Woman Fakes Cancer to go to Disney

[RMulieri]

True. But Normal, mentally well balanced people do NOT rape women, stab people, or a whole host of other crimes. Most of the time, we still put them on trial and they end up in jail.

The question is (in my opinion) - was her mental state such that she didn't realise that lying about having cancer and stealing money from people was wrong?

I am not saying that she shouldn't suffer ramifications, she absolutely should...But was pointing out that she may very well be mentally ill, and that mental illness is just as much a disease as others.People don't CHOOSE to be mentally ill, they just are.I think because mental illness and behaviors go together people auto-assume that people can just "quit" the illness and for those that are TRULY mentally ill, or addicted or any other behavior related disease, it is not that simple.

 

[crashbb]

I am not saying that she shouldn't suffer ramifications, she absolutely should...But was pointing out that she may very well be mentally ill, and that mental illness is just as much a disease as others.People don't CHOOSE to be mentally ill, they just are.I think because mental illness and behaviors go together people auto-assume that people can just "quit" the illness and for those that are TRULY mentally ill, or addicted or any other behavior related disease, it is not that simple.

Actually, you said that she IS mentally ill, not that she MIGHT BE mentally ill. I was just pointing out that doing something "normal" people don't do is not, in and of itself, proof that someone is mentally ill.

The rest of your post I do agree with.

 

[RMulieri]

Actually, you said that she IS mentally ill, not that she MIGHT BE mentally ill. I was just pointing out that doing something "normal" people don't do is not, in and of itself, proof that someone is mentally ill.

The rest of your post I do agree with.

Thank you for pointing that out...

 

[bsusanmb]

There is one in the courts here in central PA right now. This was a 50 some year old special ed teacher, and she told the school she had to take a LOA because she had an inoperable brain tumor. (I think is the story)...cancerous tumor. She tried to get a trip to WDW through make a wish, but they denied her because of lack of medical documentation. So the teachers took up a collection and sent her. When she could not present proof of her illness, she wrote her own notes on forged doctor letterhead. The school called this doctor and he said he didn't know who she was. She was arrested. She will serve time in jail for this.

 

[kmk1180]

I am sorry to disagree, but I do.She is sick...Mental illness is SICK..Normal ,mentally well balanced people do NOT lie about having deadly diseases.Does it excuse her behavior? No.Is her behavior abominable? YES..No one is excusing her behavior..But the things you mentioned are real illnesses( addiction is an illness with actual chemical changes in the brain) and to say they aren't is not really fair

Well we'll agree to disagree about this then.
I think your logic could apply to anyone committing a crime.
Mental ill people don't know what they are doing is wrong. This person did. So only regreted it AFTER being caught and Not from getting medical help.
That's not mental illness, that's regret.
People need to be held accountable for their actions and too often those people are excused from their behavoir and real people pay clean it up. And that's hurting everyone.
In this case...what she had to pay back the money? ooh too bad.
You got caught and you have to pay it back!
Gee can I knownly rob a bank if I don't get caught keep the money, if I do just pay it back say sorry my bad guess I have a mental illness.

And as I said about real diseases. You can find a doctor that will she was mentally ill but that doesn't make it true.
You don't choose to have have a disease. You choose to do something wrong.
Two years ago you could find tons of "experts" proving global warming was true. When we were kids science proved to us we had 9 planets in the solar system. Today they prove it's 8.
What will science say about the choice to drink too much or choice to pick up cigerettes 5, 20 years from now?
See my point?
How long do we excuse bad behavoir instead of holding it accountable?

(ps, not fighting, just debating)

 

[Rora]

Disgusting. Seriously.

What's wrong with some people?

 

[jhaig]

If there's such a thing as karma, I hope she gets a full dose of it - repulsive

 

[jking6]

This is appalling as a person that drove my dad for his treatments every day this makes me sick. I watched the pain my father went through with his cancer and it was only a short 6 weeks of h#@* before he passed away. I can not imagine anyone faking this for any reason.
I work hard everyday and save in order to go to Disney. She needs help and I feel sorry for her family and friends who she has lied too. WOW

 

[RMulieri]

Well we'll agree to disagree about this then.
I think your logic could apply to anyone committing a crime.
Mental ill people don't know what they are doing is wrong. This person did. So only regreted it AFTER being caught and Not from getting medical help.
That's not mental illness, that's regret.
People need to be held accountable for their actions and too often those people are excused from their behavoir and real people pay clean it up. And that's hurting everyone.
In this case...what she had to pay back the money? ooh too bad.
You got caught and you have to pay it back!
Gee can I knownly rob a bank if I don't get caught keep the money, if I do just pay it back say sorry my bad guess I have a mental illness.

And as I said about real diseases. You can find a doctor that will she was mentally ill but that doesn't make it true.
You don't choose to have have a disease. You choose to do something wrong.
Two years ago you could find tons of "experts" proving global warming was true. When we were kids science proved to us we had 9 planets in the solar system. Today they prove it's 8.
What will science say about the choice to drink too much or choice to pick up cigerettes 5, 20 years from now?
See my point?
How long do we excuse bad behavoir instead of holding it accountable?

(ps, not fighting, just debating)

Medical Science can actually prove some things that 20 yrs ago we chalked up to bad behavior or impulse control issues. Mental illness, substance abuse are REAL diseases.I work with some of the patients.To say it is something people can stop or change simply Thats like saying Obese people have impulse control issues and can just stop eating and or ADHD isn't real, kids need to sit and pay attention, depressed people need to go out and exercise and snap out of it...Just because diseases don't manifest tangible symptoms that you can overtly see,touch and smell does not make them any less real..I am not saying she should use a mental illness to get herself out of trouble.

 

[larryz]

I lost both my parents to cancer -- neither one of them had the stamina nor desire to spend any of their last hours at Disney.

Pretending to have cancer just to get free stuff... pathetic.

 

[Sadie22]

I dunno, if cashing in your 401(k) only pays for a week at Disney, then you have WAY bigger financial problems than that bit of fiscal mismanagement!

I know of some people who did this and did not know there would be tax consequences from the withdrawl.

 

[Tiger926]

Let's take a look at the bigger picture here...this was not a stunt to get to Disney, that was only part of the whole "scheme". She raised a lot of money for her fake charity and had everyone thinking she was dying. When everyone says this is sick, they are correct..but what it really means is mentally ill. I feel sorry for this woman's family, friends and benefactors that have been affected by this. But, this woman needs help..anyone who is willing to starve themselves, shave their head, eyebrows and pluck their eyelashes to look like a Cancer patient needs mental help. A trip to Disney is the least of everyone's problems IMHO.

Absolutely agree - people with Munchausen syndrome do this all of the time, as mentioned above. Not saying that is what is at play here, as I'm not a doc, but hopefully, this woman will get some type of help, so she doesn't do this again someday in a different form or fashion.

I just lost my beloved aunt to cancer on Christmas - she was only 48, and to watch her suffer was heartbreaking, and, my best friend just lost her dad to cancer at only age 60. I'm not surprised by this as clearly she is not mentally stable. Whether she is diagnosed as having a mental illness by doctors is not relevant, as far as I'm concerned, as anyone who would alter their appearance, deceive, manipulate and lie to sick people, and who steals money, is not mentally stable in my book.

The whole situation is sad all around...Tiger

 

[TLinden16]

THis thread would be a better fit on the theme parks community board, so I'm going to move it there now.

 

[anlashokna]

For those of us who do have cancer and are paying our own way to go to Disney (or pay for treatments or whatever), these people who "fake it" to get something for free just make me . They want sympathy and attention!! I think most of us would rather be healthy and anonymous than have the horrible disease and have attention because of being bald and ill looking. Well, I could go on - but I think I'd better end my rant and let my blood pressure return to normal

But remember not all cancer patients are bald or ill looking. My mother never had to endure chemo so the only outward signs of cancer would be the scars from surgery and that she tired very easily. But to stick to the point..yes I find that someone would fake any serious illness is just outright despicable.

 

[Queenofspoons]

What a horrible thing to do, its just not right, I hope she really gets cancer in the future and learns from her lesson.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

What a horrible thing to do, its just not right, I hope she really gets cancer in the future and learns from her lesson.

WOW...

 

[Queenofspoons]

WOW...

Sorry to go all Maleficent on her, I take back my comment, I hope she just learns her lesson and never lies again.

 

[kmk1180]

Medical Science can actually prove some things that 20 yrs ago we chalked up to bad behavior or impulse control issues. Mental illness, substance abuse are REAL diseases.I work with some of the patients.To say it is something people can stop or change simply Thats like saying Obese people have impulse control issues and can just stop eating and or ADHD isn't real, kids need to sit and pay attention, depressed people need to go out and exercise and snap out of it...Just because diseases don't manifest tangible symptoms that you can overtly see,touch and smell does not make them any less real..I am not saying she should use a mental illness to get herself out of trouble.

I just saying doctors and lawyers will say and testify to anything.
See the thread on the parks board with the woman "suffering from ongoing "injuries" such as severe pain, mental anxiety, anguish, and physical problems ranging from nausea and digestive problems to headaches and cold sweats.
because she claims Donald Duck gropped her.

Her claim aside, she got a lawyer and a doctor to support that.

And that's why I think claiming smoking and drinking addition is a disease is bogus attempt to get someone else to pay the bill to fix it instead of accepting responsiblity for their own actions.
If they did, they would have to pay for it.
A lawyer will say it to get money from a law suit.
A doctor will say it to avoid liablity.
People accept it so insurance will cover it or be able to go to a "free clinic" (nothings free someone is paying something, usually it's taxpayers)

Point is it's more about money than actually being a disease.

Take a look, suddenly everything is a disease that needs doctors to prescribe something for.
RLS (restless leg sydrome) Please...stop drinking so much caffine right before going to bed.

It's about money.

That's MHO.

In this case it's easier to say she sick that to accept she's selfish.
Again point out she wasn't sorry till she got caught.
And without any medical help suddenly acknowledges it was wrong.
Sorry I don't believe she is mentally ill. Just a selfish shallow person.

Truth is there's alot of just not very nice people out there. And they do bad things. That doesn't make them mentally ill. They just don't care.

Yes I agree she should be punished.