Specter on Kennedy: 'I've been there'

by James Oliphant

Sen. Arlen Specter took to the Senate floor Tuesday to remind his collegues that he has stared down cancer--and survived.

Specter, a Republican from Pennsylvania, is currently undergoing a second round of treatment to stave off Hodgkin's Disease. He first underwent chemotherapy in 2005, when he was first diagnosed. The treatment worked and drove the lymphatic cancer into remission.

Specter noted that he also suffered from a brain tumor in 1993, but in his case, while it was initially diagnosed as malignant, subsequent tests proved that to not be the case.

On the floor Tuesday, Specter said, "Just before entering the chamber, I heard the devastating news about Senator Kennedy's diagnosis with a malignant brain tumor. I've been there.

"A few years back, I was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor and given three to six weeks to live. . . The diagnosis for me for a malignant brain tumor turned out to be incorrect.

"I note that Senator Kennedy will be receiving chemotherapy and radiation. I know something about chemotherapy myself. I'm in the middle of it right now for Hodgkin's.

Kennedy and Specter have served for years together on the Senate Judiciary Commitee. Specter praised his work--and he called on his fellow senators to use the crisis as inspiration to work together in a more bipartisan fashion.

"Senator Kennedy is a real fighter - we all know that - and I am betting on Senator Kennedy. He's been such a champion on so many causes: civil rights, health education, labor reform, and the Judiciary where he served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee with great distinction.

"It would be my hope that with what has happened today it would provide some motivation for both parties to find a bipartisan way to cross the aisle and to stop the bickering which has characterized the confirmation process for so many years."