"Just the facts, ma'am."

Some years ago there was a program on television called Dragnet. One of the detectives in the show would say “Just the facts, ma’am.”

So, here are the facts.

In October of 2014 I was told my cancer had metastasized to my bones. A malignant tumor had been found in my right hip. Since then I’ve had six radiation treatments and they have helped considerably with my pain.

About two months ago, I began having pain in my right hip, along the top of my right thigh, and in the lower part of my pelvis . . . the sit bones. I made a call to the radiation oncologist in Billings and appointments were set up for a CT scan and a meeting with the oncologist.

The scan showed a small fracture that just about touches the ball of my right hip joint. It also revealed two new spots, very small ones, in my lower pelvis. After meeting with two oncologists and an orthopedic surgeon who is quite experienced with joint replacement in people with cancer, it was decided that the only solution was a total hip replacement. Some time after the surgery I will have radiation treatments on my pelvis.

So on Wednesday, Sept. 23, I will have a total hip replacement done in Billings. I will be in the hospital for three to four days afterwards. Where I go after being released to the hospital depends on how well I do following surgery. I may be allowed to come home or I may have to be in a rehab facility for a couple of weeks.

Now on to a different subject.

Recently I saw a commercial that in my opinion was just plain bad. It began with a man opening a door and seeing his wife suddenly sit up in bed. With a surprised look on his face, he commented that his suspicions about her had been right. A little farther on in the commercial showed a piece of a well-known candy that had been hiding under the covers.

How disgusting is this commercial, I thought. Using a product loved by children and I’m sure many adults in a sexually oriented commercial. Why? Will that particular commercial really sell more of the product? Is it absolutely necessary to use sex to sell the product?

One year when I was teaching high school students in Sunday school, I asked the students to make note during the week of how many commercials they saw on television that used sexual overtones to sell a product.

The following week the students brought their lists to class. As we went over them, the students were shocked at what they had seen. Several of them commented they had never realized how many commercials there were that used sex to sell products.

I wondered then how many people, children and adults, were unaware of what they were seeing in the commercials. Granted, young children don’t realize what they are seeing but when you get to the upper elementary grades and beyond young people certainly do understand.

Perhaps it is way past time that the manufacturers of products using sex in their commercials be inundated with letters of protest. There are thousands of ways to promote products. Sex doesn’t have to be one of them.