Sen. Arlen Specter (Judiciary Chair) Has Hodgkin's Disease

From NBC10.com web site:

Arlen Specter Has Hodgkin's Disease

Specter Will Keep Working In Senate

POSTED: 5:12 pm EST February 16, 2005 * UPDATED: 7:11 pm EST February 16, 2005

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, 75, 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 February 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 IVB Hodgkin's disease, the statement said.
Hodgkin's disease is a cancer of the lymph system. Approximately 7500 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.
"Senator Specter's Hodgkin's disease has a five-year survival rate of 70%. 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."

Though the article notes that Specter expects to (or is expected to) perform all of his duties, including chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee, the treatment for this disease, along with Specter's age may make that difficult.

It could be very interesting to see if this really has an impact on Specter's Senate service. Specter has already received a lot of pressure for statements indicating that Pres. Bush should be mindful of who he nominates for open Judgeships. He had to do many mea culpas to his fellow Senators and to the Whitehouse before he won the committee chairmanship he was in line for. If Specter isn't able to continue as chair of the committee, the committee could very easily take a sharper turn to the right, with Specter known as a moderate, or even liberal leaning Senator.

Longer term, if Specter is affected by this disease to the point of needing to leave the Senate, there are serious questions about who he'd potentially be replaced by. Specter received grudging support for his re-election bid in this recent election. Many Pennsylvania republicans wanted a more conservative choice, though Pennsylvania tends to be somewhat moderate to liberal, depending on which area of the state is being looked at.

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You know I don't like the man, I don't like his RINO politics and I dang sure did't vote for him. But I would not wish this on him for *any* reason.

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Reply By: drmiler Posted: Thursday, February 17, 2005

You know I don't like the man, I don't like his RINO politics and I dang sure did't vote for him. But I would not wish this on him for *any* reason.

There are very, very, very few people I would wish cancer upon.

I can't say I'd never do it (wish cancer upon someone), because there was this one particular deputy sherriff in Texas that I wished a serious case of cancer in the crotch region on. I really believe, though, that anyone that was in my place and dealt with that particular clueless wonder would have done the same.

I don't wish ill upon Specter though, and hope for the best for him in this fight.

There is no mistaking though that this illness could have a serious impact upon the political world, in much the same way that Chief Justice Rehnquist's will have.

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Spector is certainly one of the more moderate republicans, and for that, I'm thankful. Hodgkins is a lousy disease, but I think they're getting a handle on that form of cancer now. It's the one that killed my brother at the ripe old age of 31 in 1978. I really wish the best for Spector.

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