The Dictatorship
What it’s like watching ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ as a cancer survivor who trusted her doctors
The popular new Netflix series, “Apple Cider Vinegar,” based largely on the true story of Australian wellness influencer and fraudster Belle Gibsonaffected me deeply. Gibson claimed her wellness treatments cured her terminal brain cancer, a brazen and consequential lie that risked the lives of her followers.
As a two-time breast cancer survivor, I know cancer treatments are not for the fainthearted or noncompliant. But they have kept me — and millions of others — alive. Meanwhile, research shows patients who reject or delay the advice of their doctors are much more likely to die.
Today, after an ordeal including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, I am 10 months cancer-free. And free, also, to binge this drama, enraged by the premise.
In the warped world inhabited by so-called wellness warriors, a strong person rejects conformity, and a weak person passively complies with the medical establishment.
In the warped world inhabited by so-called wellness warriors, a strong person rejects conformity, and a weak person passively complies with the medical establishment. This argument distorts the global medical community, twisting “the establishment” into a nefarious moneymaking conspiracy. But while Big Pharma does rake in billions, cancer treatment is not a scam. And influencers who try to lure vulnerable people away from established science are toxic, in every sense of the word. Just as we have seen with Covid deniers and vaccine skepticsdisinformation can kill.
I could not watch any movie, series, program or TEDx talk on cancer while I was in the middle of my own treatments and recovery. There was nothing entertaining about the stories, or the characters — too many of whom died. I just knew I didn’t want to be like them.
When I was first diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer in 2006, I eagerly did everything my surgeon and oncologist told me to do. I got the lumpectomy. I submitted to the prescribed brachytherapy (internal seed radiation) twice daily for one week and many years of Tamoxifena hormone-blocking medication with uncomfortable and inconvenient side effects.
I wanted to live. And I trusted my doctors and medical team wanted me to live as much as I did.
A single mom with sole custody of three sons, then 13, 16 and 18, I wanted to see them all through high school, college, weddings, my grandchildren and my eventual retirement.
Almost two decades later, in June 2023, a second breast cancer identified as triple-negative, invasive, aggressive Stage 3 showed up on my ultrasound. The three tumors measured 7 centimeters all together. Once again, I did absolutely everything my oncologist, surgeon and cardiologist ordered — including eliminating alcohol after reading about the link between drinking and cancer. I also gave up diet soda at the suggestion of my oncologist. Why not?
Because the truth is that cancer is scary. And highly motivating. The other main protagonist in “Apple Cider Vinegar” is Milla Blake, a character who seems at least partly inspired by a real woman named Jessica Ainscough. Diagnosed with a rare cancer in her early 20s, Ainscough eventually stopped chemo and adopted an intense (and unproven) regimen of juices and coffee enemas. I deeply empathized with her honesty, vulnerability and courage as she searched for answers. She was aiming to fight for herself, not build a wellness empire based on lies.
But Ainscough also reportedly convinced her mother to forgo doctor recommendations and try the alternative therapy route. Her mother died from breast cancer in 2013. Ainscough would succumb to her own cancer a few years later. A tragedy layered on top of a tragedy.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2022, the latest year numbers are available, over 600,000 people in the United States died from cancer. There are 18 million people with a history of cancer who are still alive, according to the American Cancer Society.
Survival rates vary by cancer type, diagnosis timeline and various other personal variants. But the overall five-year survival rate for breast cancer in women is 90% — if those women follow the recommended surgery, chemotherapy and radiation protocol.
On the other hand, the Mayo Clinic notes that alternative treatments may be able to help with some symptoms, but they are not cures. If they were, doctors would use them.
As accurately presented in the series by screenwriter Samantha Strauss, chemotherapy is almost intolerable; my own treatments were cut short and surgery for a radical mastectomy moved up more than three months because my system could not handle the stress.
I also went completely bald, just as the character Lucy did in the series. I wore a wig for a bit, until my hair began to grow back months after radiation ended. Chemo gave me mouth sores and made everything taste like gasoline; I ultimately lost more than 30 pounds.
And still, I listened to the experts. Any anger I felt was directed at my cancer, not at my doctors. Unlike in most every other aspect of my professional and personal life, when dealing with cancer, I was completely obedient.
A number of my friends have had their own cancer experiences, and I adamantly advise them to do everything their doctors and nurses recommend. I darkly joke that I spent my 30s sending flowers to my friends in hospitals having babies; in my 60s, I send flowers to my friends in hospitals having surgeries.
Ultimately, the tragedies presented in “Apple Cider Vinegar” are real. But there is nothing inherently weak about following the science. And nothing inherently brave about ignoring it.
Michele Weldon is an award-winning journalist, author, TEDx speaker, emerita faculty at Northwestern University and senior leader with The OpEd Project. Her latest book is “The Time We Have: Essays on Pandemic Living.”
Rep. Mike Collins won Georgia’s Republican Senate primary runoff Tuesday, defeating former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley.
Now, he will have the far larger task of knocking off Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in one of the most competitive Senate race this election cycle.
The runoff was triggered after Collins and Dooley each failed to win a majority in the May 19 primary, forcing a second round in a contest that Republicans view as one of their best opportunities to flip a Democratic-held Senate seat in 2026. President Donald Trump endorsed Collins over the weekend, boosting his chances in the runoff.
Collins, a congressman representing Georgia’s 10th District, finished first in the primary. The trucking company owner and staunch ally of Trump built his campaign around support for the president’s agenda, border security, immigration enforcement and conservative cultural issues. Collins sought to portray himself as a proven conservative fighter with experience in Washington and strong ties to the Republican base.
Dooley, meanwhile, leaned on his name recognition as a former college football coach and member of one of Georgia’s most prominent political families. His father, Vince Dooley, was the legendary University of Georgia football coach and athletic director. Although Dooley has never held elected office, he has campaigned as a political outsider capable of attracting independent and swing voters in a general election.
Collins argued that Republicans need a candidate with a proven conservative record and close ties to Trump. Dooley has countered that his outsider status and broader appeal would make him a stronger challenger in November.
But some Republicans are worried about Collins, including his hardline stance on abortion rights and an Office of Congressional Conduct probe into his office’spotential misuse of resources that the Republican lawmaker has referred to as a “nothing burger.”
His social media tonewhich includes severely downplayingthe U.S. Capitol attack where some pro-Trump rioters injured members of law enforcement, gives credence to the president’s view of him as a “a true Friend, Fighter, and WARRIOR,” as Trump wrote in his post endorsing Collins.
But those sentiments also spotligh a few of the vulnerabilities for a statewide candidate coming from a reliably red congressional district.
Collins will now face Ossoff, who is seeking a second term after winning a pair of runoff elections in 2021 that helped Democrats gain control of the Senate. Since taking office, Ossoff has built a national fundraising network. His re-election campaign has emphasized lowering costs for families, protecting access to healthcare, supporting economic development and promoting government accountability.
In a statement published shortly after Collins’ win, Ossoff called the congressman a “notorious bigot” who was under federal investigation.
“Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate Mike Collins is a notorious bigot, antisemite, and extremist currently under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars,” Ossoff said. “Collins, who is only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman, voted to double health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians, for the Iran War, and for the Trump tariffs.”
The House Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that Collins used government funds to benefit an aide.
Georgia remains a key battleground state heading into the midterm elections. Once considered a reliably Republican stronghold, the state has become increasingly competitive over the past decade.
Republicans see Georgia as one of their strongest pickup opportunities in a midterm cycle where control of the Senate could once again hinge on a handful of closely contested races. Democrats, meanwhile, are expected to invest heavily to protect Ossoff’s seat, viewing him as a key part of the party’s future.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at BLN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.
Senate Republicans are still waiting for details of the preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement. But they’re already making one thing clear: Congress should have a vote on any final deal.
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf signed a memorandum of understanding on Monday, formally giving the two countries 60 days to negotiate an agreement.
While there’s a healthy dose of skepticism about the deal and whether it will actually materialize, Republicans want a say on the eventual agreement.
“If there is a final deal, and I hope there is, it should come to the Senate for approval,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters on Tuesday.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said if the final agreement is a treaty — and it “sounds like a treaty,” he said — then it “certainly seems like” the deal should be subject to a vote by Congress.
And Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, echoed his colleagues.
For now, it appears Trump agrees with Senate Republicans.
During a bilateral meeting at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in France on Tuesday, Trump suggested he would be open to sending the eventual deal to Congress. “I wouldn’t mind,” he said.
“I never thought about sending. Never even thought about it,” Trump added. “But I will — I will send it to Congress. I like the idea.”
Trump’s comments quickly made their way to Washington, where Republican senators like Lindsey Graham and Roger Marshall repeatedly pointed out that Trump said he would give Congress a vote.
“I hope he does,” Marshall said.
Despite the GOP desire for a vote, it’s far from clear Congress will ever hold one. For starters, the talks could fall apart before a final agreement is reached. And if the deal ultimately resembles elements of the Obama-era accord that Republicans long opposed, GOP leaders may be reluctant to force lawmakers into a politically fraught vote — particularly if Democrats line up against it.
The dynamic highlights a familiar tension on Capitol Hill.
For years — decades, even — lawmakers have talked about replacing the sweeping 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force with a more targeted authorization. The law has been used to justify dozens of military operations in more than 22 countries. But when it comes time to take ownership of a new war authorization, many in Congress seem content to defer to the president and the nearly 25-year-old law.
To be sure, there were some GOP voices on Tuesday who suggested a vote on Trump’s emerging Iran deal isn’t needed.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., argued that a law signed amid the debate over the Obama-era deal never explicitly required a vote — just congressional review.
“You might decide your opinion is we should vote on it, but there is no requirement that we do,” Schmitt said.
And some other Republican senators kept their cards close to their vest, insisting they need more information on the deal before asserting that a vote is necessary.
“Everybody’s got to see what it is first,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said. “None of us have seen it.”
Pressed on whether he wants a vote, regardless of the terms of the deal, the Oklahoma Republican offered a congressional truth: “It depends on what the deal is.”
Part of the insistence on a vote, Republicans say, is because the Iran nuclear deal brokered under President Barack Obama — formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA — wasn’t affirmed by Congress. That allowed Trump to singlehandedly dismantle it during his first administration.
This time, lawmakers say they want a deal to outlast the Trump presidency.
Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said Congress should “absolutely” vote on the final agreement, if negotiators reach one.
“That was one of the problems with President Obama’s deal,” Curtis said.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he thought it “makes more sense” to have Congress give any agreement its stamp of approval, pointing to Obama’s now defunct deal.
“Obama made a mistake when he didn’t do the work to have it rise to a level of a treaty, and I believe that we should here, otherwise it’s only good for two and a half years,” Tillis said.
“Why don’t we do the hard work of making sure that it has staying power?” he added.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle — particularly Republicans — would be happy to approve an Iran peace agreement that advances U.S. interests. Republicans are inclined to support Trump, and few lawmakers seem eager to prolong the Iran “excursion,” as the president has put it.
But approving a deal that’s less-than-stellar for the United States isn’t such a popular prospect. And congressional leaders might hesitate to put the agreement up for a vote out of fear that lawmakers may shoot it down.
A failed vote would put Trump and the United States in a difficult position.
Just having to vote on the deal could put lawmakers in a tough political spot of their own — and right before the midterm elections.
If the final agreement ends up resembling the Obama-era JCPOA, Republicans could be forced to either support a deal they’ve long criticized or risk drawing Trump’s ire. Neither choice is ideal.
Meanwhile, if Democrats vote against a final deal, they could face accusations that they don’t want the war to end. Some Republicans see political value in forcing Democrats to take a position.
“When there’s a deal, of course, put the Democrats on record,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, told MS NOW.
But if the final deal is one Republicans don’t love, don’t expect the agreement to come before Congress.
Already on Monday, several Republicans expressed nervousness about the early contours of a deal, as described in press reports about a yet-to-be released memorandum of understanding. And on Tuesday, the top Senate Republican — John Thune of South Dakota — said he had still not been briefed on the contents of the memorandum.
A handful of Republicans revealed to reporters that they had been in touch with senior U.S. officials to get some of their questions answered.
Moreno, for instance, said he was given some details about the agreement on Monday from Vice President JD Vance and White House peace envoy — and Trump son-in-law — Jared Kushner.
Asked about the delay in revealing the preliminary memorandum, Moreno insisted the Trump administration was just being “methodical,” in part so as not to upend the internal politics in Iran.
“It’s not going to kill everybody to just take a breath and wait until Friday,” Moreno said.
Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW.
Kevin Frey is a congressional reporter for MS NOW.
Healthcare executive Rick Jackson clinched the Republican gubernatorial nomination on Tuesday, pulling off a win over Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and securing a spot in the November election against Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms.
The pair advanced from the Republican primary after neither candidate secured the majority needed to avoid a runoff on May 19.
The contest came as Republicans seek to hold the governor’s mansion in a state that has become one of the country’s premier political battlegrounds. Gov. Brian Kemp is term-limited and cannot seek re-election, creating the first open governor’s race in Georgia since 2018. Kemp threw his weight behind Jones over the weekend.
Jackson, a businessman who entered politics as an outsider candidatesought to position himself as an alternative to career politicians. His campaign focused heavily on economic issues, government spending and opposition to what he describes as establishment politics.
Jackson has argued that Republicans need a nominee who can energize voters frustrated with the political system. He has also attempted to appeal to conservatives who want a candidate outside Georgia’s existing political leadership structure.
The runoff highlights divisions within the Georgia Republican Party over the direction of the state’s conservative movement after Kemp’s tenure. While both candidates embraced many of the same conservative policy positions, they have differed over experience, electability and the future of Republican leadership in the Peach State.
The race also attracted attention because of Georgia’s importance ahead of the midterms. Democrats have made significant gains in the state over the past decade, winning presidential and Senate races while turning Georgia into a key battleground. Republicans, however, have continued to perform strongly in statewide races, including Kemp’s decisive re-election victory in 2022.
Bottoms, who served as Atlanta’s mayor from 2018 to 2022 and later worked in the Biden administration, secured the Democratic nomination and is preparing for a competitive general election campaign. Democrats view the open-seat contest as an opportunity to regain control of the governor’s office for the first time in more than two decades.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at BLN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.
- Mike Collins wins Georgia GOP Senate primary runoff to face Ossoff
- GOP senators say they want a vote on an Iran deal — for now
- Senate threatens to freeze Hegseth’s travel in bid for boat strike videos, Iran school strike probe
- Rick Jackson wins Georgia GOP governor runoff, will face Bottoms in November
- Mike Collins wins Georgia GOP Senate primary runoff to face Ossoff
- Judge disciplined over courthouse sex recuses herself in Georgia election case
- Jeffries asks Rubio to help World Cup star secure mother’s visa to watch match
- Rick Jackson wins Georgia GOP governor runoff, will face Bottoms in November
- Congressional staff visit prison facility where Ghislaine Maxwell is held
- White House’s Anthropic move jolts Congress back into the AI debate
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