Dec. 28 (UPI) — U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, of Maryland, announced Wednesday he has been diagnosed with a curable form of cancer, saying he plans to continue serving in the House while he undergoes treatment.
The 60-year-old Democrat was diagnosed with diffuse large B cell lymphoma, a form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Raskin said he will begin outpatient chemo-immunotherapy at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington, D.C.
“Prognosis for most people in my situation is excellent after four months of treatment,” Raskin said in a statement.
“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.”
Diffuse large B cell lymphoma is the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, with more than 18,000 people diagnosed each year in the United States. It is considered aggressive, according to the Lymphoma Research Foundation, in that it grows quickly.
The disease affects blood cells that are used to fight off infections. It is most common in people 60 and older.
“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),” Raskin wrote.
“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.”
Raskin has represented Maryland’s 8th District in the House of Representatives since 2017. He serves on the House Judiciary Committee, the Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Committee on House Administration, is on the Coronavirus subcommittee and chairs the Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
He also serves on the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and was the member to read the criminal referral charges against former President Donald Trump, which were sent to the Justice Department.
