I'm not sure how I feel about his illness being made into a major news item. Somehow it smells wrong to me, though I understand that people can learn about various illnesses by following the news stories of famous people who have them. Perhaps someone's life is going to be prolonged as a consequence?
There's a sense in which this society is fairly ruthless concerning people who are regarded as Public Individuals. All health concerns, all marital problems, all history must be made public. I can see the reasons for that but it does seem quite a tough price to pay for having a job with decision-making power.