jamie raskin health march 2023_jamie raskin health problems
Update From Rep. Jamie Raskin: Chemo Extinguished My Cancer
NEWS, APRIL 27: Jamie Raskin, a Democratic congressman from Maryland, said last week that he has finished his final round of chemotherapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The congressman said, "The doctors tell me the therapy has extinguished the cancer cells, as far as they can tell," during a virtual event with the Progressive Change Institute. Despite continuing to work while receiving therapy, Raskin told CBS News that it wasn't an easy process. "It's almost extinguished me in the process," he continued, "but I'm hanging in there and I'm going to make it through."
"Tuesday I thanked nurses, doctors & pharmacists at @MedStarGUH who serve with splendid kindness—and saved my life over 5 months," he wrote in a tweet dated April 27. I rang the bell after completing 6 rounds of 5-day chemotherapy sessions that were planned so I wouldn't have to miss votes or hearings. A fresh chapter starts.
PRIOR UPDATE, FEBRUARY 18: On December 28, U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) stated that he had been diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a "serious but curable form of cancer." A member of Bruce Springstein's E Street Band, legendary guitarist Steven Van Zandt, gave Raskin a headscarf similar to the ones the musician is renowned for wearing, according to a recent tweet from the politician.
Raskin tweeted a picture of himself wearing his new look and the following message:
Look what I got from one of the best musicians ever; it's a present I'll value almost as highly as his song "I Am a Patriot." For the upcoming few months, my chemo head covering style is about to advance. Continue shining the light, Stevie.
The original Cancer Health article from January 4 on Raskin's lymphoma diagnosis can be found here.
The Maryland state representative Jamie Raskin just revealed he has a "serious but curable form of cancer" and will start outpatient therapy. The politician, who gained notoriety last summer as a member of the House Select Committee looking into the attack on the Capitol on January 6, stated in a press release that he intends to continue serving the public despite the diagnosis.
I have diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, according to the press release from Raskin, who is scheduled to start an outpatient course of chemo-immunotherapy at Med Star Georgetown University Hospital and Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Raskin, 60, stated that although while the "prognosis for most people in my situation is excellent after four months of treatment," he has received medical advice to "reduce unnecessary exposure to avoid COVID-19, the flu, and other viruses."
According to the American Cancer Society, chemotherapy combined with a four-drug regimen given in cycles three weeks apart is the most common treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma since it "tends to grow quickly".
Raskin has faith in the future in spite of his prognosis. The congressman made light of chemotherapy's common side effects of hair loss and weight gain by saying that he is "still holding out hope for the kind that causes hair gain and weight loss."
Raskin has previously battled cancer. He received radiation and chemotherapy for Stage III colon cancer in 2010, and in 2021, a benign cyst was found during an MRI, according to the Washington Post.
Since 2017, Raskin has represented Maryland's 8th congressional district in the United States.
He wrote: "I plan to get through this and, in the meantime, to keep making progress every day in Congress for American democracy with the help of early detection and fine doctors, the assistance of my extraordinary staff, the love of Sarah and our daughters and sons-in-law (actual and to-be), family and friends, and the support of my beloved constituents and my colleagues in the House."
?What is lymphoma
When immune system's white blood cells proliferate out of control, lymphoma develops. Three different types of lymphocytes, B cells, T cells, or natural killer cells, may be involved. Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), which each have numerous subgroups, are the two primary kinds. Lymphoma can frequently be treated and placed into remission, but untreated, rapidly-propagating lymphoma can be fatal.
Lymphoma starts in the lymphatic system, a web of organs and veins that aid in immune response and waste clearance, but it has the potential to metastasize, or spread to other parts of the body. It can develop in lymph nodes, lymph tissue in the stomach and intestines, bone marrow (the spongy tissue inside bones that produces blood cells), tonsils (the immune organs at the back of the throat), thymus (the organ in the chest where T cells develop), and spleen (the organ close to the stomach that stores and recycles blood cells).
?What are the types of lymphoma
Large aberrant lymphocytes known as Reed-Sternberg cells, which are typically B cells, accumulate in the lymph nodes in Hodgkin lymphoma. In industrialized nations, the so-called classic type predominates. Usually, lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, or chest are where it begins. It may spread to additional lymph nodes via lymphatic channels, but it often does not move to other parts of the body. It often responds favorably to therapy and is frequently curable.
The most prevalent aggressive NHL in the US is diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), which accounts for over a third of all lymphoma cases. Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma, a kind of DLBCL that typically affects young women, begins in the chest. DLBCL grows quickly, necessitating immediate therapy, but responses are typically positive.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) usually involves B cells, but T cells may also be affected. NHL may be either aggressive (fast-growing) or indolent (slow-growing). It is further classified according to the type of lymphocyte involved, how the cells look and their biomarkers or genetic characteristics.
