![]() ![]() “With the benefit of early detection and fine doctors, the help of my extraordinary staff, the love of Sarah and our daughters and sons-in-law (actual and to-be) and family and friends, and the support of my beloved constituents and my colleagues in the House, I plan to get through this and, in the meantime, to keep making progress every day in Congress for American democracy. I am advised that it also causes hair loss and weight gain (although I am still holding out hope for the kind that causes hair gain and weight loss). In addition to destroying cancer cells, chemotherapy impairs natural antibodies and undermines the body’s immune system. “I expect to be able to work through this period but have been cautioned by my doctors to reduce unnecessary exposure to avoid COVID-19, the flu and other viruses. Prognosis for most people in my situation is excellent after four months of treatment. I am about to embark on a course of chemo-immunotherapy on an outpatient basis at Med Star Georgetown University Hospital and Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Just get it done.“After several days of tests, I have been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, which is a serious but curable form of cancer. He also has some advice for anyone who is due for a colonoscopy but has been delaying it. Since the end of his cancer treatment, there has been no sign of recurrence of cancer but Raskin remains vigilant when it comes to his eating habits and overall health. In a democratic society, our obligation is not to compound all the misfortunes of life-the illnesses, the accidents, the heartache-with governmental injustice our job is to try to end injustice and reduce misfortune because we are all citizens together. That is an injustice because we, as a society, can do something about that. “If you can’t get health insurance because you love the wrong person or because you are unemployed or because you are too poor, that is not just a misfortune. ![]() ![]() He says he was struck by how medical misfortune affected various segments of society, and became more determined than ever to increase every person’s access to affordable health care. So I want health insurance for everyone, colonoscopies for everyone.”Īt the time of his diagnosis, Congressman Raskin was the floor leader on a marriage equality bill in the Maryland state legislature. I cannot imagine how devastating it must be for those who have no health insurance. It was hard enough for someone like me, who has great health insurance, to deal with my diagnosis. “It can happen to anybody–liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican, Independent, old, young, every race, and every ethnicity. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the mass was malignant, but several days later test results confirmed that it was. Raskin fell asleep during the colonoscopy, but when we woke he was told that the screening revealed a mass the size of a walnut in his colon. The physician recommended that he have an endoscopy as well as a colonoscopy. It all began when Raskin went to the doctor because he was experiencing reflux symptoms. But we were fortunate to have fantastic doctors and nurses who saved my life.” He was diagnosed with the disease in 2010 and says, “It was an excruciatingly difficult experience for me and my family. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD 8th District) recently talked to us about how his journey through surviving stage III colon cancer began with a life-saving colonoscopy.
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