So Jack saw an x-ray that told him that a ~40 year old man on the island (it could be anyone, even one of the Losties, since the Others have so much information) has a tumor.

I want to think Locke. We saw how Rose's cancer was "disabled" by the island earlier in Season 2. Perhaps this is the same thing that happened to Locke at the beginning of the series. Perhaps he had a cancerous spinal tumor, paralyzing him, and the island "disabled" his tumor or something and allowed him to walk. This x-ray might be from back before Locke landed on the island.

But, 40 is a little too young for Locke. It could just be one of the others'. What do you think?

Another question would be I wonder if the x-ray is a file they got from any one of the Losties. Or if the x-ray was taken of either Jack, Kate or Sawyer. Sawyer's 35.. I think Jack's older. I would love it to be Jack's tumor.

Yeah, I'm thinkin' Locke, too, even though he's obviously in his 50s. Mebbe age is hard to tell very accurately in an x-ray.

I think it's Ben's. I think that was the point of Jack's line: "Who am I here to save". Also in the end when Ben was citing that book he said something about ..(paraphrasing) " being alone until you're sick",

im thinking a tumor on your spine would somewhat affect your mobility or something

im thinking a tumor on your spine would somewhat affect your mobility or something

Depends on the size though. Tumors as large as a person's hand can go undetected, and judging from those X-rays, it looked small.

I'm going to say Ben.

I think it's Ben's. I think that was the point of Jack's line: "Who am I here to save". Also in the end when Ben was citing that book he said something about ..(paraphrasing) " being alone until you're sick",


Oh, it's from Of Mice and Men.. I've never read the book, but will have to do some research!

I think it's Ben also because of the line at the end but the Locke idea is really good! We might know now why they brought Jack (he's a spinal surgeon) but I don't uderstand why they took Sawyer and Kate... maybe to get to Jack?

unless of course it is the island that enables tumor boy to walk

When we look to see who is in their 40's male or female who is on the list?

It would have to be one of the Others xrays, why would the Others be concerned if one of the Losties had a tumor?? They did say it was a male, right? I guess Ben would be the obvious choice, but wouldn't it be something if it was Pickett? And Jack was going to operate and save the guy who's girlfriend he couldn't save??

I definitely don't think that the tumor belongs to one of our Losties. I think that was confirned by what Jack said.

wow.. i didn't think locke.. it would be big irony if it was jack... but it could be benry ot tom.

unless of course it is the island that enables tumor boy to walk

Interesting thought. Together with what Ben said about taking Jack back home if he did what he was asked, kind of makes me think Ben can't leave the island until the tumor is removed. Maybe anywhere else he would be in a wheelchair. Of course, it depends on whether or not you believe in the island's mojo.;)

It must be Ben's. That's the only person who I think it would fit...

...besides Juliet.

My first thought was it could be Sawyer. After all, they had him on a table that is much like an xray table, and he was having headaches last season. Also why would they care so much that he didn't run away?

My second thought was Jack, he would have to train someone to operate on him...ironic, he fixes everyone but not able to fix himself. Hmm, maybe this thought is better..


I don't think it is Benjamin, that seems too obvious, especially since they cut right to him after Jack said "you have a brain tumor that will kill you.."

I don't think it is Locke, too old. Anyone else, unlikely.

My husband is a doctor, and he looked closely at the x-rays. He thinks the tumor is in the L2 vertabrea, not L4/L5 like Jack said, but whatever. Details details!

Doesn't look like the Others had anesthesia for Colleen. Doing spinal surgery without that is gonna suck!

"It's not a toooo-mah" sorry...always love to quote Arnold!

I think it's Ben's...I think that may explain why he risked getting captured by the Losties. He's terminal unless he can find a spinal surgeon...so why not risk it?

Also...Benry mentioned making a deal with Jack....perhaps the deal is..."Fix me...and I'll take you home".

unless of course it is the island that enables tumor boy to walk
Oh, missed this comment before. Really good point. Maybe anywhere else in the world the tumor would grow fast enough to kill the person.

From the preview:
But if Ben really WAS born on the island, then how did he ever get a tumor in the first place?

maybe it is ben, making a deal with Jack...good thoughts about the island mojo.

Nah, it's Ben, for sure. The Others are too arrogant and condescending to do anything "nice" for our Lostaways. And besides, remember how Danny said, "It's THEM"? They definitely keep themselves separate from our gang, so they wouldn't want to help them.
Besides, how would they get X-rays of Locke? That would mean they'd have to go out of their way, wouldn't it?

From the preview:
But if Ben really WAS born on the island, then how did he ever get a tumor in the first place?

You mean because of Rose?

well it was obviously ben according to the preview


***MOD edit...PLEASE use spoiler font when discussing previews***

I think it's Benry's, that creates a lot of tension - the leader of one camp is forced to save the leader of the other camp, whom he despises. However, is benry only 40? He seems older.

I think it's Ben's

I thought I saw Jack talking to Ben about it in the preview, but it could have been those mischievous adwizards

And Ben seems to spend a lot of time on island # 2, away from the mysterious properties of our island.

So Jack saw an x-ray that told him that a ~40 year old man on the island (it could be anyone, even one of the Losties, since the Others have so much information) has a tumor.

I want to think Locke. We saw how Rose's cancer was "disabled" by the island earlier in Season 2. Perhaps this is the same thing that happened to Locke at the beginning of the series. Perhaps he had a cancerous spinal tumor, paralyzing him, and the island "disabled" his tumor or something and allowed him to walk. This x-ray might be from back before Locke landed on the island.

But, 40 is a little too young for Locke. It could just be one of the others'. What do you think?

The x-ray might have belong to one of the others. Danny could be around about 40 years old...or maybe the x-ray belong to Desmond.

Friendly MOD reminder...when discussing previews...you must use the spoiler font..thanks!

I'm just going to add my voice to the it's-not-Ben chorus. That's too obvious IMO, though I don't necessarily have a better idea. If it was Juliet, it might be a Sarah parallel, especially given the pending love connection. (BTW, is that a canon spoiler, or just a rumor? I never seem to know.)

That would mean they'd have to go out of their way, wouldn't it?

Ya mean like getting the death certificate of someone's father from australia? ;)

I just re-watched the promo and Jack was speaking very bluntly, and it seemed almost harsh, saying "You have a tumor that's going to kill you." I don't think he would be so harsh if he were speaking to Sawyer, and I don't see how any of the other Losties could get to his cell so quickly. It's gotta be one of the Others.

This is just kind of confusing because it seems like it was Ben who convinced Locke to stop pushing the button. I guess we still aren't clear about why Ben got captured and taken back to The Swan, but it seemed to me that it was to stop Locke from pressing the button. I'm sure that healing force is what's allowing the person with the tumor to still be mobile at this point. I'm inclined to think that it's Ben, but it is kind of weird that he's punching Sawyer and hiking up mountains.

But if Ben really WAS born on the island, then how did he ever get a tumor in the first place?

That's a really good question. Does each island have different healing properties? Maybe the one with the Hydra on it has *more* healing properties than the Losties' island.

I think it's Benry's, that creates a lot of tension - the leader of one camp is forced to save the leader of the other camp, whom he despises. However, is benry only 40? He seems older.

Yes, I agree. I think it is probably Ben's. I don't think Ben is much older than 40. Maybe 45. Not yet 50. So I think they could be his.

I'm just going to add my voice to the it's-not-Ben chorus. That's too obvious IMO, though I don't necessarily have a better idea. If it was Juliet, it might be a Sarah parallel, especially given the pending love connection. (BTW, is that a canon spoiler, or just a rumor? I never seem to know.)

Oh that's an intereseting parallel. Good thought. And Juliet was so shook up that Colleen died. If it's her, then maybe she's really shook up that she could die.

As for your spoiler question not spoiler-canon. Just rumor.

That's a really good question. Does each island have different healing properties? Maybe the one with the Hydra on it has *more* healing properties than the Losties' island.
Or maybe it has healing properties, but not preventing-illness-in-the-first-place properties.

Who the heck knows?

Thanks for that clarification, LostLaura.

I'm in agreeance that it's not Ben. Ben is 50ish, not around 40. But I don't get who it is. If it's not one of The Others, why bring Jack to Otherville? To tell him he can't operate on whichever lostaway it is? It certainly can't be JACK with the tumor, cuz Jack can't operate on himself, and there was
that line in the promo, where Jack said HE is going to die if it isn't operated on--HE, meaning some other guy. Unless Ben hasn't told him yet. And I doubt that.
Hope THIS mystery gets solved in the next two weeks. Please?

isn't it kinda revealed in the preveiw after the show that it's Benry?

I think the preveiw for next week showed too much... but then again it concerned the next two episodes.

I edited this to add spoiler tags

Its great that its ben because now they are putting the "leader" of the others life into Jacks hands

Concerning the healing properties of the island, perhaps the cancer is over-regenerated tissue? That is basically what a tumor is, a malicious growth.

The argument that it can't be Locke or Benry because they are probably at least 50 doesn't really hold up. That X-ray could have been taken years ago, when the tumor was first discovered. It could be anyone around 40 or older. It could be Zeke.

I think it's probably Benry though.

I think it's Ben's. I think that was the point of Jack's line: "Who am I here to save". Also in the end when Ben was citing that book he said something about ..(paraphrasing) " being alone until you're sick",

Bingo. . Dont let the fact that the actor is 50 throw you. That makes no sense..this is TV.

BTW..It is without question that its NOT sawyer. You dont mention ages(Sawyer 35)..unless you are clearly making a distinction that it not him

about healing properties. I didnt see any of the people getting shot healed--or those with their necks snapped, sawyers infection got worse not better. Liz didnt recover. I think that was just a plot point they wanted to go with in the beginning(as with many mystic Island stories) but they abandoned it. The big healings occured from things that happened before they got to the island...but who knows..they could write up any reason for it..But I dont see it being a big plot point now.

B

Maybe the island is sort of a double-edged sword. Apparently it can heal some things (although there is no definate proof that it does heal. we don't know if it actually healed Locke and Rose), but maybe it can be disruptive too. Doesn't radiation cause cancer and tumors? Maybe electromagnetic radiation can do that too, especially if you've been around it for a long time.

We can attempt to use the process of elimination, but normal rules don't apply on this show. Here's some guesswork:

* I think Jack is on to the truth when he says that it's no coincidence that he's a spinal surgeon and has somehow ended up in a place that has an x-ray with someone who clearly needs his expertise. To me, that indicates that whoever has the tumor is there, not with the Losties. That means it's an Other.

* If Jack's medical opinion can be trusted, the x-ray belongs to a man in his 40s. That rules out any female we've seen amongst the Others, including Juliet.

* That leaves Ben, Tom, Pickett, or someone that hasn't been identified yet. The previews clearly show Jack having a conversation with the person who the x-ray belongs to.

To me, all signs point towards Ben. I think we sometimes have a tendancy to overthink the minutae that we're fed concerning this show, when in reality Ocham's Razor should apply.

When Jack looked at the X-rays, he said that they belonged to a 40-year old man. There was a tumor on his (spine?). We know Sawyer claimed to be 35, but we also know him to be a con man. Do the x-rays belong to Sawyer?

If so, did the Others discover this while he was (getting the pacemaker?). Did they mean for Jack to see the X-rays, or was Ben's reluctance in letting Jack in to the room a genuine response, i.e., Ben didn't want Jack to see the X-rays?

What do you guys think? :)

Ben and Tom are clearly past 40. Pickett is about that. Sawyer or.....Jack himself?

The first person I thought of when those X-rays were shown was Locke, but he'd have no reason to be on that separate island.

Maybe he's experiencing a John Travolta in 'Phenomenon' type thing where the tumor in his spine is actually helping him.

I had the same feeling - maybe it's NOT one of the Others. What if it is Sawyer? I'm assuming they probably knocked him out at some point and could have taken the x-rays without him even knowing.

Poor Sawyer - he's always getting the worst of it, isn't he??? :frown:

i think they'll be benry's.

Can you really tell someones age from an xray? I mean you could tell a child or an adolescent or maybe an elderly person, but what would be the difference from a 30 yr old and a 45 yr old?

I dont think this is a spoiler, becaus it was in the preview, but...

jack said somthing to ben along the lines of "if i don't get rid of that tumor you are going to die."

Right now I'm thinking either Ben or Sawyer. Ben seems like the kinda guy who'd want Jack to be captured and tortured and all, just for his own good. But Sawyer...seems to be more close by age...Ben looks much older than 50...

My take

Its Benry, I'd put money on it.

*Bad Arnold Impersonation*

ITS NOT A TOOMMA!

My problem with Benry having the tumor, is since when do they reveal important plot points in the previews? They have mislead us before, but never really given us very much truth to my recollection.

While the classic save-the-arch-villan-to-save-your-friends scenario with Jack is archetypal, I think they wouldn't have given us as much as they did in the preview without making that a twist.

Well if Benry is the guy with the tumor, that would be an interesting explaination of why he set himself up to be captured by the Losties in the first place. Before trying to bring Jack to the others, Benry tried bringing himself to Jack.

Another possibility is Michael. He was told to head on a bearing of 325 in the boat -- perhaps that bearing leads to the smaller island, and he's been picked up by the Others. His and Walt's "rescue" as promised by Ben is being "saved" by Jack.

Just throwing it out there -- I'd actually prefer it to be someone we haven't met yet, like someone from the Orientation films such as Alvar Hanso. But my money's on Locke -- I think that next episode he'll be heading across the island and then the final episode will have Jack operating on him.

Remember that in "Duex ex Machina", when Locke and Boone first try to get into the hatch, Locke gets a shard of metal in his leg and doesn't feel it, and then later loses the use of his legs -- whatever's going on with his legs, I don't think he's been fully "healed" by the island.

Well if Benry is the guy with the tumor, that would be an interesting explaination of why he set himself up to be captured by the Losties in the first place. Before trying to bring Jack to the others, Benry tried bringing himself to Jack.

hmmm, interesting point.

Originally Posted by penyours
I think it's Benry's, that creates a lot of tension - the leader of one camp is forced to save the leader of the other camp, whom he despises.
Oh yes, that would bring some tension to the Island, wouldn't it? I like it.


I have to grin a bit as I read over discussions of how old/young Ben looks...as most people will tell ya, it's all in the eye of the beholder. Meaning, if you're a young person, say, 20s, then Ben will seem much older to you than if you're in your 40s or 50s... Just a side-note that "old me" couldn't resist typing! :)
100%
...someone from the Orientation films such as Alvar Hanso.

Oh, I like that! My vote is for Hanso.
except....I just remembered. Isn't he supposed to be, like 70ish? Not in his 40s, surely. Perhaps I'm just remembering wrong...or thinking Hanso looked 70 cuz I'm just [...undisclosed age here...:lipsseal: ] myself. LOL

Is there a screen shot of the radiograph? I, too, thought that the x-ray was too far forward to show L4 and wondered how you judge age on a radiograph. Does anyone know what is lost at L4?

I think it's Juliet, despite the fact that Jack said it was the x-ray of a 40 year-old man. It was pretty much just the l-spine, and Jack didn't examine it that carefully or closely (you could see the mass several yards away). Can you always differentiate sex so definitively without close inspection on an l-spine x-ray? I don't know. If not, my money's on Juliet. It gives Ben a more interesting role in this. I think she wants off the island, but perhaps it's inoperable.

It all goes back to my theory a week or so back that the Other's are Sick and can't leave the Island because of it's powers. So along comes Jack and he can save Ben and they can go "HOME" together.

I have to grin a bit as I read over discussions of how old/young Ben looks...as most people will tell ya, it's all in the eye of the beholder. Meaning, if you're a young person, say, 20s, then Ben will seem much older to you than if you're in your 40s or 50s... Just a side-note that "old me" couldn't resist typing! :)


I agree. But I think it's kind of laughable that Ben wouldn't let Sawyer get away with shaving three years off his life if he's portraying himself as forty. He's fifty if he's a day. But as someone said, this may very well be an old x-ray. If they don't have a working crash cart on the island, what are the odds that the Hydra has a functional radiology lab?

I think it's Ben also because of the line at the end but the Locke idea is really good! We might know now why they brought Jack (he's a spinal surgeon) but I don't uderstand why they took Sawyer and Kate... maybe to get to Jack?


If it is indeed Ben with the Tumor then it is likely he captured those three so Jack could perform the surgery and Ben could use Sawyer and Kate as leverage to get Jack to do it.

I agree. But I think it's kind of laughable that Ben wouldn't let Sawyer get away with shaving three years off his life if he's portraying himself as forty. ...
If they don't have a working crash cart on the island, what are the odds that the Hydra has a functional radiology lab?
Good points, both of them.
And did Ben say that to Sawyer cuz he knew that S would automatically lie about his age? Heck, Ben probably thinks S. will automatically lie about just about anything that the Others ask of him.
I would, in his situation! Give away as little as possible.
If only he'd known that the Pearl watched the Swan...then he might intuit that they're being watched now.

I think it's Juliet... Can you always differentiate sex so definitively without close inspection on an l-spine x-ray?
Something about how the hips are formed in a female skeleton, I believe. We're wider. (whether we want to admit it or not!) *g*

Does anyone know what is lost at L4?
I don't know what is lost per se, but I do know it's rather low on the spine, closer to the hip region as opposed to the neck region. I know a dr. will tell ya to let them know if there's any loss of ...er, bladder control, but they might say that at any level, I'm not sure.

The tumor belongs to Ethan's twin brother.

It's Bens tumor....

Oh, I like that! My vote is for Hanso.
except....I just remembered. Isn't he supposed to be, like 70ish? Not in his 40s, surely. Perhaps I'm just remembering wrong...or thinking Hanso looked 70 cuz I'm just [...undisclosed age here...:lipsseal: ] myself. LOL

No, you're right that Hanso is supposed to be older...in fact, over the summer in the Lost Experience there were suggestions that he was something like 112! At the very least, he supposedly addressed the UN in 1967, so unless he was a pup at that point in time he's probably well into his 70s. But there's been a lot of talk about life extension projects within the Hanso Foundation (and in some of these threads), so it's possible that his body "appears" to be much younger than his true age suggests. The recent "Norway video" of him certainly suggests a younger man to me. The page about Hanso on Lostpedia explains much of this and links to the videos from the Lost Experience: http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Alvar_hanso

Of course, it wouldn't make sense to bring Jack to the island to work on Hanso unless Hanso was somehow stuck on the Island. In the Lost Experience, he's reported to have vanished in 2002 but as of the fall of 2006 he's now been found, and is back in charge of the Hanso Foundation. It's possible the current events on the island (remember, Lost is set in 2004) might involve Hanso and still permit him to ultimately show up back in the real world in 2006, but it's going to take a lot of fancy dancing by the writers to get there. That's why I think Locke is the most likely candidate. But I'd love for it to be someone completely unexpected.

By the way, if it turns out to be Ben as many are speculating, I'm guessing that the whole thing is still a set-up.

a-ha. I see. I didn't do the Lost Experience, so thanks for the info, Tramp.
The idea that it's all a set-up isn't farfetched at all. We already know we can't trust these Others. They'll lie and con for their own advantage.

It's mine..hehe. sorry. j/k

I am willing to bet it's Ben's but I really like the thought of it being someone else's. Of course, my thought at first was Sawyer Not so inclined to think that now.

My question is, how does anyone have a tumor on the mystic island? The tumor wouldn't be small if it'd been there a long time, so it couldn't have been there since birth. If the healing properties have to do with the anomaly (Rose's faith healer said something about energy), then it could be a tumor that has come back because the mystic properties are gone now, but then wouldn't Locke be paralyzed again and Rose have cancer? BUT, it could be that Ben got Locke to stop pushing the button for some reason, and therefore knew that whosever tumor it was would come back. Again, I don't think it heals 'unnatural' injuries (gun shots, cliff falls), but a tumor, paralyzation, and cancer are natural (I guess? It depends on John got paralzyed).

the healing properites could be strongest near the magnetic anomaly, and the others live on the other side of the island so they may not benefit from island healing

Lets see... what about Mr.Pickett... He so looks the age.
More so then Ben and Tom. Ben 40+ and Tom 50+ atleast.

He gets told he has a tumor, then Sun kills his wife as they steal the boat...
Then he beats up Sawyer in anger, then Jack saves him, then he starts appreciating life knowing he has beaten a fatal illness.

well since I see some of you are basing your opinions on the preview, let me add this, we dont see who Jack is talking to in that, anything outside of that line could be simply editing; however whoever it is he is speaking to is obviously in need of convincing from Jack to go through with the surgery, if it was Ben then why would Ben bring Jack there knowing he is a spinal surgeon and then tell him if he does what they need him to do they will take him home. Ben wants Jack there to remedy this tumor problem so why would he need convincing, that said before this preview I was down to either Jack or Ben, now I dont know.

how many people do we know/have seen on the island are 40-ish..................
100%
hmmm... what if the person with the tumor was fine and now that the hatch was imploded there no more healing effects (or there lessened) so thats why they want to operate?

I think it's Ben's. I think that was the point of Jack's line: "Who am I here to save". Also in the end when Ben was citing that book he said something about ..(paraphrasing) " being alone until you're sick",

its "I tell you a guys gets so lonely that he gets sick" or "too lonely and he gets sick" I cant remember exactly how its phrased

So Jack saw an x-ray that told him that a ~40 year old man on the island (it could be anyone, even one of the Losties, since the Others have so much information) has a tumor.

I want to think Locke. We saw how Rose's cancer was "disabled" by the island earlier in Season 2. Perhaps this is the same thing that happened to Locke at the beginning of the series. Perhaps he had a cancerous spinal tumor, paralyzing him, and the island "disabled" his tumor or something and allowed him to walk. This x-ray might be from back before Locke landed on the island.

But, 40 is a little too young for Locke. It could just be one of the others'. What do you think?

Locke would be my first guess too....

My initial thought when I saw the X rays (before knowing they showed a tumor) was that they were Sawyers, and I still think that's possible. Another thing I'm wondering is why they wanted Jack to see the X rays. I think it's safe to say that they didn't leave them out by accident. They knew he would see them and they knew he'd understand them. I think there's definitely something else going on that we don't know about.

What if that was just another "con"..............Ben told Sawyer your good but we're are better. This situation would be next to impossible for surgery.....No "crash cart",, no anesthesia, probably limited supplies, no chemo, radiation, ect if the tumor is cancerous. It sounds like another "others" ploy.

A buddy of mine says definately Ben becaause the sub-plots of Lost are fairly straight forward.

Although.... I disagree. Some one earlier in this thread mentioned the fact that if their crash cart is not working ..what are the odds of a working X-Ray machine??

I smell a HUGE con. It's not Ben's tumor shown in my opinion. Who's it is I have no idea.

Ok...this is a huge stretch...but what if it's Jack's x-ray? What if he is the one with the tumor or thought to be tumor? He would be that age. And that would be hugely ironic. I don't think it is...but just something that came to mind.

I am sure that the preview proves this wrong...but LOST previews have been known to confuse us (at least me)

It would make sense for it to be Ben's tumor, being "the leader" and all. It would be the most influential "save" Jack could make. My first thought was Locke, though, but as somebody else pointed out, why would the Others want to save any of the losties? Then I thought maybe Tom, whom I'm starting to really like, but again what's the big deal? He doesn't seem to be able to offer Jack anything substantial. On a side note, Juliet says she's a fertility doctor... sounds like a geneticist to me.

I think the x-ray is bens he fits the age and that could be why he made the offer to jack to take him home probably important to the others

I thought of Ben right away when Jack was asking Juliet about it. however I'm not sure, in the preview they were talking like it was ben but you never know!

]But if Ben really WAS born on the island, then how did he ever get a tumor in the first place?

..maybe because Desmond turn the key..and it grew back...or maybe, because they are on a different island , than our castaways, and their island do not have healing properties.

probably Ben....it Is Not Hard For Me To Think He Is 40...he Seems To Take A Lickin And Keep On Tickin......maybe Thats The Reason He Has Been On Island All His Life...island Keeps Him Alive..maybe He Wants To Leave.. (sorry If Someone Has Already Said This...gotta Go Too Soon To Read All Posts)

I'm sorry but if Ben is supposed to be in his 40's then I look darn good for my age. He looks at least 10 years older than me! I guess they are talking about him but I would've pegged him older than in his 40's.

I think it's very possible that it's Locke's. It could've been taken before he got to the island. If the others really have access to the outside world, they easily could've gotten a copy of his x-ray. Especially since it seemed easy for them to get all that info on Jack (if the file was real). The others may not want to "save" Locke, but study him. That could be why Ben said he was coming to get Locke when they were in the hatch.

On the other hand, if it is Ben who has the tumor, he may have went to the swan hatch to see if the stronger electromagnetic powers there had more of an effect on making him feel better. That also may be the reason he wanted Locke. Ben knew of his previous condition, and wanted to study him to better understand or treat his own condition.

There are several possibilities here, but my bet would probably be Ben. Locke would be my second choice.

It would have to be one of the Others xrays, why would the Others be concerned if one of the Losties had a tumor?? They did say it was a male, right? I guess Ben would be the obvious choice, but wouldn't it be something if it was Pickett? And Jack was going to operate and save the guy who's girlfriend he couldn't save??


it was picketts wife (not girlfriend).... also, i think it's possible that it's ben's tumor,
or just another attempt to mess with jack's mind for some reason (as the others are so good at).

Interesting thought. Together with what Ben said about taking Jack back home if he did what he was asked, kind of makes me think Ben can't leave the island until the tumor is removed. Maybe anywhere else he would be in a wheelchair. Of course, it depends on whether or not you believe in the island's mojo.;)

I definitely believe in the islands mojo but possibly its mojo has only slowed down the growth of the tumor...definitely think its Ben and I like the thought of Ben needing Jack's help although "please" may have been a better way of getting Jack to operate :rolleyes:

You'd think though that if its so bad that he is gonna die then Ben should be having symptoms of compression of his lumbar spine...but he seems pretty mobile and doesn't seem to be in pain

I think it could most likely be Ben. But why not Desmond?

I definitely believe in the islands mojo but possibly its mojo has only slowed down the growth of the tumor...definitely think its Ben and I like the thought of Ben needing Jack's help although "please" may have been a better way of getting Jack to operate :rolleyes:

You'd think though that if its so bad that he is gonna die then Ben should be having symptoms of compression of his lumbar spine...but he seems pretty mobile and doesn't seem to be in pain

I agree. My aunt had a spinal tumor & was in a wheelchair and then bedridden long before she died from it. Her mobility was very limited.

Locke'd been paralysed about seven years prior to the crash. I don't think it's Locke's. It could be Jack's. But I'm hoping it to be Ben's.

who cares, i wouldn't operate on them...tough t***y, thats what you get for being a bunch of sneaky people.

I think it's very possible that it's Locke's. It could've been taken before he got to the island. If the others really have access to the outside world, they easily could've gotten a copy of his x-ray. Especially since it seemed easy for them to get all that info on Jack (if the file was real). The others may not want to "save" Locke, but study him. That could be why Ben said he was coming to get Locke when they were in the hatch.

On the other hand, if it is Ben who has the tumor, he may have went to the swan hatch to see if the stronger electromagnetic powers there had more of an effect on making him feel better. That also may be the reason he wanted Locke. Ben knew of his previous condition, and wanted to study him to better understand or treat his own condition.

There are several possibilities here, but my bet would probably be Ben. Locke would be my second choice.

I agree on the X-ray possibly being Locke's from when he got paralyzed. He would have been the right age - 40's or so - 7 years ago. What if the Others are trying to show Jack that he can't necessarily trust all of the Lostie's? Reveal to Jack that they have not all been truthful - or at least forthcoming with each other - about their pasts. Jack and Locke have had power issues in the past - Benry knows this and has tried to use it to his advantage before.

I never thought the tumor could possibly be anyone's OTHER than Benjamin's.

If true, this leaves open the possibility that the plane was crashed for ONE reason and one reason only......to get a spinal surgeon on the island to operate on Ben/Him.

Oh, it's from Of Mice and Men.. I've never read the book, but will have to do some research!

The quote referred to being alone makes you sick. But I originally thought it would be Ben who had the tumor. Then I played with the idea that Sawyer would need to donate bone marrow or something.:rolleyes:

My first thought was Sawyer too, but after I thought about it, I changed my mind. I think that's why they made a point of saying Sawyer was 35, but the x-ray was from someone in their 40s so we would rule him out. Of course that may have just been to throw us off.

My guesses:
1. Ben
2. Locke
3. Sawyer
4. other other

I could swear its the x-rays of the old man with the tumour on his spine, the one jack tried to fix. Remember, he fixed him but the guy died on the table, he then kissed his daughter. It was before he found out sarah was cheating on him. I thought it was his, as they got them from jacks file to look over jacks work, to see if he could do the work to coleen?

I'd like to point out that Jack asks Juliet, "Who am I here to save?" So I assume it's one of the Others.

Maybe they are trying to mislead us by saying "him". It would be easy for Ben to correct Jack and say "it's not a him, it's a her". My guess is Joliet.

Locke'd been paralysed about seven years prior to the crash. I don't think it's Locke's. It could be Jack's. But I'm hoping it to be Ben's.

No, Locke said he'd been in the wheelchair for 4 years, not 7.
I think they're Ben's.
Here's some info on the spine, L stands for Lumbar, which is your lower back.

http://www.spine-health.com/topics/anat/confusion/confusion02.html

I'd like to point out that Jack asks Juliet, "Who am I here to save?" So I assume it's one of the Others.

I'm willing to embrace the idea that the person with the tumor is NOT Ben, but I think it's a virtual certainly that whoever it is is an Other. I just don't see the point of it being a Lostie.

Jack and Locke have had power issues in the past - Benry knows this and has tried to use it to his advantage before.

Jack used essentially the same tactic on Juliet in this episode and her answer was similar to the one Locke gave Benry.

I never thought the tumor could possibly be anyone's OTHER than Benjamin's.

If true, this leaves open the possibility that the plane was crashed for ONE reason and one reason only......to get a spinal surgeon on the island to operate on Ben/Him.


Wouldn't you just go kidnap the best spinal surgeon you could find and bring him to the island? (Even if you can't leave the island, your "contacts" outside the island could kidnap him.)

I also can't belive you would crash a plane (which I still think was an unplanned event), and just hope your doctor survived.

I think it's Ben's..
Remember in the hatch he said something about already being dead?

Yea i say for sure Ben. And I think that is the reason for his being "captured" in the losties camp. He wanted to see first hand if Jack is a capable doctor.
The kicker is Jack always needs somthing to fix. So even though it is Ben (his captors) tumor he will still not have a problem trying to remove it. No strings attatched.

While I'd like to believe that Ben has the tumor (mainly because I don't like him), I have a sneaking suspicion that the x-ray is a fake. I think it's just another trick to manipulate Jack. If he know's he's needed to save someone, Jack may be able to be convinced to join the Other team.

I think the tumor is
"HIMs"

:eek2:



or it's just another concerted con move :biggrin:

On a side note, Juliet says she's a fertility doctor... sounds like a geneticist to me.

Having been the patient of both fertility docs and geneticists myself...They are not the same thing, though they often work together, and therefore have some cross-knowledge, but they are distinctly different specialties. I subscribe to the theory that Juliet was brought to the island against her will (clearly, from her disdain for Ben) because of her specialty in infertility issues. Perhaps Ben's own infertility issues; maybe he wanted to populate the island with little Benrys? And by the same token, Jack is there because Ben needed him to remove his spinal tumor. JMHO.

Is it possible to tell how old someone is from just looking at an x-ray? OK, the very old and very young but I'd have though between about 20-60 at least most bones look alike.

I reckon it's probably Alvar Hanso who needs operating on.

Well, the name of the episode is "Every Man For Himself". Who are you here to save, Jack? Heal thyself, physician.

The obvious choice would be Ben and this show is anything but obvious. I would be very surprised and disappointed if it is the obvious choice. I think it will be Ben's boss, whoever that is

I think the most obvious candidate is Sawyer. They had him on an operating table. The needle they stuck him with probably had the solution that goes into your blood that makes tumors more visible (My mom went through that!) and that is why the X-Rays seem to just recently have been put there. Sawyer fits the description.

When we were first shown the x-ray, I thought it was of Sawyer's pacemaker. Then Jack said it was a tumor, and I still thought it COULD have been Sawyer's. He said he was 35, which is close to the age Jack guessed. But then my brother said he thought it belonged to BEN. That makes a lot of sense, since Ben seems to be in his early to mid 40s? And we know that Ben chose Jack, Kate, and Sawyer to come to the Hydra for a reason. I'm thinking that the reason he chose Jack was so that he could fix him. Of course Ben knew Jack was a spinal surgeon! That's why he wanted him.

My first thought was Alavar Hanso.

So Jack saw an x-ray that told him that a ~40 year old man on the island (it could be anyone, even one of the Losties, since the Others have so much information) has a tumor.

I want to think Locke. We saw how Rose's cancer was "disabled" by the island earlier in Season 2. Perhaps this is the same thing that happened to Locke at the beginning of the series. Perhaps he had a cancerous spinal tumor, paralyzing him, and the island "disabled" his tumor or something and allowed him to walk. This x-ray might be from back before Locke landed on the island.

But, 40 is a little too young for Locke. It could just be one of the others'. What do you think?
I definately think it is Locke's. Don't forget, if it is, it would have been taken pre-island time. We just don't know how old the xray would be.

My husband is a doctor, and he looked closely at the x-rays. He thinks the tumor is in the L2 vertabrea, not L4/L5 like Jack said, but whatever. Details details!

Doesn't look like the Others had anesthesia for Colleen. Doing spinal surgery without that is gonna suck!

Actually I'm pretty sure Colleen was already intubated when Jack walked in the operating room.

The obvious choice would be Ben and this show is anything but obvious. I would be very surprised and disappointed if it is the obvious choice. I think it will be Ben's boss, whoever that is

My feelings exactly.
There was a moment when Jack began operating on Colleen. Ben was in the upstairs room watching and had a proud look on his face. TPTB made sure we saw this look breifly.
The look made me think Ben had chosen Jack for a superior and knew his kudos were coming.
If I had to guess, I would say the "leader" is somebody we dont know yet and is in need of miracle surgery.

Maaaaybe...((i'm not sure if this qualifies as spoiler or whatever. but i figured better safe than sorry:) ))...Anyways.


Maybe all the others have terminal diseases, that's why they are at the island, because of it's healing properties. Just a random thought. That's why they are on the island instead of the real world. Plus, when Tom was talking to Benry about how "they're blind" or whatever, when Sawyer was waking up, maybe after the hatch imploded, the healing properties are diminishing. That would explain why they need Jack. But then of course, they would have brought him after the sky turned purple.

I don't know. I'm just rambling. It could happen....maybe....:rolleyes:

The obvious choice would be Ben and this show is anything but obvious. I would be very surprised and disappointed if it is the obvious choice. I think it will be Ben's boss, whoever that isNot always. They placed Sun's possible pregnancy in the preview before her episode, and it turned out to be completely true.

I'm going for Ben. I think that guess has the most drama potential.

few tidbits on the xray:

1. for kids, you can estimate the extent of skeletal maturity by looking at the iliac wings but once we reach maturity and the growth plates fuse, there's no reliable way to estimate a patient's age from a lumbar spine film. you can assess the degree of disc narrowing and the presence of arthritic changes, but this is extremely non-specific. generally speaking, the older one gets, the more degenerative changes will be present. anyways, jack was probably just taking a guess on the age based on the glance he got. either that or the writers just wanted us to know that particular piece of info... probably the latter...

2. depending on how far down the xray is shot, you can tell the gender of the patient from the xrays. there's a certain... um... aspect of a male's anatomy that can be clearly visualized on an xray. google throckmorton's sign for more info. again, this would only be visible if the xray extended down far enough. even if it didn't, the male and female pelvic anatomy is generally different (women have wider pelvises) and it may be reasonable to assume that jack, as a doctor accustomed to looking at xrays, would've picked this up. (hmm... after looking at a shot of the xray, it doesn't look like it goes far enough down to pick up a throckmorton's)

3. agree w/ one of the posters above who mentioned that the abnormality seems to be at L2 rather than L4. the lesion looks... weird... not like any tumor that i've ever seen. it does appear to be within the bone. anyways, medical accuracy notwithstanding, if there were a large tumor at L4 the person would likely be symptomatic either w/ back pain or neurological symptoms. and i'm not sure there's a whole lot jack could do about it. surgery would be quite extensive and the treatment would need to include radiation/chemo... and i'm pretty sure the others don't really have the type of resources necessary.

ok, this has been way too long, but hope it answered some questions...

im thinking a tumor on your spine would somewhat affect your mobility or something

Your right my father had one in the early phases you walk with a limp. It eventially makes you crippled. Its a death sentence.

I think its Jack.

As to the preview Its natural that Jack would assume its an other/Ben & say so .Just because he says it to Ben doesn't prove it is Ben.

I like the idea that it is Locke's. The others noticed that he can now walk again and they are studying his x-rays to see what affect the island had on him.

If they could get a huge file on Jack's life they could certainly get old x-rays of Locke.

agree w/ one of the posters above who mentioned that the abnormality seems to be at L2 rather than L4. the lesion looks... weird... not like any tumor that i've ever seen. it does appear to be within the bone. anyways, medical accuracy notwithstanding, if there were a large tumor at L4 the person would likely be symptomatic either w/ back pain or neurological symptoms. and i'm not sure there's a whole lot jack could do about it. surgery would be quite extensive and the treatment would need to include radiation/chemo... and i'm pretty sure the others don't really have the type of resources necessary.


Thanks lostwatcher, its great to have the medical savvy opinion....I thought that whoever it is judging by Jack's their going to die would be symptomatic and Ben sure doesn't look that way (so I'm not sure now) and as for them having radiation/chemo they don't even have a crash cart :eek2: ....maybe its the "alien" (just kidding) dude in the swan hatch

My 11-year old daughter thinks it's Sawyer.

There is part of me that thinks it may be Jack's ego talking. Who am I here to save....

I'm thinking that the island has healing power but the small island doesn't. They may be tracking the tumor growth while on the hydra island. When the tumor gets to a certain size, that person MUST return to the village on the main island so they may be healed.

No need for Jack.

It is still quite possible there is a mr. big above ben, maybe it's his.

At first, I thought Locke, it make perfect sense. But there is no name tag on the film, they are usually stamped on in the darkroom allowing light in for a permanent record. Legally, a name has to be permanently on the film. Which leads me to believe it was taken in the hatch, what do they care of legal? So it does make sense that it is an other.

Jack said it was a large tumor. A large tumor would most definately be dibilitating. Ben was kicking butt on Sawyer & climbing a mountain! Not possible. Also, wasn't Ben upset Jack was doing surgery on Colleen? I thought he said, that's not what he's here for.

Also, there is a chest film hanging next to the L-Spine film, not sure what it means. Someone else? A more extensive problem?
100%
When he said we are blind, I think it means the explosion may have knocked out some of the cameras & communications.
100%
I watched it again and there is a third film of a head & neck. Jack says they are spinal films. So they are likely looking at one person's entire spine. I agree that it looks like L2 has the issue, not L4. The other films are too far away to tell.

o-oh have TPTB made an error?...medically savvy people are saying its L2 and not L4 (how could they get that one wrong?)...not that it matters...the tumors large and its in his lumbar region and he should be feeling symptomatic (so I guess its not Ben then)....interesting though that their medical equipment is so archaic and it looks like Juliet is it as far as a doctor goes....wonder how they reckon Jack is going to remove this tumor under such conditions and as pointed out, this kind of problem will need ongoing therapy, which they obviously are not set up for?

My guess would be Ben. At the very least, I think it would be one of the others. I think the reason Jack was captured was to operate on the spine, considering he is a spinal surgeon. I still don't know why Kate and Sawyer were taken also. Maybe the others had a particular reason for taking each of them also.

I think they are of Benry. That is why they need Jack. They need Kate to control Sawyer (as we found out this ep) and they need Sawyer because


In the promo, Pickett says to Sawyer 'the only reason you are alive is because they need you...' Blood donor, vertebrae transplant, or something else more terrible...


In any case, it will be bad stuff because Benry wants it...

Oldwiz

Remember Ben said, if you do what I ask, I will take you home. I think it could be Ben's tumor because of that. He says take you home, not let you go home. Ben might need to go with him and his tumor may not be affecting him on the island, but if he leaves he will die.I read somewhere that in the next show Ben makes Jack an offer. So this makes me think it is Ben with the tumor. Maybe it's, if you fix me, I'll take you home. & we know Jack loves to fix people! But will he leave Kate? I doubt it.

Yeah, I think it might be the guy that Benry was calling "him" referring to his boss. The guy with they eye patch in the preview for next week?

What if that was just another "con"..............Ben told Sawyer your good but we're are better. This situation would be next to impossible for surgery.....No "crash cart",, no anesthesia, probably limited supplies, no chemo, radiation, ect if the tumor is cancerous. It sounds like another "others" ploy.


ok ok. what if ben tells jack that the tumor belongs to locke. we know that locke is supposedly on his way to bring j/k/s back "home" to the beach. locke will of course take some convincing because at this point, only he knows how he got paralyzed. when jack finally reasons with him that he needs the surgery to save his life, locke agrees. jack performs the surgery but without all the aforementioned medical tools, crash cart, etc. locke ends up dying (:mad: oh no!) so there you have the former leader of the losties killing the "new" leader of the losties....k/s and the other losties turn on jack....drama drama drama....Others win! you like? no?

As soon as Benry found out Jack is a spinal doctor, he decided to capture him. Jack is not doing any rock moldering, he's having special treatment.

We have seen that the island makes people healthy - nobody has ever been sick in any way so far (no flu etc.). People that were sick, have become healthy again.

I believe the island doesn't cure the illnesses (like Lockes legs) but just temporary alters them. If Locke was to leave the island, he would loose the ability to walk again.

The person who has the tumour (i believe Benry) wants it removed, so he can go outside the island. The woman was shocked when Jack told him "and just by accident i am a spinal surgeon". That is the moment she understood why Benry wanted to capture Jack.

Perhaps it is someone we are not even aware of..............We just met Nikki and Paulo why not others.....(no pun intended)

Can you really tell someones age from an xray? I mean you could tell a child or an adolescent or maybe an elderly person, but what would be the difference from a 30 yr old and a 45 yr old?

Absolutely, bones are the most clear indicator of a person's age, especially the hip bone, which is partly visible in the X-rays.

I'm guessing you don't watch all those forensic shows, uh? :biggrin:

Just a wild wild wild guess.. In season 2 (then)Henry Gale said "Our leader is a very intelligent man".. and in Season 3 there seems to be no sign of a leader... maybe its their leader who is sick with a tumour.

At first I thought it was:

Creepy McEyepatch from the preview

But then I read this on http://television.aol.com/feature/lost_tv


Next on 'Lost'

'The Cost of Living'

Eko struggles with demons from the past, and Locke attemps to find their captive friends via the Pearl Station. Meanwhile, Jack confronts Ben about his tumor.

(enphasis is mine, not AOL's)



So, that kind of seals it for me.

I think they took Jack to operate, they took Kate as leverage to make Jack operate (as he obviously has feelings for her). And Sawyer (this might be a bit too out there, but what the heck!) for bone marrow, blood donation. Sawyer has left his DNA all over the place, what with being shot, punched, stabbed and what not. It'd be easy for the Others to collect samples, and since Dharma clearly did genetic research (imbeded dharma birthmark on shark, polar bears in the tropics, etc.) they might have the equipment to analyze body fluids.

I was thinking that maybe the others were trying play mind games with Jack by showing him an x-ray of a patient he'd failed -- Angelo Busoni. But I guess Jack could tell if it were the same patient.

Tumor has got to be from rose (she already said she has/had cancer), or locke(certainly a valid reason for his wheelchairness).

K.I.S.S. philosophy

I'm confused about one thing here...

In the preview...Jack said to someone....you have a tumor and you're going to die right? why would he say that to someone who already knew that they had a tumor? wouldn't that person not know...and wouldnt that person then not be able to be part of brigning jack to the island?

Did I get the quote wrong?

Could it be at all possible that Jack is lead to beleive it is Benry's tumor...Whereas it is really Jack's tumor?

They could have xrayed him while he was sedated..............

A really wild guess would be Christian, who I think is alive and on the island. Age doesn't fit though.

The argument that it can't be Locke or Benry because they are probably at least 50 doesn't really hold up. That X-ray could have been taken years ago, when the tumor was first discovered. It could be anyone around 40 or older. It could be Zeke.

I think it's probably Benry though.

If you look closely @ Locke's license in the episode from two weeks ago, it says he was born in the mid 40's making him around 60 years old, so I seriously doubt it's Locke. Ben looks in his mid 40's and Jack doesn't look quite 40, maybe 37 or so.. I bet it's Ben, and Jack operates on him, then Ben sets him free.

bones are the clearest of indicators..................................omg.
100%
you crazy latin 007, when i get id, i give my id which has my date of birth on, not a bloody bone sample.

One word....Him




It also makes you wonder why The island did'nt cure the tumor.

Ben and Tom are clearly past 40. Pickett is about that. Sawyer or.....Jack himself?

For some reason they will not let me do an avatar like you. The one and only Billy Shears. I get it... I think they could be Jack's X rays!

Newbie. Here. lemmee intoduce to you, the one and only Judy Blume......

One word....Him




It also makes you wonder why The island did'nt cure the tumor.

Maybe it created the tumor :|

Just to clear up some medical facts, looking at the screen cap from lost-media.com, there is NOT an aggressive malignant tumor on L4. Possibly on L2, but screen cap isn't as clear as it could be. The X-rays being of a male? Yes, extremely easy to determine the sex of the patient from X-rays. Being around 40? X-rays are not the best way to determine the age of a patient, but if there was some mild DJD seen in the spine... then possible to guess.

And not related to this thread, but artificial pacemakers DO NOT work the way Fenry explained it to work.

Could it be at all possible that Jack is lead to beleive it is Benry's tumor...Whereas it is really Jack's tumor?

They could have xrayed him while he was sedated..............
I would love to see him operate on himself....:)