Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) has cancer relapse
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Specter said the recurrence “was detected during a routine scan of his chest and abdomen. A biopsy confirmed that the cancer had returned in a chest lymph node.” Just last month he had talked about beating the disease while doing a tour for his new book, Never Give In: Battling Cancer in the Senate.” This time, his stage is considered IIIA, which is “significantly less advanced,” according to the statement from Specter’s office.
“I consider this just another bump on the road to a successful recovery from Hodgkin’s, from which I’ve been symptom-free for three years,” Specter said in the statement. “I’ve beaten some tough medical problems and tough political opponents and I expect to beat this, too.”
Specter has had a history of health problems. In 1993 he underwent surgery to remove a benign brain tumor, which recurred in 1996 and was successfully treated. He also had coronary bypass surgery in 1998.
I remember following Senator Specter’s questioning and dialogue with the NIH director last year. His concern about the impact of flat funding was obvious and best characterized as indignant that we could be allowing our research to become such a low priority. A presence like his is very much needed in a legislature that can so easily clamor for one end or the other.
The Philly.com article goes into much more detail about the senator, his family and his health. Never Give In: Battling Cancer in the Senate is Specter’s most recent book.
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7 Responses to “Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) has cancer relapse”
Presumably he wants to remain an incumbent and DC fixture. It's pretty bad when only death or severe disability can remove someone from Washington.
I'm smiling a little but I'm not exactly sure what you mean! What do you mean by it's pretty bad when only those two things can remove someone – you mean that he's been impossible to challenge successfully? I don't know a ton about PA but I would think that someone like him pretty much sums up PA's personality, no?
That's too bad. I wish him well. Politics just simply aren't as important as health.
I hope his physician will recommend Bexxar or Zevalin, two very effective radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies. Then he can learn that CMS has set the reimbursement below costs and that almost no providers will use them in treatment.
That's kind of obnoxious, superdestroyer. Isn't there some other way to, you know, hope that that conversation gets prompted?
“What do you mean by it's pretty bad when only those two things can remove someone – you mean that he's been impossible to challenge successfully?”
Those people cling to their offices forever. Dr. E. on another thread stated that the Pope spoke well, effectively showing health and vitality. That's not what you hear when you listen to someone in Washington that beautifully (to the ear as well as to the eye) illustrates the incumbency problem in Washington: Robert Byrd.
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“Then he can learn that CMS has set the reimbursement [of monoclonal antibodies] below costs and that almost no providers will use them in treatment.”
That's true for other things such as dialysis provision and the silly 36-month limit on coverage of immunosuppressants (which include monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies) post-transplantation (or “post-transplant”). (It's the ideal beginning-from-huge-real-case, not-straw-man example about silliness with coverage of health costs by Medicare. Never mind that protecting a transplant over the entire life of a graft saves money over dialysis.)
More to the general point, SD, were you aware that recent Medicare funding was going to feature a ten per cent reduction of payments to doctors, from levels that to the educated already are too low? With dialysis provision, it's not merely greed that has driven the decision to re-use (“re-process”) dialysers in 80% of dialysis clinics, or greed and corruption behind the over-prescription of erythropoietics.
As a Senator, I suspect Specter has a better drug coverage and reimbursement situation than the typical Medicare or privately-insured patient.
I've always appreciated Sen. Specter's gentlemanly manners.
iHe understood the importance of dignity, even under pressure.
I can't stomach that news of someone's illness can bring on such vituperative rants as I see here.
I hope he can beat the cancer one more time.