Amid firestorm created by Austin's cancer secrecy, missed opportunities to build trust and educate

The secrecy surrounding Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s hospitalizations due to prostate cancer surgery set off a political firestorm, launched multiple reviews and triggered calls for his ouster. To some, the uproar may be puzzling or even offensive. An individual’s right to privacy, particularly about medical issues, is sacred. And most people have that right to privacy. But not all. As a member of President Joe Biden’s Cabinet, a key national security adviser and a guardian of the use and maintenance of the country’s nuclear arsenal, Austin gives up some personal privacy.