Arlen Specter's cancer returns

[spinbaby]

Just reported on Channel 4 Pittsburgh. Hodgkin's.

[sniffa]

1. Oh no

:(

[cynatnite]

2. I hope they caught it early enough...

Not a Specter fan, but this would be tragic for anyone.

[aquart]

16. How old is he?

My uncle had over 30 years remission on leukemia, then it finally came back to claim him. Age has a lot to do with the ability to fight that stuff.

[Jack from Charlotte]

21. He's 78 and up for re-election in 2010. (nfm)

*

[Juche]

3. That sucks

There is alot of research (I have worked on some if it) to do localized chemotherapy which just destroys tumors w/o harming nearby tissue. But that is several years in the future before we are done with all the clinical trials.

[CottonBear]

That's just awful. I hope he will be OK. He's been in remission for a while now. n/t

[Vinca]

4. That's too bad. He's lucky he's got health insurance. nt

[L. Coyote]

11. Imagine if he was an ordinary person, with no insurance.

[babylonsister]

5. I'm sorry to read this. nt

[Pirate Smile]

6. Awwww. That's sucks.

:(

[Yael]

7. Oh man -- this is not good news

He just went through aggressive chemo not too long ago.

I hope they can catch it.

[Disturbed]

10. It's good news for Tweety.

Tweety will run for the Sen. against someone that he could maybe win over.

[Yael]

14. I just got a cold chill

Noooooooooooooooooo!

[aquart]

17. Could he afford the loss of income?

[Imalittleteapot]

8. Jeez. He was just on C-Span discussing his book.

Did anyone see him? He had a photo of Bush shaking his hand when he was bald and thin from chemo. Specter says that GW's body language in the pict shows how uncomfortable he was shaking the hand of someone with cancer, as if he were afraid he'd catch it.

I like Arlen (most of the time) and wish the best for him. That he has to go through all of this again is discouraging.

[Bozita]

And he's out on a book tour.

Hoping he beats it.

[Fovea]

9. If American medicine can whip it.

He will whip it.
He's got CheneyCare(tm)
I hope things work out.

[tishaLA]

12. I'm sorry to hear this

He is a fighter though.

[MonkeyFunk]

13. That's sad

Best wishes to him and his family.

[GoneOffShore]

15. Merde!!

He's done a good job for PA, mostly.

Despite some of the stuff he's done, he's a smart and savvy and caring politico.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

18. Healing thoughts for Senator Specter and his family.

And for peace of spirit and health.

[Blue_In_AK]

19. I'm sorry to hear that.

He's a tough old guy, though. He may beat it again. I liked his attitude when he was on Bill Maher last week.

[PA Democrat]

20. I wish him well. I've seen him promoting his book on battling cancer within the last few weeks.

Cancer is one damn cruel disease.

[Muttocracy]

22. press release and CNN link

http://specter.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=540552e0-a244-971d-d0c6-d4c499e1a466

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/15/arlen.specter/index.html

[spinbaby]

24. From the CNN link

"Sen. Arlen Specter's Hodgkin's disease, which he battled in 2005, has recurred, but doctors said its return was detected early and Specter has an "excellent chance" of once again achieving remission, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the senator's office."

Sounds like he'll likely get through it, thank goodness. He's been my senator for a long time. I've not always voted for him, but I respect him.

[PlanetBev]

23. Shit...

I saw him on Bill Maher's show recently.

I had a sinking feeling that the cancer was going to rear it's ugly head again.

Hate to see him go through this all over again.