Mark Ruffalo - Actor

[lthompson]

His surgeon was Dr. Golfinos (NYU).  I was there last year speaking with Dr. Golfinos and I had heard that he was operated on at NYU and wanted to know if he was the surgeon and he said yes.  He didn't go into any details other than he is very pleased with his outcome.  If anyone finds out when it will be replayed on Bravo, please let us know.  Thanks.

[Desilu]

Hi All,

I watched the show and found in very interesting but wished he would have talked more about his recovery. He never mentions that he is deaf on the left side. He did say it took him 10 months before he was back working again. I wonder how big his tumor was and what approach the doctors used on him?

I totally agree with Mark when he said (not his exact words) We need to be thankful for everything that we have and not take so many things for granted. Most of us that have had surgery have felt this way. I'm sure that others that have had Gamma or Cyber Knife have probably felt this way after their treatments have ended also.

Wouldn't it be kind of neat if we could get him to be a spokeperson for the Acoustic Neuroma Association?   Ann

[goinbatty]

This article states he lost hearing in the AN ear.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=181566

[mar50]

According to bravotv.com, there's a re-broadcast Thursday, March 21 at 1 a.m.  I don't see it again on the schedule for the next few weeks.

[superrmaren]

it is airing thursday 3-22 at 1 pm et.
gonna have to tape that one!
xox

[msuscottie]

Not sure if you guys saw this article about Mark, but it's about his new movie and his tumor ...

http://thebraingang.wordpress.com/2008/10/03/movie-hits-close-to-home-for-ruffalo/

[jazzfunkanne]

What size was his tumour does anyone know?

[robynabc]

Mark Ruffalo said his tumor was the size of a walnut.  I think that would be what, 3.0 CM?  I have always disliked his way of talking about his tumor.  He won't ever say it was an AN and he says and acts like he doesn't know it was an AN and that he doesn't understand why he had facial paralysis and deafness.  It feels like he is sort of just playing it up a little.  Now,  I admit how do you play up a brain tumor and brain surgery.  I just mean he describes it sort of funny.  Maybe he wasn't told that it was an AN.  I don't know.  Just my weird take on it.

[leapyrtwins]

Robyn -

IMO Mark doesn't really want to go into a lot of detail about his AN because it's not something he wants to publicize.  I guess there's some concern about what it possibly does for his career 

Oh, well. 

Who needs Mark to be our AN spokesman, when we've got LA David who's proud to say he's one of us 

Thanks for doing us proud, David 

Jan

[robynabc]

You know I think you are right so I try not to judge.  If you have to be careful with your career.  Plus,  just think how hard it was to have facial paralysis for a year.  He had to turn down a big picture and didn't know if he was going to act again.  I should give him a big break,  and I am.  Okay,  I give,  who are you LA David?

Robyn

[leapyrtwins]

Don't even tell me you missed David's article in the latest issue of the ANA Newsletter 

Jan

[robynabc]

Oh my.  I didn't read it.      I don't have it either.   Please, please fill me in.  I am so curious now.

[Tumbleweed]

I have always disliked his way of talking about his tumor.  He won't ever say it was an AN and he says and acts like he doesn't know it was an AN and that he doesn't understand why he had facial paralysis and deafness. 

Unless and until you are in his shoes (being famous), you really can't know what he's going through. He's obviously uncomfortable talking about it. And for good reason: if he's not careful, the sensationalistic media will focus obsessively on his tumor and not on his acting career. Imagine having no privacy and everything about your life is fair game for millions of people to see, gossip about and judge (often unfairly).  Would you want to be acknowledged for your skills and your work, or for being sick with a disease that has a big stigma attached to it? I'm sure he goes into each interview planning not to talk about his tumor and the press just hounds him to talk about it because it fascinates the morbid public. Many of us have lamented on this forum about friends and acquaintences (and sometimes family members) who don't understand what we go through. Now multiply that one million times for someone like Ruffalo who is constantly in the public eye, and hopefully you'll begin to understand a little what the pressure is like for him.

He's got a family to support, too. Having a brain tumor is not what's going to get him his next job opportunity (film role). Being a great actor is what he must focus the press' attention on. Also realize that the press regularly misquotes what people say in interviews. What is printed often isn't a direct transcript of the conversation. It is usually condensed down to short excerpts taken out-of-context, and then edited further by someone who didn't even do the interview. So please don't judge him. He is one of us and struggling just like us to keep working in the face of this horrible illness and doing what he loves most in life (acting).

Tumbleweed

[leapyrtwins]

Some very good points, Tumbleweed, but even though I've never been in those "shoes" it seems to me that Mark should be very proud of what he's been through and would want to shout his good news from the rooftops.   It would be one hell of a public service to those "like us".

IMO it would be a little different if he had lasting effects from his AN - and maybe he does and we just don't see them - but he's well past the point where his AN is preventing him from earning him his livelihood.  He's definitely an accomplished actor and that's a very good point for him to make.  He overcame a major stumbling block to get to where he is today and you'd think he'd want to encourage others who are dealing with the same thing (namely an AN) and prove to them that it doesn't mean the end of "life, as we know it".

I'm certain not everyone will agree with me, but this is just my opinion.

Jan 

[Tumbleweed]

Jan, I respectfully disagree. Ruffalo has had a lasting effect from his AN -- SSD. That might very well limit his job opportunities -- if people in the industry regard it as a critical handicap. Perhaps he has trouble hearing fellow actors speaking their lines or the director speaking to him from across a stage set. Besides that, if he is like most of the rest of us, he probably struggles with fatigue, tinnitus and possibly disequilibrium. His disequilibrium, if he suffers from this, may preclude him from taking on roles in action movies. Maybe his facial paralysis hasn't totally resolved itself. He may very well have already gotten passed over for some film roles -- and been dismissed as a candidate for roles on Broadway, for instance -- because of his SSD. The point is he has nothing to gain by focusing other people on his tumor. And, again, unless you were in his shoes, you really really cannot possibly understand his motives. His choices are as valid as the personal treatment choices we validate and honor for everyone on this board. It's his life. He owes nothing to other people simply on the basis of their having the same illness. (I and many others participate in this forum because I want to help others -- and sometimes be helped, as well -- but that's my personal, spiritual choice and not something that should be expected of everyone.) Should we all condemn Paul Newman for not discussing his cancer the last several years of his life?

As for his discussion of his AN being "one hell of a public service to those like us," I just don't see how. It's the knowledgeable people who give advice to newly diagnosed people on this forum that are giving something of value. Mark Ruffalo is just an ordinary person who society has elevated because he's in the media. All things being equal, his views about ANs are no more and no less valuable than that offered by another person with the same experience and knowledge. It is sad to me that people think somehow their lives will be vastly improved if someone famous says they've got the same problem or problems as them. Any boost someone would get from that would be extremely short-lived and disappointing in the end.

You can no more understand Mark Ruffalo's personal and private choices than you can understand what it's like to live in Tasmania.

Respectfully,
Tumbleweed