Civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis (D-Georgia) released a letter to his supporters, Sunday evening, confirming a recent diagnosis of stage four pancreatic cancer. The seventy-nine year old who marched alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was famously beaten bloody and attacked by police dogs, while attempting to lead a column of non-violent marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965.
In keeping with his reputation as someone who is not afraid of a hard fight, he vowed to battle the cancer, “to fight and keep fighting,” because, he said, “we still have many bridges to cross.”
John Lewis is my congressman, and despite his larger than life biography, he has always been approachable, always willing to give an anxious constituent his calm, honest, expert opinion.
Below is the letter the congressman sent, Sunday. Please keep him in your thoughts.
Dear Friends,
I write to share some personal news with you.
As you know, I have been in some kind of fight – whether it be for freedom,equality, or basic human rights - for nearly my entire life. However, I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now.
During a routine medical visit and after subsequent tests, doctors discovered stage four Pancreatic Cancer. This diagnosis has been reconfirmed.
While I am clear-eyed about the prognosis, doctors told me that recent medical advances have made this type of cancer treatable in many cases. Treatment options are no longer as debilitating as they once were, and I have a fighting chance.
So, I have decided to do what I know to do and what I have always done: I am going to fight it and keep fighting for the Beloved Community. I believe that we still have bridges to cross.
Serving as your representative in Congress is the honor of a lifetime. In the coming days, I will return to Washington, D.C. to continue our work and begin my treatment plan, which will occur over the next several weeks. I may miss a few votes during this period, but I will be back on the front lines soon.
I wish you and your loved ones a restful holiday, and I ask that you keep me in your thoughts as I begin this journey.
Keeping the faith,
John Lewis
Member of Congress