptly, and sees to it that everyone is aware of and has access to screening and treatments - that would be someone “Making a Difference.”

Working with orphans from all sorts of disasters, I am glad to see coverage of the soldiers efforts to help the children where he served. Here at The Winterhawke Foundation as its Director I have been doing this for 16 years out of my own funds, and am now joining with Adopt a Minefield to expand my efforts to help child survivors of past wars, and eleminate the inhumane use of mines in that are left scattered across the countysides by our military and others when the wars end. Those unseen mine kill and maim thusands of children each year generations after the wars are over. I would like to see more coverage of people like the soldier to bring to light that it is not the multi billion dollar charities that are the only ones doing the work, and so often it is us little guys who are the ones really in the fields too busy to do photo ops, and advertise.

Great Idea, please don't stop with the sotries. It is a nice change from all the bad we have to live with to remind us there really are nice people. I would like to nominate someone but don't know how to contact you?

Absolutly loved the stories featured this week. Just an idea for your network, why not run a one hour special, replaying all these stories. It would be a nice "holiday tidings" piece which would be uplifting.

I am especially drawn to this story, as my maiden name happens to be Power(s) Male cousins were in the Fighting 69th in WWI. My first cousin seved in Vietnam and has spent the remainder of his service with the DEA in Bangkok, Thailand where he made a huge difference. His story is told in a book, The Underground Empire". His first name, Michael, was his great-grandfather's name when he emigrated from Tullamore, County Offaly in Ireland about 1888.
I am proud of him and now of you, serving your country and all it's people. Claire Powers Tully

Great idea to give us the "good news" of those who are making a difference by helping the helpless. We loved the feature of the children and the cows and the soldier helping the orphans. Please give us more of these uplifting stories. Just as an aside: Brian Williams is the best! We miss him on the late show he did before he took over for Tom Brokaw.

I have tears in my eyes as I listened to and have just read the story on former Army Capt. Jonathan Powers' work with Iraqui orphans. It is an astonishing story and one that touches my heart, as I have been an educator of you young children in the past, and now work with those college students who are completing their internships. I can feel Capt. Power's feelings about these orphaned children. He is one in millions who has taken on a great responsibility and will help our world by doing this great job. Without a doubt, he is a true American. I congratulation him for his sensitivy and concern for these children! Thanks, Kevin Tibbles for writing this story!!!

We really appreciated this feature and would like to see it every day. Perhaps there are other categories of positive news that could become regular. "Make a Difference" on Mon., "Health success stories" (new drugs, survival stories, etc. on Tues, "Having/Finding a zest in life" Wed. etc.