WASHINGTON -- Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., announced Wednesday that he has Hodgkin's disease but expects to continue to work in the Senate while being treated.
"I have beaten a brain tumor, bypass heart surgery and many tough political opponents and I'm going to beat this, too," Specter said in a statement.
Hodgkin's disease is a type of cancer involving the lymph nodes. Specter will receive chemotherapy every two weeks for up to 32 weeks at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, a release from his office said.
A biopsy done Monday of a lymph node under his left arm came back positive for Hodgkin's disease, the release said. Follow-up scans at the Abramson Cancer Center on Wednesday established that Specter has stage IVB Hodgkin's disease.
Specter, a 75-year-old Pennsylvania moderate who just won re-election to his Senate seat, became Judiciary chairman in January.
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Sen. Alren Specter [R-Pa] Announces He Has Cancer
Arlen Specter Has Hodgkin's Disease
Specter Will Keep Working In Senate
United States Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.) has announced that he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, in a press release from his office Wednesday afternoon.
In a press release, Specter said he had experienced persistent fevers and enlarged lymph nodes under his left arm and above his left clavicle.
The statement said Specter received testing on Feb. 14 at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. The testing involved biopsy of a lymph node and biopsy of bone marrow.
The lymph node was positive for Hodgkin's disease. The bone marrow biopsy showed no cancer. A follow up PET scan and MRI established Specter has stage 4B Hodgkin's disease, the statement said.
Hodgkin's disease is a cancer of the lymph system. Approximately 7,500 new cases are diagnosed every year in the United States.
His office said Specter is expected to receive chemotherapy over the next 24 to 32 weeks and he is expected to be able to perform all duties, including chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"Sen. Specter's Hodgkin's disease has a five-year survival rate of 70 percent. He is in superb physical condition, particularly in light of his daily squash regimen, " said Specter's oncologist, Dr. John H. Glick.
In the statement, Specter said: "I have beaten a brain tumor, bypass heart surgery and many tough political opponents; and I'm going to beat this, too. I have a lot more work to do for Pennsylvania and America."
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Posted by Editor at February 16, 2005 05:58 PM
