Lewis likely to stay in D.C for treatment

No talk of leaving office; reelection bid in plans despite cancer diagnosis.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. John Lewis is expected to remain in Washington to receive treatment for stage 4 pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis he announced Sunday.

That treatment, according to medical experts, is likely to focus on preventing the disease from spreading further and inhibiting

symptoms from growing worse. Dr. Bassel El-Rayes is an oncologist and clinical researcher with an emphasis on pancreatic cancer at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University. He has no

direct knowledge of Lewis’ case but has worked with many other patients facing a similar diagnosis. One of the first things he explains to them is that successful treatment of stage 4 pancreatic cancer is not defined by curing the disease but managing it.

“Our goal is to control the cancer, keeping it in check and preventing it from spreading or involving other organs,” he said.

Although Lewis is 79 years old, he appears to be in good health and a candidate for chemotherapy as well as clinical trials that could introduce innovative treatment options, El-Rayes said. Lewis’ doctors will likely also create a molecular profile of his particular cancer in order to ensure therapies are tailor-made.

Pancreatic cancer remains difficult to treat, and although survival rates are improving, it remains one of the most dangerous types of the illness. The National Cancer Institute reports that over

half of the people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer were at stage 4, defined as the level where the cancer has spread to other organs or metastasized. The overall survival rate for the disease is 9% after five years, but that drops

CONTRIBUTED BY STEVE SCHAEFER Although Rep. John Lewis is 79, he appears to be in good health and a candidate for chemotherapy and clinical trials with innovative treatment options, an oncologist said.