MSNBC is reporting that Fred Thompson (R-TN, former Senator), a possible R candidate for president in 2008 is saying that he had non-Hodgkins Lymphoma and was treated for it in 2004.
More than anything else - I'm praying for his health, as we all should.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
Thompson says his lymphoma was discovered in a physical in 2004, by his doc, Bruce Cheson.
Thompson's doctor said he has a subtype known as "marginal zone lymphoma" and was treated with a drug called Rituxan, a monoclonal antibody which zeros in on cancer cells to specifically target them. But Cheson confirmed that Thompson is in remission with no signs of the cancer detectable by medical tests.
Sounds like it's treated, in remission.
My spin is that this is the traditional "gettin it all out there" move by someone who is seriously thinking about entering a race and wants to control all stories.
Heck, it's what I'd do...
Again, all other things notwithstanding, I am most praying for his health. If he's the R nominee, we can kick his ass on the issues, while still wishing him a long and healthy life.
Updated with a quote from Reuters:
He said his cancer, a form of indolent lymphoma, is slow-growing and not immediately life-threatening. Because it does not respond well to radiation or chemotherapy, doctors often choose to just watch and wait with patients diagnosed with it.
"I have had no illness from it, or even any symptoms. My life expectancy should not be affected," Thompson said in excerpts of an interview with Fox News. "I am in remission, and it is very treatable with drugs if treatment is needed in the future."
Analysis of cancer and presidential candidates from Guardian UK:
Thompson's disclosure comes just weeks after Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, revealed that her cancer had returned. White House spokesman Tony Snow recently underwent surgery for cancer that had spread to his liver.
Cancer has touched past and present presidential candidates. John McCain carries scars after three episodes of melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer. His 2008 Republican rival, Rudy Giuliani, had prostate cancer, which also afflicted 2004 Democratic nominee John Kerry and 1996 Republican nominee Bob Dole.
In 1992, Democratic primary candidate Paul Tsongas was the first presidential candidate to run as a cancer survivor, having undergone a radical bone-marrow transplant six years earlier after lymphoma forced an end to his Senate career. Tsongas later died from a complication related to the treatment for the disease's recurrence.