Kennedy had Addison’s disease, a failure of the adrenal glands, diagnosed in 1947, and severe back trouble that led to a 1954 operation he barely survived. The historian Robert Dallek, who was allowed to see the medical records opened in 2002, described a president who took steroids, painkillers, antispasmodics and other drugs, sometimes many in a single day. [1][2]
In 1960 his campaign denied that he had Addison’s disease. The public image of a robust athlete playing touch football was carefully built. [1]
Dallek’s judgment, from the records, was that the drugs did not impair his decisions during the big crises. People who distrust official accounts note that this was hidden at the time; that is true, and it is the main documented deception in this file. [1]
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